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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 1,153 records · Page 64
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Validation of Spherically Symmetric Inversion by Use of a Tomographically Reconstructed Three-Dimensional Electron Density of the Solar Corona

Determining the coronal electron density by the inversion of white-light polarized brightness (pB) measurements by coronagraphs is a classic problem in solar physics. An inversion technique based on the spherically symmetric geometry (spherically symmetric inversion, SSI) was developed in the 1950s and has been widely applied to interpret various observations. However, to date there is no study of the uncertainty estimation of this method. We here present the detailed assessment of this method using a three-dimensional (3D) electron density in the corona from 1.5 to 4 solar radius as a model, which is reconstructed by a tomography method from STEREO/COR1 observations during the solar minimum in February 2008 (Carrington Rotation, CR 2066).We first show in theory and observation that the spherically symmetric polynomial approximation (SSPA) method and the Van de Hulst inversion technique are equivalent. Then we assess the SSPA method using synthesized pB images from the 3D density model, and find that the SSPA density values are close to the model inputs for the streamer core near the plane of the sky (POS) with differences generally smaller than about a factor of two; the former has the lower peak but extends more in both longitudinal and latitudinal directions than the latter. We estimate that the SSPA method may resolve the coronal density structure near the POS with angular resolution in longitude of about 50 deg. Our results confirm the suggestion that the SSI method is applicable to the solar minimum streamer (belt), as stated in some previous studies. In addition, we demonstrate that the SSPA method can be used to reconstruct the 3D coronal density, roughly in agreement with the reconstruction by tomography for a period of low solar activity (CR 2066). We suggest that the SSI method is complementary to the 3D tomographic technique in some cases, given that the development of the latter is still an ongoing research effort.

corona↗
NASA NTRS2019

Implementation and Testing of Inverse Kinematics on Robotic Arm

COSIE (Coronal Spectrographic Imager in the Extreme Ultraviolet) is a proposed solar tracking ISS imaging payload that will help bridge the theoretical gap between the physics of the low corona and the heliosphere. This scientific instrument requires high pointing accuracy, on the order of arc seconds. The instrument is mounted on to a three revolute joint robotic arm in order to track the roll, pitch and yaw motion of the Sun. The goal of this project is to construct a prototype model of the robotic arm and implement the proposed analytical inverse kinematics algorithm. In robotics, the inverse kinematics problem is solving for the set of joint angles that achieve the desired end effect or location and/or orientation. In this case, orientation is the focus. Depending on the configuration, multiple sets of joint angle solutions may exist. Due to the complexity of robotics, typically iterative methods are used to solve for the joint angle solution sets. However, in this case, an analytical solution exists. A small robotic arm representative of the full size hardware was constructed. The inverse kinematics algorithm, originally in MATLAB/Simulink, was converted into C in order to interface with the motors. This C software was implemented on a Windows PC and micro-controller, and serial communication between the two was established, allowing the motors to be directly controlled by the inverse kinematics algorithm. Testing the inverse kinematics on a physical system will allow the validity and accuracy of the analytic solution to be verified.

Franz, Carter↗
DOE OSTI2025

Photometry of Outer Solar System Objects from the Dark Energy Survey. II. A Joint Analysis of Trans-Neptunian Absolute Magnitudes, Colors, Light Curves and Dynamics

For the 696 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with absolute magnitudes 5.5 < H r < 8.2 detected in the Dark Energy Survey, we characterize the relationships between their dynamical state and physical properties—namely H r , indicating size; colors, indicating surface composition; and flux variation semiamplitude A, indicating asphericity and surface inhomogeneity. We seek “birth” physical distributions that can recreate these parameters in every dynamical class. We show that the observed colors of these TNOs are consistent with two Gaussian distributions in griz space, “near-infrared bright” (NIRB) and “near-infrared faint” (NIRF), presumably an inner and outer birth population, respectively. We find a model in which both the NIRB and NIRF H r and A distributions are independent of current dynamical states, supporting their assignment as birth populations. All objects are consistent with a common rolling p(H r ), but NIRF objects are significantly more variable. Cold classicals (CCs) are purely NIRF, while hot classical (HC), scattered, and detached TNOs are consistent with ≈ 70% NIRB and the resonance NIRB fractions show significant variation. The NIRB components of the HCs and of some resonances have broader inclination distributions than the NIRFs, i.e. their current dynamics retains information about birth location. We find evidence for radial stratification within the birth NIRB population, in that HC NIRBs are on average redder than detached or scattered NIRBs; a similar effect distinguishes CCs from other NIRFs. We estimate total object counts and masses of each class within our H r range. These results will strongly constrain models of the outer solar system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of Reactive Power on Photovoltaic Inverter Reliability and Lifetime

