Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “heavy elements”

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 919 records · Page 51
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

The nakhlite meteorites: Augite-rich igneous rocks from Mars

The seven nakhlite meteorites are augite-rich igneous rocks that formed in flows or shallow intrusions of basaltic magma on Mars. They consist of euhedral to subhedral crystals of augite and olivine (to 1 cm long) in fine-grained mesostases. The augite crystals have homogeneous cores of Mg' = 63% and rims that are normally zoned to iron enrichment. The core-rim zoning is cut by iron-enriched zones along fractures and is replaced locally by ferroan low-Ca pyroxene. The core compositions of the olivines vary inversely with the steepness of their rim zoning - sharp rim zoning goes with the most magnesian cores (Mg' = 42%), homogeneous olivines are the most ferroan. The olivine and augite crystals contain multiphase inclusions representing trapped magma. Among the olivine and augite crystals is mesostasis, composed principally of plagioclase and/or glass, with euhedra of titanomagnetite and many minor minerals. Olivine and mesostasis glass are partially replaced by veinlets and patches of iddingsite, a mixture of smectite clays, iron oxy-hydroxides and carbonate minerals. In the mesostasis are rare patches of a salt alteration assemblage: halite, siderite, and anhydrite/ gypsum. The nakhlites are little shocked, but have been affected chemically and biologically by their residence on Earth. Differences among the chemical compositions of the nakhlites can be ascribed mostly to different proportions of augite, olivine, and mesostasis. Compared to common basalts, they are rich in Ca, strongly depleted in Al, and enriched in magmaphile (incompatible) elements, including the LREE. Nakhlites contain little pre-terrestrial organic matter. Oxygen isotope ratios are not terrestrial, and are different in anhydrous silicates and in iddingsite. The alteration assemblages all have heavy oxygen and heavy carbon, while D/H values are extreme and scattered. Igneous sulfur had a solar-system isotopic ratio, but in most minerals was altered to higher and lower values. High precision analyses show mass-independent fractionations of S isotopes. Nitrogen and noble gases are complex and represent three components: two mantle sources (Chas-E and Chas-S), and fractionated Martian atmosphere. The nakhlites are igneous cumulate rocks, formed from basaltic magma at approx.1.3 Ga, containing excess crystals over what would form from pure magma. After accumulation of their augite and olivine crystals, they were affected (to various degrees) by crystallization of the magma, element diffusion among minerals and magma, chemical reactions among minerals and magma, magma movement among the crystals, and post-igneous chemical equilibration. The extent of these modifications varies, from least to greatest, in the order: MIL03346, NWA817, Y000593, Nakhla = Governador Valadares, Lafayette, and NWA998. Chemical, isotopic, and chronologic data confirm that the nakhlites formed on Mars, most likely in thick lava flows or shallow intrusions. Their crystallization ages, referenced to crater count chronologies for Mars, suggest that the nakhlites formed on the large volcanic constructs of Tharsis, Elysium, or Syrtis Major. The nakhlites were suffused with liquid water, probably at approx.620 ma. This water dissolved olivine and mesostasis glass, and deposited iddingsite and salt minerals in their places. The nakhlites were ejected from Mars at approx.10.75Ma by an asteroid impact and fell to Earth within the last 10,000 years. Although the nakhlites are enriched in incompatible elements, their source mantle was strongly depleted. This depletion event was ancient, as the nakhlites source mantle was fractionated while short-lived radionuclides (e.g., t(sub 1/2 = 9 my) were still active. This differentiation event may have been core formation coupled with a magma ocean, as is inferred for the moon.

Treiman, Allan H.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Galactic heavy cosmic rays with 5 less than E less than 130 MeV/nucleon

With stacks of Lexan and cellulose triacetate exposed outside the lunar modules on Apollo 16 and 17, a study was made of the spectra and composition of low-energy particles in interplanetary space. For the period from Apr. 16 to 23, 1972 (Apollo 16), measurements were made of the spectra of the elements 6 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 28 at energies 40 less than or equal to E less than or equal to 150 MeV/nucleon. For the period from Dec. 11 to 13, 1972 (Apollo 17), a study was made of CNO, NeMgSi, and elements with Z greater than 16 at energies 5 less than or equal to E less than or equal to 40 MeV/nucleon. Using the abundance of charges 17 less than or equal to Z less than or equal to 25 relative to iron as a tracer, it is found that the bulk of the heavy particles in interplanetary space at E greater than 10 MeV/nucleon are of galactic rather than solar origin. The relative abundances of the various charge groups are independent of energy from about 2 GeV/nucleon down to about 30 MeV/nucleon.

