Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “electrical measurements”

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 109 records · Page 6

Doppler-Free Saturation Spectroscopy (DFSS) for Magnetic and Electric Field Measurements in an FRC plasma

The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and TAE Technologies (TAE) focused on a feasibility study of Doppler-free saturation spectroscopy (DFSS) as a diagnostic strategy to measure the internal magnetic and electric fields of TAE’s C-2W field-reversed configuration (FRC) fusion device. Non-perturbative measurements of magnetic and electric fields in the core of FRCs can provide critical information needed to constrain equilibrium models and for the continued advancement of the fusion research program at TAE. DFSS is a well-established, laser-based absorption spectroscopy technique used to suppress inhomogeneous (Doppler) broadening linewidths and reveal Zeeman/Stark split hyperfine structures of target emission lines. The collaboration involved the use of ORNL’s suite of experimentally validated quantum mechanical modelling codes to simulate theoretical atomic spectra for a variety of machine parameters and laser beam configurations. TAE’s expertise was heavily used to provide measurements/models of the required machine parameters needed as inputs to the simulations. Results of an all-encompassing error analysis demonstrate the favourable capabilities of the diagnostic and provided invaluable insights as to how DFSS can be best used to accurately measure internal B/E-fields in C-2W.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Measurements of CDA 510 Phosphor Bronze

Many cryogenic systems use electrical cables containing phosphor bronze wire. While phosphor bronze's electrical and thermal conductivity values have been published, there is significant variation among different phosphor bronze formulations. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will use several phosphor bronze wire harnesses containing a specific formulation (CDA 510, annealed temper). The heat conducted into the JWST instrument stage is dominated by these harnesses, and approximately half of the harness conductance is due to the phosphor bronze wires. Since the JWST radiators are expected to just keep the instruments at their operating temperature with limited cooling margin, it is important to know the thermal conductivity of the actual alloy being used. We describe an experiment which measured the electrical and thermal conductivity of this material between 4 and 295 Kelvin.

Tuttle, James E.↗

Electric field measurements during the MAC/EPSILON campaign

The MAC/EPSILON observational campaign in northern Norway involved the taking of three-axis electric field measurements of the middle atmosphere by means of five rocketborne payloads during October and November, 1987. Simultaneous horizontal electric field measurements made by two of the rocket flights were in general agreement in their limited overlap region. The more extensive horizontal E-field measurements exhibited a decreasing mapping function with decreasing altitude, thereby indicating the presence of fields from a local auroral patch. Small-scale variations in the horizontal fields of the lights were similar to observed wavelike variations in the neutral wind field.

Croskey, C. L.↗

High-Altitude Aircraft-Based Electric-Field Measurements above Thunderstorms

We have developed a new set of eight electric field mills that were flown on a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. During the Third Convection And Moisture EXperiment (CAMEX- 3; Fall, 1998), measurements of electric field, storm dynamics, and ice microphysics were made over several hurricanes. Concurrently, the TExas-FLorida UNderflights (TEFLUN) program was being conducted to make the same measurements over Gulf Coast thunderstorms. Sample measurements will be shown. Our new mills have an internal 16-bit A/D, with a resolution of 0.25 V/m per bit at high gain, with a noise level less than the least significant bit. A second, lower gain channel gives us the ability to measure fields as high as 150 kV/m.

Bateman, M. G.↗

High-Altitude Aircraft-Based Electric-Field Measurements Above Thunderstorms

We have developed a new set of eight electric field mills that were flown on a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. During the Third Convection And Moisture EXperiment (CAMEX-3; Fall, 1998), measurements of electric field, storm dynamics, and ice microphysics were made over several hurricanes. Concurrently, the TExas-FLorida UNderflights (TEFLUN) program was being conducted to make the same measurements over Gulf Coast thunderstorms. Sample measurements are shown: typical flight altitude is 20km. Our new mills have an internal 16-bit A/D, with a resolution of 0.25V/m per bit at high gain, with a noise level less than the least significant bit. A second, lower gain channel gives us the ability to measure fields as high as 150 kV/m.

