Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Migration”

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 1,117 records · Page 62

Recent Developments in Silver/Zinc Rechargeable Cell Studies

This viewgraph presentation discusses silver/zinc cell casing configurations and test results examining discharge capacity and silver migration comparisons. The following recommendations were proposed: 1) Use silver-treated cellophane instead of clear cellophane; 2) Use split wrap for cellophane whenever possible; and 3) Strongly consider use of sausage casing with PVA film in the following configuration: 1-mil (tubular) SC/1-mil PVA film/2.3-mil plain or 6-mil fiber-reinforced SC tubular.

Lewis, Harlan L.↗

The Reactions of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons with OH

The OH radical adds to naphthalene and naphthalene cation without a barrier. For the neutrals, the most favorable path for this intermediate is the loss of the OH, and the next most favorable option is the loss of an H atom to form the alcohol. For the cation, the most favorable path appears to be a hydrogen migration followed by the loss of a hydrogen to form the alcohol. The OH at carbon atom 1 is energetically most favorable for both the initial complex and final product. This is true for both the neutrals and cations.

Ricca, Alessandra↗

Electrophoretic Focusing

Electrophoretic focusing is a new method of continuous flow electrophoresis that introduces precision flow control to achieve high resolution separations. The electric field is applied perpendicular to an incoming sample lamina and buffer but also perpendicular to the broad faces of the thin rectangular chamber. A uniform fluid cross-flow then enters and exits the separation chamber through the same broad faces which are porous. A balance is achieved by adjusting either the electric field or the cross-flow so the desired sample fraction with its specific migration velocity encounters an opposing flow of the same velocity. Applying an electric field transverse to the incoming sample lamina and opposing this field with a carefully configured buffer flow, a sample constituent can be selected and focused into a narrow stream for subsequent analysis. Monotonically changing either electric field or buffer cross-flow will yield a scan of all constituents of the sample. Stopping the scan increases the collection time for minor constituents to improve their analysis. Using the high voltage gradients and/or cross-flow to rapidly deflect extraneous sample through the porous screens and into either of the side (purge) chambers, the selected sample is focused in the center plane of the separation chamber and collected without contact or interaction with the separation chamber walls. Results will be presented on the separation of a range of materials including dyes, proteins, and monodisperse polystyrene latexes. Sources of sample dispersion inherent in other electrokinetic techniques will be shown to be negligible for a variety of sample concentrations, buffer properties and operating conditions.

Snyder, Robert S.↗

Structure and Variability of Water Vapor in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

Upper-tropospheric humidity (UTH) has been synoptically mapped via an algorithm that rejects small-scale undersampled variance, which is intrinsic to asymptotic measurements of water vapor, cloud, and other convective properties. Mapped distributions of UTH have been used, jointly with high-resolution Global Cloud Imagery (GCI), to study how the upper troposphere is humidified. The time-mean distribution of UTH is spatially correlated to the time-mean distribution of cold cloud fraction (eta)(sub c) (T < than 230 K). Regions of large UTH coincide with regions of large eta(sub c), which mark deep convection. They also coincide with regions of reduced vertical stability, in which the vertical gradient of theta is weakened by convective mixing. Coldest cloud cover is attended convective overshoots above the local tropopause, which is simultaneously coldest and highest. Together, these features reflect the upper-troposphere being ventilated by convection, which mixes in moist air from lower levels. Histograms of UTH and eta(sub c) have been applied to construct the joint probability density function, which quantifies the relationship between these properties. The expected value of UTH in convective regions is strongly correlated to the expected value of eta(sub c). In ensembles of asymptotic samples, the correlation between epsilon[UTH] and epsilon[eta(sub c)] exceeds 0.80. As these expectations reflect the most likely values, the strong correlation between epsilon[UTH] and epsilon[eta(sub c)] indicates that the large-scale organization of UTH is strongly shaped by convective pumping of moisture from lower levels. The same relationship holds for unsteady fields - even though, instantaneously, those fields are comprised almost entirely of small-scale convective structure. The spatial autocorrelation of UTH, constructed at high resolution from overpass data along ascending and descending tracks of the orbit, is limited to only a couple of degrees in the horizontal. This mirrors the spatial autocorrelation of eta(sub c), which likewise operates coherently on short scales. The short correlation scale of UTH, which reflects the scale of individual convective systems, is comparable to the spacing of retrievals from MLS. These scales are undersampled in the asynoptic measurements. Despite their prevalence, the mapping algorithm described above successfully recovers synoptic behavior operating coherently on large scales. It reveals eastward migration of anomalous UTH from the Indian ocean to the central Pacific, in association with the modulation of convection by the Madden-Julian oscillation. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Salby, Murry L.↗

