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At least 127 records · Page 7

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NASA NTRS1982

Software for the grouped optimal aggregation technique

The grouped optimal aggregation technique produces minimum variance, unbiased estimates of acreage and production for countries, zones (states), or any designated collection of acreage strata. It uses yield predictions, historical acreage information, and direct acreage estimate from satellite data. The acreage strata are grouped in such a way that the ratio model over historical acreage provides a smaller variance than if the model were applied to each individual stratum. An optimal weighting matrix based on historical acreages, provides the link between incomplete direct acreage estimates and the total, current acreage estimate.

Brown, P. M.↗

NASA NTRS1982

An unusual layered mineral in chondrules and aggregates of the Allende carbonaceous chondrite

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X ray (EDS) and electron energy loss (EELS) spectroscopy examinations of the microstructures and phase relationships of minerals in opaque spherules in the Allende chondrules and aggregates are reported. The studies were carried out on petrographic thin sections which were ion-thinned. A significant metasomatic effect was observed in a highly oxidizing condition of a later cooled stage. An unusually layered Fe-, Ni-, and O-rich mineral related to serpentine was found to occur in the opaque specimen, and was judged to occur by alteration of olivine. It is noted that low temperature and a hydrous condition would have been required for the formation of the serpentine in the spherules, the first observed in Allende. It is suggested that the aqueous conditions occurred before the final stage of the meteorite formation, and proceeded in a nonterrestrial manner.

Tomeoka, K.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Aggregation of grains in a turbulent pre-solar disk

The growth and evolution of grains in the protostellar nebula are investigated within the context of turbulent low-mass disk models developed by previous investigators. Because of grain collisions promoted by the turbulent velocities, particles aggregate to millimeter size in times of the order of 1000 yrs. During the growth the particles acquire a large inward radial velocity due to gas drag (Weidenschilling, 1977) and spiral into the sun. The calculations indicate that the final size of the particles does not exceed a few centimeters. This result is not very sensitive to the specific nebula parameters. For all conditions investigated it seems impossible to grow meter- or kilometer-sized bodies that could decouple from the gas motion. An additional argument is given that shows that only particles smaller than centimeter size can survive drift into the growing sun by being transported radially outward by turbulent mixing. This agrees well with the maximum size of inclusions and chondrules. Since sedimentation of grains and subsequent dust disk instability is effectively inhibited by turbulent stirring, the formation of planetesimals and planets cannot be explained in the above scenario without further assumptions.

Wieneke, B.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Dunes in the north polar region of Mars - Their possible formation from low-density sedimentary aggregates

Low-density aggregates composed of submicron clay aerosols were formed experimentally as the sublimation residues of masses of dust-nucleated ice. These ice-dust mixtures are considered to be possible analogs of materials of Martian north polar deposits. Low-density (0.002 g/cu cm) spheroidal pellets formed from these materials in wind tunnel experiments are studied as possible candidates for the formation of dunes in the north polar region of Mars. It is shown that these particles move like sand grains under conditions of saltation and, taken in sufficient quantities, can form the dunes observed in the north circumpolar erg.

Saunders, R. S.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Alteration of Al-rich inclusions inside amoeboid olivine aggregates in the Allende meteorite

The primary phases of Al-rich inclusions in amoeboid olivine aggregates have undergone alteration reactions with the solar nebular gas. The simplest interpretation of the present observations is that melilite was the first primary phase to disappear with falling temperature, and was replaced by grossular + anorthite + feldspathoids, followed by fassaite; spinel was the last phase to be altered. Thermodynamic calculations suggest that Na-rich phlogopite could have formed at about 470 K and chlorite at about 328 K at a water fugacity of 0.000001, which is that of a gas of solar composition in this temperature range. The olivine around Al-rich inclusions is not serpentized, indicating the cessation of gas-solid equilibrium above 274 K.

Hashimoto, Akihiko↗

NASA NTRS1989

Inhomogeneous diffusion-limited aggregation

It is demonstrated here that inhomogeneous diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) model can be used to simulate viscous fingering in a medium with inhomogeneous permeability and homogeneous porosity. The medium consists of a pipe-pore square-lattice network in which all pores have equal volume and the pipes have negligible volume. It is shown that fluctuations in a DLA-based growth process may be tuned by noise reduction, and that fluctuations in the velocity of the moving interface are multiplicative in form.

