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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 1,225 records · Page 68
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling Nanosecond-Pulsed Spark Discharge and Flame Kernel Evolution

Dilute combustion, either using exhaust gas recirculation or with excess air, is considered a promising strategy to improve the thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines. However, the dilute air-fuel mixture, especially under intensified turbulence and high-pressure conditions, poses significant challenges for ignitability and combustion stability, which may limit the attainable efficiency benefits. In-depth knowledge of the flame kernel evolution to stabilize ignition and combustion in a challenging environment is crucial for effective engine development and optimization. To date, a comprehensive understanding of ignition processes that result in the development of fully predictive ignition models usable by the automotive industry does not yet exist. Spark-ignition consists of a wide range of physics that includes electrical discharge, plasma evolution, joule-heating of gas, and flame kernel initiation and growth into a self-sustainable flame. In this study, an advanced approach is proposed to model spark-ignition energy deposition and flame kernel growth. To decouple the flame kernel growth from the electrical discharge, a nanosecond-pulsed high-voltage discharge is used to trigger spark-ignition in an optically accessible small ignition test vessel with a quiescent mixture of air and methane. Initial conditions for the flame kernel, including its thermodynamic state and species composition, are derived from a plasma-chemical equilibrium calculation. The geometric shape and dimension of the kernel are characterized using a multi-dimensional thermal plasma solver. Here, the proposed modeling approach is evaluated using a high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics procedure to compare the simulated flame kernel evolution against flame boundaries from companion Schlieren images.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2009

Modeling of the 22 July 2009 Storm

The magnetic storm on 22 July 2009 is the greatest storm observed since the summer of 2008 when TWINS began its stereo imaging of the magnetosphere, On 22 July 2009, the Dst dropped to nearly -80 nT at 07:00 and 10:00 UT. During the main phase and at the peak of the storm, TWINS 1 and 2 were near apogee and moving from pre-dawn to post-dawn local time. The energetic neutral atom (ENA) Imagers on the 2 spacecraft captured the storm intensification and the formation of the partial ring current. The development of this storm has been simulated using the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) to understand and interpret the observed signatures. The CRCM reproduced the double-dip in the Dst index and the simulated ENA flux intensities agree very well with the TWINS images. However, the peak of ion flux predicted by the model is always eastward of the observed maximum by TWINS. This discrepancy posts a challenge to reexamine the physical models employed in the CRCM.

Fok, Mei-Ching↗
NASA NTRS1984

Laboratory demonstration of image reconstruction for coherent optical system of modular imaging collectors (COSMIC)

The first physical demonstration of the principle of image reconstruction using a set of images from a diffraction-blurred elongated aperture is reported. This is an optical validation of previous theoretical and numerical simulations of the COSMIC telescope array (coherent optical system of modular imaging collectors). The present experiment utilizes 17 diffraction blurred exposures of a laboratory light source, as imaged by a lens covered by a narrow-slit aperture; the aperture is rotated 10 degrees between each exposure. The images are recorded in digitized form by a CCD camera, Fourier transformed, numerically filtered, and added; the sum is then filtered and inverse Fourier transformed to form the final image. The image reconstruction process is found to be stable with respect to uncertainties in values of all physical parameters such as effective wavelength, rotation angle, pointing jitter, and aperture shape. Future experiments will explore the effects of low counting rates, autoguiding on the image, various aperture configurations, and separated optics.

