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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

Pressure Profiles in a Loop Heat Pipe Under Gravity Influence

During the operation of a loop heat pipe (LHP), the viscous flow induces pressure drops in various elements of the loop. The total pressure drop is equal to the sum of pressure drops in vapor grooves, vapor line, condenser, liquid line and primary wick, and is sustained by menisci at liquid and vapor interfaces on the outer surface of the primary wick in the evaporator. The menisci will curve naturally so that the resulting capillary pressure matches the total pressure drop. In ground testing, an additional gravitational pressure head may be present and must be included in the total pressure drop when LHP components are placed in a non-planar configuration. Under gravity-neutral and anti-gravity conditions, the fluid circulation in the LHP is driven solely by the capillary force. With gravity assist, however, the flow circulation can be driven by the combination of capillary and gravitational forces, or by the gravitational force alone. For a gravity-assist LHP at a given elevation between the horizontal condenser and evaporator, there exists a threshold heat load below which the LHP operation is gravity driven and above which the LHP operation is capillary force and gravity co-driven. The gravitational pressure head can have profound effects on the LHP operation, and such effects depend on the elevation, evaporator heat load, and condenser sink temperature. This paper presents a theoretical study on LHP operations under gravity neutral, anti-gravity, and gravity-assist modes using pressure diagrams to help understand the underlying physical processes. Effects of the condenser configuration on the gravitational pressure head and LHP operation are also discussed.

0000↗
NASA NTRS2015

Pressure Profiles in a Loop Heat Pipe under Gravity Influence

During the operation of a loop heat pipe (LHP), the viscous flow induces pressure drops in various elements of the loop. The total pressure drop is equal to the sum of pressure drops in vapor grooves, vapor line, condenser, liquid line and primary wick, and is sustained by menisci at liquid and vapor interfaces on the outer surface of the primary wick in the evaporator. The menisci will curve naturally so that the resulting capillary pressure matches the total pressure drop. In ground testing, an additional gravitational pressure head may be present and must be included in the total pressure drop when LHP components are placed in a non-planar configuration. Under gravity-neutral and anti-gravity conditions, the fluid circulation in the LHP is driven solely by the capillary force. With gravity assist, however, the flow circulation can be driven by the combination of capillary and gravitational forces, or by the gravitational force alone. For a gravity-assist LHP at a given elevation between the horizontal condenser and evaporator, there exists a threshold heat load below which the LHP operation is gravity driven and above which the LHP operation is capillary force and gravity co-driven. The gravitational pressure head can have profound effects on the LHP operation, and such effects depend on the elevation, evaporator heat load, and condenser sink temperature. This paper presents a theoretical study on LHP operations under gravity-neutral, anti-gravity, and gravity-assist modes using pressure diagrams to help understand the underlying physical processes. Effects of the condenser configuration on the gravitational pressure head and LHP operation are also discussed.

Thermal Control Systems↗
NASA NTRS1981

Interaction of comets with the interplanetary medium

The interaction of solar radiation and the solar wind with a comet as it moves around the sun is discussed. The overall structure of the comet-solar wind interaction, which is believed to give rise to a tangential discontinuity surface excluding the solar wind from the cometary ionosphere, a collisionless bow shock serving to decelerate and divert the solar wind, and a weak outer shock, is considered. The variable nature of the interaction as the comet moves around the sun and as solar wind conditions vary is then examined. It is shown that the cometary neutrals play a dominant role in standing off the solar wind, particularly under quiet conditions, making the cometary ionosphere in general highly incompressible. Conditions are found under which cometary neutrals cannot penetrate the ionopause to interact with the solar wind, and the inner shock becomes a hybrid ion-neutral shock. Finally, consideration of the direct interaction of the solar wind and solar ultraviolet radiation with the cometary nucleus indicates that electrostatic charging of the surface is capable of causing transport and blow-off of cometary dust at large heliocentric distances.

