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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 1,315 records · Page 73
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

Evolution of lunar soil grain-size and shape parameters

Substrates at the Apollo 15 and 16 sites were analyzed and showed essentially the same graphic mean, graphic standard deviation, and graphic skewness. The graphic kurtosis of Apollo 16 soils is slightly smaller than that of Apollo 15. In Apollo 15 soil samples, grain size and graphic standard deviation increase with depth, while the trend is reversed in Apollo 16 soil samples. Lower sphericity values for Apollo 15 samples coincide with concentrations of highly irregularly shaped glass particles. Two-dimensional sphericity of Apollo 15 samples is contoured as a function of particle size and depth below lunar surface. The results are consistent with an overall model for soil development in which samples closer to the surface are more mature in response to more prolonged reworking of meteorite impact.

Lindsay, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Functional Autonomy Challenges in Sampling for an Europa Lander Mission

We present a baseline approach to Functional Autonomyfor the purpose of conducting excavation and samplingbehaviors in a proposed Europa Lander mission. Aspects ofthe problems of site selection, excavation progress tracking,and fault identification are related; with particular emphasison parameters peculiar to an icy moon environment. Firstpass approaches to addressing these challenges are presentedin isolation, while motivating the current development goal ofproducing a general Functional Autonomy architecture thatallows state estimation, fault diagnosis, isolation, & recovery(FDIR), and adaptive behaviors to be formulated in concert.

Backes, Paul↗
NASA NTRS1974

X-ray structural study of chrome-aluminum lunar spinel from the Sea of Fertility

An X-ray structural study was made of a lunar spinel sample from the Sea of Fertility. The chemical composition and distribution of cations in the structure were characterized. Interpretation of the experimental data by the least squares method yielded the oxygen parameter u = 0.261 and the isotropic temperature factor 1.09 AU squared.

Nozik, Y. Z.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Computer and laboratory simulation of interactions between spacecraft surfaces and charged-particle environments

Cases where the charged-particle environment acts on the spacecraft (e.g., spacecraft charging phenomena) and cases where a system on the spacecraft causes the interaction (e.g., high voltage space power systems) are considered. Both categories were studied in ground simulation facilities to understand the processes involved and to measure the pertinent parameters. Computer simulations are based on the NASA Charging Analyzer Program (NASCAP) code. Analytical models are developed in this code and verified against the experimental data. Extrapolation from the small test samples to space conditions are made with this code. Typical results from laboratory and computer simulations are presented for both types of interactions. Extrapolations from these simulations to performance in space environments are discussed.

Stevens, N. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Computer and laboratory simulation of interactions between spacecraft surfaces and charged-particle environments

There are two categories of interactions considered in this report. The first, spacecraft passive, refers to cases where the charged-particle environment acts on the spacecraft (e.g., spacecraft charging phenomena). The second, spacecraft active, refers to cases where a system on the spacecraft causes the interaction (e.g., high voltage space power systems). Both categories are studied in ground simulation facilities to understand the processes involved and to measure the pertinent parameters. Computer simulations are based on the NASA Charging Analyzer Program (NASCAP) code. Analytical models are developed in this code and verified against the experimental data. Extrapolation from the small test samples to space conditions are made with this code. Typical results from laboratory and computer simulations are presented for both types of interactions. Extrapolations from these simulations to performance in space environments are discussed.

Stevens, N. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Lakewide monitoring of suspended solids using satellite data

In anticipation of using LANDSAT and Nimbus 7 coastal zone color scanner data to observe the decrease in suspended solids in Lake Superior following cessation of the dumping of taconite tailings, a series of lakewide sampling cruises was conducted to make radiometric measurements at a lake level. A means for identifying particulates and measuring their concentration from LANDSAT data was developed. The initial distribution of chemical parameters in the extreme western arm of the lake, where the concentration gradients are high, is to be based on the LANDSAT data. Subsequent lakewide dispersal and distribution is to be based on the coastal zone color scanner data.