Price, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Scuffing Characteristics of High-Load Rolling/Sliding Contacts Operating in Liquid Oxygen: Effects of Materials and Surface Roughness

This research reports on an experimental study of the effects of materials and surface roughness on the scuffing characteristics of rolling/sliding contacts cooled and lubricated with liquid oxygen. Experiments were carried out under heavy loading with a Hertzian pressure in the range of 2.0 GPa to 3.0 GPa and with a high rolling velocity of up to 48 m/s. For contacts between AISI 440 C stainless-steel elements, the results showed that the scuffing behavior of the system was fairly consistent under a wide range of rolling velocity. Scuffing commenced at a small slide-to-roll ratio of around 0.02, and the scuffing behavior of the contact was not sensitive to surface roughness for the test-sample RMS roughness ranging from 0.02 microns to 0.10 microns. For contacts between 440 C and Si3N4 elements, on the other hand, the scuffing behavior of the system was not very consistent and somewhat unpredictable. The results were sensitive to surface roughness particularly that of the Si3N4 test sample. With well polished test samples, consistent results were obtained; the level of traction was lower than that with a 440 C toroid and scuffing did not take place up to a slide-to-roll ratio of near 0.03. The results strongly suggest that significant hydrodynamic effect can be generated by liquid oxygen under heavy loading and high velocity conditions. The results also suggest that the hydrodynamic action is likely generated by the conventional viscous mechanism as it can be largely destroyed by a narrow circumferential surface scratch running through the central region of the contact.

Chang, L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Progress report on the Heavy Ions in Space (HIIS) experiment

One of the objectives of the Heavy Ions In Space (HIIS) experiment is to investigate heavy ions which appear at Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) below the geomagnetic cutoff for fully-ionized galactic cosmic rays. Possible sources of such 'below-cutoff' particles are partially-ionized solar energetic particles, the anomalous component of cosmic rays, and magnetospherically-trapped particles. In recent years, there have also been reports of below-cutoff ions which do not appear to be from any known source. Although most of these observations are based on only a handful of ions, they have led to speculation about 'partially-ionized galactic cosmic rays' and 'near-by cosmic ray sources'. The collecting power of HIIS is order of magnitude larger than that of the instruments which reported these results, so HIIS should be able to confirm these observations and perhaps discover the source of these particles. Preliminary results on below-cutoff heavy-ions are reported. Observations to possible known sources of such ions are compared. A second objective of the HIIS experiment is to measure the elemental composition of ultraheavy galactic cosmic rays, beginning in the tin-barium region of the periodic table. A report on the status of this analysis is presented.

Adams, James H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2010

A Comparison Between Orion Automated and Space Shuttle Rendezvous Techniques

The Orion spacecraft will replace the space shuttle and will be the first human spacecraft since the Apollo program to leave low earth orbit. This vehicle will serve as the cornerstone of a complete space transportation system with a myriad of mission requirements necessitating rendezvous to multiple vehicles in earth orbit, around the moon and eventually beyond . These goals will require a complex and robust vehicle that is, significantly different from both the space shuttle and the command module of the Apollo program. Historically, orbit operations have been accomplished with heavy reliance on ground support and manual crew reconfiguration and monitoring. One major difference with Orion is that automation will be incorporated as a key element of the man-vehicle system. The automated system will consist of software devoted to transitioning between events based on a master timeline. This effectively adds a layer of high level sequencing that moves control of the vehicle from one phase to the next. This type of automated control is not entirely new to spacecraft since the shuttle uses a version of this during ascent and entry operations. During shuttle orbit operations however many of the software modes and hardware switches must be manually configured through the use of printed procedures and instructions voiced from the ground. The goal of the automation scheme on Orion is to extend high level automation to all flight phases. The move towards automation represents a large shift from current space shuttle operations, and so these new systems will be adopted gradually via various safeguards. These include features such as authority-to-proceed, manual down modes, and functional inhibits. This paper describes the contrast between the manual and ground approach of the space shuttle and the proposed automation of the Orion vehicle. I will introduce typical orbit operations that are common to all rendezvous missions and go on to describe the current Orion automation architecture and contrast it with shuttle rendezvous techniques and circumstances. The shuttle rendezvous profile is timed to take approximately 3 days from orbit insertion to docking at the International Space Station (ISS). This process can be divided into 3 phases: far-field, mid-field and proximity operations. The far-field stage is characterized as the most quiescent phase. The spacecraft is usually too far to navigate using relative sensors and uses the Inertial Measurement Units (IMU s) to numerically solve for its position. The maneuvers are infrequent, roughly twice per day, and are larger than other burns in the profile. The shuttle uses this opportunity to take extensive ground based radar updates and keep high fidelity orbit states on the ground. This state is then periodically uplinked to the shuttle computers. The targeting solutions for burn maneuvers are also computed on the ground and uplinked. During the burn the crew is responsible for setting the shuttle attitude and configuring the propulsion system for ignition. Again this entire process is manually driven by both crew and ground activity. The only automatic processes that occur are associated with the real-time execution of the burn. The Orion automated functionality will seek to relieve the workload of both the crew and ground during this phase

