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At least 1,081 records · Page 60

A Stable and Conservative Interface Treatment of Arbitrary Spatial Accuracy

Stable and accurate interface conditions are derived for the linear advection-diffusion equation. The conditions are functionally independent of the spatial order of accuracy and rely only on the form of the discrete operator. We focus on high-order finite-difference operators that satisfy the summation-by-parts (SBP) property. We prove that stability is a natural consequence of the SBP operators used in conjunction with the new boundary conditions. In addition, we show that the interface treatments are conservative. New finite-difference operators of spatial accuracy up to sixth order are constructed: these operators satisfy the SBP property. Finite-difference operators are shown to admit design accuracy (p(sup th)-order global accuracy) when (p - 1)(sup th)-order stencil closures are used near the boundaries if the physical boundary conditions are implemented to at least p(sup th)-order accuracy. Stability and accuracy are demonstrated on the nonlinear Burgers' equation for an twelve-subdomain problem with randomly distributed interfaces.

Carpenter, Mark H.↗

Effects of HF Treatments on Tensile Strength of Hi-Nicalon Fibers

Tensile strengths of as-received Hi-Nicalon fibers and those having a dual BN/SiC surface coating, deposited by chemical vapor deposition, have been measured at room temperature. These fibers were also treated with HF for 24 h followed by tensile strength measurements. Strengths of uncoated and BN/SiC coated Hi-Nicalon fibers extracted from celsian matrix composites, by dissolving away the matrix in HF for 24 h, were also determined. The average tensile strength of uncoated Hi-Nicalon was 3.19 +/- 0.73 GPa with a Weibull modulus of 5.41. The Hi-Nicalon/BN/SiC fibers showed an average strength of 3.04 q 0.53 GPa and Weibull modulus of 6.66. After HF treatments, the average strengths of the uncoated and BN/SiC coated Hi-Nicalon fibers were 2.69 +/- 0.67 GPa and 2.80 +/- 0.53 GPa and the Weibull moduli were 4.93 and 5.96, respectively. The BN/SiC coated fibers extracted from the celsian matrix composite exhibited a strength of 2.38 +/- 0.40 GPa and a Weibull modulus of 7.15. The strength of the uncoated Hi-Nicalon fibers in the composite was so severely degraded that they disintegrated into small fragments during extraction with HF. The uncoated fibers probably undergo mechanical surface damage during hot pressing of the composites. Also, the BN layer on the coated fibers acts as a compliant layer which protects the fibers from mechanical damage during composite processing. The elemental composition and thickness of the fiber coatings were deten-nined using scanning Auger analysis. Microstructural analyses of the fibers and the coatings were done by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Strengths of fibers calculated using average and measured fiber diameters were in good agreement. Thus, the strength of fibers can be evaluated using an average fiber diameter instead of the measured diameter of each filament.

Bansal, Narottam P.↗

Vapor-Phase Stoichiometry and Heat Treatment of CdTe Starting Material for Physical Vapor Transport

Six batches of CdTe, having total amounts of material from 99 to 203 g and gross mole fraction of Te, X(sub Te), 0.499954-0.500138, were synthesized from pure Cd and Te elements. The vapor-phase stoichiometry of the assynthesized CdTe batches was determined from the partial pressure of Te2, P(sub Te2) using an optical absorption technique. The measured vapor compositions at 870 C were Te-rich for all of the batches with partial pressure ratios of Cd to Te2, P(sub Cd)/P(sub Te2), ranging from 0.00742 to 1.92. After the heat treatment of baking under dynamic vacuum at 870 C for 8 min, the vapor-phase compositions moved toward that of the congruent sublimation, i.e. P(sub Cd)/P(sub Te2) = 2.0, with the measured P(sub Cd)/P(sub Te2) varying from 1.84 to 3.47. The partial pressure measurements on one of the heat-treated samples also showed that the sample remained close to the congruent sublimation condition over the temperature range 800-880 C.