Sydor, M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Adaptive/learning control of large space structures - System identification techniques

Techniques developed for the control of aircraft under changing operating conditions are used to develop a learning control system structure for a multi-configuration, flexible space vehicle. A configuration identification subsystem that is to be used with a learning algorithm and a memory and control process subsystem is developed. Adaptive gain adjustments can be achieved by this learning approach without prestoring of large blocks of parameter data and without dither signal inputs which will be suppressed during operations for which they are not compatible. The Space Shuttle Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) experiment is used as a sample problem for the testing of adaptive/learning control system algorithms.

Thau, F. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

On the response to ocean surface currents in synthetic aperture radar imagery

The balance of wave action spectral density for a fixed wave-number is expressed in terms of a new dimensionless function, the degree of saturation, b, and is applied to an analysis of the variations of this quantity (and local spectral level) at wave-numbers large compared to that of the spectral peak, that are produced by variations in the ocean surface currents in the presence of wind input and wave breaking. Particular care is taken to provide physically based representations of wind input and loss by wave breaking and a relatively convenient equation is derived that specifies the distribution of the degree of saturation in a current field, relative to its ambient (undisturbed) background in the absence of currents. The magnitude of the variations in b depends on two parameters, U(o)/c, where U/(o) is the velocity scale of the current and c the phase speed of the surface waves at the (fixed) wave-number considered or sampled by SAR, and S = (L/lambda) (u*/c)(2), where L is the length scale of the current distribution, lambda the wavelength of the surface waves the length scale of the current distribution, lambda the wavelength of the surface waves and u* the friction velocity of the wind.

Phillips, O. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A model for GCR-particle fluxes in stony meteorites and production rates of cosmogenic nuclides

A model is presented for the differential fluxes of galactic-cosmic-ray (GCR) particles with energies above 1 MeV inside any spherical stony meteorite as a function of the meteorite's radius and the sample's depth. This model is based on the Reedy-Arnold equations for the energy-dependent fluxes of GCR particles in the moon and is an extension of flux parameters that were derived for several meteorites of various sizes. This flux is used to calculate the production rates of many cosmogenic nuclides as a function of radius and depth. The peak production rates for most nuclides made by the reactions and energetic GCR particles occur near the centers of meteorites with radii of 40 to 70 g/cm (2). Although the model has some limitations, it reproduces well the basic trends for the depth-dependent production of cosmogenic nuclides in stony meteorites of various radii. These production profiles agree fairly well with measurments of cosmogenic nuclides in meteorites. Some of these production profiles are different than those calculated by others. The chemical dependence of the production rates for several nuclides varies with size and depth.

Reedy, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Weld radiograph enigmas

Weld radiograph enigmas are features observed on X-ray radiographs of welds. Some of these features resemble indications of weld defects, although their origin is different. Since they are not understood, they are a source of concern. There is a need to identify their causes and especially to measure their effect on weld mechanical properties. A method is proposed whereby the enigmas can be evaluated and rated, in relation to the full spectrum of weld radiograph indications. Thie method involves a signature and a magnitude that can be used as a quantitive parameter. The signature is generated as the diference between the microdensitometer trace across the radiograph and the computed film intensity derived from a thickness scan along the corresponding region of the sample. The magnitude is the measured difference in intensity between the peak and base line values of the signature. The procedure is demonstated by comparing traces across radiographs of a weld sample before and after the introduction of a hole and by a system based on a MacIntosh mouse used for surface profiling.

Jemian, Wartan A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Measurement of carrier transport and recombination parameter in heavily doped silicon

The minority carrier transport and recombination parameters in heavily doped bulk silicon were measured. Both Si:P and Si:B with bulk dopings from 10 to the 17th and 10 to the 20th power/cu cm were studied. It is shown that three parameters characterize transport in bulk heavily doped Si: the minority carrier lifetime tau, the minority carrier mobility mu, and the equilibrium minority carrier density of n sub 0 and p sub 0 (in p-type and n-type Si respectively.) However, dc current-voltage measurements can never measure all three of these parameters, and some ac or time-transient experiment is required to obtain the values of these parameters as a function of dopant density. Using both dc electrical measurements on bipolar transitors with heavily doped base regions and transients optical measurements on heavily doped bulk and epitaxially grown samples, lifetime, mobility, and bandgap narrowing were measured as a function of both p and n type dopant densities. Best fits of minority carrier mobility, bandgap narrowing and lifetime as a function of doping density (in the heavily doped range) were constructed to allow accurate modeling of minority carrier transport in heavily doped Si.