Traub, W. A.↗
DOE OSTI2022

First-principles simulation of light-ion microscopy of graphene

The extreme sensitivity of 2D materials to defects and nanostructure requires precise imaging techniques to verify presence of desirable and absence of undesirable features in the atomic geometry. Helium-ion beams have emerged as a promising materials imaging tool, achieving up to 20 times higher resolution and 10 times larger depth-of-field than conventional or environmental scanning electron microscopes. Here, we offer first-principles theoretical insights to advance ion-beam imaging of atomically thin materials by performing real-time time-dependent density functional theory simulations of single impacts of 10–200 keV light ions in free-standing graphene. Here we predict that detecting electrons emitted from the back of the material (the side from which the ion exits) would result in up to three times higher signal and up to five times higher contrast images, making 2D materials especially compelling targets for ion-beam microscopy. This predicted superiority of exit-side emission likely arises from anisotropic kinetic emission. The charge induced in the graphene equilibrates on a sub-fs time scale, leading to only slight disturbances in the carbon lattice that are unlikely to damage the atomic structure for any of the beam parameters investigated here.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Delamination imaging in composites using cross-correlation method by non-contact air-coupled Lamb waves

Abstract This paper presents a cross-correlation damage detection technique using damage scattered waves of all directions cross-correlate with the incident waves for delamination imaging in carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite plate. The presented imaging can not only detect the delamination but also precisely quantify the damage with locations and sizes. First, a CFRP composite sample with interlaminar delamination by inserting the Teflon layer is designed and manufactured in house using the hot-press machine. And a three-dimensional model of composite sample is simulated using the finite element method. Next, the cross-correlation imaging algorithm is introduced in detail, and the cross-correlation imaging proof-of-concept study is conducted with the simulated Lamb waves in the composite sample. Finally, a fully non-contact air-coupled transducer and scanning laser Doppler vibrometer system with a single-mode Lamb wave method is established to actuate and sense the interrogating Lamb waves in the structure. The imaging method is experimentally implemented for the one delamination and two delaminations imaging and quantification.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Computing Angular Distributions from Simulation Data

The essential idea of this algorithm is to compute the angular distribution of a vector quantity, then create an informative image. In our example, we will compute the angular distribution of linear momentum from an xRage simulation of an exploding shaped charge. We will then explore one possible method for adding information to the resulting image.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Three-dimensional reconstruction of laser-direct-drive inertial confinement fusion hot-spot plasma from x-ray diagnostics on the OMEGA laser facility (invited)

A deep-learning convolutional neural network (CNN) is used to infer, from x-ray images along multiple lines of sight, the low-mode shape of the hot-spot emission of deuterium–tritium (DT) laser-direct-drive cryogenic implosions on OMEGA. The motivation of this approach is to develop a physics-informed 3-D reconstruction technique that can be performed within minutes to facilitate the use of the results to inform changes to the initial target and laser conditions for the subsequent implosion. The CNN is trained on a 3D radiation-hydrodynamic simulation database to relate 2D x-ray images to 3D emissivity at stagnation. The CNN accounts for the lack of an absolute spatial reference and the different bands of photon energies in the x-ray images. While previous works studied the effect of mode-1 asymmetries on implosion performance using nuclear diagnostics, this work focuses on the effect of mode 2 inferred from x-ray diagnostics on implosion performance. A current analysis of 19 DT cryogenic implosions indicates there is an upper limit of ~20% reduction in the neutron yield caused by an ℓ = 2 amplitude for ℓ 2 /ℓ 0 ≤ 0.32. Here, these conclusions are supported by 2D simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1975

Motion-base simulator study of control of an externally blown flap STOL transport aircraft after failure of an outboard engine during landing approach

A moving-base simulator investigation of the problems of recovery and landing of a STOL aircraft after failure of an outboard engine during final approach was made. The approaches were made at 75 knots along a 6 deg glide slope. The engine was failed at low altitude and the option to go around was not allowed. The aircraft was simulated with each of three control systems, and it had four high-bypass-ratio fan-jet engines exhausting against large triple-slotted wing flaps to produce additional lift. A virtual-image out-the-window television display of a simulated STOL airport was operating during part of the investigation. Also, a simple heads-up flight director display superimposed on the airport landing scene was used by the pilots to make some of the recoveries following an engine failure. The results of the study indicated that the variation in visual cues and/or motion cues had little effect on the outcome of a recovery, but they did have some effect on the pilot's response and control patterns.