Mendis, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

The equilibrium and stability of the gaseous component of the galaxy, 2

A time-independent, linear, plane and axially-symmetric stability analysis was performed on a self-gravitating, plane-parallel, isothermal layer of nonmagnetic, nonrotating gas. The gas layer was immersed in a plane-stratified field isothermal layer of stars which supply a self-consistent gravitational field. Only the gaseous component was perturbed. Expressions were derived for the perturbed gas potential and perturbed gas density that satisfied both the Poisson and hydrostatic equilibrium equations. The equation governing the size of the perturbations in the mid-plane was found to be analogous to the one-dimensional time-independent Schrodinger equation for a particle bound by a potential well, and with similar boundary conditions. The radius of the neutral state was computed numerically and compared with the Jeans' and Ledoux radius. The inclusion of a rigid stellar component increased the Ledoux radius, though only slightly. Isodensity contours of the neutrual or marginally unstable state were constructed.

Kellman, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Atmospheric heating by solar EUV radiation

A diurnal model of the mid-latitude ionospheric R region is used to calculate the diurnal variation of the neutral gas heating rates and neutral gas heating efficiency for conditions similar to those over Millstone Hill on March 23-24, 1970. The calculations show that the absorbed solar EUV (wavelength less than or equal to 1025 A) energy is almost equally split between photoelectrons and ion pair production. Photoelectrons heat the ambient electron gas by Coulomb collisions and by the quenching of certain excited ion species, whereas the ion gas is primarily heated by collisions with hot electrons and by chemical reactions. Heating processes above 300 km, between 170 and 300 km, and below 170 km are identified.

Stolarski, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A note on photocurrents in extrinsic semiconductors

The advent of the concept of holes and careful determination of mobilities have made it possible to realize that the potential difference between the contacts of an irradiated semiconductor in the absence of current flow is due to the difference in mobility of electrons and holes. In this paper, a preliminary analysis shows that charge neutrality and zero-current condition are compatible. This situation is clarified and it is found that the equation for the electric field E in the absence of current is not absolutely correct even under low-level injection conditions. In particular, it is shown that fairly large currents can be generated by suitable light sources, currents which are entirely due to the disparity between electron and hole mobilities.

Von Roos, O.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Normal and Tangential Momentum Accommodation for Earth Satellite Conditions

Momentum accommodation was determined experimentally for gas-surface interactions simulating in a practical way those of near-earth satellites. Throughout the ranges of gas energies and incidence angles of interest for earth-conditions, two components of force were measured by means of a vacuum microbalance to determine the normal and tangential momentum-accommodation coefficients for nitrogen ions on technical-quality aluminum surfaces. For these experimental conditions, the electrodynamics of ion neutralization near the surface indicate that results for nitrogen ions should differ relatively little from those for nitrogen molecules, which comprise the largest component of momentum flux for near-earth satellites. The experimental results indicated that both normal and tangential momentum-accommodation coefficients varied widely with energy, tending to be relatively well accommodated at the higher energies, but becoming progressively less accommodated as the energy was reduced to and below that for earth-satellite speeds. Both coefficients also varied greatly with incidence angle, the normal momentum becoming less accommodated as the incidence angle became more glancing, whereas the tangential momentum generally became more fully accommodated. For each momentum coefficient, an empirical correlation function was obtained which closely approximated the experimental results over the ranges of energy and incidence angle. Most of the observed variations of momentum accommodation with energy and incidence angle were qualitatively indicated by a calculation using a three-dimensional model that simulated the target surface by a one-dimensional attractive potential and hard sphere reflectors.

Knechtel, Earl D.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Inception of Snapover and Gas Induced Glow Discharges

Ground based experiments of the snapover phenomenon were conducted in the large vertical simulation chamber at the Glenn Research Center (GRC) Plasma Interaction Facility (PIF). Two Penning sources provided both argon and xenon plasmas for the experiments. The sources were used to simulate a variety of ionospheric densities pertaining to a spacecraft in a Low Earth Orbital (LEO) environment. Secondary electron emission is believed responsible for dielectric surface charging, and all subsequent snapover phenomena observed. Voltage sweeps of conductor potentials versus collected current were recorded in order to examine the specific charging history of each sample. The average time constant for sample charging was estimated between 25 and 50 seconds for all samples. It appears that current drops off by approximately a factor of 3 over the charging time of the sample. All samples charged in the forward and reverse bias directions, demonstrated hysteresis. Current jumps were only observed in the forward or positive swept voltage direction. There is large dispersion in tile critical snapover potential when repeating sweeps on any one sample. The current ratio for the first snapover region jumps between 2 and 4.6 times, with a standard deviation less than 1.6. Two of the samples showed even larger current ratios. It is believed the second large snapover region is due to sample outgassing. Under certain preset conditions, namely at the higher neutral gas background pressures, a perceptible blue-green glow was observed around the conductor. The glow is believed to be a result of secondary electrons undergoing collisions with an expelled tenuous cloud of gas, that is outgassed from the sample. Spectroscopic measurements of the glow discharge were made in an attempt to identify specific lines contributing to the observed glow.