Swanson, Richard M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Meteorite-asteroid spectral comparison - The effects of comminution, melting, and recrystallization

The present laboratory simulation of possible spectral-alteration effects on the optical surface of ordinary chondrite parent bodies duplicated regolith processes through comminution of the samples to finer rain sizes. After reflectance spectra characterization, the comminuted samples were melted, crystallized, recomminuted, and again characterized. While individual spectral characteristics could be significantly changed by these processes, no combination of the alteration procedures appeared capable of affecting all relevant parameters in a way that improved the match between chondritic meteorites and S-class asteroids.

Clark, Beth E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

FNAS modify matric and transparent experiments

Monotectic alloy materials are created by rapid melt/rapid solidification processing on the NASA KC-135. Separation of the uniform liquid into two liquids may occur by either of two processes; spinodal decomposition or nucleation followed by growth. In the first case, the liquid is unstable to composition waves, which form and grow, giving liquids of two different compositions. In the latter process discrete particles of the second liquid phase form via thermal fluctuations and then grow by diffusion. The two processes are very different, with the determining process being dictated by temperature, composition, and thermodynamic characteristics of the alloy. The first two quantities are process variables, while the third is determined by electronic interactions between the atoms in the alloy. In either case the initial alloy decomposition is followed by coarsening, resulting in growth of the particle size at nearly constant volume fraction. In particular, reduced gravity experiments on monotectic solutions have shown a number of interesting results in the KC-135. Monotectic solutions exhibit a miscibility gap in the liquid state, and consequently, gravity driven forces can dominate the solidification parameters at 1 g. In reduced gravity however, the distribution of the phases is different, resulting in new and interesting microstructures. The Rapid Melt/Rapid Quench Furnace allows one to melt a sample and resolidify it in one parabola of the KC-135's flight path, thus eliminating any accumulative influence of multiple parabolas to affect the microstructure of the material.

Smith, Guy A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Determining the relative extent of alteration in CM chondrites

The aqueous alteration of CM chondrites provides a record of the processes attending the earliest stages of parent body evolution. However, resolving the alteration pathways of chondritic evolution requires a means for distinguishing the relative extent of alteration that individual samples have experienced. Three new indices for gauging the relative degree of alteration in CM chondrites based on modal and compositional analyses of 7 CM falls were proposed. The proposed alteration parameters are consistent with the basic tenets of several previous models and correlate with additional indices to produce an integrated method for determining the relative extent of alteration. The model predicts the following order of progressive alteration: Murchison (MC) is less than or equal to Bells (BL) is less than Murray (MY) is less than Cochabamba (CC) is less than Mighei (MI) is less than Nogoya (NG) is less than or equal to Cold Bokkeveld (CB). The broad range of CM phyllosilicate compositions observed within individual meteorites is fundamental to the characterization of the aqueous alteration process. Chemical analyses of CM phyllosilicates suggest that these phases became systematically enriched in Mg and depleted in Fe with increasing alteration.

Browning, Lauren B.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Hierarchical Statistical 3D ' Atomistic' Simulation of Decanano MOSFETs: Drift-Diffusion, Hydrodynamic and Quantum Mechanical Approaches

When MOSFETs are scaled to deep submicron dimensions the discreteness and randomness of the dopant charges in the channel region introduces significant fluctuations in the device characteristics. This effect, predicted 20 year ago, has been confirmed experimentally and in simulation studies. The impact of the fluctuations on the functionality, yield, and reliability of the corresponding systems shifts the paradigm of the numerical device simulation. It becomes insufficient to simulate only one device representing one macroscopical design in a continuous charge approximation. An ensemble of macroscopically identical but microscopically different devices has to be characterized by simulation of statistically significant samples. The aims of the numerical simulations shift from predicting the characteristics of a single device with continuous doping towards estimating the mean values and the standard deviations of basic design parameters such as threshold voltage, subthreshold slope, transconductance, drive current, etc. for the whole ensemble of 'atomistically' different devices in the system. It has to be pointed out that even the mean values obtained from 'atomistic' simulations are not identical to the values obtained from continuous doping simulations. In this paper we present a hierarchical approach to the 'atomistic' simulation of aggressively scaled decanano MOSFETs. A full scale 3D drift-diffusion'atomostic' simulation approach is first described and used for verification of the more economical, but also more restricted, options. To reduce the processor time and memory requirements at high drain voltage we have developed a self-consistent option based on a thin slab solution of the current continuity equation only in the channel region. This is coupled to the Poisson's equation solution in the whole simulation domain in the Gummel iteration cycles. The accuracy of this approach is investigated in comparison with the full self-consistent solution. At low drain voltage only single solution of the nonlinear Poisson equation is sufficient to extract the current with satisfactory accuracy. A pilot version of a hydrodynamic 'atomistic' simulator has been developed in order to study the effect of the nonequilibrium, non local transport in decanano MOSFETs on the random dopant induced current fluctuations. For the first time we have also applied the density gradient approach in 3D to investigate the effect of the quantum confinement on the threshold voltage fluctuations. The developed 'atomistic' simulation techniques have been applied to study various fluctuation resistant MOSFET architectures including epitaxial and delta doped devices.