Methodologies and Tools for Tuning Parallel Programs: Facts and Fantasies

The need for computing power has forced a migration from serial computation on a single processor to parallel processing on multiprocessors. However, without effective means to monitor (and analyze) program execution, tuning the performance of parallel programs becomes exponentially difficult as program complexity and machine size increase. The recent introduction of performance tuning tools from various supercomputer vendors (Intel's ParAide, TMC's PRISM, CRI's Apprentice, and Convex's CXtrace) seems to indicate the maturity of performance tool technologies and vendors'/customers' recognition of their importance. However, a few important questions remain: What kind of performance bottlenecks can these tools detect (or correct)? How time consuming is the performance tuning process? What are some important technical issues that remain to be tackled in this area? This workshop reviews the fundamental concepts involved in analyzing and improving the performance of parallel and heterogeneous message-passing programs. Several alternative strategies will be contrasted, and for each we will describe how currently available tuning tools (e.g. AIMS, ParAide, PRISM, Apprentice, CXtrace, ATExpert, Pablo, IPS-2) can be used to facilitate the process. We will characterize the effectiveness of the tools and methodologies based on actual user experiences at NASA Ames Research Center. Finally, we will discuss their limitations and outline recent approaches taken by vendors and the research community to address them.

Yan, Jerry C.↗

Financing the Airport of the Future: The Small Aircraft Transportation System

The objective of SATS is to reduce gridlock at hubs, reduce travel times, allow for personal control over travel, and anticipate demand shifts resulting from a migration from suburbs to rural places. The technology is presently available and economical to produce SATS aircraft. The public issue centers on the airports. SATS is a federal program, and many airports in the U.S. are under the control of local governments. The scope of the objective will require thousands of airports in rural and suburban areas to modify their infrastructure and increase their investment. Researchers at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), and others at other institutions, have prepared reports surveying the relevant issues of implementing SATS. Our UNO team focused on the issues of policy implementation, economic development, management, and finance specific to Nebraska. We are finding that these issues are similar to those in other states in our region and other rural states. This paper discusses how this investment might be financed.

Bartle, John R.↗

Performance Evaluation Methodologies and Tools for Massively Parallel Programs

The need for computing power has forced a migration from serial computation on a single processor to parallel processing on multiprocessors. However, without effective means to monitor (and analyze) program execution, tuning the performance of parallel programs becomes exponentially difficult as program complexity and machine size increase. The recent introduction of performance tuning tools from various supercomputer vendors (Intel's ParAide, TMC's PRISM, CSI'S Apprentice, and Convex's CXtrace) seems to indicate the maturity of performance tool technologies and vendors'/customers' recognition of their importance. However, a few important questions remain: What kind of performance bottlenecks can these tools detect (or correct)? How time consuming is the performance tuning process? What are some important technical issues that remain to be tackled in this area? This workshop reviews the fundamental concepts involved in analyzing and improving the performance of parallel and heterogeneous message-passing programs. Several alternative strategies will be contrasted, and for each we will describe how currently available tuning tools (e.g., AIMS, ParAide, PRISM, Apprentice, CXtrace, ATExpert, Pablo, IPS-2)) can be used to facilitate the process. We will characterize the effectiveness of the tools and methodologies based on actual user experiences at NASA Ames Research Center. Finally, we will discuss their limitations and outline recent approaches taken by vendors and the research community to address them.

