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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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Electron beam probe technique estimate electron/hole capture cross sections in semiconductors with wide band gaps. Amplitude-modulated electron beam induces short-circuit current collected by ohmic contacts. Phase shift between this current and electron-beam current measured as function of frequency. Results of measurements used to ascertain recombination rates and energy levels.
IUE spectra of quasars were used to determine the frequency of occurrence of strong associated C 4 absorption systems at low red shifts. Four systems are found with rest frame equivalent width (REW) greater than 5 angstroms in the spectra of 38 quasars. This rate of occurrence of 0.12 is not significantly different from the rate of 0.064 determined for high red shift quasars. The detected strong associated systems are all in low red shift quasars which have been imaged from the ground. One of the quasars is unusual, having two nuclei, a close companion and distorted isotopes. Two of the others also have close companion galaxies at projected distances of under 100 kpc. The conclusion was made that a much larger sample is needed.
The development of a new mid-IR laser source was the primary goal. Backward propagating stimulated D2 Raman frequency down conversion of a commercially available 1.06 micron Nd:YAG laser was shown to generate an efficient source of 1.56 micron radiation with near diffraction limited beam quality. The efficient generation of a 2.9 micron laser source was also achieved using backward propagating CH4 Raman frequency down conversion of the 1.56 micron pump. Slightly higher efficiencies were obtained for frequency down conversion of the 1.06 micron Nd:YAG using the H2 Raman shift yielding a near diffraction limited source in the 200 mJ range at 1.9 micron. Similar conversion efficiencies are anticipated as a result of extending the wavelength coverage of recently available Ti:sapphire pulse laser to not only cover the 740 to 860 nm fundamental wavelength range but also the .95 to 1.15 and 1.06 to 1.33 micron range using D2 and H2, respectively. The anticipated sensitivity of a TP-LIF OH sensor using this mid-IR source would give signal limited detection of 1.4 x 10(exp 5) OH/cu cm under boundary layer conditions and 5.5 x 10(exp 4) OH/cu cm under free troposphere sampling conditions for a five minute signal integration period. This level of performance coupled with the techniques non-perturbing nature and freedom from both interferences and background would allow reliable tropospheric OH measurement to be obtained under virtually any ambient condition of current interest, including interstitial and sampling.
A fast and nonintrusive velocity and temperature diagnostic based on oxygen absorption is presented. The system uses a GaAlAs tunable diode laser, ramped and modulated in wavelength at high frequency. Detection is performed at twice the modulating frequency, leading to second harmonic absorption lineshapes. Velocity is inferred from the wavelength shift of the absorption line center due to the Doppler effect. Temperature is determined by comparing experimental and calculated lineshapes. Capabilities of the technique for studies of transient high-speed flows are demonstrated in shock tube experiments. Good agreement is obtained with predicted temperatures and velocities when pressure-induced shifts are accounted for.
A digital communications signal is a sinusoidal waveform that is modified by a binary (digital) information signal. The sinusoidal waveform is called the carrier. The carrier may be modified in amplitude, frequency, phase, or a combination of these. In this project a binary phase shift keyed (BPSK) signal is the communication signal. In a BPSK signal the phase of the carrier is set to one of two states, 180 degrees apart, by a binary (i.e., 1 or 0) information signal. A digital signal is a sampled version of a "real world" time continuous signal. The digital signal is generated by sampling the continuous signal at discrete points in time. The rate at which the signal is sampled is called the sampling rate (f(s)). The device that performs this operation is called an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter or a digitizer. The digital signal is composed of the sequence of individual values of the sampled BPSK signal. Digital signal processing (DSP) is the modification of the digital signal by mathematical operations. A device that performs this processing is called a digital signal processor. After processing, the digital signal may then be converted back to an analog signal using a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter. The goal of this project is to develop a system that will recover the digital information from a BPSK signal using DSP techniques. The project is broken down into the following steps: (1) Development of the algorithms required to demodulate the BPSK signal; (2) Simulation of the system; and (3) Implementation a BPSK receiver using digital signal processing hardware.
The presence of CO in the upper atmosphere of Venus is a consequence of the photochemistry of CO2, the dominant atmospheric constituent. In December 1989 the J = 1-2 transition of CO was observed at 230 GHz. In addition to the broad absorption line first reported by Kakar et al. (1976), a narrow absorption feature at the center of the line due to upper mesospheric CO, where the temperature profile starts to exhibit diurnal variation with altitude. The narrow feature is approximately 600 kHz wide and is predominantly Doppler-broadened. The Doppler core provides a new means of measuring wind velocities at these altitudes in the atmosphere of Venus. Detection of small Doppler shifts in the line core can in principle be used to measure winds with an accuracy of 10 m/s. Results are presently limited by the 17 kHz uncertainty in the measured rest frequency, corresponding to a systematic error in wind velocity up to 22 m/s, and the absence of laboratory measurements of the pressure shift in CO by CO2.