Su, Ching-Hua↗

Organopolysiloxane Waterproofing Treatment for Porous Ceramics

Rigid and flexible porous ceramics, including thermal insulation of a type used on space vehicles, are waterproofed by a treatment which comprises applying an aqueous solution of an organopolysiloxane water-proofing agent having reactive silanol groups to the surface of the ceramic and then heating the treated ceramic to form a waterproofed ceramic. The organopolysiloxane is formed by the hydrolysis and partial condensation of di- and trialkoxyfunctional alkylalkoxysilanes having 1-10 carbon atom hydrocarbyl groups.

Leiser, Daniel B.↗

Atomic Oxygen Treatment as a Method of Recovering Smoke Damaged Paintings

A noncontact technique is described that uses atomic oxygen, generated under low pressure in the presence of nitrogen, to remove soot and charred varnish from the surface of a painting. The process, which involves surface oxidation, permits control of the amount of surface material removed. The effectiveness of the process was evaluated by reflectance measurements from selected areas made during the removal of soot from acrylic gesso, ink on paper, and varnished oil paint substrates. For the latter substrate, treatment also involved the removal of damaged varnish and paint binder from the surface.

Rutledge, Sharon K.↗

Theoretical Treatment of the X(sup 1)Sigma(sup +), A(sup 1)Sigma(sup +), and B(sup 1)Pi states of LiH

Ab initio self-consistent-field plus configuration-interaction calculations are reported for the X(sup 1)Sigma(sup +), A(sup 1)Sigma(sup +), and B(sup 1)Pi states of LiH using a 22(sugma)12(pi)7(delta) function Slater basis set. The resulting dissociation energies, with the experimental values in parentheses, are D(sub e)(X(sup 1)Sigma(sup +)) = 19 972 (20288)/ cm, and D(sub e)(A(sup 1)Sigma(sup +)) = 9042 (8682)/ cm, and D(sup e)(B(sup 1)Pi) = 284 (288) /cm. This is the first ab initio treatment to quantitatively account for the binding in the B(sup 1)Pi state. Calculated dipole moments and electronic transition moments for the X(sup 1)Sigma(sup+)-A(sup 1)Sigma(sup +), X(sup 1)Sigma(sup +)-B((sup 1)Pi, and A(sup 1)Sigma(sup +)- B(sup 1)PI band systems are in excellent agreement with existing theoretical and experimental data. Radiative transition probabilities and lifetimes, including both the bound-bound and bound-free contributions, are computed for all vibrational levels of the A(sup 1)Sigma(sup+) and B(sup 1)Pi states. Comparison with previous results using experimentally based potentials provides insight into the sensitivity of the radiative lifetimes to the detailed nature of the uppermost region of the potentials. Our calculated lifetimes for the lower vibrational levels of the A(sup 1)Sigma(sup +) state are within the experimental uncertainty. Our calculated lifetimes for the three vibrational levels of the B(sup 1)Pi state are in excellent agreement with those of Zemke and Stwalley (values in parentheses), increasing with (upsilon)' from 11.3 (11.3) nsec at (upsilon)' = 0, to 17.0 (17.0) nsec at (upsilon)' = 1, and then to 23.5 (24.0) nsec at (upsilon)' = 2.

Partridge, Harry↗

The Effects of Acid Passivation, Tricresyl Phosphate Presoak, and UV/Ozone Treatment on the Tribology of Perfluoropolyether-Lubricated 440C Stainless Steel Couples

The boundary-lubrication performance of two perfluoropolyether (PFPE) thin films in the presence of passivated 440C stainless steel is presented. The study used a standard ball on disk (BoD) tribometer in dry nitrogen and a vacuum spiral orbit tribometer (SOT). Stainless steel surfaces were passivated with one of four techniques: high and low temperature chromic acid bath, a tricresyl phosphate (TCP) soak, or UV/Ozone treated for 15 min. After passivation, each BoD disk had a 400A film of Krytox 16256 (PFPE) applied to it. The lifetimes of these films were quantified by measuring the number of sliding cycles before an increase in friction occurred. The lubricated lifetime of the 440C couple was not altered as a result of the various passivation techniques. The resulting surface chemistry of each passivation technique was examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The SOT was used to examine the effects of the TCP treatment on the lubricated lifetime of another PFPE, Brayco 815Z, under rolling conditions. None of the passivation techniques were found to dramatically increase the oxide film thickness or lubricated lifetimes.