Yan, Jerry C.↗

Reducing Backups by Utilizing DMF

Although a filesystem may be migratable, for a period of time the data blocks are on disk only. When performing system dumps, these data blocks are backed up to tape. If the data blocks are offline or dual resident, then only the inode is backed up. If all online files are made dual resident prior to performing system dumps, the dump time and the amount of resources required can be significantly reduced. The High Speed Processors group at the Numerical Aerodynamics Simulation (NAS) Facility at NASA Ames Research Center developed a tool to make all online files dual resident. The result is that a file whose data blocks are on DMF tape and still assigned to the original inode. Our 150GB filesystem used to take 8 to 12 hours to backup and used 50 to 60 tapes. Now the backup is typically under 10 tapes and completes in under 2 hours. This paper discusses this new tool and advantages gained by using it.

Cardo, Nicholas P.↗

Computed Minimum Energy Pathway for Isomerization in Ketene

A minimum energy pathway for interchange of the CH groups in ketene via a C2v structure has been obtained using complete active space self consistent field (CASSCF) derivative methods with a polarized valence double zeta basis set to define the reaction pathway followed by multi-reference internally contracted configuration interaction (ICCI) calculations with a [3s3p2d/3s2p] basis set to determine the energetics. Qualitatively, the C2v structure is found to be a shallow minimum on the potential energy surface separated from ketene by a small barrier (0.2 kcal/mol), a second minimum, and a larger barrier (3.0 kcal/mol). The minimum energy pathway leading from the C2v minimum to ketene starts by simultaneous rotation of the farther CH group out of the plane and away from the oxygen followed by increase of the CCO angle and subsequent 1,2-migration of the H of the nearer CH group toward the carbon of the farther CH group.

Walch, Stephen P.↗

An Interconnected Network of Core-Forming Melts Produced by Shear Deformation

The formation mechanism of terrestrial planetary is still poorly understood, and has been the subject of numerous experimental studies. Several mechanisms have been proposed by which metal-mainly iron with some nickel-could have been extracted from a silicate mantle to form the core. Most recent models involve gravitational sinking of molten metal or metal sulphide through a partially or fully molten mantle that is often referred to as a'magma ocean. Alternative models invoke percolation of molten metal along an interconnected network (that is, porous flow) through a solid silicate matrix. But experimental studies performed at high pressures have shown that, under hydrostatic conditions, these melts do not form an interconnected network, leading to the widespread assumption that formation of metallic cores requires a magma ocean. In contrast, here we present experiments which demonstrate that shear deformation to large strains can interconnect a significant fraction of initially isolated pockets of metal and metal sulphide melts in a solid matrix of polycrystalline olivine. Therefore, in a dynamic (nonhydrostatic) environment, percolation remains a viable mechanism for the segregation and migration of core-forming melts in a solid silicate mantle.

Bruhn, D.↗

A New Global Potential Energy Surface for the Hydroperoxyl Radical, HO2: Reaction Coefficients for H + O2 and Vibrational Splittings for H Atom Transfer

A new analytic global potential energy surface describing the hydroperoxyl radical system H((sup 2)S) + O2(X (sup 3)Sigma((sup -)(sub g))) (reversible reaction) HO2 ((X-tilde) (sup 2)A'') (reversible reaction) O((sup 3)P) + O H (X (sup 2)Pi) has been fitted using the ab initio complete active space SCF (self-consistent-field)/externally contracted configuration interaction (CASSCF/CCI) energy calculations of Walch and Duchovic. Results of quasiclassical trajectory studies to determine the rate coefficients of the forward and reverse reactions at combustion temperatures will be presented. In addition, vibrational energy levels were calculated using the quantum DVR-DGB (discrete variable representation-distributed Gaussian basis) method and the splitting due to H atom migration is investigated. The material of the proposed presentation was reviewed and the technical content will not reveal any information not already in the public domain and will not give any foreign industry or government a competitive advantage.

Dateo, Christopher E.↗

Beyond a Terabyte File System

The Numerical Aerodynamics Simulation Facility's (NAS) CRAY C916/1024 accesses a "virtual" on-line file system, which is expanding beyond a terabyte of information. This paper will present some options to fine tuning Data Migration Facility (DMF) to stretch the online disk capacity and explore the transitions to newer devices (STK 4490, ER90, RAID).