Selinger, Robin Blumberg↗

NASA NTRS1989

Comments on comet shapes and aggregation processes

An important question for a comet mission is whether comet nuclei preserve information clarifying aggregation processes of planetary matter. New observational evidence shows that Trojan asteroids, as a group, display a higher fraction of highly-elongated objects than the belt. More recently evidence has accumulated that comet nuclei, as a group, also display highly-elongated shapes at macro-scale. This evidence comes from the several comets whose nuclear lightcurves or shapes have been well studied. Trojans and comet nuclei share other properties. Both groups have extremely low albedos and reddish-to neutral-black colors typical of asteroids of spectral class D, P, and C. Both groups may have had relatively low collision frequencies. An important problem to resolve with spacecraft imaging is whether these elongated shapes are primordial, or due to evolution of the objects. Two hypotheses that might be tested by a combination of global-scale and close-up imaging from various directions are: (1) The irregular shapes are primordial and related to the fact that these bodies have had lower collision frequencies than belt asteroids; or (2) The irregular shapes may be due to volatile loss.

Hartmann, William K.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Optical properties of aggregate particles whose outer diameter is comparable to the wavelength

Results are described of numerical calculations of the optical properties (extinction efficiency, single-scattering albedo, phase function, and linear polarization) of aggregate particles whose outer diameter is comparable with the wavelength. Results are presented for two types of particle, one composed of monomers whose radius is small compared with the wavelength and a second containing monomers with larger radii. The shape of the forward-scattered lobe of the phase function is diagnostic of the mean projected area (but differs from that for an equal-area sphere), while the linear polarization, phase function at large scattering angles, and single-scattering albedo depend on the monomer diameter. The wavelength dependence of the extinction efficiency differs markedly from that for equal-area spheres. These results can be used to infer particle properties from remotely sensed data.

West, Robert A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Fractal dimension of alumina aggregates grown in two dimensions

The concepts of fractal geometry are applied to the analysis of 0.4-micron alumina constrained to agglomerate in two dimensions. Particles were trapped at the bottom surface of a drop of a dilute suspension, and the agglomeration process was directly observed, using an inverted optical microscope. Photographs were digitized and analyzed, using three distinct approaches. The results indicate that the agglomerates are fractal, having a dimension of approximately 1.5, which agrees well with the predictions of the diffusion-limited cluster-cluster aggregation model.

Larosa, Judith L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Stardust - Aggregation of cosmic dust analogues in microgravity

The condensation behavior of refractory grains near stars was investigated in an experiment which used a specially designed apparatus flown aboard NASA's Reduced Gravity aircraft. The apparatus consisted of a furnace in which a solid material (Zn or Mg) is vaporized into a temperature- and pressure-controlled chamber. Light scattered from the grains was recorded using a video system, and temperature measurements in the chamber were recorded throughout the microgravity period. The video and the temperature data are compared to models that predict the time dependence of the temperature- and vapor-pressure profiles to deduce the condensation behavior of the material. The joint U.S.-Italian program (named Stardust) for these experiments, designed to study refractory grain formation and aggregation, was set up to develop experimental and computational techniques for condensation studies under microgravity conditions.

Dell'aversana, P.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Remote spectral identification of surface aggregates by thermal imaging techniques - Progress report

The NASA Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) has been successfully used for the remote identification of a variety of soil and aggregate deposits in vegetated areas of two states. Over three million cubic meters of gravel deposits were identified from the imagery during a two year period. Verification was accomplished by ground reconnaissance using drilling machinery and by ground instrumentation. The method has been used to differentiate between fine and coarse grained soils, and gravel deposits. The deposits were found to have been naturally sorted according to grain size by depositional processes, providing each deposit with distinct spectral qualities. It was found that the masking effects of relatively dense vegetation were largely overcome by using imagery acquired at higher altitudes above terrain than 9000 meters, due to loss of resolution of the finer detail. The mechanics of image resolution are discussed, a method of data analysis used is described, and sample spectral signatures are illustrated.

Scholen, Douglas E.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Columbus proto-planetesimal dust aggregation experiment

A microgravity experiment to study the growth of dust particles which has been proposed to be flown on one of the Columbus precursor flights is described. The microgravity environment will allow for low collision velocities (of order of mm/s) of the dust grains and for a large Knudsen number of the embedding gas; conditions expected in the early solar nebula. The outcome of the experiment will yield estimates of the sticking efficiency and the critical velocity for agglomeration. The values of these two parameters will provide substantial improvements in the constraints for models of the formation of planetesimals. In particular, the questions related to growth rate and mode of the aggregation process will be answered. The range of material type, collision velocities, properties of the environment in which growth takes place, and other factors permit a natural extension of this experiment to take advantage of the capabilities of the Space Station Columbus. Other astrophysical applications, such as processes in Saturnian rings, with somewhat different regimes could also be investigated.