This paper performs research on predicting Photovoltaic (PV) inverters reliability and lifetime based on thermal cycling. Thermal cycling is considered the most important stressors in an inverter system. In order to achieve this, a detailed electro-thermal model of the PV inverter will be developed along with their controllers capable of providing voltage support through reactive power. An in-house inverter was built, and a PV inverter model was developed to match the physical inverter. The PV inverter electrothermal model was validated for different ambient temperatures to match the in-house inverter hardware. The in-house inverter was placed inside a thermal chamber to emulate different ambient temperatures and their losses and temperature rises within the system were measured. After the validation of the model, a reduced order model of the inverter will be implemented to translate the mission profile of ambient temperature and solar irradiance into load profile of junction temperatures of the switches. The junction temperature data will be used to identify the reliability indices and hence predict the useful lifetime of the inverter system. Along with the model to predict useful lifetime of the system, the impact of reactive power on the overall reliability of the system will be studied. The key observation in this paper shows that lifetime of the inverter decreases as the operating power factor moves away from unity.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Two-Fluid and Discrete Element Modeling of a Parallel Plate Fluidized Bed Heat Exchanger for Concentrating Solar Power

A novel high-temperature particle solar receiver is developed using a light trapping planar cavity configuration. As particles fall through the cavity, the concentrated solar radiation warms the boundaries of the receiver and in turn heats the particles. Particles flow through the system, forming a fluidized bed at the lower section, leaving the system from the bottom at a constant flowrate. Air is introduced to the system as the fluidizing medium to improve particle heat transfer and mixing. A laboratory scale cavity receiver is built by collaborators at the Colorado School of Mines and their data are used for model validation. In this experimental setup, near IR quartz lamp is used to provide flux to the vertical wall of the heat exchanger. The system is modeled using the discrete element method and a continuum two-fluid method. The computational model matches the experimental system size and the particle size distribution is assumed monodisperse. A new continuum conduction model that accounts for the effects of solid concentration is implemented, and the heat flux boundary condition matches the experimental setup. Radiative heat transfer is estimated using a widely used correlation during the post-processing step to determine an overall heat transfer coefficient. The model is validated against testing data and achieves less than 30% discrepancy and a heat transfer coefficient greater than 1000 W/m2 K.

concentrating solar power↗
DOE OSTI2023

Orientation-dependent etching of silicon by fluorine molecules: A quantum chemistry computational study

Anisotropic etching is a widely used process in semiconductor manufacturing, in particular, for micro- and nanoscale texturing of silicon surfaces for black silicon production. The typical process of plasma-assisted etching uses energetic ions to remove materials in the vertical direction, creating anisotropic etch profiles. Plasmaless anisotropic etching, considered here, is a less common process that does not use ions and plasma. The anisotropy is caused by the unequal etching rates of different crystal planes; the etching process, thus, proceeds in a preferred direction. In this paper, we have performed quantum chemistry modeling of gas-surface reactions involved in the etching of silicon surfaces by molecular fluorine. The results confirm that orientation-dependent etch rates are the reason for anisotropy. The modeling of F 2 dissociative chemisorption on F-terminated silicon surfaces shows that Si–Si bond breaking is slow for the Si(111) surface, while it is fast for Si(100) and Si(110) surfaces. Both Si(100) and Si(110) surfaces incorporate a larger number of fluorine atoms resulting in Si–Si bonds having a larger amount of positive charge, which lowers the reaction barrier of F 2 dissociative chemisorption, yielding a higher etch rate for Si(100) and Si(110) surfaces compared to Si(111) surfaces. Molecular dynamics modeling of the same reactions has shown that the chosen reactive bond order potential does not accurately reproduce the lower reaction barriers for F 2 dissociative chemisorption on Si(100) and Si(100) surfaces. Furthermore, reparameterization is necessary to model the anisotropic etching process that occurs at lower temperatures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantifying Optical Loss of High-Voltage Degradation Modes in PV Modules Using Spectral Analysis [Slides]