Shogrin, Bradley A.↗

Development of Advanced Casing Treatments for Flow Control

Under the Base R&T and Ultra Efficient Engine Technology programs, the NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center Compressor Branch is investigating flow control strategies required to increase the loading and efficiency of core compressors while maintaining current levels of operability. Flow-control strategies being studied include advanced casing treatments, wall jet injection, and blade-tip injection for compressor stability enhancement, directed jets for surface boundary layer control, and vortex-generating devices. The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to assess the effectiveness of flow-control devices and to guide their design is a key element in this research. CFD simulations serve to screen potential flow-control concepts at a lower cost than executing physical experiments in turbomachinery facilities. CFD simulations also provide guidance in designing physical experiments for those flow control concepts, which appear promising.

Keith, Theo G., Jr.↗

Dual Microstructure Heat Treatment of a Nickel-Base Disk Alloy

Existing Dual Microstructure Heat Treat (DMHT) technology was successfully applied to Alloy 10, a high strength, nickel-base disk alloy, to produce a disk with a fine grain bore and coarse grain rim. Specimens were extracted from the DMHT disk and tested in tension, creep, fatigue, and crack growth using conditions pertinent to disk applications. These data were then compared with data from "traditional" subsolvus and supersolvus heat treatments for Alloy 10. The results showed the DMHT disk to have a high strength, fatigue resistant bore comparable to that of subsolvus Alloy 10. Further, creep resistance of the DMHT rim was comparable to that of supersolvus Alloy 10. Crack growth resistance in the DMHT rim, while better than that for subsolvus, was inferior to that of supersolvus Alloy 10. The slow cool at the end of the DMHT conversion and/or the subsolvus resolution step are thought to be responsible for degrading rim DMHT crack growth resistance.

Gayda, John↗

Application of NASA's Advanced Life Support Technologies for Waste Treatment, Water Purification and Recycle, and Food Production in Polar Regions

NASA's advanced life support technologies are being combined with Arctic science and engineering knowledge to address the unique needs of the remote communities of Alaska through the Advanced Life Systems for Extreme Environments (ALSEE) project. ALSEE is a collaborative effort involving NASA, the State of Alaska, the University of Alaska, the North Slope Borough of Alaska, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The focus is a major issue in the state of Alaska and other areas of the Circumpolar North, the health and welfare of its people, their lives and the subsistence lifestyle in remote communities, economic opportunity, and care for the environment. The project primarily provides treatment and reduction of waste, purification and recycling of water. and production of food. A testbed is being established to demonstrate the technologies which will enable safe, healthy, and autonomous function of remote communities and to establish the base for commercial development of the resulting technology into new industries. The challenge is to implement the technological capabilities in a manner compatible with the social and economic structures of the native communities, the state, and the commercial sector. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Bubenheim, David L.↗

A Highly Accurate Technique for the Treatment of Flow Equations at the Polar Axis in Cylindrical Coordinates using Series Expansions

