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At least 901 records · Page 50

Hypervelocity Impact Characterization on Hubble Space Telescope Multi-Layer Insulation

Multi-layer insulation (MLI) is a common material used on rocket bodies and spacecraft to provide thermal regulation. This material is typically attached on the surface of the object in orbit and is thus exposed to the space environment and to micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) impacts. Occasionally, these exposed surfaces are returned and used by NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) for analysis. When used to assess impacts on surfaces over time, materials like MLI provide an opportunity for in-situ measurements to support the Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) development and validation. During the 2009 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Serving Mission, the MLI blankets covering the HST electronics bays 5, 8, and 10 were removed and subsequently analyzed by the ODPO in 2010. The bay 5 blanket was used in concert with ground-based hypervelocity impact tests on single layer MLI to validate the ORDEM 3.1 computer model of the OD environment, but further research was required to properly differentiate the impact features attributed to MM or OD. The ORDEM 3.1 validation effort identified several areas of further study to improve model validation and understanding of the space environment. Among these topics are the effects of underlying MLI layers on first layer impact feature characteristics, the effects of space weathering and associated damage to the surface on impact feature characteristics, and the transition from perforating to cratering regions. To better understand hypervelocity impact damage and long-term degradation of MLI surfaces, further hypervelocity impact testing was proposed and completed from 2020 to 2022. This paper discusses test conditions and parameters with resultant impact hole analyses of single layer versus multi-layered samples, space-exposed samples versus pristine, equivalent samples, and perforation versus cratering criteria in the difficult transition region. Damage equations, with associated uncertainties, are estimated from the test parameters and presented. The results of a feasibility study are described, in which the scanning electron microscopy/electron dispersive x-ray was used to examine the MLI layers to differentiate MM and OD impacts. Finally, the extension of HST MLI outcomes and analysis methodology as it applies to future returned MLI samples is discussed.

Melissa A Murray↗

On-Orbit Quantitative Real-Time Gene Expression Analysis Using the Wetlab-2 System

NASA Ames Research Center's WetLab-2 Project enables on-orbit quantitative Reverse Transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis without the need for sample return. The WetLab-2 system is capable of processing sample types ranging from microbial cultures to animal tissues dissected on-orbit. The project developed a RNA preparation module that can lyse cells and extract RNA of sufficient quality and quantity for use as templates in qRT-PCR reactions. Our protocol has the advantage of using non-toxic chemicals and does not require alcohols or other organics. The resulting RNA is dispensed into reaction tubes that contain all lyophilized reagents needed to perform qRT-PCR reactions. System operations require simple and limited crew actions including syringe pushes, valve turns and pipette dispenses. The project selected the Cepheid SmartCycler (TradeMark), a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) qRT-PCR unit, because of its advantages including rugged modular design, low power consumption, rapid thermal ramp times and four-color multiplex detection. Single tube multiplex assays can be used to normalize for RNA concentration and integrity, and to study multiple genes of interest in each module. The WetLab-2 system can downlink data from the ISS to the ground after a completed run and uplink new thermal cycling programs. The ability to conduct qRT-PCR and generate results on-orbit is an important step towards utilizing the ISS as a National Laboratory facility. Specifically, the ability to get on-orbit data will provide investigators with the opportunity to adjust experimental parameters in real time without the need for sample return and re-flight. On orbit gene expression analysis can also eliminate the confounding effects on gene expression of reentry stresses and shock acting on live cells and organisms or the concern of RNA degradation of fixed samples and provide on-orbit gene expression benchmarking prior to sample return. Finally, the system can also be used for analysis of air, surface, water, and clinical samples to monitor environmental pathogens and crew health. The validation flight of the WetLab-2 system using E. coli bacteria and mouse liver launched on SpaceX-7 in June 2015 and will remain on the ISS National Laboratory.

ISS tools↗

A High-Throughput Method to Define Additive Manufacturing Process Parameters: Application to Haynes 282

This paper demonstrates how an analytical and experimental method can be used to rapidly define the 45 additive manufacturing settings for a new alloy where the process parameters were previously unknown. A nickel-based superalloy, Haynes 282, was chosen for the analysis. An experimental matrix of focused processing parameters was predicted with a dimensionless number and 100 samples were printed using the Selective Laser Melting technique. High-throughput measurements validated the predicted process conditions needed to achieve desired density and hardness. The whole process was completed in 16 hours. The new technique was confirmed with analytical processing maps adopted by the metal additive manufacturing community. With the predicted set of process parameters, microstructural characterizations and tensile testing were used to confirm the predictions. The resultant as-fabricated microstructures have refined length scales of both microsegregation and secondary phase distributions. As a result, the mechanical properties were comparable within the predicted processing window and exhibited high strength and high ductility.