Powers, Alan K.↗

Issues Related to Cleaning Complex Geometry Surfaces with ODC-Free Solvents

Implementing ozone depleting chemicals (ODC)-free solvents into full-scale reusable solid rocket motor cleaning operations has presented problems due to the low vapor pressures of the solvents. Because of slow evaporation, solvent retention is a problem on porous substrates or on surfaces with irregular geometry, such as threaded boltholes, leak check ports, and nozzle backfill joints. The new solvents are being evaluated to replace 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which readily evaporates from these surfaces. Selection of the solvents to be evaluated on full-scale hardware was made based on results of subscale tests performed with flat surface coupons, which did not manifest the problem. Test efforts have been undertaken to address concerns with the slow-evaporating solvents. These concerns include effects on materials due to long-term exposure to solvent, potential migration from bolthole threads to seal surfaces, and effects on bolt loading due to solvent retention in threads. Tests performed to date have verified that retained solvent does not affect materials or hardware performance. Process modifications have also been developed to assist drying, and these can be implemented if additional drying becomes necessary.

Bradford, Blake F.↗

The K-8 Aeronautics Internet Textbook

Efforts were focused on web site migration, from UC (University of California) Davis to the National Business Aviation Association's (NBAA) web site. K8AIT (K-8 Aeronautics Internet Textbook), which has remained an unadvertised web site, receives almost two million hits per month. Project continuation funding with the National Business Aviation Association is being pursued. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NASA Ames LTP (Learning Technologies Project) and Cislunar has been drafted and approved by NASA's legal department. Additional web content on space flight and the Wright brothers has been added in English and Spanish.

Source record↗

Integrating D3 Technology into an Existing DMF Configuration

The Numerical Aerodynamics Simulation (NAS) Facility's CRAY C916/1024 has 240+ GB of SuperHome storage with 2 TB of migrated storage. NAS is a beta test site for the Storage Technology Corporation (STK) Redwood (SD-3) device and Cray's DMF 2.3. This discussion will include a list of resolved problems and various metrics relative to transfer, search, rewind, unload, and mount timings. Also covered will be how DMF 2.3 with the advance tape MSP will integrate the Redwood tape drives along with the existing STK 4490 tape drives to potentially reduce the number of tapes used by 85%.

Powers, Alan K.↗

Formation of Planetary Systems

Stars are observed to be forming within cold regions of the galaxy called molecular clouds. A clump of gas and dust within a molecular cloud can collapse into a rotationally- supported disk orbiting the pre s sure -supported star. Such a disk has the same initial elemental composition as the growing star. At sufficient distances from the central star, it is cool enough for approx. 1 - 2% of this material to be in solid form, either remnant interstellar grains or condensates formed within the disk. During the infall stage, the disk is very active and probably highly turbulent. When the infall slows substantially or stops, the disk becomes more quiescent. The dust grows from micron-sized dust to kilometer-sized planetesimals by physical collisions, possibly aided by collective gravity. The dynamics of larger solid bodies within protoplanetary disks are better characterized. The primary perturbations on the orbits of kilometer-sized and larger planetesimals in protoplanetary disks are mutual gravitational interactions and physical collisions. These interactions lead to accretion (and in some cases erosion and fragmentation) of planetesimals. The most massive planets have the largest gravitationally-enhanced collision cross-sections, and accrete almost everything with which they collide. The size distribution of solid bodies becomes quite skewed, with a few large bodies growing much faster than the rest of the swarm, until they have accumulated most of the small bodies within their gravitational reach. Slower growth continues (at least for solid, earth-like planets) as the eccentricities of planetary embryos are pumped up by long-range mutual gravitational perturbations. As planetary masses increase, they become more efficient at stirring random velocities of neighboring bodies. If sufficiently massive and dense planets exist far enough from the star, they can eject material into interstellar space. In most models, giant planets begin their growth like terrestrial planets, but if they become massive enough before the protoplanetary disk dissipates, then they are able to accumulate substantial amounts of gas. Giant planet growth times predicted by current models are similar to estimates of the lifetime of the gaseous protoplanetary disk, so we don't know whether or not giant planets form in most protoplanetary disks. However, planets that become massive while a substantial amount of gas remains in the disk may migrate into the star as a consequence of their gravitational interactions with the disk.