Ruiz, Jose O,↗
NASA NTRS2009

Heavy Ion Testing at the Galactic Cosmic Ray Energy Peak

A 1 GeV/u Fe-56 Ion beam allows for true 90 deg. tilt irradiations of various microelectronic components and reveals relevant upset trends for an abundant element at the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux-energy peak.

Pellish, Jonathan A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Resilient and Corrosion-Proof Rolling Element Bearings Made from Superelastic Ni-Ti Alloys for Aerospace Mechanism Applications

Mechanical components (bearings, gears, mechanisms) typically utilize hard materials to minimize wear and attain long life. In such components, heavily loaded contact points (e.g., meshing gear teeth, bearing ball-raceway contacts) experience high contact stresses. The combination of high hardness, heavy loads and high elastic modulus often leads to damaging contact stress. In addition, mechanical component materials, such as tool steel or silicon nitride exhibit limited recoverable strain (typically less than 1 percent). These material attributes can lead to Brinell damage (e.g., denting) particularly during transient overload events such as shock impacts that occur during the launching of space vehicles or the landing of aircraft. In this paper, a superelastic alloy, 60NiTi, is considered for rolling element bearing applications. A series of Rockwell and Brinell hardness, compressive strength, fatigue and tribology tests are conducted and reported. The combination of high hardness, moderate elastic modulus, large recoverable strain, low density, and intrinsic corrosion immunity provide a path to bearings largely impervious to shock load damage. It is anticipated that bearings and components made from alloys with such attributes can alleviate many problems encountered in advanced aerospace applications.

DellaCorte, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2009

The Energetic Trans-Iron Cosmic-ray Experiment (ENTICE)

The ENTICE experiment is one of two instruments that comprise the "Orbiting Astrophysical Spectrometer in Space (OASIS)", which is presently undergoing a NASA "Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Study". ENTICE is designed to make high precision measurements of the abundances of individual elements from neon through the actinides and, in addition, will search for possible superheavy nuclei in the galactic cosmic rays. The ENTICE instrument utilizes silicon detectors, aerogel and acrylic Cherenkov counters, and a scintillating optical fiber hodoscope to measure the charge and energy of these ultra-heavy nuclei for energies greater than 0.5 GeV/nucleon. It is a large instrument consisting of four modules with a total effective geometrical factor of approx.20 sq m sr. Measurements made in space for a period of three years with ENTICE will enable us to determine if cosmic rays include a component of recently synthesized transuranic elements (Pu-94 and Cm-96), to measure the age of that component, and to test the model of the OB association origin of galactic cosmic rays. Additionally, these observations will enable us to study how diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic rays operates differently on interstellar grains and gas. Keywords: cosmic rays Galaxy:abundances

Binns, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Interactions of 200 GeV gold nuclei in light elements

Total charge-changing cross sections and partial cross-sections for interactions of 200 GeV Au-197 nuclei incident on carbon and polyethylene (CH2) targets have been measured during a calibration of the HEAO-3 Heavy Nuclei Experiment. From these, the total and partial cross-sections for Au-197 incident on hydrogen are inferred. The effects of using these cross-sections in one model of cosmic ray propagation are illustrated. Comparisons to predictions using semi-empirical formulas are shown.