Laser Material Processing↗

Kullback-Leibler information function and the sequential selection of experiments to discriminate among several linear models

The error variance of the process prior multivariate normal distributions of the parameters of the models are assumed to be specified, prior probabilities of the models being correct. A rule for termination of sampling is proposed. Upon termination, the model with the largest posterior probability is chosen as correct. If sampling is not terminated, posterior probabilities of the models and posterior distributions of the parameters are computed. An experiment was chosen to maximize the expected Kullback-Leibler information function. Monte Carlo simulation experiments were performed to investigate large and small sample behavior of the sequential adaptive procedure.

Sidik, S. M.↗

CCCP and MENeaCS: (updated) weak-lensing masses for 100 galaxy clusters

ABSTRACT Large area surveys continue to increase the samples of galaxy clusters that can be used to constrain cosmological parameters, provided that the masses of the clusters are measured robustly. To improve the calibration of cluster masses using weak gravitational lensing we present new results for 48 clusters at 0.05 < z < 0.15, observed as part of the Multi Epoch Nearby Cluster Survey, and re-evaluate the mass estimates for 52 clusters from the Canadian Cluster Comparison Project. Updated high-fidelity photometric redshift catalogues of reference deep fields are used in combination with advances in shape measurements and state-of-the-art cluster simulations, yielding an average systematic uncertainty in the lensing signal below 5 per cent, similar to the statistical uncertainty for our cluster sample. We derive a scaling relation with Planck measurements for the full sample and find a bias in the Planck masses of 1 − b = 0.84 ± 0.04 (stat) ±0.05 (syst). We find no statistically significant trend of the mass bias with redshift or cluster mass, but find that different selections could change the bias by up to 0.07. We find a gas fraction of 0.139 ± 0.014 (stat) for eight relaxed clusters in our sample, which can also be used to infer cosmological parameters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Development of an infrared analyzer following the

A radar calibration subsystem for measuring the radar backscattering characteristics of an imaged terrain is described. To achieve the required accuracy for the backscattering coefficient measurement (about 2 dB with 80 percent confidence), the space hardware design includes a means of monitoring the state parameters of the radar. For example, the transmitter output power is sampled and a replica of its output waveform is circulated through the receiver. These are recorded digitally and are used on the ground to determine such radar parameters as the transmitter power and the receiver gain. This part of the data is needed by the ground processor to measure the terrain backscattering characteristics.

Advanced Projects Lab↗

Geometric Sensitivity of Residual Fields in Metal Additive Manufacturing

The sensitivity of geometrical parameters on the residual stress and distortion as computed by a metal additive manufacturing simulation is presented. A nozzle-like geometry was chosen with its length, wall thickness, and outer radius varied. A Latin hypercube sampling of 300 specimens produced the combinations of the geometrical parameters. Full thermomechanical simulations predicted the residual fields. Statistical analysis including regression curves shows that there is a strong correlation between these residual fields and the geometry, hinting that it may be possible to predictably influence the residual displacements and residual stresses by varying the overall geometry.

Multiscale Modeling↗

A dual dynamic shutter system for accelerating ion irradiation sample throughput via lateral gas implantation gradients