Galofaro, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Carbon Nanotubes/Nanofibers by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition

Plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) has been recently used for the production of vertically aligned carbon nanotubedfibers (CN) directly on substrates. These structures are potentially important technologically as electron field emitters (e.g. microguns, microwave amplifiers, displays), nanoelectrodes for sensors, filter media, superhydrophobic surfaces and thermal interface materials for microelectronics. A parametric study on the growth of CN grown by glow discharge dc-PECVD is presented. In this technique, a substrate containing thin film Ni catalyst is exposed to C2H2 and NH3 gases at 700 C. Without plasma, this process is essentially thermal CVD which produces curly spaghetti-like CN as seen in Fig. 1 (a). With the plasma generated by biasing the substrate at -6OOV, we observed that the CN align vertically during growth as shown in Fig. l(b), and that the magnitude of the applied substrate bias affects the degree of alignment. The thickness of the thin film Ni catalyst was found to determine the average diameter and inversely the length of the CN. The yield and density of the CN were controlled by the use of different diffusion barrier materials under the Ni catalyst. Patterned CN growth [Fig. l(c)], with la variation in CN diameter of 4.1% and 6.3% respectively, is achieved by lithographically defining the Ni thin film prior to growth. The shape of the structures could be varied from very straight nanotube-like to conical tip-like nanofibers by increasing the ratio of C2H2 in the gas flow. Due to the plasma decomposition of C2H2, amorphous carbon (a-C) is an undesirable byproduct which could coat the substrate during CN growth. Using a combination of depth profiled Auger electron spectroscopy to study the substrate and in-situ mass spectroscopy to examine gas phase neutrals and ions, the optimal conditions for a-C free growth of CN is determined.

Teo, K. B. K.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Influence of Solar-Geomagnetic Disturbances on SABER Measurements of 4.3 Micrometer Emission and the Retrieval of Kinetic Temperature and Carbon Dioxide

Thermospheric infrared radiance at 4.3 micrometers is susceptible to the influence of solar-geomagnetic disturbances. Ionization processes followed by ion-neutral chemical reactions lead to vibrationally excited NO(+) (i.e., NO(+)(v)) and subsequent 4.3 micrometer emission in the ionospheric E-region. Large enhancements of nighttime 4.3 m emission were observed by the TIMED/SABER instrument during the April 2002 and October-November 2003 solar storms. Global measurements of infrared 4.3 micrometer emission provide an excellent proxy to observe the nighttime E-region response to auroral dosing and to conduct a detailed study of E-region ion-neutral chemistry and energy transfer mechanisms. Furthermore, we find that photoionization processes followed by ion-neutral reactions during quiescent, daytime conditions increase the NO(+) concentration enough to introduce biases in the TIMED/SABER operational processing of kinetic temperature and CO2 data, with the largest effect at summer solstice. In this paper, we discuss solar storm enhancements of 4.3 micrometer emission observed from SABER and assess the impact of NO(+)(v) 4.3 micrometer emission on quiescent, daytime retrievals of Tk/CO2 from the SABER instrument.

Mertens, Christopher J.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Initial Results of DC Electric Fields, Associated Plasma Drifts, Magnetic Fields, and Plasma Waves Observed on the C/NOFS Satellite