Numerical methods for solving the flow equations in cylindrical or spherical coordinates should be able to capture the behavior of the exact solution near the regions where the particular form of the governing equations is singular. In this work we focus on the treatment of these numerical singularities for finite-differences methods by reinterpreting the regularity conditions developed in the context of pseudo-spectral methods. A generally applicable numerical method for treating the singularities present at the polar axis, when nonaxisymmetric flows are solved in cylindrical, coordinates using highly accurate finite differences schemes (e.g., Pade schemes) on non-staggered grids, is presented. Governing equations for the flow at the polar axis are derived using series expansions near r=0. The only information needed to calculate the coefficients in these equations are the values of the flow variables and their radial derivatives at the previous iteration (or time) level. These derivatives, which are multi-valued at the polar axis, are calculated without dropping the accuracy of the numerical method using a mapping of the flow domain from (0,R)*(0,2pi) to (-R,R)*(0,pi), where R is the radius of the computational domain. This allows the radial derivatives to be evaluated using high-order differencing schemes (e.g., compact schemes) at points located on the polar axis. The proposed technique is illustrated by results from simulations of laminar-forced jets and turbulent compressible jets using large eddy simulation (LES) methods. In term of the general robustness of the numerical method and smoothness of the solution close to the polar axis, the present results compare very favorably to similar calculations in which the equations are solved in Cartesian coordinates at the polar axis, or in which the singularity is removed by employing a staggered mesh in the radial direction without a mesh point at r=0, following the method proposed recently by Mohseni and Colonius (1). Extension of the method described here for incompressible flows or for any other set of equations that are solved on a non-staggered mesh in cylindrical or spherical coordinates with finite-differences schemes of various level of accuracy is immediate.

Constantinescu, George S.↗

How Surface Treatments Enhance Ground Handling

Several runway surface treatments developed in recent years are described in terms of how aircraft tire landing and takeoff friction requirements are met, particularly during adverse weather conditions. Changing the surface texture with grooving, grinding and shot peening, use of chemicals to remove or prevent accumulation of natural or man-made contaminants, and the use of new techniques and materials are discussed as means of improving surface friction performance. Test data are presented to illustrate the effects of runway conditions on aircraft ground performance. The severity of the problem of operating on runway surfaces which cannot provide sufficient aircraft tire friction capability is also illustrated from documented aircraft accident/incident reports. The paper concludes with recommendations for future pavement research activities.

Yager, Thomas J.↗

Sewage Treatment

In the early 1970's, National Space Technology Laboratories discovered that water hyacinths literally thrive on sewage; they absorb and digest nutrients and minerals from wastewater, converting sewage effluents to clean water. They offer a means of purifying water at a fraction of the cost of a conventional sewage treatment plant, and provide a bonus value in byproducts. Hyacinths must be harvested at intervals; the harvested plants are used as fertilizers, high-protein animal feed and a source of energy. Already serving a number of small towns, the "aquaculture" technique has significantly advanced with its adoption by a major U.S. city.

Source record↗

Crystallization and Preliminary X-ray analysis of Human Recombinant Acid beta-glucocerebrosidase, a treatment for Gaucher's Disease

Acid beta-glucocerebrosidase (N-acylsphingosyl - O - beta-D - glucoside:glucohydrolase) is a lysosomal glycoprotein that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the glycolipid glucocerebroside to glucose and ceramide. Inadequate levels of this enzyme underly the pathophysiology of Gaucher's disease. Cerezyme(R) (Genzyme Corporation, Cambridge, MA) is a partially deglycosylated form of recombinant human acid beta-glucocerebrosidase that is commercially available for the treatment of Gaucher patients. Although acid beta-glucocerebrosidase belongs to a large family of glycosidases, relatively little is known regarding its structural biology. We report the crystallization and the initial diffraction analysis of Cerezyme(R). The crystals are C-centered orthorhombic, with unit-cell parameters of a = 285.0 A, b = 110.2 A, and c = 91.7 A. A 99.9 A complete data set has been collected to 2.75 A with an R(sub sym) of 8.8 %.

Roeber, Dana F.↗

The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Fatigue Behavior of Alloy 10

The results of the fatigue evaluation on Alloy 10, run under NASA's Ultrasafe Project, are the subject of this report. Crack growth evaluation will be examined in a separate report. The eight heat treatments studied were designed to evaluate the effect of solution temperature, cooling rate, and stabilization on key mechanical properties of Alloy 10, including fatigue life. Two temperatures were studied, 750 and 1300 F, which represent projected application temperatures for the bore and rim locations in a disk. In addition to fatigue life, the cyclic stress-strain response and failure modes of the fatigue specimens are also reviewed in this report.