A laser velocimeter signal processor for measuring the signal frequency within a signal burst. The input signal is converted to digital by an ADC 16 and then shifted into shift registers 30 and 31. An automatic gain circuit 15 controls the gain of the input signal. A signal integration circuit 32 determines when a signal burst has been captured by the shift registers and then transfers the contents of the registers to data latches 33 and 34. The data in data latches 33 and 34 is processed by digital bandpass filters 57-63, square law detectors 64-70, burst counters 71-77 and signal processor 78 to determine the frequency of the signal within the captured signal burst.
A non-invasive method and apparatus for monitoring changes in intracranial pressure which removes extracranial effects from the measurements. The method and apparatus can include the supplying of a fixed frequency electrical output to a transducer coupled to the patient's head, thereby generating an acoustical tone burst in the patient's head which generates a first echo and a second echo, the first echo reflecting from a first interface in the side of the patient's head coupled to the transducer, and the second echo reflecting from a second interface at the opposite side of the patient's head. The first and second echoes are received by the transducer which can generate a first electrical signal and a second electrical signal, wherein the first and second electrical signals vary in accordance with the corresponding first and second echoes. The counterbalancing phase shifts required to bring about quadrature between each of the first and second electrical signals and the fixed frequency electrical output can be measured, and values for the change in intracranial distance based on the changes in the counterbalancing phase shifts can be obtained.
In order to understand the impact of anthropogenic emissions upon the earth's environment, scientists require remote sensing techniques which are capable of providing range-resolved measurements of clouds, aerosols, and the concentrations of several chemical constituents of the atmosphere. The differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique is a very promising method to measure concentration profiles of chemical species such as ozone and water vapor as well as detect the presence of aerosols and clouds. If a suitable DIAL system could be deployed in space, it would provide a global data set of tremendous value. Such systems, however, need to be compact, reliable, and very efficient. In order to measure atmospheric gases with the DIAL technique, the laser transmitter must generate suitable on-line and off-line wavelength pulse pairs. The on-line pulse is resonant with an absorption feature of the species of interest. The off-line pulse is tuned so that it encounters significantly less absorption. The relative backscattered power for the two pulses enables the range-resolved concentration to be computed. Preliminary experiments at NASA LaRC suggested that the solid state Raman shifting material, Ba(NO3)2, could be utilized to produce these pulse pairs. A Raman oscillator pumped at 532 nm by a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser can create first Stokes laser output at 563 nm and second Stokes output at 599 nm. With frequency doublers, UV output at 281 nm and 299 nm can be subsequently obtained. This all-solid state system has the potential to be very efficient, compact, and reliable. Raman shifting in Ba(NO3)2, has previously been performed in both the visible and the infrared. The first Raman oscillator in the visible region was investigated in 1986 with the configurations of plane-plane and unstable telescopic resonators. However, most of the recent research has focused on the development of infrared sources for eye-safe lidar applications.
Heat and mass transfer in float-zone processing are strongly influenced by convective flows in the zone. They are caused by buoyancy convection, thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection, or artificial sources such as rotation and radio-frequency heating. Flows in conducting melts can be controlled by the use of magnetic fields, either by damping fluid motion with static fields or by generating a defined flow with rotating fields. The possibilities of using static and rotating magnetic fields in silicon floating-zone growth have been investigated by experiments in axial static fields up to 5 T and in transverse rotating magnetic fields up to 7.5 mT. Static fields of a few 100 mT already suppress most striations but are detrimental to the radial segregation by introducing a coring effect. A complete suppression of dopant striations caused by time-dependent thermocapillary convection and a reduction of the coring to insignificant values, combined with a shift of the axial segregation profile toward a more diffusion-limited case, is possible with static fields greater than or equal to 1 T. However, under certain conditions the use of high axial magnetic fields can lead to the appearance of a new type of pronounced dopant striations, caused by thermoelectromagnetic convection. The use of a transverse rotating magnetic field influences the microscopic segregation at quite low inductions, of the order of a few millitesla. The field shifts time- dependent flows and the resulting striation patterns from a broad range of low frequencies at high amplitudes to a few high frequencies at low amplitudes.