The direct current bias for photovoltaic (PV) modules interconnected in series-strings may include both high voltage negative ("HV-") and positive ("HV+") polarity with respect to the electrical ground. Multiple degradation modes, resulting in quantifiable optical loss, were found to occur during HV-/HV+ sequential stress, including: corrosion of the external glass surface, encapsulant delamination (at its interfaces with the glass and the PV cell), internal haze formation (resulting from a chemical interaction between the glass and the encapsulant), corrosion and migration of the gridlines, and corrosion of the silicon nitride (SixNy) antireflective coating on the cell. The effects of these separate modes were examined using monolithic (e.g., glass or PV cell) and laminated-coupon (glass/encapsulant/glass or glass/encapsulant/cell/encapsulant/backsheet) specimens. Characterizations during and after unbiased accelerated testing at 85 degrees C/85% relative humidity included: spectrophotometry, optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and ellipsometry. For some module components (i.e., the glass and the SixNy coating), the optical performance was determined through iterative analysis of empirical measurements. Concentrating on just their spectral effect, a novel model was then developed to estimate the transfer of light to the PV cell and the return of light from the PV module with simultaneous degradation mechanisms, which was compared to a mini-module previously subjected to HV-/HV+ stress. The model suggests one-third of the current loss observed for the mini-module can be attributed to the optical degradation of the packaging materials. The dominant degradation modes include encapsulant delamination and corrosion of the SixNy coating. Recommendations are given so that the optical model may be improved relative to accelerated testing and validated relative to field aging.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Semiconductor‐Electrocatalyst Contacts: Theory, Experiment, and Applications to Solar Water Photoelectrolysis

The goal of the work supported by this program was to use new types of photoelectrochemical experiments, supported by simulation and theory, to develop an improved microscopic picture of electron transfer in combined semiconductor|catalyst|solution (sem|cat|sol) systems. An emphasis was placed on developing techniques which can directly characterize electronic interfacial phenomena without first assuming a junction model. We then aimed to illustrate the design principles that enhance interfacial processes and enable high-efficiency devices. Our work thus provides deep insight into the processes that, in general, use light to drive chemical reactions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1971

Behavior of lithium in irradiated solar cells.

The current state of the art in radiation resistant lithium-doped silicon solar cells is reviewed. Fabrication techniques are reviewed. Characteristics of lithium-doped cells are discussed. Behavior of lithium-doped cells during 1 MeV electron irradiation are studied for various types of cells. Effects of variations in lithium and oxygen concentration are shown and discussed. Capacitance measurements at various voltages, frequencies and temperatures are used to detect charges in lithium donor concentration and the formation of defects during irradiation. Physical models to explain the observed effects are presented.

Carter, J. R., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Stellar Bragg crystal X-ray spectrometry on OSO-1

A high sensitivity crystal X-ray spectrometer for use on the Orbiting Solar Observatory (mission 1) satellite is described. This instrument will be used to obtain both solar and stellar spectra in the energy range 2 to 8 keV. In the stellar mode, the shape of the continua, the strength of lines, and the strength of recombination and absorption edge were determined. If lines or edges are detected, such data will provide direct evidence regarding the physical conditions in the emitting and absorbing regions. If only upper bounds are established, the data can be used to constrain theoretical models. In any case, precise continuum shapes will be established for a number of the brighter X-ray sources. Numerical estimates of the sensitivity of the instrument for these various purposes are given.

Landecker, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Comets and planets - Their interrelated origin

This report gives a concise summary of the conclusions of cosmogonic studies linking the origin of comets with the origin of the Jovian planets at the dawn of the solar system. Cometary nuclei are shown to be original planetesimals ejected from and returning to the solar system. Formation processes for comets are described in detail, emphasizing the preplanetary rings of the Jovian planets, condensation and accretion from diffuse matter, and the origin of Oort's sphere. Physical and mechanical properties of comets are discussed, including the composition of cometary gases, the size and composition of cometary nuclei, the placement of comets in Oort's sphere, and the density of nuclei in that region. Unresolved difficulties in models of planet and comet formation are considered.