Keller, H. U.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Thermal inertia and radar reflectivity of the Martian north polar ERG: Low-density aggregates

The north polar layered deposits on Mars appear to be the source of the dark material that comprises the north polar erg. The physical properties and chemical composition of the erg material therefore have important implications for the origin and evolution of the Martian layered deposits. Viking bistatic radar and infrared thermal mapping (IRTM) data indicate that the bulk density of the erg material is lower than that of the average Martian surface. These data are consistent with hypotheses involving formation of filamentary sublimation residue (FSR) particles from erosion of the layered deposits. The color and albedo of the erg and of the layered deposits, and the presence of magnetic material on Mars, suggest that the dark material is composed of low-density aggregates of magnetic dust grains, perhaps similar to FSR particles created in laboratory experiments.

Herkenhoff, K. E.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Importance of aggregation and small ice crystals in cirrus clouds, based on observations and an ice particle growth model

The 1 November 1986 FIRE I case study was used to test an ice particle growth model which predicts bimodal size spectra in cirrus clouds. The model was developed from an analytically based model which predicts the height evolution of monomodal ice particle size spectra from the measured ice water content (IWC). Size spectra from the monomodal model are represented by a gamma distribution, N(D) = N(sub o)D(exp nu)exp(-lambda D), where D = ice particle maximum dimension. The slope parameter, lambda, and the parameter N(sub o) are predicted from the IWC through the growth processes of vapor diffusion and aggregation. The model formulation is analytical, computationally efficient, and well suited for incorporation into larger models. The monomodal model has been validated against two other cirrus cloud case studies. From the monomodal size spectra, the size distributions which determine concentrations of ice particles less than about 150 mu m are predicted.

Mitchell, David L.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Flocculation and aggregation in a microgravity environment (FAME)

An experiment to study flocculation phenomena in the constrained microgravity environment of a space shuttle or space station is described. The small size and light weight experiment easily fits in a Spacelab Glovebox. Using an integrated fiber optic dynamic light scattering (DLS) system we obtain high precision particle size measurements from dispersions of colloidal particles within seconds, needs no onboard optical alignment, no index matching fluid, and offers sample mixing and shear melting capabilities to study aggregation (flocculation and coagulation) phenomena under both quiescent and controlled agitation conditions. The experimental system can easily be adapted for other microgravity experiments requiring the use of DLS. Preliminary results of ground-based study are reported.

Ansari, Rafat R.↗

NASA NTRS1993

A diffusion-limited aggregation model for the evolution of drainage networks

We propose a modified diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) model for the evolution of fluvial drainage networks. Random walkers are introduced randomly on a grid, and each two-dimensional random walk proceeds until the walker finds a drainage network on which to accrete. This model for headward growth of drainage networks generates drainage patterns remarkably similar to actual drainages. The model also predicts statistical features which agree with actual networks, including the frequency-order (bifurcation) ratio (R(sub b) = 3.98) and the stream length-order (R(sub r) = 2.09). Using the definition of network fractal dimension D = log R(sub b)/log R(sub r), we find that our DLA model gives D = 1.87, near the observed range of D approximately equal to 1.80 - 1.85.

Masek, Jeffrey G.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Method for Producing Non-Neoplastic, Three Dimensional, Mammalian Tissue and Cell Aggregates Under Microgravity Culture Conditions and the Products Produced Therefrom

Normal mammalian tissue and the culturing process has been developed for the three groups of organ, structural, and blood tissue. The cells are grown in vitro under microgravity culture conditions and form three dimensional cells aggregates with normal cell function. The microgravity culture conditions may be microgravity or simulated microgravity created in a horizontal rotating wall culture vessel.

Goodwin, Thomas J.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Algebraic Multigrid by Smoothed Aggregation for Second and Fourth Order Elliptic Problems

Multigrid methods are very efficient iterative solvers for system of algebraic equations arising from finite element and finite difference discretization of elliptic boundary value problems. The main principle of multigrid methods is to complement the local exchange of information in point-wise iterative methods by a global one utilizing several related systems, called coarse levels, with a smaller number of variables. The coarse levels are often obtained as a hierarchy of discretizations with different characteristic meshsizes, but this requires that the discretization is controlled by the iterative method. To solve linear systems produced by existing finite element software, one needs to create an artificial hierarchy of coarse problems. The principal issue is then to obtain computational complexity and approximation properties similar to those for nested meshes, using only information in the matrix of the system and as little extra information as possible. Such algebraic multigrid method that uses the system matrix only was developed by Ruge. The prolongations were based on the matrix of the system by partial solution from given values at selected coarse points. The coarse grid points were selected so that each point would be interpolated to via so-called strong connections. Our approach is based on smoothed aggregation introduced recently by Vanek. First the set of nodes is decomposed into small mutually disjoint subsets. A tentative piecewise constant interpolation (in the discrete sense) is then defined on those subsets as piecewise constant for second order problems, and piecewise linear for fourth order problems. The prolongation operator is then obtained by smoothing the output of the tentative prolongation and coarse level operators are defined variationally.

Vanek, Petr↗