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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.

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At least 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2012

Constraining Middle Atmospheric Moisture in GEOS-5 Using EOS-MLS Observations

Middle atmospheric water vapor plays an important role in climate and atmospheric chemistry. In the middle atmosphere, water vapor, after ozone and carbon dioxide, is an important radiatively active gas that impacts climate forcing and the energy balance. It is also the source of the hydroxyl radical (OH) whose abundances affect ozone and other constituents. The abundance of water vapor in the middle atmosphere is determined by upward transport of dehydrated air through the tropical tropopause layer, by the middle atmospheric circulation, production by the photolysis of methane (CH4), and other physical and chemical processes in the stratosphere and mesosphere. The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) reanalysis with GEOS-5 did not assimilate any moisture observations in the middle atmosphere. The plan is to use such observations, available sporadically from research satellites, in future GEOS-5 reanalyses. An overview will be provided of the progress to date with assimilating the EOS-Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) moisture retrievals, alongside ozone and temperature, into GEOS-5. Initial results demonstrate that the MLS observations can significantly improve the middle atmospheric moisture field in GEOS-5, although this result depends on introducing a physically meaningful representation of background error covariances for middle atmospheric moisture into the system. High-resolution features in the new moisture field will be examined, and their relationships with ozone, in a two-year assimilation experiment with GEOS-5. Discussion will focus on how Aura MLS moisture observations benefit the analyses.

Jin, Jianjun↗
DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-T-73: A Robust Proton Beam Therapy Technique for High-Risk Prostate Cancer Whole Pelvis Irradiation: Bilateral Opposed Single Field Uniform Dose (SFUD) Plan with Lateral Penumbra Gradient Matching

Purpose: To develop a clinical feasible and robust proton therapy technique to spare bowel, bladder and rectum for high-risk prostate cancer patients Methods: The study includes 3 high-risk prostate cancer cases treated with bilateral opposed SFUD with lateral penumbra gradient matching technique prescribed to 5400cGyE in 30 fx in our institution. To treat whole pelvic lymph node chain, the complicated ‘H’ shape, using SFUD technique, we divided the target into two sub-targets (LLAT beam treating ‘90 degree T-shape’ and RLAT beam treating ‘: shape’) in Plan A and use lateral penumbra gradient matching at patient’s left side. Vice verse in Plan B. Each plan deliver half of the prescription dose. Beam-specific PTVs were created to take range uncertainty and setup error into account. For daily treatment, patient received four fields from both plan A and B per day. Robustness evaluation were performed in the worst case scenario with 3.5% range uncertainty and 1, 2, 3mm overlap or gap between LLAT and RLAT field matching in Raystation 4.0. All of cases also have a Tomotherapy backup plan approved by physician as a dosimetric comparison. Results: The total treatment time take 15–20mins including IGRT and four fields delivery on ProteusONE, a compact size PBS proton system, compared to 25–30min in traditional Tomotherapy. Robustness analysis shows that this plan technique is insensitive to the range uncertainties. With the lateral gradient matching, 1, 2, 3mm overlap renders only 2.5%, 5.5% and 8% hot or cool spot in the junction areas. Dosimetric comparisons with Tomotherapy show a significant dose reduction in bladder D50%(14.7±9.3Gy), D35%(7.3±5.8Gy); small bowel and rectum average dose(19.6±7.5Gy and 14.5±6.3Gy respectively). Conclusion: The bilateral opposed(SFUD) plan with lateral penumbra gradient matching has been approved to be a safe, robust and efficient treatment option for whole pelvis high-risk prostate cancer patient which significantly spares the OARs.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Fast Algebraic Multigrid Solver and Accurate Discretization for Highly Anisotropic Heat Flux I: Open Field Lines

We present a novel solver technique for the anisotropic heat flux equation, aimed at the high level of anisotropy seen in magnetic confinement fusion plasmas. Such problems pose two major challenges: (i) discretization accuracy and (ii) efficient implicit linear solvers. We simultaneously address each of these challenges by constructing a new finite element discretization with excellent accuracy properties, tailored to a novel solver approach based on algebraic multigrid (AMG) methods designed for advective operators. We pose the problem in a mixed formulation, introducing the directional temperature gradient as an auxiliary variable. The temperature and auxiliary fields are discretized in a scalar discontinuous Galerkin space with upwinding principles used for discretizations of advection. We demonstrate the proposed discretization’s superior accuracy over other discretizations of anisotropic heat flux, achieving error 1000x smaller for anisotropy ratio of 10 9 , for closed field lines. The block matrix system is reordered and solved in an approach where the two advection operators are inverted using AMG solvers based on approximate ideal restriction, which is particularly efficient for upwind discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of advection. To ensure that the advection operators are nonsingular, in this paper we restrict ourselves to considering open (acyclic) magnetic field lines for the linear solvers. We demonstrate fast convergence of the proposed iterative solver in highly anisotropic regimes where other diffusion-based AMG methods fail.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1987