Opik, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Computer simulations of planetary accretion dynamics: Sensitivity to initial conditions

The implications and limitations of program ACRETE were tested. The program is a scheme based on Newtonian physics and accretion with unit sticking efficiency, devised to simulate the origin of the planets. The dependence of the results on a variety of radial and vertical density distribution laws, the ratio of gas to dust in the solar nebula, the total nebular mass, and the orbital eccentricity of the accreting grains was explored. Only for a small subset of conceivable cases are planetary systems closely like our own generated. Many models have tendencies towards one of two preferred configurations: multiple star systems, or planetary systems in which Jovian planets either have substantially smaller masses than in our system or are absent altogether. But for a wide range of cases recognizable planetary systems are generated - ranging from multiple star systems with accompanying planets, to systems with Jovian planets at several hundred AU, to single stars surrounded only by asteroids.

Isaacman, R.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Aerosol-Radiation-Cloud Interactions in the South-East Atlantic: Future Suborbital Activities to Address Knowledge Gaps in Satellite and Model Assessments

Southern Africa produces almost a third of the Earth's biomass burning (BB) aerosol particles. Particles lofted into the mid-troposphere are transported westward over the South-East (SE) Atlantic, home to one of the three permanent subtropical stratocumulus (Sc) cloud decks in the world. The SE Atlantic stratocumulus deck interacts with the dense layers of BB aerosols that initially overlay the cloud deck, but later subside and may mix into the clouds. These interactions include adjustments to aerosol-induced solar heating and microphysical effects, and their global representation in climate models remains one of the largest uncertainties in estimates of future climate. Hence, new observations over the SE Atlantic have significant implications for global climate change scenarios. Our understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions in the SE Atlantic is hindered both by the lack of knowledge on aerosol and cloud properties, as well as the lack of knowledge about detailed physical processes involved. Most notably, we are missing knowledge on the absorptive and cloud nucleating properties of aerosols, including their vertical distribution relative to clouds, on the locations and degree of aerosol mixing into clouds, on the processes that govern cloud property adjustments, and on the importance of aerosol effects on clouds relative to co-varying synoptic scale meteorology. We discuss the current knowledge of aerosol and cloud property distributions based on satellite observations and sparse suborbital sampling. Recent efforts to make full use of A-Train aerosol sensor synergies will be highlighted. We describe planned field campaigns in the region to address the existing knowledge gaps. Specifically, we describe the scientific objectives and implementation of the five synergistic, international research activities aimed at providing some of the key aerosol and cloud properties and a process-level understanding of aerosol-cloud interactions over the SE Atlantic: NASA's ORACLES, the UK Met Office's CLARIFY-2016, the DoE's LASIC, NSF's ONFIRE, and CNRS' AEROCLO-SA.

aerosols↗
NASA NTRS2024

AI Foundation Model for Heliophysics: Applications, Design, and Implementation

Deep learning-based methods have been widely researched in the areas of language and vision, demonstrating their capacity to understand long sequences of data and their usefulness in numerous helio-physics applications. Foundation models (FMs), which are pre-trained on a large-scale datasets, form the basis fora variety of downstream tasks. These models, especially those based on trans-formers in vision and language, show exceptional potential for adapting to a wide range of downstream applications. In this paper, we provide our perspective on the criteria for designing a FM for heliophysic and associated challenges and applications using the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) dataset. We believe that this is the first study to design a foundation model in the domain of heliophysics.

Sujit Roy↗
NASA NTRS1980

Physical conditions in the solar atmosphere above an active region

From a series of EUV spectra obtained at several heights above the limb in a solar active region, the volume emission measure is derived as a function of the electron temperature in the temperature range 70,000-1,500,000 K and the electron density at two locations. The emission measure from the coronal material (temperature greater than 700,000 K) is nearly the same everywhere and represents most of the material in the line of sight, while the emission measure from the transition region material (temperature between 70,000 and 250,000 K) fluctuates by two orders of magnitude from position to position above the active region. This is in agreement with the picture of this active region as consisting of a number of well-defined loops or lower portions of loops at transition region temperatures that are inhomogeneously distributed in much larger and more diffuse loop structures at coronal temperatures. The coronal data are in reasonable agreement with simple coronal models. Emission measures near 1,000,000 K evaluated using different ions differ by a factor of 4, suggesting difficulties with the atomic physics data.