Ion irradiation for material performance testing is limited due to its serial nature, which allows for only one value of the implantation (appm) versus dose (dpa) parameter space to be explored for each ion and experiment at a time. While ion irradiation can accelerate the process by up to three orders of magnitude compared to neutron irradiation experiments, the sample throughput for ion irradiation remains relatively low. To address these limitations, a novel capability has been developed at the Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory (MIBL), enabling for the creation of single- and two-dimensional lateral ion implantation gradients using recently installed motorized-controlled ion-beam shutters. This advancement can generate a wide scope of the two-dimensional (H+, He2+) implantation parameter space within a single sample. Integration of this new capability now allows for dual- and triple-ion beam experiments to be performed with full user control over not only the ion implantation depth, but also laterally across the sample by imposing ion implantation concentration gradients, thus providing researchers with a high-throughput means for material testing under various irradiation conditions. Furthermore, recent improvements in MIBL's microbeam ion-beam analysis (IBA) target station now allow for probing these concentration gradients in irradiated alloys with exceptional spatial resolution, down to 10 µm. These two approaches promise to significantly improve ion irradiation capabilities and increase the sample throughput by several orders of magnitude. The application of the shutter technique plus the subsequent microbeam characterization of the imposed implantation gradients are showcased by two proof-of-principle ion-irradiated experiments, one performed on single-crystal Si and the other on the fusion-candidate alloy F82H-IEA. These advancements mark a substantial leap in ion-beam technology, offering researchers a robust, high-throughput method to efficiently investigate candidate alloys with high technological readiness for both advanced fission and fusion reactor applications, in a time- and cost-effective manner.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Chitosan Coating Functionalized with Flaxseed Oil and Green Tea Extract as a Bio-Based Solution for Beef Preservation

Ecological and safe packaging solutions arise as pivotal points in the development of an integrated system for sustainable meat production. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a combined chitosan (Ch) + green tea extract (GTE) + essential oil (thyme oil, TO; flaxseed oil, FO; or oregano oil, OO) coating on the safety and quality of vacuum-packaged beef during storage at 4 °C. An optimized bio-based coating formulation was selected (2% Ch + 2% GTE + 0.1% FO) to be applied to three fresh beef cuts (shoulder, Sh; knuckle, Kn; Striploin, St) based on its pH (5.8 ± 0.1), contact angle (22.3 ± 0.4°) and rheological parameters (viscosity = 0.05 Pa.s at shear rate > 20 s−1). Shelf-life analysis showed that the Ch–GTE–FO coating delayed lipid oxidation and reduced total viable counts (TVC) and Enterobacteriaceae growth compared with uncoated beef samples over five days. In addition, Ch–GTE–FO coating decreased total color changes of beef samples (e.g., ∆E* = 9.84 and 3.94, for non-coated and coated Kn samples, respectively) for up to five days. The original textural parameters (hardness, adhesiveness and springiness) of beef cuts were maintained during storage when Ch–GTE–FO coating was applied. Based on the physicochemical and microbial characterization results, the combination of the Ch–GTE–FO coating developed was effective in preserving the quality of fresh beef cuts during refrigerated storage along with vacuum packaging.

Mendes, Cíntia G.↗

Small Body GN and C Research Report: G-SAMPLE - An In-Flight Dynamical Method for Identifying Sample Mass [External Release Version]

G-SAMPLE is an in-flight dynamical method for use by sample collection missions to identify the presence and quantity of collected sample material. The G-SAMPLE method implements a maximum-likelihood estimator to identify the collected sample mass, based on onboard force sensor measurements, thruster firings, and a dynamics model of the spacecraft. With G-SAMPLE, sample mass identification becomes a computation rather than an extra hardware requirement; the added cost of cameras or other sensors for sample mass detection is avoided. Realistic simulation examples are provided for a spacecraft configuration with a sample collection device mounted on the end of an extended boom. In one representative example, a 1000 gram sample mass is estimated to within 110 grams (95% confidence) under realistic assumptions of thruster profile error, spacecraft parameter uncertainty, and sensor noise. For convenience to future mission design, an overall sample-mass estimation error budget is developed to approximate the effect of model uncertainty, sensor noise, data rate, and thrust profile error on the expected estimate of collected sample mass.

in-flight sample-mass identification↗

Lattice parameter variations during aging in nickel-base superalloys

The importance of the state of coherency on measurements of gamma/gamma-prime lattice mismatch has been experimentally demonstrated during aging at 1000 C of specimens of an alloy with composition Ni-(8.6)Cr-(5.3)Al-(10.1)Co-(11.7)W-(1.2)Ti-(0.7)Mo (wt pct). Lattice parameter measurements are given as a function of aging time, and the corresponding sample microstructures are presented. The results show that changes of the two phases during aging did not influence the lattice parameter measurements, indicating that aging specimens to produce a semicoherent gamma/gamma-prime structure provides a good approximation of the true, unconstrained lattice mismatch.

Nathal, M. V.↗

Do quasar X-ray and UV flux measurements provide a useful test of cosmological models?