A method for overcoming the velocity space filamentation problem in collisionless plasma model solutions

The solution of filtered Vlasov-Maxwell equations, rather than the Vlasov-Maxwell equations themselves, is shown to ameliorate the velocity space filamentation problem in collisionless plasma models. Exact field solutions and filtered velocity distribution functions are obtained without introducing errors. Proper selection of the filter width is demonstrated to inhibit development of velocity space filamentation and, it is conjectured, position space filamentation. The results of sample calculations of both filtered and nonfiltered field solutions illustrate a high degree of agreement between both solutions, with significant savings in computational time and memory requirements with the filtered solutions.

Klimas, Alexander J.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Mean Field Games for Stochastic Growth with Relative Utility

This paper considers continuous time stochastic growth-consumption optimization in a mean field game setting. The individual capital stock evolution is determined by a Cobb–Douglas production function, consumption and stochastic depreciation. The individual utility functional combines an own utility and a relative utility with respect to the population. The use of the relative utility reflects human psychology, leading to a natural pattern of mean field interaction. The fixed point equation of the mean field game is derived with the aid of some ordinary differential equations. Due to the relative utility interaction, our performance analysis depends on some ratio based approximation error estimate.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1986

Orifice-induced pressure error studies in Langley 7- by 10-foot high-speed tunnel

For some time it has been known that the presence of a static pressure measuring hole will disturb the local flow field in such a way that the sensed static pressure will be in error. The results of previous studies aimed at studying the error induced by the pressure orifice were for relatively low Reynolds number flows. Because of the advent of high Reynolds number transonic wind tunnels, a study was undertaken to assess the magnitude of this error at high Reynolds numbers than previously published and to study a possible method of eliminating this pressure error. This study was conducted in the Langley 7- by 10-Foot High-Speed Tunnel on a flat plate. The model was tested at Mach numbers from 0.40 to 0.72 and at Reynolds numbers from 7.7 x 1,000,000 to 11 x 1,000,000 per meter (2.3 x 1,000,000 to 3.4 x 1,000,000 per foot), respectively. The results indicated that as orifice size increased, the pressure error also increased but that a porous metal (sintered metal) plug inserted in an orifice could greatly reduce the pressure error induced by the orifice.

Plentovich, E. B.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Physical optics simulations with PHASE for SwissFEL beamlines

PHASE is a software tool for physical optics simulation based on the stationary phase approximation method. The code is under continuous development since about 20 years and has been used for instance for fundamental studies and ray tracing of various beamlines at the Swiss Light Source. Along with the planning for SwissFEL a new hard X-ray free electron laser under construction, new features have been added to permit practical performance predictions including diffraction effects which emerge with the fully coherent source. We present the application of the package on the example of the ARAMIS 1 beamline at SwissFEL. The X-ray pulse calculated with GENESIS and given as an electrical field distribution has been propagated through the beamline to the sample position. We demonstrate the new features of PHASE like the treatment of measured figure errors, apertures and coatings of the mirrors and the application of Fourier optics propagators for free space propagation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1991

Limits on static shape control for space structures

This paper deals with correction of shape distortion due to zero-mean normally distributed errors in structural sizes. The concept of ideal actuators - actuators that can produce any desired displacement field - is introduced. Using this concept, a bound on the possible improvement in the expected value of the root-mean-square shape error is obtained. The shape correction associated with the ideal actuators is also characterized. An actuator effectiveness index is developed by comparing the displacement field generated by the actuator to the ideal. The results are specialized to a simple form for truss structures composed of nominally identical members. The bound and effectiveness index are tested on a 55-m radiometer antenna truss structure. It is found that previously obtained results for optimum actuators had a performance close to the bound obtained here. Also, it is found that large numbers of actuators are needed for large reductions in shape errors. Furthermore, the actuators associated with the optimum design are shown to have high effectiveness indices. Since only a small fraction of truss elements tend to have high effectiveness indices, the use of the effectiveness index can greatly reduce the number of truss members that need to be considered actuator sites.