Initial results are presented from the Vector Electric Field Investigation (VEFI) on the Air Force Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite, a mission designed to understand, model, and forecast the presence of equatorial ionospheric irregularities. The VEFI instrument includes a vector DC electric field detector, a fixed-bias Langmuir probe operating in the ion saturation regime, a flux gate magnetometer, an optical lightning detector, and associated electronics including a burst memory. Compared to data obtained during more active solar conditions, the ambient DC electric fields and their associated E x B drifts are variable and somewhat weak, typically < 1 mV/m. Although average drift directions show similarities to those previously reported, eastward/outward during day and westward/downward at night, this pattern varies significantly with longitude and is not always present. Daytime vertical drifts near the magnetic equator are largest after sunrise, with smaller average velocities after noon. Little or no pre-reversal enhancement in the vertical drift near sunset is observed, attributable to the solar minimum conditions creating a much reduced neutral dynamo at the satellite altitude. The nighttime ionosphere is characterized by larger amplitude, structured electric fields, even where the plasma density appears nearly quiescent. Data from successive orbits reveal that the vertical drifts and plasma density are both clearly organized with longitude. The spread-F density depletions and corresponding electric fields that have been detected thus far have displayed a preponderance to appear between midnight and dawn. Associated with the narrow plasma depletions that are detected are broad spectra of electric field and plasma density irregularities for which a full vector set of measurements is available for detailed study. Finally, the data set includes a wide range of ELF/VLF/HF oscillations corresponding to a variety of plasma waves, in particular banded ELF hiss, whistlers, and lower hybrid wave turbulence triggered by lightning-induced sferics. The VEFI data represents a new set of measurements that are germane to numerous fundamental aspects of the electrodynamics and irregularities inherent to the Earth's low latitude ionosphere.

Pfaff, R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

DC Electric Fields, Associated Plasma Drifts, and Irregularities Observed on the C/NOFS Satellite

Results are presented from the Vector Electric Field Investigation (VEFI) on the Air Force Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite, a mission designed to understand, model, and forecast the presence of equatorial ionospheric irregularities. The VEFI instrument includes a vector DC electric field detector, a fixed-bias Langmuir probe operating in the ion saturation regime, a flux gate magnetometer, an optical lightning detector, and associated electronics including a burst memory. Compared to data obtained during more active solar conditions, the ambient DC electric fields and their associated E x B drifts are variable and somewhat weak, typically < 1 mV/m. Although average drift directions show similarities to those previously reported, eastward/outward during day and westward/downward at night, this pattern varies significantly with longitude and is not always present. Daytime vertical drifts near the magnetic equator are largest after sunrise, with smaller average velocities after noon. Little or no pre-reversal enhancement in the vertical drift near sunset is observed, attributable to the solar minimum conditions creating a much reduced neutral dynamo at the satellite altitude. The nighttime ionosphere is characterized by larger amplitude, structured electric fields, even where the plasma density appears nearly quiescent. Data from successive orbits reveal that the vertical drifts and plasma density are both clearly organized with longitude. The spread-F density depletions and corresponding electric fields that have been detected thus far have displayed a preponderance to appear between midnight and dawn. Associated with the narrow plasma depletions that are detected are broad spectra of electric field and plasma density irregularities for which a full vector set of measurements is available for detailed study. The VEFI data represents a new set of measurements that are germane to numerous fundamental aspects of the electrodynamics and irregularities inherent to the Earth s low latitude ionosphere.

Pfaff, R.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Hall2De Simulations of a Magnetic Nozzle

The two-dimensional, fluid-based Hall thruster code Hall2De is adapted to simulate a low temperature propulsive magnetic nozzle. Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) thrusters developed at the Office National d’Etudes et de Recherches Aérospatiales (ONERA) in France and the University of Michigan are investigated. For each device, the simulated domain is defined from the nozzle throat to a location 10 thruster radii downstream. A numerical mesh is defined based on the measured magnetic field, and the governing fluid equations for singlycharge ions, electrons, and neutrals are solved. The boundary conditions for the throat of the magnetic nozzle are based on measured values of electron temperature and ion velocity. Multiple boundary conditions for the electron temperature in the downstream regions of the domain are considered. The simulated ion velocity and potential agrees well with experiment, while the simulated divergence efficiencies and thrusts are 25% lower and 45-55% higher than experiment. When a Neumann boundary condition for electron temperature is applied to the far-plume boundaries, the nozzle was seen to be purely isothermal. This suggests that the thermal conductivity along field lines in real devices is much lower than classical simulations predict, and anomalous resistivity may be needed to reproduce the temperature distribution observed in experiment. The larger beam divergence observed in our simulation may also be related to the lack of anomalous resistivity.