ABSTRACT The recent compilation of quasar (QSO) X-ray and ultraviolet (UV) flux measurements include QSOs that appear to not be standardizable via the X-ray luminosity and UV luminosity (LX–LUV) relation and so should not be used to constrain cosmological model parameters. Here, we show that the largest of seven sub-samples in this compilation, the SDSS-4XMM QSOs that contribute about 2/3 of the total QSOs, have LX–LUV relations that depend on the cosmological model assumed and also on redshift, and is the main cause of the similar problem discovered earlier for the full QSO compilation. The second and third biggest sub-samples, the SDSS-Chandra and XXL QSOs that together contribute about 30 per cent of the total QSOs, appear standardizable, but provide only weak constraints on cosmological parameters that are not inconsistent with the standard spatially flat ΛCDM model or with constraints from better-established cosmological probes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Spatial Clustering of ROSAT All-Sky Survey Active Galactic Nuclei. V. The Evolution of Broad-line AGN Clustering Properties in the Last 6 Gyr

This is the fifth paper in a series of investigations of the clustering properties of luminous, broad-emission-line active galactic nuclei (AGNs) identified in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In this work we measure the cross-correlation function (CCF) between RASS/SDSS Data Release 14 AGNs with the SDSS CMASS galaxy sample at 0.44 < z < 0.64. We apply halo occupation distribution (HOD) modeling to the CCF along with the autocorrelation function of the CMASS galaxies. We find that X-ray-selected and optically selected AGNs at 0.44 < z < 0.64 reside in statistically identical halos with a typical dark matter halo (DMH) mass of $M$$^{typ,AGN}_{DMH}$ ~ 10 12.7 h –1 M ⊙ . The acceptable HOD parameter space for these two broad-line AGN samples have only statistically marginal differences caused by small deviations of the CCFs in the one-halo-dominated regime on small scales. In contrast to optically selected AGNs, the X-ray AGN sample may contain a larger population of satellites at MDMH ~ 1013h–1M⊙. We compare our measurements in this work with our earlier studies at lower independent redshift ranges, spanning a lookback time of 6 Gyr. The comparison over this wider redshift range of 0.07 < z < 0.64 reveals (i) no significant difference between the typical DMH masses of X-ray-selected and optically selected AGNs, (ii) weak positive clustering dependencies of $M$$^{typ,AGN}_{DMH}$ with L X and M BH , (iii) no significant dependence of $M$$^{typ,AGN}_{DMH}$ on Eddington ratio, and (iv) the same DMH masses host more-massive accreting black holes at high redshift than at low redshifts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Moisture diffusion parameter characteristics for epoxy composites and neat resins

The moisture absorption characteristics of two graphite/epoxy composites and their corresponding cured neat resins were studied in high humidity and water immersion environments at elevated temperatures. Moisture absorption parameters, such as equilibrium moisture content and diffusion coefficient derived from data taken on samples exposed to high humidity and water soak environments, were compared. Composite swelling in a water immersion environment was measured. Tensile strengths of cured neat resin were measured as a function of their equilibrium moisture content after exposure to different moisture environments. The effects of intermittent moderate tensile loads on the moisture absorption parameters of composite and cured neat resin samples were determined.

Long, E. R., Jr.↗

Deep Learning for Simultaneous Inference of Hydraulic and Transport Properties

Abstract Identification of a heterogeneous conductivity field and reconstruction of a contaminant release history are key aspects of subsurface remediation. These two goals are achieved by combining model predictions with sparse and noisy hydraulic head and concentration measurements. Solution of this inverse problem is notoriously difficult due to, in part, high dimensionality of the parameter space and high computational cost of repeated forward solves. We use a convolutional adversarial autoencoder (CAAE) to parameterize a heterogeneous non‐Gaussian conductivity field via a low‐dimensional latent representation. A three‐dimensional dense convolutional encoder‐decoder (DenseED) network serves as a forward surrogate of the flow and transport model. The CAAE‐DenseED surrogate is fed into the ensemble smoother with multiple data assimilation (ESMDA) algorithm to sample from the Bayesian posterior distribution of the unknown parameters, forming a CAAE‐DenseED‐ESMDA inversion framework. The resulting CAAE‐DenseED‐ESMDA inversion strategy is used to identify a three‐dimensional contaminant source and conductivity field. A comparison of the inversion results from CAAE‐ESMDA with physical flow and transport simulator and from CAAE‐DenseED‐ESMDA shows that the latter yields accurate reconstruction results at the fraction of the computational cost of the former.