Gayda, John↗

Sensitivity of Middle Atmospheric Temperature and Circulation in the UIUC Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere GCM to the Treatment of Subgrid-Scale Gravity-Wave Breaking

The sensitivity of the middle atmospheric temperature and circulation to the treatment of mean- flow forcing due to breaking gravity waves was investigated using the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 40-layer Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere General Circulation Model (MST-GCM). Three GCM experiments were performed. The gravity-wave forcing was represented first by Rayleigh friction, and then by the Alexander and Dunkerton (AD) parameterization with weak and strong breaking effects of gravity waves. In all experiments, the Palmer et al. parameterization was included to treat the breaking of topographic gravity waves in the troposphere and lower stratosphere. Overall, the experiment with the strong breaking effect simulates best the middle atmospheric temperature and circulation. With Rayleigh friction and the weak breaking effect, a large warm bias of up to 60 C was found in the summer upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. This warm bias was linked to the inability of the GCM to simulate the reversal of the zonal winds from easterly to westerly crossing the mesopause in the summer hemisphere. With the strong breaking effect, the GCM was able to simulate this reversal, and essentially eliminated the warm bias. This improvement was the result of a much stronger meridional transport circulation that possesses a strong vertical ascending branch in the summer upper mesosphere, and hence large adiabatic cooling. Budget analysis indicates that 'in the middle atmosphere the forces that act to maintain a steady zonal-mean zonal wind are primarily those associated with the meridional transport circulation and breaking gravity waves. Contributions from the interaction of the model-resolved eddies with the mean flow are small. To obtain a transport circulation in the mesosphere of the UIUC MST-GCM that is strong enough to produce the observed cold summer mesopause, gravity-wave forcing larger than 100 m/s/day in magnitude is required near the summer mesopause. In the tropics, only with the AD parameterization can the model produce realistic semiannual oscillations.

Yang, Fanglin↗

Lyophilization -Solid Waste Treatment

This paper discusses the development of a solid waste treatment system that has been designed for a Mars transit exploration mission. The technology described is an energy-efficient lyophilization technique that is designed to recover water from spacecraft solid wastes. Candidate wastes include feces, concentrated brines from water processors, and other solid wastes that contain free water. The system is designed to operate as a stand-alone process or to be integrated into the International Space Station Waste Collection System. In the lyophilization process, water in an aqueous waste is frozen and then sublimed, separating the waste into a dried solid material and liquid water. The sublimed water is then condensed in a solid ice phase and then melted to generate a liquid product. In the subject system the waste solids are contained within a 0.2 micron bio-guard bag and after drying are removed from the system and stored in a secondary container. This technology is ideally suited to applications such as the Mars Reference Mission, where water recovery rates approaching 100% are desirable but production of CO2 is not. The system is designed to minimize power consumption through the use of thermoelectric heat pumps. The results of preliminary testing of a prototype system and testing of the final configuration are provided. A mathematical model of the system is also described.

Litwiller, Eric↗

Disuse bone loss in hindquarter suspended rats: partial weightbearing, exercise and ibandronate treatment as countermeasures

The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential countermeasures for bone loss during long-term space missions in the hindquarter suspended rat, including partial weight bearing (surrogate for artificial gravity) episodic full weight bearing (2 hour/day full weight bearing) and treatment with the third generation bisphosphonate ibandronate (Roche). Graded mechanical loading was studied by housing the animals on a novel servo controlled force plate system which permitted the titration of mechanical force at varying frequency and amplitude and different levels of weight bearing. The force plate, which forms the cage floor, is a glass platform supported by an 18" diameter speaker cone filled with expanding polyurethane foam. An infrared optical sensor attached to the speaker cone yields a voltage linearly related to vertical displacement of the glass platform. The dynamic force on the paw was computed as a product of the apparent mass of the animal on the platform at rest and the acceleration of the platform determined from the second derivative of the optical sensor output. The mass of the animal on the platform was varied by adjusting tension on the tether suspending the animal. Mechanical impact loading was titrated with the force plate resonating at different frequencies, including 3 Hz and 16 Hz.

Non-NASA Center↗