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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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Silicon solar cells are used to measure visible radiant energy and radiation intensities to 20 solar constants. Future investigations are planned for up to 100 solar constants. Radiometer is small, rugged, accurate and inexpensive.
Single or double ion chamber technique measures absolute radiation intensities in the extreme vacuum ultraviolet region of the spectrum. The ion chambers use rare gases as the ion carrier. Photon absorbed by the gas creates one ion pair so a measure of these is a measure of the number of incident photons.
Results are presented from the Navier-Stokes and viscous shock-layer (VSL) calculations with nonequilibrium and equilibrium chemistry, respectively. These calculations contain coupling to the Aerotherm radiation code RAD. A simplified form of the electron energy equation is used to obtain an electron temperature in the Navier-Stokes calculations. The radiation in the flowfield is calculated using this temperature. The Navier-Stokes code is used at high altitude only, whereas the VSL code is employed for the entire entry period to make estimates of the radiative and convective heating to the Fire II vehicle. Results from the Navier-Stokes code have also been compared with the predictions of Lee and Kawamura, who used gray-gas radiation model and thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations. Quite good agreement is obtained between the measured and computed values of radiative and convective heating from the VSL code in th medium-to-low altitude flight regime of the Fire II vehicle. At high altitudes, the Navier-Stokes calculations considerably overpredict the Fire II flight data for radiative intensity. This is attributed to the deficiencies in the Aerotherm radiation model when used for low-density flight conditions. This model contains the thermal equilibrium assumption and precludes accounting for the collision-limiting phenomenon at high altitudes. Present Navier-Stokes calculations highlight the effect of these assumptions on radiative heating calculations for such conditions.
Characteristics of two high-power high-intensity radiation heat sources developed by Ames Research Center
A detector of ultraviolet radiation for operation in a space vehicle which orbits through high intensity radiation areas is described. Two identical ultraviolet sensor tubes are mounted within a shield which limits to acceptable levels the amount of proton radiation reaching the sensor tubes. The shield has an opening which permits ultraviolet radiation to reach one of the sensing tubes. The shield keeps ultraviolet radiation from reaching the other sensor tube, designated the reference tube. The circuitry of the detector subtracts the output of the reference tube from the output of the sensing tube, and any portion of the output of the sensing tube which is due to proton radiation is offset by the output of the reference tube. A delay circuit in the detector prevents false alarms by keeping statistical variations in the proton radiation sensed by the two sensor tubes from developing an output signal.
Features of circuits altered to increase or decrease sensitivity to radiation. State-space analysis used to analyze single-event-upset behavior of memory cell. When voltage on node a is set at one of indicated initial values Vao and then released, voltages on nodes a and b then follow indicated trajectory to final logic "one" or logic "zero" state. Ability to do this important for design of radiation-detecting integrated circuits (deliberately made more sensitive to ionizing radiation) and "radiation-hardened" integrated circuits - those intended to be relatively invulnerable to intense radiation.
Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to study the growth of S sub H centers on magnesium oxide powder which had hydrogen adsorbed on its surface. The centers were produced by ultraviolet radiation. The effects of both radiation intensity and hydrogen pressure were also studied. At constant hydrogen pressure and radiation dose, the initial S sub H center growth rate was found to be zero order. Beyond the initial region the growth rate deviated from zero order and finally approached saturation. The results are interpreted in terms of a model which assumes that the S sub H center is a hydrogen atom associated with a surface vacancy. Saturation appears to result from a limited supply of surface vacancies.
Derivation of the fluid loop temperature profile for a model with thermoelectric devices (TED) attached is developed as a function of position, incident radiation intensity, input fluid loop temperature and TED current. The associated temperature of the radiator is also developed so that the temperature difference across the TED can be determined for each position. The temperature difference is used in determining optimum operating conditions and available generated electrical power.
Parasitic waveguide element suppresses ground-reflected multipath radiation. Small section of waveguide placed in front of phased-array antenna operating at 850 MHz modifies radiation field by reducing power density parallel to and below ground plane without significantly affecting primary radiation at angles greater than 20 degrees above horizontal. Acts as parasitic radiator that shifts phase of portion of wavefront by approximately 180 degrees, causing partial cancellation in ground plane, thereby reducing radiation intensity in that direction by about 10 dB. Produces corresponding reduction in multipath radiation scattered from ground. Waveguide technique also used to decouple two nearby antennas.
