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At least 991 records · Page 55

Balance Mass Flux and Velocity Across the Equilibrium Line in Ice Drainage Systems of Greenland

Estimates of balance mass flux and the depth-averaged ice velocity through the cross-section aligned with the equilibrium line are produced for each of six drainage systems in Greenland. (The equilibrium line, which lies at approximately 1200 m elevation on the ice sheet, is the boundary between the area of net snow accumulation at higher elevations and the areas of net melting at lower elevations around the ice sheet.) Ice drainage divides and six major drainage systems are delineated using surface topography from ERS (European Remote Sensing) radar altimeter data. The net accumulation rate in the accumulation zone bounded by the equilibrium line is 399 Gt/yr and net ablation rate in the remaining area is 231 Gt/yr. (1 GigaTon of ice is 1090 kM(exp 3). The mean balance mass flux and depth-averaged ice velocity at the cross-section aligned with the modeled equilibrium line are 0.1011 Gt kM(exp -2)/yr and 0.111 km/yr, respectively, with little variation in these values from system to system. The ratio of the ice mass above the equilibrium line to the rate of mass output implies an effective exchange time of approximately 6000 years for total mass exchange. The range of exchange times, from a low of 3 ka in the SE drainage system to 14 ka in the NE, suggests a rank as to which regions of the ice sheet may respond more rapidly to climate fluctuations.

Zwally, H. Jay↗

Scale Model Icing Research Tunnel

NASA Lewis Research Center's Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) is the world's largest refrigerated wind tunnel and one of only three icing wind tunnel facilities in the United States. The IRT was constructed in the 1940's and has been operated continually since it was built. In this facility, natural icing conditions are duplicated to test the effects of inflight icing on actual aircraft components as well as on models of airplanes and helicopters. IRT tests have been used successfully to reduce flight test hours for the certification of ice-detection instrumentation and ice protection systems. To ensure that the IRT will remain the world's premier icing facility well into the next century, Lewis is making some renovations and is planning others. These improvements include modernizing the control room, replacing the fan blades with new ones to increase the test section maximum velocity to 430 mph, installing new spray bars to increase the size and uniformity of the artificial icing cloud, and replacing the facility heat exchanger. Most of the improvements will have a first-order effect on the IRT's airflow quality. To help us understand these effects and evaluate potential improvements to the flow characteristics of the IRT, we built a modular 1/10th-scale aerodynamic model of the facility. This closed-loop scale-model pilot tunnel was fabricated onsite in the various shops of Lewis' Fabrication Support Division. The tunnel's rectangular sections are composed of acrylic walls supported by an aluminum angle framework. Its turning vanes are made of tubing machined to the contour of the IRT turning vanes. The fan leg of the tunnel, which transitions from rectangular to circular and back to rectangular cross sections, is fabricated of fiberglass sections. The contraction section of the tunnel is constructed from sheet aluminum. A 12-bladed aluminum fan is coupled to a turbine powered by high-pressure air capable of driving the maximum test section velocity to 550 ft/sec (Mach 0.45). The air turbine and instrumentation are housed inside a fiberglass nacelle. Total and static pressure measurements can be taken around the loop, and velocity and flow angularity measurements can be taken with hot-wire and five-hole probes at specific locations. The Scale Model Icing Research Tunnel (SMIRT) is undergoing checkout tests to determine how its airflow characteristics compare with the IRT. Near-term uses for this scale-model tunnel include determining the aerodynamic effects of replacing the 52-yearold W-shaped heat exchanger with a flat-faced heat exchanger. SMIRT is an integral part of the improvements planned for the IRT because testing the proposed IRT improvements in a scale-model tunnel will lower costs and improve productivity.