Mariska, J. T.↗
DOE OSTI2021

A New Martian Crater Chronology: Implications for Jezero Crater

Crater chronologies are a fundamental tool to assess the relative and absolute ages of planetary surfaces when direct radiometric dating is not available. Martian crater chronologies are derived from lunar crater spatial densities on terrains with known radiometric ages, and thus they critically depend on the Moon-to-Mars extrapolation. This extrapolation requires knowledge of the time evolution of the impact flux, including contributions from various impactor populations, factors that are not trivially connected to the dynamical evolution of the early Solar System. In this paper, we will present a new Martian crater chronology based on current dynamical models, and consider the main sources of uncertainties (e.g., impactor size–frequency distribution; dynamical models with late and early instabilities, etc.). The resulting “envelope” of Martian crater chronologies significantly differs from previous chronologies. The new Martian crater chronology is discussed using two interesting applications: Jezero crater’s dark terrain (relevant to the NASA Mars 2020 mission) and the southern heavily cratered highlands. Our results indicate that Jezero’s dark terrain may have formed ∼3.1 Ga, i.e., up to 0.5 Gyr older than previously thought. In addition, available crater chronologies (including our own) overestimate the number of craters larger than 150 km on the southern highlands, suggesting either that large craters have been efficiently erased over Martian history or that dynamical models need further refinement. Further, our chronology constrains the age of Isidis basin to be 4.05–4.2 Ga and that of the Borealis basin to be 4.35–4.40 Ga; these are predictions that can be tested with future sample and return missions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Physics-driven Explosions of Stripped High-mass Stars: Synthetic Light Curves and Spectra of Stripped-envelope Supernovae with Broad Light Curves

Stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) represent a significant fraction of core-collapse supernovae, arising from massive stars that have shed their hydrogen and, in some cases, helium envelopes. The origins and explosion mechanisms of SESNe remain a topic of active investigation. In this work, we employ radiative-transfer simulations to model the light curves and spectra of a set of explosions of single, solar-metallicity, massive Wolf–Rayet stars with ejecta masses ranging from 4 to 11 M ⊙ , which were computed from a turbulence-aided and neutrino-driven explosion mechanism. We analyze these synthetic observables to explore the impact of varying ejecta mass and helium content on observable features. We find that the light curve shape of these progenitors with high ejecta masses is consistent with observed SESNe with broad light curves but not the peak luminosities. The commonly used analytic formula based on rising bolometric light curves overestimates the ejecta mass of these high-initial-mass progenitor explosions by a factor of up to 2.6. In contrast, the calibrated method by Haynie et al., which relies on late-time decay tails, reduces uncertainties to an average of 20% within the calibrated ejecta mass range. Spectroscopically, the He I 1.083 μm line remains prominent even in models with as little as 0.02 M ⊙ of helium. However, the strength of the optical He I lines is not directly proportional to the helium mass but instead depends on a complex interplay of factors such as the 56 Ni distribution, composition, and radiation field. Thus, producing realistic helium features requires detailed radiative transfer simulations for each new hydrodynamic model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1999

Signatures of Exo-Solar Planets in Dust Debris Disks

We have developed a new numerical approach to the dynamics of minor bodies and dust particles, which enables us to increase, without using a supercomputer, the number of employed particle positions in each model up to 10(exp 10) - 10(exp 11), a factor of 10(exp 6) - 10(exp 7) higher than existing numerical simulations. We apply this powerful approach to the high-resolution modeling of the structure and emission of circumstellar dust disks, incorporating all relevant physical processes. In this Letter, we examine the resonant structure of a dusty disk induced by the presence of one planet of mass in the range of (5 x 10(exp -5) - 5 x 10(exp -3))M. It is shown that the planet, via resonances and gravitational scattering, produces (i) a central cavity void of dust; (ii) a trailing (sometimes leading) off-center cavity; and (iii) an asymmetric resonant dust belt with one, two, or more clumps. These features can serve as indicators of planet(s) embedded in the circumstellar dust disk and, moreover, can be used to determine the mass of the planet and even some of its orbital parameters. The results of our study reveal a remarkable similarity with various types of highly asymmetric circumstellar disks observed with the JCMT around Epsilon Eridani and Vega.

Ozernoy, Leonid M.↗