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At least 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Gas-Liquid Flow Modeling for Renewable Fuels Production

Aerobic/anaerobic and gas fermentation pathways have emerged as promising new technologies for the generation of renewable fuels/chemicals from biomass derived sugars, and mixtures of greenhouse/energy rich gas streams (CO2/CH4/H2/CO) via microbial action. Example pathways include sugars-to-ethanol conversion, biomethanation (CO2/H2 to CH4), biogas upgrading, CO fermentation and wet-waste conversion. Gas and liquid phase transport, mass-transfer, and mixing physics at large length scales can significantly affect microbial conversion rates, particularly when the microbial reaction requires a narrow set of conditions. These phenomena are difficult to study in small-scale bench-top reactors that are typically well-mixed. Predictive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based simulations can therefore aid in the scale-up, design and optimization of these reactors. This work presents multiphase Euler-Euler CFD simulations of at-scale (~500 m3) bioreactors. Our mathematical model treats the gas and liquid as interpenetrating phases. This approach reduces the computational complexity of tracking individual gas bubbles that are several orders of magnitude smaller than reactor dimensions. We solve the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) multiphase equations that account for phase and chemical species transport, interphase mass and momentum transfer and uses a phenomenological model for gas uptake by microbes. We use a customized solver derived from open-source CFD toolbox, OpenFOAM [1], to perform these simulations, which has been validated against small-scale reactors in our previous work [2]. There is currently a knowledge-gap regarding bubble-size distributions when using gas mixtures with vastly different properties, which can have a significant impact overall mass-transfer. For example, hydrogen bubbles are more buoyant compared to other relatively heavier gases (CO2/CH4/CO), resulting in a large distribution of residence times and bubble sizes. This work therefore develops a deeper understanding of bubble dynamics and interphase mass transfer in such heterogenous gas mixtures through well-resolved computational models. We use a population balance model (PBM) for bubble-size-distribution modeling that is validated against small-scale experiments in our solver with an uncertainty quantification study for bubble coalescence and break-up model parameters. Results pertaining to multiple simulations of gas-fermentation reactors are presented where gas mixtures with varying compositions of CO2/CH4/CO/H2 are imposed at the sparger boundaries. The spatio-temporal variations in bubble-size distribution and mass transfer coefficient are analyzed for varying superficial velocities and gas-compositions for varying sizes of bubble-column and airlift reactors. This work will also examine the performance of different reactor designs, viz. bubble column reactor, airlift reactor with an internal draft tube, and a stirred-tank reactor with Rushton impellers. Reactor mass-transfer coefficient, gas hold-up, and dissolved gas distribution are critically analyzed among reactors, and sensitivity studies pertaining to gas flow rates and reactor geometry will be presented. [1] Weller, H., Tabor, G., Jasak, H. and Fureby, C., A tensorial approach to computational continuum mechanics using object-oriented techniques, Computers in physics, 12, 6, 620--631, 1998. [2] Rahimi, M., Sitaraman, H., Humbird, D. and Stickel, J., Computational fluid dynamics study of full-scale aerobic bioreactors: Evaluation of gas-liquid mass transfer, oxygen uptake, and dynamic oxygen distribution, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 139: 283-295.

BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1984

Effects of mass motions on solar emission measures inferred from transition-region emission lines

Extreme ultraviolet emission line intensities predicted by a numerical model which includes nonequilibrium ionization balance are used as input 'observational' intensities to calculate volume emission measures following a standard method which assumes ionization equilibrium. These 'observational' emission measures are then compared with the actual emission measure distribution in the atmospheric model. For static equilibrium models, the two sets of emission measures are in good agreement. When mass motions are present, the emission measures calculated from the line intensities differ significantly from the actual values.

Mariska, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Mechanical heating in the transition region

Attention is focused on the energy balance in the transition region and the role that mechanical heating plays in determining the temperature density structure of this region in a stellar atmosphere. Because of its role as the interface layer through which mass and energy flow between the chromospheres and corona, direct deposition of mechanical energy is a relatively unimportant factor in the overall energy balance in the transition region, except in the uppermost layers where the temperature approaches coronal values.