Haftka, Raphael T.↗
DOE OSTI2016

POD-based constrained sensor placement and field reconstruction from noisy wind measurements: A perturbation study

Sensor placement at the extrema of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) is efficient and leads to accurate reconstruction of the wind field from a limited number of measure- ments. In this paper we extend this approach of sensor placement and take into account measurement errors and detect possible malfunctioning sensors. We use the 48 hourly spa- tial wind field simulation data sets simulated using the Weather Research an Forecasting (WRF) model applied to the Maine Bay to evaluate the performances of our methods. Specifically, we use an exclusion disk strategy to distribute sensors when the extrema of POD modes are close. It turns out that this strategy can also reduce the error of recon- struction from noise measurements. Also, by a cross-validation technique, we successfully locate the malfunctioning sensors.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1988

An improved error assessment for the GEM-T1 gravitational model

Several tests were designed to determine the correct error variances for the Goddard Earth Model (GEM)-T1 gravitational solution which was derived exclusively from satellite tracking data. The basic method employs both wholly independent and dependent subset data solutions and produces a full field coefficient estimate of the model uncertainties. The GEM-T1 errors were further analyzed using a method based upon eigenvalue-eigenvector analysis which calibrates the entire covariance matrix. Dependent satellite and independent altimetric and surface gravity data sets, as well as independent satellite deep resonance information, confirm essentially the same error assessment. These calibrations (utilizing each of the major data subsets within the solution) yield very stable calibration factors which vary by approximately 10 percent over the range of tests employed. Measurements of gravity anomalies obtained from altimetry were also used directly as observations to show that GEM-T1 is calibrated. The mathematical representation of the covariance error in the presence of unmodeled systematic error effects in the data is analyzed and an optimum weighting technique is developed for these conditions. This technique yields an internal self-calibration of the error model, a process which GEM-T1 is shown to approximate.

Lerch, F. J.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Sky Localization of Complete Inspiral-Merger-Ringdown Signals for Nonspinning Black Hole Binaries with LISA

We investigate the capability of LISA to measure the sky position of equal-mass, nonspinning black hole binaries, including for the first time the entire inspiral-merger-ringdown signal, the effect of the LISA orbits, and the complete three-channel LISA response. For an ensemble of systems near the peak of LISA's sensitivity band, with total rest mass of 2 x l0(exp 6) Stellar Mass at a redshift of z = 1 with random orientations and sky positions, we find median sky localization errors of approximately approx. 3 arcminutes. This is comparable to the field of view of powerful electromagnetic telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, that could be used to search for electromagnetic signals associated with merging black holes. We investigate the way in which parameter errors decrease with measurement time, focusing specifically on the additional information provided during the merger-ringdown segment of the signal. We find that this information improves all parameter estimates directly, rather than through diminishing correlations with any subset of well-determined parameters.

McWilliams, Sean T.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Too big, too small, or just right? A benchmark assessment of density functional theory for predicting the spatial extent of the electron density of small chemical systems

Multipole moments are the first-order responses of the energy to spatial derivatives of the electric field strength. The quality of density functional theory prediction of molecular multipole moments thus characterizes errors in modeling the electron density itself, as well as the performance in describing molecules interacting with external electric fields. However, only the lowest non-zero moment is translationally invariant, making the higher-order moments origin-dependent. Therefore, instead of using the 3 × 3 quadrupole moment matrix, we utilize the translationally invariant 3 × 3 matrix of second cumulants (or spatial variances) of the electron density as the quantity of interest (denoted by K). The principal components of K are the square of the spatial extent of the electron density along each axis. A benchmark dataset of the principal components of K for 100 small molecules at the coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples at the complete basis set limit is developed, resulting in 213 independent K components. The performance of 47 popular and recent density functionals is assessed against this Var213 dataset. Several functionals, especially double hybrids, and also SCAN and SCAN0 predict reliable second cumulants, although some modern, empirically parameterized functionals yield more disappointing performance. The H, Li, and Be atoms, in particular, are challenging for nearly all methods, indicating that future functional development could benefit from the inclusion of their density information in training or testing protocols.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1977

Magnetic heading reference

This invention employs a magnetometer as a magnetic heading reference for a vehicle such as a small aircraft. The magnetometer is mounted on a directional dial in the aircraft in the vicinity of the pilot such that it is free to turn with the dial about the yaw axis of the aircraft. The invention includes a circuit for generating a signal proportional to the northerly turning error produced in the magnetometer due to the vertical component of the earth's magnetic field. This generated signal is then subtracted from the output of the magnetometer to compensate for the northerly turning error.