The effects of drag on an idealized relativistic MHD wind of radial geometry are studied. The astrophysical motivation is to understand the effects of radiation drag on the dynamics of a jet or wind passing through the intense radiation field of an accreting compact object. From a critical point analysis, it is found that a slow magnetosonic point can appear in a dragged flow even in the absence of gravitational force, as a result of a balance between the drag force and the combination of thermal pressure and centrifugal forces. As in the undragged case, the Alfven point does not impose any constraints on the flow. Although it is formally possible for a dragged flow to possess more than one fast magnetosonic point, it is shown that this is unlikely in practice. In the limit of a 'cold', centrifugally driven flow, it is shown that the fast magnetosonic point moves to infinite radius, just as in the drag-free case. For a given mass flux, the total energy output carried to infinity, and the final partition between the kinetic energy and the Poynting flux, are the same for the dragged and the drag-free flows. The main effects of radiation drag are to increase the amount of energy and angular momentum extracted from the source and to redistribute the regions where acceleration occurs in the flow. This is accomplished through the storage and release of magnetic energy, as a result of additional winding and compression of the field caused by the action of the drag. For a relativistic wind, the dissipated energy can exceed the final kinetic energy of the flow and may be comparable to the total flow energy (which is dominated by Poynting flux). The energy lost to radiation drag will appear as a Doppler-boosted beam of scattered radiation, which could dominate the background radiation if the flow is well-collimated.
Research was continued on the origins, acceleration mechanisms, and the propagation modes of the hierarchy of energetic charged particles found in a wide range of astrophysical settings, extending from the cosmic rays arriving from the depth of the galaxy to the energetic particles in the heliosphere and in the near earth environment. In particular this grant has been a vital support in the investigation of the particle radiations in the earth's magnetosphere. The ONR-604 instrument was launched in July 1990 aboard the CRRES spacecraft. The CRRES mission has been a joint program of NASA and the U.S. Air Force Space Test Program which has provided launch support and telemetry coverage. The spacecraft was placed into a low-inclination eccentric orbit with a period of approximately 10 hours, and thus measured charged particle fluxes in both interplanetary space and in the earth's trapped radiation. ONR-604 performed extremely well, both in interplanetary space and in the intense radiation belt environment. We were able to make detailed measurements of interplanetary fluxes and composition into L=4, or for more than 50% of the orbital period. Thus the experiment produced two valuable datasets, one set outside of L=4 for interplanetary studies, and one set inside of L=4 for radiation belt studies. The data returned by the University of Chicago ONR-604 instrument has been the base for 10 papers on magnetospheric and galactic energetic-particle research.
The Langley high energy nucleon transport computer code BRYNTRN is used to predict time-integrated radiation dose levels at the lunar surface due to high proton flux from solar flares. The study addresses the shielding requirements for candidate lunar habitat configurations necessary to protect crew members from these large and unpredictable radiation fluxes. Three solar proton events have been analyzed, and variations in radiation intensity in a shield medium due to the various primary particle energy distributions are predicted. Radiation dose predictions are made for various slab thicknesses of a lunar soil model. Results are also presented in the form of dose patterns within specific habitat configurations shielded with lunar material.
The development of low conductivity, robust thermal and environmental barrier coatings requires advanced testing techniques that can accurately and effectively evaluate coating thermal conductivity and cyclic resistance at very high surface temperatures (up to 17OOOC) under large thermal gradients. In this study, a laser high-heat-flux test approach is established for evaluating advanced low conductivity, ultra-high temperature ceramic thermal and environmental barrier coatings under the NASA Ultra Efficient Engine Technology (UEET) program. The test approach emphasizes the real-time monitoring and assessment of the coating thermal conductivity: the initial conductivity rise under a steady-state high temperature thermal gradient test due to coating sintering, and the later coating conductivity reduction under a subsequent cyclic thermal gradient test due to coating cracking/delamination. The coating system is then evaluated based on the damage accumulations and failure after the combined steady-state and cyclic thermal gradient tests. The lattice and radiation thermal conductivity of advanced ceramic coatings can also be evaluated using laser heat-flux techniques. The coating external radiation resistance is assessed based on the measured specimen temperature response under a laser heated intense radiation flux source. The coating internal radiation contribution is investigated based on the measured apparent coating conductivity increases with the coating surface test temperature under large thermal gradient test conditions. Since an increased radiation contribution is observed at these very high surface test temperatures, by varying the laser heat-flux and coating average test temperature, the complex relation between the lattice and radiation conductivity as a function of surface and interface test temperature is derived.