Withbroe, G.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Thrust Stand for Electric Propulsion Performance Evaluation

An electric propulsion thrust stand capable of supporting testing of thrusters having a total mass of up to 125 kg and producing thrust levels between 100 microN to 1 N has been developed and tested. The design features a conventional hanging pendulum arm attached to a balance mechanism that converts horizontal deflections produced by the operating thruster into amplified vertical motion of a secondary arm. The level of amplification is changed through adjustment of the location of one of the pivot points linking the system. Response of the system depends on the relative magnitudes of the restoring moments applied by the displaced thruster mass and the twisting torsional pivots connecting the members of the balance mechanism. Displacement is measured using a non-contact, optical linear gap displacement transducer and balance oscillatory motion is attenuated using a passive, eddy-current damper. The thrust stand employs an automated leveling and thermal control system. Pools of liquid gallium are used to deliver power to the thruster without using solid wire connections, which can exert undesirable time-varying forces on the balance. These systems serve to eliminate sources of zero-drift that can occur as the stand thermally or mechanically shifts during the course of an experiment. An in-situ calibration rig allows for steady-state calibration before, during and after thruster operation. Thrust measurements were carried out on a cylindrical Hall thruster that produces mN-level thrust. The measurements were very repeatable, producing results that compare favorably with previously published performance data, but with considerably smaller uncertainty.

Polzin, Kurt A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

A feasibility study of developing toroidal tanks for a spinning spacecraft

A study was made to determine the feasibility of developing toroidal propellant tanks for a bipropellant (N204/MMH) propulsion system to be used in a proposed advanced Pioneer spin-stabilized vehicle intended for a Jupiter-orbiter and possibly a Saturn-orbiter mission. The rationale for considering the use of two toroidal tanks rather than the proposed use of four spherical tanks includes the belief that a more symmetrical distribution of propellant mass and a smaller variation in the position of the vehicle center-of-mass during propellant consumption would result, reducing requirements for attitude-control propellants, for balance weight, and for other weights associated with the dynamics of the spinning spacecraft. Results lead to the conclusion that a toroidal tank containing an effective, passive surface tension propellant acquisition device could be fabricated with available manufacturing methods and could be used interchangeably for either fuel or oxidizer.

Anderson, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Properties of African squall lines inferred from time-lapse satellite imagery

Analysis of 48 h of time-lapse satellite imagery of a family of squall lines in Africa links the phenomena with a characteristic cloud cluster and with a wind field perturbation which is enhanced in passing through an African easterly wave trough. A thin 'arc line' of low-level developing cumulus, a salient feature of the squall lines on the imagery, is shown to occur at the front boundary of the mesoscale/convective scale subsidence. Analysis of the wind field indicates that a squall line is associated with a vorticity center in the mid-level easterly flow which accompanies the mesoscale subsidence which, in turn, contributes to further forced ascent of subcloud air along the front of the squall line into convective towers which merge into an extensive anvil. The squall lines evolved through a life cycle of 6 to 12 h while the larger cloud cluster and wind perturbation lasted over 48 h. The magnitude of the vertical mass exchange suggests that squall-line families contribute significantly to the tropical energy balance.

Fortune, M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Properties of Longitudinal Flux Tube Waves: Wave Propagation in Solar and Stellar Wind Flows - III

We discuss the analytic properties of longitudinal tube waves taking into account ambient wind flows. This is an extension of the studies of Papers I and II, which assumed a mean flow speed of zero and also dealt with a simplified horizontal pressure balance. Applications include the study of longitudinal flux tube waves in stars with significant mass loss and heating and dynamics of plumes in the solar wind. Slow magnetosonic waves, also called longitudinal waves, have been observed in solar plumes and are likely an important source of heating. We show that the inclusion of ambient wind flows considerably alters the limiting shock strength as well as the energy damping length of waves.

Cuntz, M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Properties of Longitudinal Flux Tube Waves: Wave Propagation in Solar and Stellar Wind FLows - III

We discuss the analytic properties of longitudinal tube waves taking into account ambient wind flows. This is an extension of the studies of Papers I and II, which assumed a mean flow speed of zero and also dealt with a simplified horizontal pressure balance. Applications include the study of longitudinal flux tube waves in stars with significant mass loss and the heating and dynamics of plumes in the solar wind. Slow magnetosonic waves, also called longitudinal waves, have been observed in solar plumes and are likely an important source of heating. We show that the inclusion of ambient wind flows considerably alters the limiting shock strength as well as the energy damping length of the waves.