A two-temperature Hall-magnetohydrodynamic (Hall-MHD) model, which evolves the electron and ion temperatures separately, is implemented in the PSI-Tet 3D MHD code and used to model plasma dynamics in the Helicity Injected Torus–Steady Inductive (HIT-SI) experiment. The two-temperature model is utilized for HIT-SI simulations in both the PSI-Tet and NIMROD codes at a number of different injector frequencies in the 14.5–68.5 kHz range. At all frequencies, the NIMROD two-temperature model results in increased toroidal current, lower chord-averaged density, higher average temperatures, outward radial shift of the current centroid, and axial symmetrization of the current centroid, relative to the single-temperature NIMROD simulations. The two-temperature PSI-Tet model illustrates similar trends, but at high frequency operation, it exhibits lower electron temperature, smaller toroidal current, and decreased axial symmetrization with respect to the single-temperature PSI-Tet model. With all models, average temperatures and toroidal currents increase with the injector frequency. Power balance and heat fluxes to the wall are calculated for the two-temperature PSI-Tet model and illustrate considerable viscous and compressive heating, particularly at high injector frequency. Parameter scans are also presented for artificial diffusivity, wall temperature, and density. Both artificial diffusivity and the density boundary condition significantly modify the plasma density profiles, leading to larger average temperatures, toroidal current, and relative density fluctuations at low densities. As a result, a low density simulation achieves sufficiently high current gain (G > 5) to generate significant volumes of closed flux lasting 1–2 injector periods.
The identification and explanation of short wavelength antenna interference effects observed in spacecraft plasma wave data have provided an important new method of determining limits on the wavelength, direction of propagation, and Doppler shift of short wavelength electrostatic waves. Using the ISEE-1 wideband electric field data, antenna interference effects have been identified in the ion waves upstream of the earth's bow shock. This identification implies that wavelengths of the upstream ion waves are shorter than the antenna length. The interference effects also provide new measurements of the direction of propagation of the ion waves. The new measurements show that the wave vectors of the ion waves are not parallel to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) as previously reported. The direction of propagation does not appear to be controlled by the IMF. In addition, analysis of the Doppler shift of the short wavelength ion waves has provided a measurement of the dispersion relation. The upper limit of the rest frame frequency was found to be on the order of the ion plasma frequency. At this frequency, the wavelength is on the order of a few times the Debye length. The results of this study now provide strong evidence that the ion waves in the upstream region are Doppler-shifted ion acoustic waves. Previously announced in STAR as N83-36328
The low-energy neutral atom (LENA) imager on the IMAGE spacecraft can detect energetic neutral atoms produced by ion injection into the cusp through a charge exchange with the Earth's hydrogen exosphere. We examined the occurrence of the LENA cusp signal during positive IMF B(sub z) in terms of the arrival direction and the IMF clock angle theta(sub CA). Results of statistical analyses show that the occurrence frequency is high on the postnoon side when theta(sub CA) is between approximately 20 degrees and approximately 50 degrees. This is ascribed to ion injection caused by cusp reconnection typical of positive IMF B(sub z). Our results also show that there is another situation of high occurrence frequency, which can be identified with theta(sub CA) of approximately 30 degrees to approximately 80 degrees. When theta(sub CA) is relatively large (60 degrees - 80 degrees), occurrence frequencies are high at relatively low latitudes over a wide extent spanning both prenoon and postnoon sectors. This feature suggests that the ion injection is caused by reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. Its postnoon side boundary shifts toward the prenoon as theta(sub CA) decreases. When theta(sub CA) is less than approximately 50 degrees, the high occurrence frequency exists well inside the prenoon sector, which is azimuthally separated from the postnoon region ascribed to cusp reconnection. The prenoon region, which is thought due to ion injection caused by dayside reconnection, may explain the recent report that proton aurora brightening occurs in the unanticipated prenoon sector of the northern high-latitude ionosphere for IMF B(sub y) greater than 0 and B(sub z) greater than 0.
Ionic liquids (ILs) are attractive media for CO 2 capture but remain limited by viscosity and cost. Blending ILs with ethylene glycol (EG) is a practical route to mitigate these constraints, yet the molecular origins of cosolvent effects and their dependence on composition are not well resolved. We combine Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy with quantum-chemical (DFT) analysis to elucidate how the IL:EG molar ratio modulates intermolecular interactions and electronic structure. Computed vibrational frequencies enable mode assignment and deconvolution of overlapping bands, revealing systematic, ratio-dependent shifts and broadenings in (i) EG O–H stretching, (ii) cation and EG C–H stretchings (imidazolium C2–H, C4–H, C5–H, methyl and ethyl groups, -CH2 of EG), (iii) anion signature modes (e.g., CN motifs), and (iv) EG C–O and C–C stretchings, consistent with the redistribution of hydrogen-bonding networks. Molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) maps quantify attenuation of extreme potential regions with increasing EG, indicating progressive screening of cation–anion electrostatic interactions. Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) identifies emergent bond critical points between EG and the IL ions, while Reduced Density Gradient–Noncovalent Interaction (RDG–NCI) analysis differentiates strong directional hydrogen bonds from dispersive contacts across compositions. Together, these results show that EG fraction controls a switch from predominantly ion–ion to mixed ion–EG coordination, altering local polarity and polarizability that underlie the observed FT-IR trends. The framework provides composition–structure–spectrum relationships that can guide rational selection of IL:EG ratios to balance favorable molecular interactions with practical performance targets in scalable CO 2 capture systems.