Intensity variations of protons and electrons of outer radiation belt
In a prior effort, a thermal/fluid model of the interior of Penn State University's laboratory-scale Insulation Test Motor (ITM) was constructed to predict both the convective and radiative heat transfer to the interior walls of the ITM with a minimum of empiricism. These predictions were then compared to values of total and radiative heat flux measured in a previous series of ITM test firings to assess the capabilities and shortcomings of the chosen modeling approach. Though the calculated fluxes reasonably agreed with those measured during testing, this exercise revealed means of improving the fidelity of the model to, in the case of the thermal radiation, enable direct comparison of the measured and calculated fluxes and, for the total heat flux, compute a value indicative of the average measured condition. By replacing the P1-Approximation with the discrete ordinates (DO) model for the solution of the gray radiative transfer equation, the radiation intensity field in the optically thin region near the radiometer is accurately estimated, allowing the thermal radiation flux to be calculated on the heat-flux sensor itself, which was then compared directly to the measured values. Though the fully coupling the wall thermal response with the flow model was not attempted due to the excessive computational time required, a separate wall thermal response model was used to better estimate the average temperature of the graphite surfaces upstream of the heat flux gauges and improve the accuracy of both the total and radiative heat flux computations. The success of this modeling approach increases confidence in the ability of state-of-the-art thermal and fluid modeling to accurately predict SRM internal environments, offers corrections to older methods, and supplies a tool for further studies of the dynamics of SRM interiors.
In a prior effort, a thermal/fluid model of the interior of Penn State University's laboratory-scale Insulation Test Motor (ITM) was constructed to predict both the convective and radiative heat transfer to the interior walls of the ITM with a minimum of empiricism. These predictions were then compared to values of total and radiative heat flux measured in a previous series of ITM test firings to assess the capabilities and shortcomings of the chosen modeling approach. Though the calculated fluxes reasonably agreed with those measured during testing, this exercise revealed means of improving the fidelity of the model to, in the case of the thermal radiation, enable direct comparison of the measured and calculated fluxes and, for the total heat flux, compute a value indicative of the average measured condition. By replacing the P1-Approximation with the discrete ordinates (DO) model for the solution of the gray radiative transfer equation, the radiation intensity field in the optically thin region near the radiometer is accurately estimated, allowing the thermal radiation flux to be calculated on the heat-flux sensor itself, which was then compared directly to the measured values. Though the fully coupling the wall thermal response with the flow model was not attempted due to the excessive computational time required, a separate wall thermal response model was used to better estimate the average temperature of the graphite surfaces upstream of the heat flux gauges and improve the accuracy of both the total and radiative heat flux computations. The success of this modeling approach increases confidence in the ability of state-of-the-art thermal and fluid modeling to accurately predict SRM internal environments, offers corrections to older methods, and supplies a tool for further studies of the dynamics of SRM interiors.
The intensities of the radiation emitted behind a normal shock wave in N were measured in an electric-arc driven shock tube at a shock velocity of 6.2 km/sec. Both a time-resolved broad-band radiation intensity measurement and a time-frozen spectral measurement were conducted. The rotational and vibrational temperatures are determined in both the equilibrium and the nonequilibrium regions. The results are compared with the similar data obtained by Allen et al. (1961). The measured rotational temperature seems to be in nonequilibrium, contradicting the two-temperature assumption of Park (1988), but the measured vibrational temperature agrees with Park's model.
The depleted stratospheric ozone layer has been directly linked to increased levels of ultraviolet radiation at the earth's surface. It is important to understand what effect this will have on plants. We tested the hypothesis that in response to increased UV-B radiation (280-320 man), soybean (Glycine max Merrill) and alfalfa (Mercado Saliva L.) would produce higher concentrations of flavonoids than plants screened from UV-B. Soybean and alfalfa plants were grown successively in a growth chamber that provided UV-B radiation intensities 45% above summer field levels. A wooden frame was used to suspend mylar-D film over one group of plants and mono-acetate film over another group. Mylar is opaque in the 280-316 nm range, and acetate absorbs most radiation from 280-290 nm and then reduces intensities in the 290-320 nm range by roughly 15%. Leaf chlorophyll concentration was determined with a Minolta SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter; the BRAD meter was calibrated with N,N- extractions. Flavonoids were extracted with an acidified methanol/water solution. Soybean grown under the acetate treatment showed 26% smaller internodal lengths and higher concentrations of flavonoids compared to plants grown under mylar. Significant results for alfalfa included 22% greater leaf flavonoid concentration under acetate, 14% greater leaf chlorophyll concentration under mylar, and 32% greater above-ground biomass under mylar. We found that increased UV-B radiation leads to increased production of UV-B absorbing compounds (i.e. flavonoids) in soybean and alfalfa leaves. This suggests that a protective mechanism in these plants is triggered by UV-B. In response, flavonoids are produced that absorb UV-B, and consequently decrease potentially damaging effects to the plants. In addition, we hypothesize that this flavonoid protection mechanism saturates at certain UV-B intensities.