Canacci, Victor A.↗

Small-Scale Flux Transfer Events Formed in the Reconnection Exhaust Region Between Two X Lines

We report MMS observations of the ion-scale flux transfer events (FTEs) that may involve two main X lines and tearing instability between the two X lines. The four spacecraft detected multiple isolated regions with enhanced magnetic field strength and bipolar B(sub )n signatures normal to the nominal magnetopause, indicating FTEs. The currents within the FTEs flow mostly parallel to B, and the magnetic tension force is balanced by the total pressure gradient force. During these events, the plasma bulk flow velocity was directed southward. Detailed analysis of the magnetic and electric field and plasma moments variations suggests that the FTEs were initially embedded within the exhaust region north of an X line but were later located southward/downstream of a subsequent X line. The cross sections of the individual FTEs are in the range of ~2.5-6.8 ion inertial lengths. The observations suggest the formation of multiple secondary FTEs. The presence of an X line in the exhaust region southward of a second X line results from the southward drift of an old X line and the reformation of a new X line. The current layer between the two X lines is unstable to the tearing instability, generating multiple ion-scale flux-rope-type secondary islands.

Hwang, K.-J.↗

Color Change During Thermal Degradation of Polyolefin Electric Cable Insulations

Color change of electric cable insulations used in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is a non-destructive, quick and inexpensive technique to measure degradation. Quantification of color change is facilitated by a light booth of CIE D65 illuminant, a commercial camera and open-source software ImageJ with micaToolbox plugin. Yellowness index (YI) and total color difference (?E) are calculated from calibrated photos of a white cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and a black ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) based specimens aged at 110°C, 121°C, 136°C and 150°C after 1~640 days. Using the same setup and software, pixelwise ?E profile is determined for the cross-sectional photo of a white EPR specimen, where heterogeneous aging is detected.

cable aging, color analysis↗

Deep Exclusive p 0 Electroproduction Measured in Hall A at Jefferson Lab with the Upgraded CEBAF

Our understanding of the proton's structure in terms of its fundamental degrees of freedom, quarks and gluons, is incomplete. Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) can enhance our understanding of the partonic structure of the proton as it includes the correlation between the momentum and transverse position of partons. Exclusive electroproduction of the pion (ep→e'p'π 0 ) is one of the potential channels to access the GPDs. GPDs are defined at the Bjorken limit where the total amplitude can be factorized in a hard scattering of the photon off the quark and a soft part described by the GPDs. At sufficiently high Q 2 , a factorization scheme for exclusive meson production processes exists but only for longitudinally polarized virtual photons. As long as the longitudinally polarized virtual photons dominate the cross-section, we can have factorization and extract the GPDs. But the existing data for π 0 production at low Q 2 and low x B show the dominance of transverse part of the cross-section over the longitudinal one. Some transversity GPD models have found that an effective way to factorize the contribution from transversely polarized virtual photons to explain the dominance of σ T over σ L , shown by existing data. The experiment E12-06-114 ran in experimental Hall A during 2014-2016. The primary goal of this experiment was to measure the DVCS cross-section but the experimental configuration also allows the measurement of deep exclusive π 0 production. Taking advantage of the upgraded CEBAF at Jefferson Lab, we explored the high Bjorken-x (0.60) and high Q 2 regime for the first time. The extracted cross-section terms for π 0 production helps us to test the validity of QCD factorization in our kinematic regime. Our π 0 production results can be used to test and improve the existing models of proton structure. Cross-section results will be presented at two different Q 2 values for fixed x B of 0.60.

Karki, Bishnu↗

Loss of Prostaglandin E2-induced Extra Cortical Bone After its Withdrawal in Rats

