Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “time measurement”

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 955 records · Page 53

Real-Time Longitudinal Profile Measurement of Operational H⁻ Beam at the SNS Linac Using a Laser Comb

We demonstrate a novel technique to measure the longitudinal profile of an operational hydrogen ion (H⁻) beam in a non intrusive, real-time fashion. The measurement is conducted based on the photo-ionization of the ion beam with a phase modulated laser comb pico-second laser pulses with controllable temporal structure. The measurement technique has been applied to a 1-GeV, 1.4-MW H⁻ beam at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) high energy beam transport (HEBT). A stroboscopic photo-graph of H⁻ beamμbunch can be obtained by using a phase modulated laser comb. The entire measurement takes only 700 us.

Liu, Yun↗

Accurate Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement for Arbitrary Time-Variant Thermal Profile

Ultrasonic thickness measurement of mechanical structures is one of the most popular and commonly used nondestructive methods for various kinds of process control and corrosion monitoring. With ultrasonic propagation speed being temperature-dependent, the thickness measurement can be performed reliably only when the thermal profile is completely known. Most conventional techniques assume the temperature of the test structure is uniform and at room temperature across its thickness. Such assumptions may lead to large errors in the thickness measurement, especially when there are significant temperature variations across the thickness. State-of-the-art techniques use external temperature measurements or implement iterative methods to compensate for the unknown thermal profiles. However, such techniques produce unsatisfactory results when the heat distribution is complex or varies rapidly with time. In this work, we propose a two-sensors technique, using both compressive and shear excitations, with a non-iterative rapid data processing method for accurate thickness measurement under arbitrary time-variant thermal profile. The independent behavior of shear and compressive waves is used to formulate a real-time thickness estimation technique. The developed technique is experimentally validated on a steel plate with fixed acoustic sensors. Test results show that the error in thickness estimation can be reduced by up to 98% compared to conventional thickness gauging methods.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Rapid measurement of RH-dependent aerosol hygroscopic growth using a humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer (HFIMS)

Abstract. The ability of aerosol particles to uptake water (hygroscopic growth) is an important determinant of aerosol optical properties and radiative effects. Aerosol hygroscopic growth is traditionally measured by humidified tandem differential mobility analyzers (HTDMA), in which size-selected dry particles are exposed to elevated relative humidity (RH), and the size distribution of humidified particles is subsequently measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer. As a scanning mobility particle sizer can measure only one particle size at a time, HTDMA measurements are time consuming, and ambient measurements are often limited to a single RH level. Pinterich et al. (2017b) showed that fast measurements of aerosol hygroscopic growth are possible using a humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer (HFIMS). In HFIMS, the size distribution of humidified particles is rapidly captured by a water-based fast integrated mobility spectrometer (WFIMS), leading to a factor of ∼10 increase in measurement time resolution. In this study we present a prototype HFIMS that extends fast hygroscopic growth measurements to a wide range of atmospherically relevant RH values, allowing for more comprehensive characterizations of aerosol hygroscopic growth. A dual-channel humidifier consisting of two humidity conditioners in parallel is employed such that aerosol RH can be quickly stepped among different RH levels by sampling from alternating conditioners. The measurement sequence is also optimized to minimize the transition time between different particle sizes. The HFIMS is capable of measuring aerosol hygroscopic growth of six particle diameters under five RH levels ranging from 20 % to 85 % (30 separate measurements) every 25 min. The performance of this HFIMS is characterized and validated using laboratory-generated ammonium sulfate aerosol standards. Measurements of ambient aerosols are shown to demonstrate the capability of HFIMS to capture the rapid evolution of aerosol hygroscopic growth and its dependence on both size and RH.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A multi-channel x-ray temporal diagnostic for measurement of time-resolved electron temperature in cryogenic deuterium–tritium implosions at OMEGA

Electron-temperature (T e ) measurements in implosions provide valuable diagnostic information, as Te is unaffected by residual flows and other non-thermal effects unlike ion temperature inferred from a fusion product spectrum. In OMEGA cryogenic implosions, measurement of T e (t) can be used to investigate effects related to time-resolved hot-spot energy balance. The proposed diagnostic utilizes five fast-rise (~15 ps) scintillator channels with distinct x-ray filtering. Furthermore, titanium and stepped aluminum filtering were chosen to maximize detector sensitivity in the 10 keV–20 keV range, as it has been shown that these x rays have similar density and temperature weighting to the emitted deuterium–tritium fusion neutrons. Initial data collected using a prototype nosecone on the existing neutron temporal diagnostic demonstrate the validity of this diagnostic technique. The proposed system will be capable of measuring spatially integrated T e (t) with 20 ps time resolution and <10% uncertainty at peak emission in cryogenic DT implosions.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Time-resolved spectroscopic measurements behind incident and reflected shock waves in air and xenon