Asenov, Asen↗
NASA NTRS2001

Odyssey Comet Nucleus Orbiter: The Next Step in Cometary Exploration

Cometary nuclei are the most primitive bodies in the solar system, containing a cosmo-chemical record of the primordial solar nebula. Flyby missions to comets, such as those that encountered Comet Halley in 1986, provide a glimpse at this record. However, to study a cometary nucleus in detail requires a rendezvous mission, i.e., a nucleus orbiter. Only an orbiter provides the ability to map the entire nucleus surface at high resolution, to study the complex chemistry in the cometary coma and its variation with time, and to determine the mass and bulk density of the nucleus, key parameters in understanding how small bodies first formed in the solar nebula. A nucleus orbiter also provides the opportunity to sense the nucleus surface in preparation for more ambitious landing and sample return missions in the future. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Weissman, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Low Velocity Earth-Penetration Test and Analysis

Modeling and simulation of structural impacts into soil continue to challenge analysts to develop accurate material models and detailed analytical simulations to predict the soil penetration event. This paper discusses finite element modeling of a series of penetrometer drop tests into soft clay. Parametric studies are performed with penetrometers of varying diameters, masses, and impact speeds to a maximum of 45 m/s. Parameters influencing the simulation such as the contact penalty factor and the material model representing the soil are also studied. An empirical relationship between key parameters is developed and is shown to correlate experimental and analytical results quite well. The results provide preliminary design guidelines for Earth impact that may be useful for future space exploration sample return missions.

Fasanella, Edwin L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Evidence for Ultra-Fast Outflows in Radio-Quiet AGNs: Detailed Photoionization Modeling of Fe K-Shell Absorption Lines - 2

X-ray absorption line spectroscopy has recently shown evidence for previously unknown Ultra-fast Outflows (UFOs) in radio-quiet AGNs. In the previous paper of this series we defined UFOs as those absorbers with an outflow velocity higher than 10,000km/s and assessed the statistical significance of the associated blue shifted FeK absorption lines in a large sample of 42 local radio-quiet AGNs observed with XMM-Newton. In the present paper we report a detailed curve of growth analysis and directly model the FeK absorbers with the Xstar photo-ionization code. We confirm that the frequency of sources in the radio-quiet sample showing UFOs is >35%. The outflow velocity distribution spans from \sim10,000km/s (\sim0.03c) up to \siml00,000kmis (\sim0.3c), with a peak and mean value of\sim42,000km/s (\sim0.14c). The ionization parameter is very high and in the range log\xi 3-6 erg s/cm, with a mean value of log\xi 4.2 erg s/cm. The associated column densities are also large, in the range N_H\siml0(exp 22)-10(exp 24)/sq cm, with a mean value of N_H\siml0(exp23)/sq cm. We discuss and estimate how selection effects, such as those related to the limited instrumental sensitivity at energies above 7keV, may hamper the detection of even higher velocities and higher ionization absorbers. We argue that, overall, these results point to the presence of extremely ionized and possibly almost Compton thick outflowing material in the innermost regions of AGNs. This also suggests that UFOs may potentially play a significant role in the expected cosmological feedback from AGNs and their study can provide important clues on the connection between accretion disks, winds and jets.

Tombesi, Francesco↗