The object of this study was to determine the fate of PGE2-(Prostaglandin E2) induced new cortical bone mass after withdrawal of PGE2 administration. Seven-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were given subcutaneous injections of 1, 3 and 6 mg PGE2/kg/day for 60 days and then withdrawn for 60 and 120 days (on/off treatment). Histomorphometric analyses were performed on double-fluorescent-labeled undecalcified tibial shaft sections (proximal to the tibiofibular junction). In a previous report we showed that after 60, 120 and 180 days of daily PGE2 (on)treatment, a new steady state was achieved marked by increased total bone area (+16%, +25% and +34% with 1, 3 and 6 mg PGE2/kg/day) when compared to age-matched controls. The continuous PGE2 treatment stimulated periosteal and endocortical lamellar bone formation, activated endocortical woven trabecular bone formation and intracortical bone resorption. These responses increased cortical bone mass since the bone formation exceeded bone resorption. The current study showed that after withdrawal of PGE2 for 60 and 120 days, the extra endocortical bone, which was induced by the first 60-days treatment, was resorbed, but the new subperiosteal bone persisted resulting in a tibial shaft with larger cross sectional and marrow areas. Despite that, there was still the same amount of bone mass in these shafts as in age-related controls. A new steady state was achieved after 60 days of withdrawal, in which the bone mass and bone formation activity approximated that of age-related controls. It was concluded that maintaining the extra PGE2-induced cortical bone mass depends on continuous daily administration of PGE2.

Jee, Webster S. S.↗

Loss of Prostaglandin E2-induced Extra Cortical Bone after its Withdrawal in Rats

The object of this study was to determine the fate of PGE2-induced new cortical bone mass after withdrawal of PGE2 administration. Seven-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were given subcutaneous injections of 1, 3 and 6 mg PGE2/kg/day for 60 days and then withdrawn for 60 and 120 days (on/off treatment). Histomorphometric analyses were performed on double-fluorescent-labeled undecalcified tibial shaft sections (proximal to the tibiofibular junction). In a previous report we showed that after 60, 120 and 180 days of daily PGE2 (on)treatment, a new steady state was achieved marked by increased total bone area (+ 16%, +25% and + 34% with 1, 3 and 6 mg PGE2/kg/day) when compared to age-matched controls. The continuous PGE2 treatment stimulated periosteal and endocortical lamellar bone formation, activated endocortical woven trabecular bone formation and intracortical bone resorption. These responses increased cortical bone mass since the bone formation exceeded bone resorption. The current study showed that after withdrawal of PGE2 for 60 and 120 days, the extra endocortical bone, which was induced by the first 60-days treatment, was resorbed, but the new subperiosteal bone persisted resulting in a tibial shaft with larger cross sectional and marrow areas. Despite that, there was still the same amount of bone mass in these shafts as in age-related controls. A new steady state was achieved after 60 days of withdrawal, in which the bone mass and bone formation activity approximated that of age-related controls. It was concluded that maintaining the extra PGE2-induced cortical bone mass depends on continuous daily administration of PGE2.

Jee, Webster S. S.↗

Nonmonotonic-potential description of polarization effects, fusion, and nuclear rainbows in elastic scattering of 6 Li + 12 C at 4.5–600 MeV

The experimental differential cross-section (CS) and analyzing power (AP) data of the 6 Li + 12 C elastic scattering over a wide laboratory energy scale (4.5MeV≤𝐸 lab ≤600MeV) are analyzed within the framework of the optical model (OPM) using nonmonotonic (NM) nucleus–nucleus potentials. The real part of the NM potentials is derived from the Pauli-embodied energy density-functional (EDF) formalism with the sudden approximation. The real part of the noncentral spin-orbit and tensor terms, as well as the imaginary parts, are treated phenomenologically. The effect of the radius of sensitivity on the CS and AP data is found to be more important at lower energies. The diffractive and refractive scattering with Airy structures in the whole angular region of the elastic scattering across the studied energy range is successfully described within the OPM using the NM 6 Li + 12 C potential. The near- and far-side (N and F) decomposition of the total elastic-scattering amplitudes has also been studied using our NM potentials. The evolution of the Airy minima in the angular distributions, coupled with the fitting of the AP data, provides an accurate description of Airy minima of different orders. The OPM calculations with the NM potentials describe exceptionally well the CS, vector analyzing power (VAP), and tensor analyzing power data at 𝐸 lab =9.0,19.24,20,30, and 50MeV. In agreement with our past successful descriptions of CS and the opposite signs of the VAP data for the 6 Li and 7 Li elastic scattering using NM potentials in OPM, the present results appear to provide a better fit, so far, than those obtained from the coupled-channels method. The fusion cross sections of 6 Li + 12 C have been predicted in the energy range (4.5MeV≤𝐸 lab ≤20MeV), fitting the experimental data well in the range 𝐸 lab =2.97–11.77MeV. The EDF potential without any energy dependence and renormalization is also found to describe satisfactorily the experimental CS and AP data at energies up to several hundreds of MeV.