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) account for a large portion of winter precipitation in the western US. To evaluate the sources of AR and precipitation predictability at subseasonal-to-seasonal timescales, we examine the relationships between two climate modes, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO), and winter hydroclimate in the western US. Our analysis uses a large ensemble of the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model simulations from 1981 to 2017, facilitating the assessment of uncertainty in climate mode-AR relationship due to climate variability and short length of observations. Over the North Pacific basin, we find ENSO-related latitudinal shifts of ARs, but ENSO has little effect on basin-wide averaged AR frequency. Over the western US, there is some uncertainty in the ENSO-AR connection due to the impacts of ENSO indices and datasets. However, extreme El Niño events defined by the ENSO longitude index are consistently linked to increased landfalling AR activity. The MJO can lead to significantly enhanced or suppressed landfalling AR activity in the large-ensembles, depending on the phase of MJO and time lag, while observations are too short in length to robustly show this signal. ENSO substantially modulates the MJO-AR relationship, triggering variegated responses of landfalling ARs and AR precipitation in La Niña and El Niño years. Our findings highlight the need to evaluate concurrent effects of different climate modes on ARs and precipitation, and may shed light on a path toward more accurate subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction of ARs and precipitation over the western US.
Abstract The edge localized mode (ELM) frequency ( f ELM ) decreased by 63% when electron cyclotron heating (ECH) deposition location is shifted from ρ = 0.4 to ρ = 0.8 in DIII-D discharges where the power ratio between neutral beam injection (NBI) and ECH ( P NBI / P ECH ) is kept at ∼1. The performance of the pedestal in the ECH heated case is compared with a pure NBI reference discharge while keeping the total input power constant. All these discharges are performed at balanced input torque conditions. Furthermore, in the pure NBI discharge a strong decoupling of the peeling–ballooning (PB) thresholds is observed. The PB decoupling is preserved when the ECH is deposited at ρ = 0.8 and P NBI / P ECH ∼ 1, while the thresholds manifest a closed stability boundary when the ECH is deposited at ρ = 0.4. The inter-ELM pedestal recovery time is considerably larger for the ECH at ρ = 0.8 case. Increased pedestal turbulence is observed in beam emission spectroscopy (BES), Doppler backscattering and magnetic diagnostics for the ECH at the ρ = 0.8 case. Strong growth of a TEM-like mode is observed in BES and the mode growth is correlated with the decrease in f ELM . In view of these observations, the increased pedestal turbulence seems to be the plausible reason behind the delayed pedestal recovery following an ELM event in the ECH at ρ = 0.8 case, and the preservation of PB decoupling through temperature pedestal profile widening. TRANSP interpretative simulations show that the ECH at the ρ = 0.8 case is more susceptible to ITG/TEM turbulence.
In situ observations of turbulence spectra in space plasmas are usually interpreted as wavenumber spectra, assuming that the fluctuation frequency is negligible in the plasma flow frame. We explore the effects of nonzero frequency in the plasma flow frame on turbulence spectral observations. The finite frequency can be caused by either propagating waves or nonlinear broadening of nonpropagating structures. We show that the observed frequency spectrum can be modified by the nonzero frequency of turbulent fluctuations in several ways. Specifically, (i) frequency broadening results in a minor modification to the observed spectrum, primarily acting as a smoothing kernel of the spectrum near the spectral break, while the asymptotic spectral index remains unchanged; (ii) wave propagation can affect the observed spectral index for anisotropic turbulence. The effect is significant at low frequencies and weaker at high frequencies, leading to a "concave" shape of the observed perpendicular spectrum; (iii) the Doppler shift for forward- and backward-propagating Elsasser modes can result in a nonzero cross helicity for critical-balanced turbulence since the effect of the Doppler shift favors outward-propagating waves systematically, resulting in an observed imbalance. These results may have important implications for the interpretation of solar wind flows observed by Parker Solar Probe.