Time-resolved spectra have been obtained behind incident and reflected shock waves in air and xenon at initial pressures of 0.1 and 1.0 torr using a rotating drum spectrograph and the OSU (The Ohio State University) arc-driven shock tube. These spectra were used to determine the qualitative nature of the flow as well as for making estimates of the available test time. The (n+1,n) and (n,n) band spectra of N2(+) (1st negative) were observed in the test gas behind incident shock waves in air at p1=1.0 torr and Us=9-10 km/sec. Behind reflected shock waves in air, the continuum of spectra appeared to cover almost the entire wavelength of 2,500-7,000 A for the shock-heated test gas. For xenon, the spectra for the incident shock wave cases for p1=0.1 torr show an interesting structure in which two intensely bright regions are witnessed in the time direction. The spectra obtained behind reflected shock waves in xenon were also dominated by continuum radiation but included strong absorption spectra due to FeI and FeII from the moment the reflected shock passed and on.

Yoshinaga, T.↗

Precise time and Time Interval (PTTI) measurements from the navigation technology satellites and the GPS NAVSTAR-4 satellite

A time domain estimate for the NAVSTAR-4 SV clock offset was obtained for each SV pass over the GPS monitor sites, using a smoothed reference ephemeris, with corrections for ionospheric delay, tropospheric delay, earth rotation and relativistic effects. Conversion from the time domain to the frequency domain was made using the two sample Allan Variance; sigma-tau plots used to identify the noise processes. Estimates of flicker and white frequency noise for the NAVSTAR-4 rubidium frequency standard were obtained. The contribution of the reference ground clocks and other error sources to the frequency stability estimates were also considered.

Buisson, J. A.↗

Obtaining Reliable Predictions of Terrestrial Energy Coupling From Real-Time Solar Wind Measurements

Measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) from the ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer), Wind, IMP-8 (Interplanetary Monitoring Platform), and Geotail spacecraft have revealed that the IMF variations are contained in phase planes that are tilted with respect to the propagation direction, resulting in continuously variable changes in propagation times between spacecraft, and therefore, to the Earth. Techniques for using 'minimum variance analysis' have been developed in order to be able to measure the phase front tilt angles, and better predict the actual propagation times from the L1 orbit to the Earth, using only the real-time IMF measurements from one spacecraft. The use of empirical models with the IMF measurements at L1 from ACE (or future satellites) for predicting 'space weather' effects has also been demonstrated.

Weimer, Daniel R.↗

Turbulent Statistics from Time-Resolved PIV Measurements of a Jet Using Empirical Mode Decomposition

Empirical mode decomposition is an adaptive signal processing method that when applied to a broadband signal, such as that generated by turbulence, acts as a set of band-pass filters. This process was applied to data from time-resolved, particle image velocimetry measurements of subsonic jets prior to computing the second-order, two-point, space-time correlations from which turbulent phase velocities and length and time scales could be determined. The application of this method to large sets of simultaneous time histories is new. In this initial study, the results are relevant to acoustic analogy source models for jet noise prediction. The high frequency portion of the results could provide the turbulent values for subgrid scale models for noise that is missed in large-eddy simulations. The results are also used to infer that the cross-correlations between different components of the decomposed signals at two points in space, neglected in this initial study, are important.

Dahl, Milo D.↗

Turbulent Statistics from Time-Resolved PIV Measurements of a Jet Using Empirical Mode Decomposition

Empirical mode decomposition is an adaptive signal processing method that when applied to a broadband signal, such as that generated by turbulence, acts as a set of band-pass filters. This process was applied to data from time-resolved, particle image velocimetry measurements of subsonic jets prior to computing the second-order, two-point, space-time correlations from which turbulent phase velocities and length and time scales could be determined. The application of this method to large sets of simultaneous time histories is new. In this initial study, the results are relevant to acoustic analogy source models for jet noise prediction. The high frequency portion of the results could provide the turbulent values for subgrid scale models for noise that is missed in large-eddy simulations. The results are also used to infer that the cross-correlations between different components of the decomposed signals at two points in space, neglected in this initial study, are important.

Dahl, Milo D.↗

Turbulent Statistics From Time-Resolved PIV Measurements of a Jet Using Empirical Mode Decomposition

Empirical mode decomposition is an adaptive signal processing method that when applied to a broadband signal, such as that generated by turbulence, acts as a set of band-pass filters. This process was applied to data from time-resolved, particle image velocimetry measurements of subsonic jets prior to computing the second-order, two-point, space-time correlations from which turbulent phase velocities and length and time scales could be determined. The application of this method to large sets of simultaneous time histories is new. In this initial study, the results are relevant to acoustic analogy source models for jet noise prediction. The high frequency portion of the results could provide the turbulent values for subgrid scale models for noise that is missed in large-eddy simulations. The results are also used to infer that the cross-correlations between different components of the decomposed signals at two points in space, neglected in this initial study, are important.