6 ≤ A ≤ 19↗

Two-photon collisional redistribution of radiation

Collisional redistribution in the presence of two weakly exciting laser fields is studied, including the effects due to degeneracy of the radiator states. A general expression for the total redistributed intensity is derived valid for arbitrary detunings and polarizations of the exciting laser fields. In particular, this expression contains all single-collision and sequential-collision contributions, which are equally important under certain circumstances. The similarities and differences between the redistributed intensity as calculated in this paper and the collisionally aided radiative excitation cross sections studied by Yeh and Berman (1979) and Light and Szoke (1978) are pointed out.

Alber, G.↗

The 260: The Largest Solid Rocket Motor Ever Tested

Aerojet in the mid 1960s, under contract to NASA, built and static hot fire tested the largest solid rocket motor (SRM) in history for the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of utilizing large SRMs for space exploration. This program successfully fabricated two high strength steel chambers, loaded each with approximately 1,68 million pounds of propellant, and static test fired these giants with their nozzles up from an underground silo located adjacent to the Florida everglades. Maximum thrust and total impulse in excess of 5,000,000 lbf and 3,470,000,000 lbf-sec were achieved. Flames from the second firing, conducted at night, were seen over eighty miles away. For comparative purposes: the thrust developed was nearly 100 times that of a Minuteman III second stage and the 260 in.-dia cross-section was over 3 times that of the Space Shuttle SRM.

Crimmins, P.↗

Physical Characterization of Interstellar Comet 2I/2019 Q4 (Borisov)

We present a study of interstellar comet 2I/2019 Q4 (Borisov) using both preperihelion and postperihelion observations spanning late September 2019 through late January 2020. The intrinsic brightness of the comet was observed to continuously decline throughout the timespan, likely due to the decreasing effective scattering cross-section as a result of volatile sublimation with a slope of −0.43 ± 0.02 km{sup 2} d{sup −1}. We witnessed no significant change in the slightly reddish color of the comet, with mean values of 〈g−r〉=0.68±0.04, 〈r−i〉=0.23±0.03, and the normalized reflectivity gradient across the g and i bands (S{sup ′})-bar (g,i)=(10.6±1.4)% per 10{sup 3} Å, all unremarkable in the context of solar system comets. Using the available astrometric observations, we confidently detect the nongravitational acceleration of the comet following a shallow heliocentric distance dependence of r{sub H}{sup −1±1}. Accordingly, we estimate that the nucleus is most likely ≲0.4 km in radius, and that a fraction of ≳0.2% of the total mass of the nucleus has been eroded due to the sublimation activity since the earliest observation of the comet in 2018 December by the time of perihelion. Our morphology simulation suggests that the dust ejection speed increased from ∼4 m s{sup −1} in 2019 September to ∼7 m s{sup −1} around perihelion for the optically dominant dust grains with β∼0.01, and that the observable dust grains are no smaller than micron size.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Kilometric radiation power flux dependence on area of discrete aurora