Middleton, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS2018

CALIPSO IIR Version 2 Level 1b Calibrated Radiances: Analysis and Reduction of Residual Biases in the Northern Hemisphere

Version 2 of the Level 1b calibrated radiances of the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) on board the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite has been released recently. This new version incorporates corrections of small but systematic seasonal calibration biases previously revealed in Version 1 data products mostly north of 30° N. These biases – of different amplitudes in the three IIR channels 8.65 µm (IIR1), 10.6 µm (IIR2), and 12.05 µm (IIR3) – were made apparent by a striping effect in images of IIR inter-channel brightness temperature differences (BTDs) and through seasonal warm biases of nighttime IIR brightness temperatures in the 30–60° N latitude range. The latter were highlighted through observed and simulated comparisons with similar channels of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua spacecraft. To characterize the calibration biases affecting Version 1 data, a semi-empirical approach is developed, which is based on the in-depth analysis of the IIR internal calibration procedure in conjunction with observations such as statistical comparisons with similar MODIS/Aqua channels. Two types of calibration biases are revealed: an equalization bias affecting part of the individual IIR images and a global bias affecting the radiometric level of each image. These biases are observed only when the temperature of the instrument increases, and they are found to be functions of elapsed time since night-to-day transition, regardless of the season. Correction coefficients of Version 1 radiances could thus be defined and implemented in the Version 2 code. As a result, the striping effect seen in Version 1 is significantly attenuated in Version 2. Systematic discrepancies between nighttime and daytime IIR–MODIS BTDs in the 30–60° N latitude range in summer are reduced from 0.2 K in Version 1 to 0.1 K in Version 2 for IIR1–MODIS29. For IIR2–MODIS31 and IIR3–MODIS32, they are reduced from 0.4 K to close to zero, except for IIR3–MODIS32 in June, where the night-minus-day difference is around −0.1 K.

Garnier, Anne↗
NASA NTRS1993

A high fidelity video delivery system for real-time flight simulation research

The Flight Systems and Simulation Research Laboratory (Simlab) at the NASA Ames Research Center, utilizes an extensive network of video image generation, delivery, processing, and display systems coupled with a large amplitude Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) to provide a high fidelity visual environment for flight simulation research. This paper will explore the capabilities of the current Simlab video distribution system architecture with a view toward technical solutions implemented to resolve a variety of video interface, switching, and distribution issues common to many simulation facilities. Technical discussions include a modular approach to a video switching and distribution system capable of supporting both coax and fiber optic video signal transmission, video scan conversion and processing techniques for lab observation and recording, adaptation of image generation and display system video interfaces to industry standards, an all raster solution for 'glass cockpit' configurations encompassing Head up, Head-down, and Out-the-Window display systems.

Wilkins, Daniel A.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fluid structure interaction of a subaqueous pendulum: Analyzing the effect of wake correction via large eddy simulations

The dynamic behavior of a subaqueous cylindrical pendulum and corresponding flow dynamics are investigated. The objectives were twofold: (i) to examine whether the two-dimensional model equations sufficiently capture the three-dimensional dynamics and (ii) to investigate the emerging three-dimensional vortical flow structures. Large eddy simulations with two-way coupling fluid structure interaction were carried out using the immersed boundary method to simulate the motion of the pendulum and its interactions with the initially stagnant water. The resulting pendulum motion is compared against measured data obtained in a series of experimental tests to validate the simulation results and the model equations with and without wake corrections. An analysis of the flow vorticity revealed the development of a vortex ring during the first swing and the formation of tip vortices. The evolution of the vortex rings emerging from the motion of the subaqueous cylindrical pendulum was visualized using Q-criteria showing a reasonable agreement with vortical structures observed in the experiment using particle imaging velocimetry. The hydrodynamic moments acting on the simulated pendulum and the moments calculated from the model equations are analyzed. Using the insights from these numerical simulations, a modification of the wake correction is proposed to enhance the accuracy of the rate of decay and period. The transient effect of coherent flow on pendulum dynamics, especially the added mass effect, is discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS2007

High-Performance Tiled WMS and KML Web Server

This software is an Apache 2.0 module implementing a high-performance map server to support interactive map viewers and virtual planet client software. It can be used in applications that require access to very-high-resolution geolocated images, such as GIS, virtual planet applications, and flight simulators. It serves Web Map Service (WMS) requests that comply with a given request grid from an existing tile dataset. It also generates the KML super-overlay configuration files required to access the WMS image tiles.