Garner, H. D.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Sampling errors in the estimation of empirical orthogonal functions

Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF's), eigenvectors of the spatial cross-covariance matrix of a meteorological field, are reviewed with special attention given to the necessary weighting factors for gridded data and the sampling errors incurred when too small a sample is available. The geographical shape of an EOF shows large intersample variability when its associated eigenvalue is 'close' to a neighboring one. A rule of thumb indicating when an EOF is likely to be subject to large sampling fluctuations is presented. An explicit example, based on the statistics of the 500 mb geopotential height field, displays large intersample variability in the EOF's for sample sizes of a few hundred independent realizations, a size seldom exceeded by meteorological data sets.

North, G. R.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Measurements of extragalactic background light from the far UV to the far ir from deep ground- and space-based galaxy counts

We combine wide and deep galaxy number-count data from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly, COSMOS/G10, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Early Release Science, HST UVUDF, and various near-, mid-, and far-IR data sets from ESO, Spitzer, and Herschel. The combined data range from the far UV (0.15 μm) to far-IR (500 μm), and in all cases the contribution to the integrated galaxy light (IGL) of successively fainter galaxies converges. Using a simple spline fit, we derive the IGL and the extrapolated IGL in all bands. We argue that undetected low-surface-brightness galaxies and intracluster/group light are modest, and that our extrapolated-IGL measurements are an accurate representation of the extragalactic background light (EBL). Our data agree with most earlier IGL estimates and with direct measurements in the far IR, but disagree strongly with direct estimates in the optical. Close agreement between our results and recent very high-energy experiments (H.E.S.S. and MAGIC) suggests that there may be an additional foreground affecting the direct estimates. The most likely culprit could be the adopted model of zodiacal light. Finally we use a modified version of the two-component model to integrate the EBL and obtain measurements of the cosmic optical background (COB) and cosmic infrared background of 24{sub −4}{sup +4} nW m{sup −2} sr{sup −1} and 26{sub −5}{sup +5} nW m{sup −2} sr{sup −1} respectively (48%:52%). Over the next decade, upcoming space missions such as Euclid and the Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope will have the capacity to reduce the COB error to <1%, at which point comparisons to the very high-energy data could have the potential to provide a direct detection and measurement of the reionization field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1987

Determination of total ozone from HIRS2/MSU sounding data

The total ozone fields computed from the High Resolution Infrared Sounder 2/Microwave Sounding Unit (HIRS2/MSU) are somewhat noisy compared to Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) results and show latitude dependent systematic errors which vary slowly in time. Researchers used systematic errors from previous time periods to correct the HIRS2 soundings. Comparison of fields of HIRS2 and TOMS derived ozone are shown. Results are encouraging and indicate useful soundings of total O sub 3 burden can be done at night and in the polar winter. Ideally, joint infrared, microwave, and ultraviolet systems should be flown on low Earth orbiting and geostationary satellites to best utilize the complementary nature of the observations.

Susskind, Joel↗
NASA NTRS2020

Assessment of NO2 Observations During DISCOVER-AQ and KORUS-AQ Field Campaigns

NASA’s Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ, conducted in 2011–2014) campaign in the United States and the joint NASA and National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) Korea–United States Air Quality Study (KORUS-AQ, conducted in 2016) in South Korea were two field study programs that provided comprehensive, integrated data sets of airborne and surface observations of atmospheric constituents, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), with the goal of improving the interpretation of spaceborne remote sensing data. Various types of NO2 measurements were made, including in situ concentrations and column amounts of NO2 using ground- and aircraft-based instruments, while NO2 column amounts were being derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite. This study takes advantage of these unique datasets by first evaluating in situ data taken from two different instruments on the same aircraft platform, comparing coincidently sampled profile-integrated columns from aircraft spirals with remotely sensed column observations from ground-based Pandora spectrometers, intercomparing column observations from the ground (Pandora), aircraft (in situ vertical spirals), and space (OMI), and evaluating NO2 simulations from coarse Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) and high-resolution regional models. We then use these data to interpret observed discrepancies due to differences in sampling and deficiencies in the data reduction process. Finally, we assess satellite retrieval sensitivity to observed and modeled a priori NO2 profiles. Contemporaneous measurements from two aircraft instruments that likely sample similar air masses generally agree very well but are also found to differ in integrated columns by up to 31.9 %. These show even larger differences with Pandora, reaching up to 53.9 %, potentially due to a combination of strong gradients in NO2 fields that could be missed by aircraft spirals and errors in the Pandora retrievals. OMI NO2 values are about a actor of 2 lower in these highly polluted environments due in part to inaccurate retrieval assumptions (e.g., a priori pro-files) but mostly to OMI’s large footprint (>312 km2).

Nitrogen dioxide↗