Kilometer wavelength radiation, measured from distant positions over the North Pole and over the Earth's equator, was compared to the area of discrete aurora imaged by several low-altitude spacecraft. Through correlative studies of auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) with about two thousand auroral images, a stereoscopic view of the average auroral acceleration region was obtained. A major result is that the total AKR power increases as the area of the discrete auroral oval increases. The implications are that the regions of parallel potentials or the auroral plasma cavities, in which AKR is generated, must possess the following attributes: (1) they are shallow in altitude and their radial position depends on wavelength, (2) they thread flux tubes of small cross section, (3) the generation mechanism in them reaches a saturation limit rapidly, and (4) their distribution over the discrete auroral oval is nearly uniform. The above statistical results are true for large samples collected over a long period of time (about six months). In the short term, AKR frequently exhibits temporal variations with scales as short as three minutes (the resolution of the averaged data used). These fluctuations are explainable by rapid quenchings as well as fast starts of the electron cyclotron maser mechanism. There were times when AKR was present at substantial power levels while optical emissions were below instrument thresholds. A recent theoretical result may account for this set of observations by predicting that suprathermal electrons, of energies as low as several hundred eV, can generate second harmonic AKR. The indirect observations of second harmonic AKR require that these electrons have mirror points high above the atmosphere so as to minimize auroral light emissions. The results provide evidence supporting the electron cyclotron maser mechanism.

Saflekos, N. A.↗

Blood Volume: Its Adaptation to Endurance Training

Expansion of blood volume (hypervolemia) has been well documented in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies as a consequence of endurance exercise training. Plasma volume expansion can account for nearly all of the exercise-induced hypervolemia up to 2-4 wk; after this time expansion may be distributed equally between plasma and red cell volumes. The exercise stimulus for hypervolemia has both thermal and nonthermal components that increase total circulating plasma levels of electrolytes and proteins. Although protein and fluid shifts from the extravascular to intravascular space may provide a mechanism for rapid hypervolemia immediately after exercise, evidence supports the notion that chronic hypervolemia associated with exercise training represents a net expansion of total body water and solutes. This net increase of body fluids with exercise training is associated with increased water intake and decreased urine volume output. The mechanism of reduced urine output appears to be increased renal tubular reabsorption of sodium through a more sensitive aldosterone action in man. Exercise training-induced hypervolemia appears to be universal among most animal species, although the mechanisms may be quite different. The hypervolemia may provide advantages of greater body fluid for heat dissipation and thermoregulatory stability as well as larger vascular volume and filling pressure for greater cardiac stroke volume and lower heart rates during exercise.

Convertino, Victor A.↗

Simulation of Fluid Flow and Collection Efficiency for an SEA Multi-element Probe

Numerical simulations of fluid flow and collection efficiency for a Science Engineering Associates (SEA) multi-element probe are presented. Simulation of the flow field was produced using the Glenn-HT Navier-Stokes solver. Three-dimensional unsteady results were produced and then time averaged for the heat transfer and collection efficiency results. Three grid densities were investigated to enable an assessment of grid dependence. Simulations were completed for free stream velocities ranging from 85-135 meters per second, and free stream total pressure of 44.8 and 93.1 kilopascals (6.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch absolute). In addition, the effect of angle of attack and yaw were investigated by including 5 degree deviations from straight for one of the flow conditions. All but one of the cases simulated a probe in isolation (i.e. in a very large domain without any support strut). One case is included which represents a probe mounted on a support strut within a finite sized wind tunnel. Collection efficiencies were generated, using the LEWICE3D code, for four spherical particle sizes, 100, 50, 20, and 5 micron in diameter. It was observed that a reduction in velocity of about 20% occurred, for all cases, as the flow entered the shroud of the probe. The reduction in velocity within the shroud is not indicative of any error in the probe measurement accuracy. Heat transfer results are presented which agree quite well with a correlation for the circular cross section heated elements. Collection efficiency results indicate a reduction in collection efficiency as particle size is reduced. The reduction with particle size is expected, however, the results tended to be lower than the previous results generated for isolated two-dimensional elements. The deviation from the two-dimensional results is more pronounced for the smaller particles and is likely due to the reduced flow within the protective shroud. As particle size increases differences between the two-dimensional and three dimensional results become negligible. Taken as a group, the total collection efficiency of the elements including the effects of the shroud has been shown to be in the range of 0.93 to 0.99 for particles above 20 microns. The 3D model has improved the estimated collection efficiency for smaller particles where errors in previous estimates were more significant.