Plesea, Lucian↗
NASA NTRS2023

Thermospheric Temperature and ΣO/N 2 Variations as Observed by GOLD and Compared to MSIS and WACCM-X Simulations During 2019–2020 at Deep Solar Minimum

The ultraviolet-imaging spectrograph that comprises Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission in geostationary orbit at 47.5°W longitude has taken full disk images at high cadence throughout the deep solar minimum period of 2019–2020. Synoptic (i.e., concurrent and spatially unified and resolved) observations of thermospheric temperature and composition at ∼150 km altitude are made for the first time, allowing GOLD to disambiguate temporal and spatial variations. Here we analyze the daytime effective temperature and column integrated O and N2 density ratio (ΣO/N 2 ) data simultaneously observed by GOLD over 120°W–20°E longitude and 60°S–60°N latitude from 13 October 2019 to 12 October 2020. Daily zonal mean values are calculated for each latitude and compared with NRLMSIS 2.0 and simulations from the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension (WACCM-X). On average, the GOLD observations show higher temperatures than Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter radar (MSIS) and WACCM-X by ∼20–60 K (5%–10%) and 80–120 K (12%–18%), respectively. The ΣO/N 2 ratios observed by GOLD are larger than the MSIS results by ∼0.4 (40%) but smaller than the WACCM-X simulations by ∼0.3 (30%). The observed and modeled results are correlated at most latitudes (r = 0.4–0.8), and GOLD, MSIS, and WACCM-X all display a similar seasonal variation and change with latitude. WACCM-X simulates a larger annual variation in ΣO/N 2 , suggesting that the thermospheric circulation is overestimated and atmospheric waves and turbulence transport are not properly represented in the model.

Guiping Liu↗
NASA NTRS2023

Thermospheric Temperature and ΣO/N2 Variations as Observed by GOLD and Compared to MSIS and WACCM-X Simulations During 2019–2020 at Deep Solar Minimum

The ultraviolet-imaging spectrograph that comprises Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission in geostationary orbit at 47.5°W longitude has taken full disk images at high cadence throughout the deep solar minimum period of 2019–2020. Synoptic (i.e., concurrent and spatially unified and resolved) observations of thermospheric temperature and composition at ∼150 km altitude are made for the first time, allowing GOLD to disambiguate temporal and spatial variations. Here we analyze the daytime effective temperature and column integrated O and N 2 density ratio (ΣO/N 2 ) data simultaneously observed by GOLD over 120°W–20°E longitude and 60°S–60°N latitude from 13 October 2019 to 12 October 2020. Daily zonal mean values are calculated for each latitude and compared with NRLMSIS 2.0 and simulations from the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension (WACCM-X). On average, the GOLD observations show higher temperatures than Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter radar (MSIS) and WACCM-X by ∼20–60 K (5%–10%) and 80–120 K (12%–18%), respectively. The ΣO/N2 ratios observed by GOLD are larger than the MSIS results by ∼0.4 (40%) but smaller than the WACCM-X simulations by ∼0.3 (30%). The observed and modeled results are correlated at most latitudes (r = 0.4–0.8), and GOLD, MSIS, and WACCM-X all display a similar seasonal variation and change with latitude. WACCM-X simulates a larger annual variation in ΣO/N 2 , suggesting that the thermospheric circulation is overestimated and atmospheric waves and turbulence transport are not properly represented in the model.