Cuntz, M.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Preliminary Development and Testing of a Self-Injecting Gallium MPD Thruster

Discharge current and terminal voltage measurements were performed on a gallium electromagnetic thruster at discharge currents in the range of 20-54 kA. It was found that the arc impedance has a value of 6-7 m(Omega) at peak current. The absence of high-frequency oscillations in the terminal voltage trace indicates lack of the "onset" condition often seen in MPD arcs, suggesting that a sufficient number of charge carriers are present for current conduction. The mass ablated per pulse was not measured experimentally; however the mass flow rate was calculated using an ion current assumption and an anode power balance. Measurement of arc impedance predicts a temperature of 3.5 eV which from Saha equilibrium corresponds to Z = 2.0 - 3.5, and assuming Z = 2 yields an Isp of 3000 s and thrust efficiency of 50%.

Thomas, Robert E.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Asteroid Crewed Segment Mission Lean Development

The next generation of human spaceflight missions presents numerous challenges to designers that must be addressed to produce a feasible concept. The specific challenges of designing an exploration mission utilizing the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft to carry astronauts beyond earth orbit to explore an asteroid stored in a distant retrograde orbit around the moon will be addressed. Mission designers must carefully balance competing constraints including cost, schedule, risk, and numerous spacecraft performance metrics including launch mass, nominal landed mass, abort landed mass, mission duration, consumable limits and many others. The Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission will be described along with results from the concurrent mission design trades that led to its formulation. While the trades presented are specific to this mission, the integrated process is applicable to any potential future mission. The following trades were critical in the mission formulation and will be described in detail: 1) crew size, 2) mission duration, 3) trajectory design, 4) docking vs grapple, 5) extravehicular activity tasks, 6) launch mass and integrated vehicle performance, 7) contingency performance, 8) crew consumables including food, clothing, oxygen, nitrogen and water, and 9) mission risk. The additional Orion functionality required to perform the Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission and how it is incorporated while minimizing cost, schedule and mass impacts will be identified. Existing investments in the NASA technology portfolio were leveraged to provide the added functionality that will be beneficial to future exploration missions. Mission kits are utilized to augment Orion with the necessary functionality without introducing costly new requirements to the mature Orion spacecraft design effort. The Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission provides an exciting early mission for the Orion and SLS while providing a stepping stone to even more ambitious missions in the future.

Gard, Joe↗
NASA NTRS2014

Effects of Extreme Obliquity Variations on the Habitability of Exoplanets

We explore the impact of obliquity variations on planetary habitability in hypothetical systems with high mutual inclination. We show that large-amplitude, high-frequency obliquity oscillations on Earth-like exoplanets can suppress the ice-albedo feedback, increasing the outer edge of the habitable zone. We restricted our exploration to hypothetical systems consisting of a solar-mass star, an Earth-mass planet at 1 AU, and 1 or 2 larger planets. We verified that these systems are stable for 108 years with N-body simulations and calculated the obliquity variations induced by the orbital evolution of the Earth-mass planet and a torque from the host star. We ran a simplified energy balance model on the terrestrial planet to assess surface temperature and ice coverage on the planet's surface, and we calculated differences in the outer edge of the habitable zone for planets with rapid obliquity variations. For each hypothetical system, we calculated the outer edge of habitability for two conditions: (1) the full evolution of the planetary spin and orbit and (2) the eccentricity and obliquity fixed at their average values. We recovered previous results that higher values of fixed obliquity and eccentricity expand the habitable zone, but we also found that obliquity oscillations further expand habitable orbits in all cases. Terrestrial planets near the outer edge of the habitable zone may be more likely to support life in systems that induce rapid obliquity oscillations as opposed to fixed-spin planets. Such planets may be the easiest to directly characterize with space-borne telescopes.