Water Content↗

Search for high-mass resonances in final states with a τ-lepton and missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector

A search for high-mass resonances decaying into a τ-lepton and a neutrino using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ =13 TeV is presented. The full run 2 data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 recorded by the ATLAS experiment in the years 2015–2018 is analyzed. The τ-lepton is reconstructed in its hadronic decay modes and the total transverse momentum carried out by neutrinos is inferred from the reconstructed missing transverse momentum. The search for new physics is performed on the transverse mass between the τ-lepton and the missing transverse momentum. No excess of events above the Standard Model expectation is observed and upper exclusion limits are set on the W' →τ⁢v production cross section. Heavy W' vector bosons with masses up to 5.0 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming that they have the same couplings as the Standard Model W boson. For nonuniversal couplings, W' bosons are excluded for masses less than 3.5–5.0 TeV, depending on the model parameters. In addition, model-independent limits on the visible cross section times branching ratio are determined as a function of the lower threshold on the transverse mass of the τ-lepton and missing transverse momentum.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

C-band measurement of radar backscatter from the ocean surface during SWADE

A preliminary analysis of backscatter measurements collected during the joint NASA/ONR Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment (SWADE) by a C-band scatterometer (C-SCAT) is presented. Data were collected during a total of ten flights on board the NASA/Ames C-130B off the coast of Virginia. These backscatter measurements are vertically polarized, and were obtained over a full 360* in azimuth, at incidence angles ranging from 20 to 50 . The data set is now in a state where it can provide a unique test bed for normalized radar cross section (NRCS) model functions because of the variety of phenomena encountered, and the quantity and quality of the measurements.

Carson, S. C.↗

A Short-Lived Isotope Counting System (SLICS) to measure reaction cross sections producing light, beta-decaying nuclei on OMEGA

A new activation detector optimized for short-lived isotopes was designed, installed, and tested on OMEGA. The Short-Lived Isotope Counting System (SLICS) can be positioned as close as 35 cm from the OMEGA target chamber center in a ten-inch-manipulator. Stable target samples can be mounted on the front end of the detector assembly to undergo triton-, deuteron-, or neutron-induced reactions that produce short-lived reaction products that beta decay. The emitted betas are detected in a phoswich configuration to eliminate the gamma background. The detector is optimized for isotopes with half-lives from 150 ms to 20 s, filling a gap in OMEGA’s current activation detectors for isotopes with half-lives >5 min. In a pilot study, SLICS achieved an efficiency of 24.5% ± 2.0% for counting 8Li, with a total of 505.8 ± 4.4 qualifying events. Using the existing triton laser-ion acceleration platform on OMEGA, this detector can be used to measure rarely studied tritium-induced reactions on light nuclei with an estimated uncertainty of 12%. As a result, the design of the detector and its performance during a first experiment employing deuterium as a surrogate will be discussed.

Beta spectrometry↗

Aerothermal evaluation of a spherically blunted body with a trapezoidal cross section in the Langley 8-foot high-temperature tunnel

A model to be used in the flow studies and curved Thermal Protection System (TPS) evaluations was tested in the Langley 8 Foot High-Temperature Tunnel at a nominal Mach number of 6.8. The purpose of the study was to define the surface pressure and heating rates at high angles of attack (in support of curved metallic TPS studies) and to determine the conditions for which the model would be suitable as a test bed for aerothermal load studies. The present study was conducted at a nominal total temperature of 2400 and 3300 R, dynamic pressures from 2.3 to 10.9 psia, and free-stream Reynolds numbers from 4000,000 to 1,700,000/ft. The measurements consisted primarily of surface pressure and cold-wall (530 R) heating rates. Qualitative comparisons between predictions and data show that for this configuration, aerothermal tests should be limited to angles of attack between 10 and -10 degrees. Outside this range, the effects of free-stream flow nonuniformity appear in the data, as a result of the long length of the model. However, for TPS testing, this is not a concern and tests can be performed at angles of attack ranging from 20 to -20 degrees. Laminar and naturally turbulent boundary layers are available over limited ranges of conditions.

Albertson, Cindy W.↗