Guiping Liu↗
NASA NTRS1995

Exploring the Environment and the Astronomy Village: NASA Classroom of the Future

Astronomy Village: Investigating the Universe is a CD-ROM based multimedia program that provides teachers and students with ten complete investigations in astronomy intended to complement and extend the science curriculum in 9th and 10th grade classes. Students, in teams of three, use the Astronomy Village software to conduct investigations in astronomy and lear about the nature of scientific inquiry. The Astronomy Village's interface is based on the village like appearence of major observatories on mountain tops. Tools available to students include an image processing program, a document reader, an image browser, a telecommunications program for accessing the world wide web, and various simulation programs. The simulation programs include a star life cycle simulator, an orbital simulator, and a 3-D star simulator. Other resources available on this CD for the student research teams include: digitized video clips, images from the Hubble Space Telescope and other instruments; audio clips of astronomers discussing their work; computer animation and graphics; and full text documents such as book chapters, NASA publications, and articles from astronomy journals and magazines.

Myers, Bob↗
NASA NTRS2016

Why an Eye Limiting Display Resolution Matters and How to Achieve It

Many factors affect the suitability of an out-the-window simulator visual system. Contrast, brightness, resolution, field-of-view, update rate, scene content and a number of other criteria are common factors often used to define requirements for simulator visual systems. Since 2008, NASA has worked with the USAF on the Operational Based Vision Assessment Program. The purpose of this program has been to provide the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine with a scientific testing laboratory to study human vision and testing standards in an operationally relevant environment. It was determined early in the design that current commercial and military training systems weren't well suited for the available budget as well as the highly research oriented requirements. During various design review meetings, it was determined the OBVA requirements were best met by using commercial-off-the-shelf equipment to minimize technical risk and costs. In this paper we will describe how the simulator specifications were developed in order to meet the research objectives and the resulting architecture and design considerations. In particular we will discuss the image generator architecture, database developments to meet eye limited resolution, and future reusablity in other projects.

flight simulator↗
DOE OSTI2025

Improving microstructures segmentation via pretraining with synthetic data

Image analysis of material microstructures through microscopy is an integral capability in the field of materials science. The topological and chemical information obtained through microscopy allow us to draw vital connections between material microstructures, properties, and processing. While scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is able to yield a considerable wealth of information interpretable by the intuition of experts, there has been considerable interest in using machine learning, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in particular, for such image analysis task. Training CNNs for an image analysis task requires a large annotated dataset. However, in many materials science applications, obtaining a large annotated dataset is cost and labor intensive. In this work, we study the use of synthetic data to enlarge the available annotated experimental data of uranium oxide. We utilize a modified Potts model to simulate uranium oxide particles with morphologies similar to those observed experimentally. We then leverage an image-to-image translation model to synthesize the simulated particles as if they are acquired with SEM. Through this process, we obtain pairs of particle images and their corresponding SEM representations, which corresponds to pairs of annotations and images. Unlike previous works, we leverage synthetic data for pretraining a CNN model prior, and finetune that model further with experimental data. We experimentally demonstrate that using synthetic data as incremental learning process benefits the overall performance compared to training a model on combined synthetic and experimental data.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1992

High resolution imaging at Palomar

For the last two years we have embarked on a program of understanding the ultimate limits of ground-based optical imaging. We have designed and fabricated a camera specifically for high resolution imaging. This camera has now been pressed into service at the prime focus of the Hale 5 m telescope. We have concentrated on two techniques: the Non-Redundant Masking (NRM) and Weigelt's Fully Filled Aperture (FFA) method. The former is the optical analog of radio interferometry and the latter is a higher order extension of the Labeyrie autocorrelation method. As in radio Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), both these techniques essentially measure the closure phase and, hence, true image construction is possible. We have successfully imaged binary stars and asteroids with angular resolution approaching the diffraction limit of the telescope and image quality approaching that of a typical radio VLBI map. In addition, we have carried out analytical and simulation studies to determine the ultimate limits of ground-based optical imaging, the limits of space-based interferometric imaging, and investigated the details of imaging tradeoffs of beam combination in optical interferometers.

Kulkarni, Shrinivas R.↗