Bateman, M. G.↗

Guide to Flow Measurement for Electric Propulsion Systems

In electric propulsion (EP) systems, accurate measurement of the propellant mass flow rate of gas or liquid to the thruster and external cathode is a key input in the calculation of thruster efficiency and specific impulse. Although such measurements are often achieved with commercial mass flow controllers and meters integrated into propellant feed systems, the variability in potential propellant options and flow requirements amongst the spectrum of EP power regimes and devices complicates meter selection, integration, and operation. At the direction of the Committee on Standards for Electric Propulsion Testing, a guide was jointly developed by members of the electric propulsion community to establish a unified document that contains the working principles, methods of implementation and analysis, and calibration techniques and recommendations on the use of mass flow meters in laboratory and spacecraft electric propulsion systems. The guide is applicable to EP devices of all types and power levels ranging from microthrusters to high-power ion engines and Hall effect thrusters. The establishment of a community standard on mass flow metering will help ensure the selection of the proper meter for each application. It will also improve the quality of system performance estimates by providing comprehensive information on the physical phenomena and systematic errors that must be accounted for during the analysis of flow measurement data. This paper will outline the standard methods and recommended practices described in the guide titled "Flow Measurement for Electric Propulsion Systems."

spacecraft electric propulsion (EP) systems↗

Electric Field Measurements During the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) Field Program

During the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) field program, a system of 6 electric field mills was flown on one of NASA's Global Hawk aircraft. We placed several mills on the aircraft to enable us to measure the vector electric field. We created a distributed, ethernet-connected system so that each sensor has its own embedded Linux system, complete with web server. This makes our current generation system fully "sensor web enabled." The Global Hawk has several unique qualities, but relevant to quality storm electric field measurements are high altitude (20 km) and long duration (20-30 hours) flights. There are several aircraft participating in the GRIP program, and coordinated measurements are happening. Lightning and electric field measurements will be used to study the relationships between lightning and other storm characteristics. It has been long understood that lightning can be used as a marker for strong convective activity. Past research and field programs suggest that lightning flash rate may serve as an indicator and precursor for rapid intensification change in tropical cyclones and hurricanes. We have the opportunity to sample hurricanes for many hours at a time and observe intensification (or de-intensification) periods. The electrical properties of hurricanes during such periods are not well known. American

Bateman, Monte G.↗

Instrumentation for vector electric field measurements from DE-B

Instrumentation has been developed, using the symmetric double-floating probe technique, to make vector electric field measurements from the low-altitude Dynamics Explorer (DE-B) spacecraft. Six 11-m cylindrical antennas are deployed along three orthogonal axes to form the sensor array. The outer two meters of each element are used as sensors, which results in a baseline of 21.4 m for the dc measurement for each axis. Efforts have been made to provide straight antennas and antennas that will not bend from thermal stresses as sun angles are changed. Measurements of the dc electric field will be made 16 times/sec or every half-kilometer along the orbit. Sensitivity will be 0.1 mV/m with a range of + or - 1 V/m. A 20-channel comb filter spectrometer will monitor ac electric fields, concentrating on frequencies below 1 kHz. Electric fields from any single axis or two axes may be sampled by the spectrometer within the range of 1 microvolt/m to 10 mV/m

Maynard, N. C.↗

Electric field measurements within a severe thunderstorm anvil

This paper presents the results of electric field measurements made within a severe thunderstorm in central Oklahoma on June 13, 1983. The observations show the electrical structure of a severe storm anvil to be more complex than the simple structure of a positive interior and thin, negative screening layers. Evidence is found of extensive regions of both positive and negative charge in the interior of the anvil, and the thicknesses of screening layers are found to be about an order of magnitude greater than calculated in previous models. A conceptual model for the development of the electrical structure of thunderstorm anvils is proposed in which anvil dynamics plays an important role.

Byrne, G. J.↗

Radio frequency electrical resistance measurement under destructive pulsed magnetic fields

We developed a resistance measurement using radio frequency reflection to investigate the electrical transport characteristics under destructive pulsed magnetic fields above 100 T. A sample stage consisting of a homemade flexible printed circuit reduced the noise caused by the induced voltage from the pulsed magnetic fields, improving the accuracy of the measurements of the reflected waves. From the obtained reflectance data, the absolute value of the magnetoresistance was successfully determined by analyzing the phase with admittance charts. In conclusion, these developments enable more accurate and comprehensive measurements of electrical resistance in pulsed magnetic fields.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A new probe for measuring small electric fields in plasmas

A dipolar double probe has been developed for in situ measurements of small electric fields in laboratory plasmas. The probe measures dc to ac electric fields (f values between 0 and 20 MHz) with high sensitivity (Emin about 10 microV/cm) and responds to both space charge electric fields and inductive electric fields. Using voltage-to-frequency conversion, the probe signal is obtained free of errors and loading effects by a transmission line. Various examples of useful applications for the new probe are presented, such as measurements of dc ambipolar fields, ac space-charge fields of ion acoustic waves, ac inductive fields of whistler waves, and mixed inductive and space-charge electric fields in current-carrying magnetoplasmas.