Jorns, Benjamin A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Formation of Smectite and Carbonate Minerals From Basaltic Glass on Early Mars

Intense aqueous alteration occurred on early Mars and left behind various secondary minerals. Physicochemical characteristics of ancient aquatic systems are still largely unknown, including why widespread smectite but limited carbonate deposits formed. Acidic events caused by sulfuric acid could permit smectite but inhibit carbonate formation on Mars. Gradual acid neutralization by basalts, however, develops conditions favorable for carbonate precipitation, leading to the coexistence of smectite and carbonates. The objectives of our work were to identify pH conditions and mineralogy of smectite and carbonate formed together from Mars analog basaltic glass.

T. S. Peretyazhko↗
NASA NTRS1989

Magnetosphere-thermosphere coupling - An experiment in interactive modeling

The present use of the Rice convection model to investigate the electrodynamic coupling of the thermosphere to the inner magnetosphere encompasses the effects of EUV-driven and convection-driven neutral winds under quasi-equilibrium conditions. Convection-driven winds are included self-consistently and interactively; a steady-state wind parameterization is written analytically in terms of the electrostatic potential, which is in turn included in a closed-loop calculation for the electric potential itself. The simulations conducted show that, as the neutral system approaches a quasi-equilibrium state, the neutral winds play a much more significant role.

Forbes, Jeffrey M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Ion-beam focusing in a double-plasma device

The authors studied the propagation of a low-energy charge-neutralized ion beam injected into the target region of a long double-plasma device. A magnetic field of up to about 180 G may be applied along the axis of the device. As a result of charge exchange collisions, the ion beam is attenuated as it propagates into the target region. However, under certain conditions of magnetic field strength and neutral gas pressure, the authors have observed a `reemergence' of the beam on axis far downstream in the target. This reemergence of the ion beam is attributed to a focusing of the ions by a self-consistently produced radial ambipolar electric field. The effect may be expected to occur in other types of plasma devices as well, whenever a sufficiently large radially inward electric field is present.

Johnson, James C.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The upper ionospheres of Jupiter and Saturn

The electron-density profiles of Jupiter's and Saturn's ionospheres are modeled with a 1D chemical diffusive model incorporating measured parameters of the neutral atmospheric structure. The Voyager RSS ion-density data are modeled by accounting for ion chemistry, the H3(+) recombination-rate coefficient, and H2O chemistry. Electron-density peaks for both ionospheres are 900-1000 km lower in the model than the measured values, and the role of vibrational excitation of H2 is discussed in converting H(+) to H2(+) and H3(+). Vertical ion flow is also considered which can maintain the plasma peaks under the conditions of electrical fields or horizontal neutral winds. An assumed influx of H2O molecules of a specific quantity is theorized to reproduce the measured values on Saturn when combined with a vertical plasma drift.

Majeed, Tariq↗
NASA NTRS2004

Solution-Phase Processes of Macromolecular Crystallization

We have proposed, for the tetragonal form of chicken egg lysozyme, that solution phase assembly processes are needed to form the growth units for crystal nucleation and growth. The starting point for the self-association process is the monomeric protein, and the final crystallographic symmetry is defined by the initial dimerization interactions of the monomers and subsequent n-mers formed, which in turn are a function of the crystallization conditions. It has been suggested that multimeric proteins generally incorporate the underlying multimers symmetry into the final crystallographic symmetry. We posed the question of what happens to a protein that is known to grow as an n-mer when it is placed in solution conditions where it is monomeric. The trypsin-treated, or cut, form of the protein canavalin (CCAN) has been shown to nucleate and grow crystals as a trimer from neutral to slightly acidic solutions. Under these conditions the solution is composed almost wholly of trimers. The insoluble protein can be readily dissolved by weakly basic solution, which results in a solution that is monomeric. There are three possible outcomes to an attempt at crystallization of the protein under monomeric (high pH) conditions: 1) we will obtain the same crystals as under trimer conditions, but at different protein concentrations governed by the self association equilibria; 2) we will obtain crystals having a different symmetry, based upon a monomeric growth unit; 3) we will not obtain crystals. Obtaining the first result would be indicative that the solution-phase self-association process is critical to the crystal nucleation and growth process. The second result would be less clear, as it may also reflect a pH-dependent shift in the trimer-trimer molecular interactions. The third result, particularly for experiments in the transition pH's between trimeric and monomeric CCAN, would indicate that the monomer does not crystallize, and that solution phase self association is not part of the crystal nucleation and growth path. Results are presented for crystallization experiments of CCAN over the pH 6.8 to 9.6 range.

Pusey, Marc L.↗