Dahl, Milo D.↗

Development of a Rayleigh Scattering Diagnostic for Time-Resolved Gas Flow Velocity, Temperature, and Density Measurements in Aerodynamic Test Facilities

A molecular Rayleigh scattering technique is developed to measure time-resolved gas velocity, temperature, and density in unseeded turbulent flows at sampling rates up to 32 kHz. A high power continuous-wave laser beam is focused at a point in an air flow field and Rayleigh scattered light is collected and fiber-optically transmitted to the spectral analysis and detection equipment. The spectrum of the light, which contains information about the temperature and velocity of the flow, is analyzed using a Fabry-Perot interferometer. Photomultiplier tubes operated in the photon counting mode allow high frequency sampling of the circular interference pattern to provide time-resolved flow property measurements. An acoustically driven nozzle flow is studied to validate velocity fluctuation measurements, and an asymmetric oscillating counterflow with unequal enthalpies is studied to validate the measurement of temperature fluctuations. Velocity fluctuations are compared with constant temperature anemometry measurements and temperature fluctuations are compared with constant current anemometry measurements at the same locations. Time-series and power spectra of the temperature and velocity measurements are presented. A numerical simulation of the light scattering and detection process was developed and compared with experimental data for future use as an experiment design tool.

Mielke, Amy F.↗

Analysis of Temperature and Wind Measurements from the TIMED Mission: Comparison with UARS Data

We report on an analysis of temperature and wind data based respectively on measurements with the SABER (Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry) and TIDI (TIMED Doppler Interferometer) instruments on the TIMED (Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Energetics and Dynamics) mission. Comparisons are made with corresponding results obtained from the HRDI (High Resolution Doppler Imager), MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) and CLAES (Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer) instruments on the UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) spacecraft. The TIMED and UARS instruments have important common and uncommon properties in their sampling of the data as a function local solar time. For comparison between the data from the two satellite missions, we present the derived diurnal tidal and zonal-mean variations of temperature and winds, obtained as functions of season, latitude, and altitude. The observations are also compared with results from the Numerical Spectral Model (NSM).

Huang, Frank↗

Time Averaged Pressure Measurement in Fundamentally Unsteady Pressure Gain Combustion Systems

Experimental results and analysis are presented on a technique for obtaining time averaged pressure in the harsh and highly unsteady environment of a pressure gain combustor. The technique utilizes a long, narrow, stand-off tube leading from the measurement point to a pressure transducer. The tube damps the fluctuations (which may result from strong shocks and/or detonations) and thermally isolates the transducer. The damping must be sufficient to ensure that net gasdynamic work exchange does not occur on the fluid in the stand-off tube, and it must be linear to insure that the time-averaged pressure at the transducer end is the same as that at the combustor end. The paper presents experimental and analytical results from two rigs which indicate that, using certain stand-off tube dimensions, these criteria are met. Physical rational for the tube dimensions (i.e., guidelines) are also presented.

detonation↗

Sensors for Using Times of Flight to Measure Flow Velocities

Thin-film sensors for measuring flow velocities in terms of times of flight are undergoing development. These sensors are very small and can be mounted flush with surfaces of airfoils, ducts, and other objects along which one might need to measure flows. Alternatively or in addition, these sensors can be mounted on small struts protruding from such surfaces for acquiring velocity measurements at various distances from the surfaces for the purpose of obtaining boundary-layer flow-velocity profiles. These sensors are related to, but not the same as, hot-wire anemometers. Each sensor includes a thin-film, electrically conductive loop, along which an electric current is made to flow to heat the loop to a temperature above that of the surrounding fluid. Instantaneous voltage fluctuations in segments of the loop are measured by means of electrical taps placed at intervals along the loop. These voltage fluctuations are caused by local fluctuations in electrical resistance that are, in turn, caused by local temperature fluctuations that are, in turn, caused by fluctuations in flow-induced cooling and, hence, in flow velocity. The differential voltage as a function of time, measured at each pair of taps, is subjected to cross-correlation processing with the corresponding quantities measured at other pairs of taps at different locations on the loop. The cross-correlations yield the times taken by elements of fluid to travel between the pairs of taps. Then the component of velocity along the line between any two pairs of taps is calculated simply as the distance between the pairs of taps divided by the travel time. Unlike in the case of hot-wire anemometers, there is no need to obtain calibration data on voltage fluctuations versus velocity fluctuations because, at least in principle, the correlation times are independent of the calibration data.

Fralick, Gutave↗