Stenzel, R. L.↗

Synthesis, Structures, and Transport Properties of Quaternary Ba–Ag– Tr –As Materials ( Tr = Ga, In)

The synthesis, structures, and properties of two quaternary barium–arsenide materials are presented. The first, Ba 4 Ag 2.3 In 1.7 As 8 , is a novel material with the monoclinic unit cell ( P 2 1 / m space group). The layered crystal structure of Ba 4 Ag 2.3 In 1.7 As 8 may be considered a lower‐symmetry, distorted analog of the LaCuSb 2 structure. The structure features a rare As fragment, cis‐trans As chains along the [010] direction. Large crystals of Ba 4 Ag 2.3 In 1.7 As 8 can be grown from Bi flux and are used for subsequent transport property measurements. Electrical resistivity and heat capacity properties are reported, establishing Ba 4 Ag 2.3 In 1.7 As 8 as a metallic phase. The second material, Ba 4 AgGa 5 As 8 , is a 3D material that crystallizes in the orthorhombic unit cell (noncentrosymmetric and polar Iba 2 space group). Expanding upon its original discovery, the optimized synthetic profile for single‐phase polycrystalline samples as well as transport properties relevant to thermoelectric applications are presented. Ba 4 AgGa 5 As 8 exhibits a high Seebeck coefficient of 290 μV K −1 at room temperature, indicative of lower carrier concentrations typical for nonmetallic phases. Electrical resistivity measurements also affirm conventional semiconducting behavior for Ba 4 AgGa 5 As 8 .

Kyveryga, Victoria [Department of Chemistry Iowa S↗

Two-dimensional heavy fermions in the van der Waals metal CeSiI

Heavy-fermion metals are prototype systems for observing emergent quantum phases driven by electronic interactions. A long-standing aspiration is the dimensional reduction of these materials to exert control over their quantum phases, which remains a significant challenge because traditional intermetallic heavy-fermion compounds have three-dimensional atomic and electronic structures. Here we report comprehensive thermodynamic and spectroscopic evidence of an antiferromagnetically ordered heavy-fermion ground state in CeSiI, an intermetallic comprising two-dimensional (2D) metallic sheets held together by weak interlayer van der Waals (vdW) interactions. Owing to its vdW nature, CeSiI has a quasi-2D electronic structure, and we can control its physical dimension through exfoliation. The emergence of coherent hybridization of f and conduction electrons at low temperature is supported by the temperature evolution of angle-resolved photoemission and scanning tunnelling spectra near the Fermi level and by heat capacity measurements. Electrical transport measurements on few-layer fakes reveal heavy-fermion behaviour and magnetic order down to the ultra-thin regime. Importantly, our work establishes CeSiI and related materials as a unique platform for studying dimensionally confined heavy fermions in bulk crystals and employing 2D device fabrication techniques and vdW heterostructures to manipulate the interplay between Kondo screening, magnetic order and proximity effects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DC electrical conductivity measurements of warm dense matter using ultrafast THz radiation

We describe measurements of the DC electrical conductivity of warm dense matter using ultrafast terahertz (THz) pulses. THz fields are sufficiently slowly varying that they behave like DC fields on the timescale of electron–electron and electron–ion interactions and hence probe DC-like responses. Using a novel single-shot electro-optic sampling technique, the electrical conductivity of the laser-generated warm dense matter was determined with <1 ps temporal resolution. We present the details of the single-shot THz detection methodology as well as considerations for warm dense matter experiments. We, then, provide proof-of-concept studies on aluminum driven to the warm dense matter regime through isochoric heating and shock compression. Our results indicate a decrease in the conductivity when driven to warm dense matter conditions and provide a platform for future warm dense matter studies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Studies in zirconium oxidation

Study provides insight into the oxidation mechanism of zirconium by combining electrical measurements with oxidation data. The measurement of electrical potential across growing scale on zirconium and the determination of conventional weight-change oxidation data were carried out at 550, 700, and 800 degrees C.

Draley, J. E.↗

Electronic measurement of variable torques in precision work technology

Approaches for the determination of torques on the basis of length measurements are discussed. Attention is given to torque determinations in which the deformation of a shaft is measured, an electric measurement of the torsion angle, and an approach proposed by Buschmann (1970). Methods for a torque determination conducted with the aid of force measurements make use of piezoelectric approaches. The components used by these methods include a quartz crystal and a charge amplifier.

Maehr, M.↗

Electrical Dissipation Measurement of Polymer Phase Transitions

Technique measures solid/solid, glass/rubber, and liquid/liquid transition temperatures in polymers having dipole moments. Technique based on change in dipole packing that occurs with each transition and measured as change in electrical dissipation factor. Change in dipole packing occuring with each transition sensed by effect on dissipation factor.

Long, E. R., R↗