habitability of exoplanets↗
NASA NTRS2004

Inducer Hydrodynamic Forces in a Cavitating Environment

Marshall Space Flight Center has developed and demonstrated a measurement device for sensing and resolving the hydrodynamic loads on fluid machinery. The device - a derivative of the six-component wind tunnel balance - senses the forces and moments on the rotating device through a weakened shaft section instrumented with a series of strain gauges. This rotating balance was designed to directly measure the steady and unsteady hydrodynamic loads on an inducer, thereby defining the amplitude and frequency content associated with operating in various cavitation modes. The rotating balance was calibrated statically using a dead-weight load system in order to generate the 6 x 12 calibration matrix later used to convert measured voltages to engineering units. Structural modeling suggested that the rotating assembly first bending mode would be significantly reduced with the balance s inclusion. This reduction in structural stiffness was later confirmed experimentally with a hammer-impact test. This effect, coupled with the relatively large damping associated with the rotating balance waterproofing material, limited the device s bandwidth to approximately 50 Hertz Other pre-test validations included sensing the test article rotating assembly built-in imbalance for two configurations and directly measuring the assembly mass and buoyancy while submerged under water. Both tests matched predictions and confirmed the device s sensitivity while stationary and rotating. The rotating balance was then demonstrated in a water test of a full-scale Space Shuttle Main Engine high-pressure liquid oxygen pump inducer. Experimental data was collected a scaled operating conditions at three flow coefficients across a range of cavitation numbers for the single inducer geometry and radial clearance. Two distinct cavitation modes were observed symmetric tip vortex cavitation and alternate-blade cavitation. Although previous experimental tests on the same inducer demonstrated two additional cavitation modes at lower inlet pressures, these conditions proved unreachable with the rotating balance installed due to the intense dynamic environment. The sensed radial load was less influenced by flow coefficient than by cavitation number or cavitation mode although the flow coefficient range was relatively narrow. Transition from symmetric tip vortex to alternate-blade cavitation corresponded to changes in both radial load magnitude and radial load orientation relative to the inducer. Sensed moments indicated that the effective load center moved downstream during this change in cavitation mode. An occurrence of "higher+rdex cavitation" was also detected in both the stationary pressures and the rotating balance data although the frequency of the phenomena was well above the reliable bandwidth of the rotating balance. In summary the experimental tests proved both the concept and device s capability despite the limitations and confirmed that hydrodynamically-induced forces and moments develop in response to the unbalanced pressure field, which is, in turn, a product of the cavitation environment.

Skelley, Stephen E.↗
NASA NTRS1978

User's instructions for the erythropoiesis regulatory model

The purpose of the model provides a method to analyze some of the events that could account for the decrease in red cell mass observed in crewmen returning from space missions. The model is based on the premise that erythrocyte production is governed by the balance between oxygen supply and demand at a renal sensing site. Oxygen supply is taken to be a function of arterial oxygen tension, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, oxy-hemoglobin carrying capacity, hematocrit, and blood flow. Erythrocyte destruction is based on the law of mass action. The instantaneous hematocrit value is derived by integrating changes in production and destruction rates and accounting for the degree of plasma dilution.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

A numerical hydrodynamic study of coalescence in head-on collisions of identical stars.

The specific results reported refer to head-on collisions between identical polytropes of index 3 having solar mass and radius. If the polytropes were initially at rest at infinity, then about 5% of the combined mass is lost by ejection following collision. The volatilized mass fraction rises to about 18% for an initial relative collision velocity of 1000 km/sec at infinite separation, and to about 60% for the 2000 km/sec case. Since the initial kinetic and gravitational energies balance for a relative velocity of 1512 km/sec at infinity, it may be seen that net coalescence persists to velocities somewhat in excess of this figure. Mass ejection takes place in two ways simultaneously: (1) by a rapid sideward expulsion of fluid in a massive lateral sheet normal to the collision axis, and (2) as a result of two recoil shocks which lead momentum flows backward along this axis. The lateral effect has similarities to the expansion of gas into a vacuum i.e., shocks are not involved. However, the ejection of material from the rear colliding hemisphere due to the recoil shocks predominates at low collision velocities. As the velocity increases, both effects strengthen, but the lateral expulsion intensifies more rapidly than the recoil shocks.