Brewster, N. R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Engineering collinear magnetization in hexagonal LuFeO 3 and magnetoelectric control of skyrmions in hexagonal 2D epilayers

Cubic, perovskite-structure ABO 3- and A 1–x A’ x BO 3 -type oxides have been investigated extensively while their hexagonal structure versions have not, even though they are multiferroic and can form heterostructures with hexagonal 2D materials. In particular, multiferroic 2D epilayers may lead to strong magnetoelectric coupling. Hexagonal RFeO 3 ferrites, where R is a rare-earth element (Lu, Yb, etc.), are excellent candidates, but their ferromagnetism isweak. In this paper, we employ density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations and first show that heavy electron doping of hexagonal LuFeO 3 (h-LFO), namely Lu 1–x Hf x FeO 3 (h-LHFO), leads to spin-disproportionation of the Fe sublattices and, especially for x = 1/2 and 2/3, to robust, room-temperature, out-of-plane, collinear ferrimagnetism that is stabilized by a Jahn-Teller metal-to-insulator transition. We then show that h-LHFO/h-2D heterostructures, where h-2D is the FE/ FM monolayer MnSTe, stabilize skyrmions without an external magnetic field and control their chirality by an external electric field through the h-LHFO polarization, opening up a new realm for magnetoelectric applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Di-nucleons do not form bound states at heavy pion mass

We perform a high-statistics lattice QCD calculation of the low-energy two-nucleon scattering amplitudes. To address discrepancies in the literature, the calculation is performed at a heavy pion mass in the limit that the light quark masses are equal to the physical strange quark mass, 𝑚 𝜋 = 𝑚 𝐾 ≃ 714 MeV. Using a state-of-the-art momentum space method, we rule out the presence of a bound di-nucleon in both the isospin 0 (deuteron) and 1 (di-neutron) channels, in contrast with many previous results that made use of compact hexaquark creation operators. To diagnose the discrepancy, we add such hexaquark interpolating operators to our basis and find that they do not affect the determination of the two-nucleon finite-volume spectrum, and thus they do not couple to deeply bound di-nucleons that are missed by the momentum-space operators. Furthermore, we perform a high-statistics calculation of the HAL QCD potential on the same gauge ensembles and find qualitative agreement with our main results. We conclude that di-nucleons do not form bound states at heavy pion masses and that previous identification of deeply bound di-nucleons must have arisen from a misidentification of the spectrum from off-diagonal elements of a correlation function.

Physics - Physics of elementary particles and fiel↗
DOE OSTI2025

Di-nucleons do not form bound states at heavy pion mass

We perform a high-statistics lattice QCD calculation of the low-energy two-nucleon scattering amplitudes. In order to address discrepancies in the literature, the calculation is performed at a heavy pion mass in the limit that the light quark masses are equal to the physical strange quark mass, $m_π= m_K \simeq 714 $ MeV. Using a state-of-the-art momentum space method, we rule out the presence of a bound di-nucleon in both the isospin 0 (deuteron) and 1 (di-neutron) channels, in contrast with many previous results that made use of compact hexaquark creation operators. In order to diagnose the discrepancy, we add such hexaquark interpolating operators to our basis and find that they do not affect the determination of the two-nucleon finite volume spectrum, and thus they do not couple to deeply bound di-nucleons that are missed by the momentum-space operators. Further, we perform a high-statistics calculation of the HAL QCD potential on the same gauge ensembles and find qualitative agreement with our main results. We conclude that two-nucleons do not form bound states at heavy pion masses and that previous identification of deeply bound di-nucleons must have arisen from a misidentification of the spectrum from off-diagonal elements of a correlation function.

FOS: Physical sciences↗
DOE OSTI2023

Estimate of Gamma Dose Rates from Arrays of Fermi-1 Blanket Elements During the MEDE Process

The Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant Unit 1 (Fermi-1) was a sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor located in Monroe County, Michigan. The reactor was powered by a core of enriched uranium metal alloy driver fuel, which was enveloped by an axial and radial blanket material consisting of depleted uranium metal alloyed with 3 wt.% molybdenum. There are 406 axial and 559 radial irradiated sodium-bonded Fermi-1 blanket assemblies in storage at INL, totaling 34 metric tons of heavy metal. Disposal of the Fermi-1 blanket material directly into a geological repository is prohibited due to the reactive characteristic of its bond sodium. A melt drain evaporate (MEDE) process can effectively remove bond sodium from Fermi-1 blanket material. Consequently, planning is underway to apply a MEDE process to treat the 34 metric tons of heavy metal of irradiated Fermi-1 blanket material. Given the irradiated Fermi-1 blanket material’s relatively low power history and 50+ years of decay, it can be treated in a shielded glovebox. To assess the requisite shielding, the dose rates of the Fermi-1 blanket elements in various process configurations are needed. The method to perform the dose rate calculations is to first generate an average source term and associated photon source spectra for the Fermi-1 blanket material in SCALE and then use the associated photon spectra to calculate dose rates using MCNP6.2 in seven representative geometries. Dose rates in rem/h were calculated on contact (1 cm from outer geometry surface), 30 cm away from outer geometry surface, and 1 m from outer geometry surface at axial heights spanning the length of the blanket material within the geometry. The maximum average dose rate for the single Fermi-1 radial blanket element is ~0.60 rem/h, for the Fermi-1 radial blanket assembly ~1.10 rem/h, for the single Fermi-1 axial blanket element ~0.5 rem/h, for the Fermi-1 axial blanket assembly ~1.01 rem/h, for the MEDE can ~ 0.98 rem/h, for the Fermi Storage Canister ~ 0.83 rem/h, and for the MEDE cans in the DOE Standard Canister ~0.51 rem/h. Based on these maximum average values, the bounding dose rates are assumed to be 3× the average dose rates calculated for the axial blanket material and 7.6× the average dose rates calculated for the radial blanket material, based on the distribution of Fermi-1 blanket material assembly burnup.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1975

Detection of the isotopes of heavy cosmic ray nuclei

A counter telescope designed to detect and resolve the isotopic composition of cosmic ray nuclei heavier than neon is being prepared. The telescope consists of a rather conventional charge measuring array using two scintillator elements and two solid Cerenkov radiators of differing refractive index. The mass measurement is obtained by combining the velocity information from one or both of the Cerenkov radiators operating near their threshold with residual range measured in a block of nuclear emulsion. Path length corrections and particle location in the emulsions is provided by a spark chamber fired in coincidence with potentially suitable particles. The telescope has a geometry factor of 530 sq cm sr roughly. It should be able to resolve the isotopes of iron over the energy range of 300 to 720 Mev/n and those of neon over 300 to 400 MeV/n. The expected response and characteristics of the telescope are described in detail and the sensitivity to rare isotopes discussed.

Gilman, C. M.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Weak bosons as partons below 10 TeV partonic center-of-momentum

We investigate the modeling of weak boson number densities for leptons and hadrons in practical calculations in the Standard Model. Working in the framework of the Effective $W$ Approximation (EWA) and in $R_\xi$ and axial gauges, we derive the unrenormalized, tree-level parton number density functions for weak bosons from massless leptons at next-to-leading power in the collinear expansion. Corrections exhibit a number of properties, including those conjectured but never universally derived. Parallels with heavy quark factorization are also found. We avoid pathologies through a novel set of kinematical consistency conditions. When satisfied, good agreement between the full and approximated matrix elements is achieved. Findings suggest that the EWA may be testable at the Large Hadron Collider with $450$ fb$^{-1}$ luminosity of same-sign $WW$ scattering data at $\sqrt{s}=13.6$ TeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1975

A Cerenkov-Range analysis of the isotopic composition of cosmic rays with Z from 6 to 26

High-altitude balloon data on the isotopic composition of heavy cosmic rays are reported. The experiment used a Cerenkov detector, arrays of scintillators, and a digitized wire spark chamber. Peaks assigned to the mono-isotopic elements F and Na indicate that an absolute mass scale can be derived from the data. Even-Z elements in the Z range from 12 through 16 are represented mainly by alpha-particle nuclei. Neutron-rich components dominate in the case of neon present. Mass histograms are plotted for C, O, N, Ne, Mg, and Fe.

Fisher, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Optical model analyses of heavy ion fragmentation in hydrogen targets

Quantum-mechanical optical-model methods for calculating cross sections for the fragmentation of high-energy heavy ions by hydrogen targets are presented. The cross sections are calculated with a knockout-ablation collision formalism which has no arbitrary fitting parameters. Predictions of elemental production cross sections from the fragmentation of 1.2A Ge(V(La-139) nuclei and of isotope production cross sections from the fragmentation of 400A MeV(S-32) nuclei are in good agreement with recently reported experimental measurements.

Townsend, Lawrence W.↗