Lissauer, Jack J.↗

Methodologies and Tools for Tuning Parallel Programs: 80% Art, 20% Science, and 10% Luck

The need for computing power has forced a migration from serial computation on a single processor to parallel processing on multiprocessors. However, without effective means to monitor (and analyze) program execution, tuning the performance of parallel programs becomes exponentially difficult as program complexity and machine size increase. In the past few years, the ubiquitous introduction of performance tuning tools from various supercomputer vendors (Intel's ParAide, TMC's PRISM, CRI's Apprentice, and Convex's CXtrace) seems to indicate the maturity of performance instrumentation/monitor/tuning technologies and vendors'/customers' recognition of their importance. However, a few important questions remain: What kind of performance bottlenecks can these tools detect (or correct)? How time consuming is the performance tuning process? What are some important technical issues that remain to be tackled in this area? This workshop reviews the fundamental concepts involved in analyzing and improving the performance of parallel and heterogeneous message-passing programs. Several alternative strategies will be contrasted, and for each we will describe how currently available tuning tools (e.g. AIMS, ParAide, PRISM, Apprentice, CXtrace, ATExpert, Pablo, IPS-2) can be used to facilitate the process. We will characterize the effectiveness of the tools and methodologies based on actual user experiences at NASA Ames Research Center. Finally, we will discuss their limitations and outline recent approaches taken by vendors and the research community to address them.

Yan, Jerry C.↗

Formation Of the Giant Planets By Concurrent Accretion Of Solids And Gas

New numerical simulations of the formation of the giant planets are presented, in which for the first time both the gas and planetesimal accretion rates are calculated in a self-consistent, interactive fashion. The simulations combine three elements: 1) three-body accretion cross-sections of solids onto an isolated planetary embryo, 2) a stellar evolution code for the planet's gaseous envelope, and 3) a planetesimal dissolution code within the envelope, used to evaluate the planet's effective capture radius and the energy deposition profile of accreted material. Major assumptions include: The planet is embedded in a disk of gas and small planetesimals with locally uniform initial surface mass density, and planetesimals are not allowed to migrate into or out of the planet's feeding zone. All simulations are characterized by three major phases. During the first phase, the planet's mass consists primarily of solid material. The planetesimal accretion rate, which dominates that of gas, rapidly increases owing to runaway accretion, then decreases as the planet's feeding zone is depleted. During the second phase, both solid and gas accretion rates are small and nearly independent of time. The third phase, marked by runaway gas accretion, starts when the solid and gas masses are about equal. It is engendered by a strong positive feedback on the gas accretion rates, driven by the rapid contraction of the gaseous envelope and the rapid expansion of the outer boundary, which depends on the planet's total mass. The overall evolutionary time scale is generally determined by the length of the second phase. The actual rates at which the giant planets accreted small planetesimals is probably intermediate between the constant rates assumed in most previous studies and the highly variable rates that we have used. Within the context, of the adopted model of planetesimal accretion, the joint constraints of the time scale for dissipation of the solar nebula and the current high-Z masses of the giant planets lead to estimates of the initial surface density (sigma(sub init)) of planetesimals in the outer region of the solar nebula. The results show sigma(sub init) approx. = 10 g/sq cm near Jupiter's orbit and that sigma(sub init) proportional to alpha(sup -2), where alpha is the distance from the Sun. These values are a factor of 3 - 4 times as high as that of the "minimum mass" solar nebula at Jupiter's distance and a factor of 2 - 3 times as high it Saturn's distance. Our estimates for the formation time of Jupiter and Saturn are 1 - 10 million years while those for Uranus fall in the range of 2 - 16 million years. These estimates follow from the properties of our Solar System and do not necessarily apply to giant planets in other planetary systems.

Pollack, James B.↗