Zhou, Zitong↗

BEYONDPLANCK XI. Bayesian CMB analysis with sample-based end-to-end error propagation

We present posterior sample-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) constraints from Planck LFI and WMAP observations as derived through global end-to-end Bayesian processing within the BeyondPlanck framework. We first use these samples to study correlations between CMB, foreground, and instrumental parameters, and we identify a particularly strong degeneracy between CMB temperature fluctuations and free-free emission on intermediate angular scales (400 ≲ ℓ ≲ 600), which is mitigated through model reduction, masking, and resampling. We compare our posterior-based CMB results with previous Planck products, and find generally good agreement, although with notably higher noise due to our exclusion of HFI data. We find a best-fit CMB dipole amplitude of 3362.7 ± 1.4 µK, in excellent agreement with previous Planck results. The quoted dipole uncertainty is derived directly from the sampled posterior distribution, and does not involve any ad hoc contributions for Planck instrumental systematic effects. Similarly, we find a temperature quadrupole amplitude of ${σ}_{2}^{TT}$ = 229 ± 97 µK 2 , which is in good agreement with previous results in terms of the amplitude, but the uncertainty is an order of magnitude larger than the naive diagonal Fisher uncertainty. Relatedly, we find lower evidence for a possible alignment between the quadrupole and octopole than previously reported due to a much larger scatter in the individual quadrupole coefficients, caused both by marginalizing over a more complete set of systematic effects, but also by our more conservative analysis mask required to mitigate the free-free degeneracy. For higher multipoles, we find that the angular temperature power spectrum is generally in good agreement with both Planck and WMAP. At the same time, we note that this is the first time the sample-based asymptotically exact Blackwell-Rao estimator has been successfully established for multipoles up to ℓ ≤ 600, and it now accounts for the majority of the cosmologically important information. Overall, this analysis demonstrates the unique capabilities of the Bayesian approach with respect to end-to-end systematic uncertainty propagation, and we believe it can and should play an important role in the analysis of future CMB experiments. Cosmological parameter constraints are presented in a companion paper.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Subjective assessment of simulated helicopter blade-slap noise

The effects of several characteristics of helicopter blade slap upon human annoyance are examined. Blade slap noise was simulated by using continuous and impulsive noises characterized by five parameters: The number of sine waves in a single impulse; the frequency of the sine waves; the impulse repetition frequency; the sound pressure level (SPL) of the continuous noise; and the idealized crest factor of the impulses. Ten second samples of noise were synthesized with each of the five parameters at representative levels. The annoyance of each noise was judged by 40 human subjects. Analysis of the subjective data indicated that each of the five parameters had a statistically significant effect upon the annoyance judgments. The impulse crest factor and SPL of the continuous noise had very strong positive relationships with annoyance. The other parameters had smaller, but still significant, effects upon the annoyance judgments.

Lawton, B. W.↗

Generating mock galaxy catalogues for flux-limited samples like the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey

ABSTRACT Accurate mock galaxy catalogues are crucial to validate analysis pipelines used to constrain dark energy models. We present a fast HOD-fitting method which we apply to the AbacusSummit simulations to create a set of mock catalogues for the DESI Bright Galaxy Survey, which contain r-band magnitudes and $(g-r)$ colours. The halo tabulation method fits HODs for different absolute magnitude threshold samples simultaneously, preventing unphysical HOD crossing between samples. We validate the HOD fitting procedure by fitting to real-space clustering measurements and galaxy number densities from the MXXL BGS mock, which was tuned to the SDSS and GAMA surveys. The best-fitting clustering measurements and number densities are mostly within the assumed errors, but the clustering for the faint samples is low on large scales. The best-fitting HOD parameters are robust when fitting to simulations with different realizations of the initial conditions. When varying the cosmology, trends are seen as a function of each cosmological parameter. We use the best-fitting HOD parameters to create cubic box and cut sky mocks from the AbacusSummit simulations, in a range of cosmologies. As an illustration, we compare the ${}^{0.1}M_r\lt -20$ sample of galaxies in the mock with BGS measurements from the DESI one-percent survey. We find good agreement in the number densities, and the projected correlation function is reasonable, with differences that can be improved in the future by fitting directly to BGS clustering measurements. The cubic box and cut-sky mocks in different cosmologies are made publicly available.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