Seidl, F. G. P.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of aerosol activation in the double-moment Unified Model and evaluation with CLARIFY measurements

Representing the number and mass of cloud and aerosol particles independently in a climate, weather prediction or air quality model is important in order to simulate aerosol direct and indirect effects on radiation balance. Here we introduce the first configuration of the UK Met Office Unified Model in which both cloud and aerosol particles have “double-moment” representations with prognostic number and mass. The GLObal Model of Aerosol Processes (GLOMAP) aerosol microphysics scheme, already used in the Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model version 3 (HadGEM3) climate configuration, is coupled to the Cloud AeroSol Interacting Microphysics (CASIM) cloud microphysics scheme. We demonstrate the performance of the new configuration in high-resolution simulations of a case study defined from the CLARIFY aircraft campaign in 2017 near Ascension Island in the tropical southern Atlantic. We improve the physical basis of the activation scheme by representing the effect of existing cloud droplets on the activation of new aerosol, and we also discuss the effect of unresolved vertical velocities. We show that neglect of these two competing effects in previous studies led to compensating errors but realistic droplet concentrations. While these changes lead only to a modest improvement in model performance, they reinforce our confidence in the ability of the model microphysics code to simulate the aerosol–cloud microphysical interactions it was designed to represent. Capturing these interactions accurately is critical to simulating aerosol effects on climate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2002

Geostrophic balance with a full Coriolis Force: implications for low latitutde studies

In its standard form, geostrophic balance uses a partial representation of the Coriolis force. The resulting formation has a singularity at the equator, and violates mass and momentum conservation. When the horizontal projection of the planetary rotation vector is considered, the singularity at the equator disappears, continuity can be preserved, and quasigeostrophy can be formulated at planetary scale.

balance atmosphere geostrophy remote sensing wind↗
NASA NTRS2016

Constraints on LISA Pathfinder's Self-Gravity: Design Requirements, Estimates and Testing Procedures

LISA Pathfinder satellite was launched on 3 December 2015 toward the Sun Earth first Lagrangian point (L1) where the LISA Technology Package (LTP), which is the main science payload, will be tested. LTP achieves measurements of differential acceleration of free-falling test masses (TMs) with sensitivity below 3 x 10(exp -14) m s(exp -2) Hz(exp - 1/2) within the 130 mHz frequency band in one dimension. The spacecraft itself is responsible for the dominant differential gravitational field acting on the two TMs. Such a force interaction could contribute a significant amount of noise and thus threaten the achievement of the targeted free-fall level. We prevented this by balancing the gravitational forces to the sub nm s(exp -2) level, guided by a protocol based on measurements of the position and the mass of all parts that constitute the satellite, via finite element calculation tool estimates. In this paper, we will introduce the gravitational balance requirements and design, and then discuss our predictions for the balance that will be achieved in flight.

Armano, M.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Comparing Liquid Vortex Capture & the Rapid Droplet Sampling Interface for Single Cell Mass Spectrometry

High-throughput single-cell mass spectrometry is a rapidly evolving field that requires innovative sampling and ionization techniques to balance speed, sensitivity, and reliability for metabolomic and lipidomic analyses. This study provides a comparative analysis of two cutting-edge ionization platforms for single-cell analysis: Liquid Vortex Capture (LVC) and Rapid Droplet Sampling Interface (RDSI). The performance was benchmarked by testing pharmaceuticals, EquiSPLASH, and single-cell experiments. RDSI demonstrated up to 100-fold improvements in sensitivity for drugs and lipids such as propranolol, amiodarone, atorvastatin, and phosphocholines in water and phosphate-buffered solutions. This was attributed to its low-flow rate operation (3 μL/min) and reduced dilution. Conversely, LVC excelled in handling higher liquid volumes with greater reproducibility due to its higher solvent flow rate (200 μL/min), enabling increased dilution, solubility, and cleaning. Single-cell uptake of atorvastatin incubated for 10 min, or amiodarone incubated for 24 h in HepG2 cells, similarly revealed up to 85-fold enhancement in sensitivity by RDSI for drugs and lipids. These findings highlight the potential of RDSI for enhancing sensitivity in single-cell drug monitoring and lipidomics.

Cahill, John [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000298664010)↗