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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

Post-shock temperatures in minerals

An experimental technique was developed for measuring post-shock temperatures in a wide variety of materials, including those of geophysical interest such as silicates. The technique uses an infrared radiation detector to determine the brightness temperature of samples shocked to pressures in the range 5 to approximately 30 GPa; in these experiments measurements were made in two wavelength ranges (4.5 to 5.75 microns and 7 to 14 microns). Reproducible results, with the temperatures in the two wavelength bands generally in excellent agreement, were obtained for aluminum-2024 (10.5 to 33 GPa, 125 to 260 C), stainless steel-304 (11.5 to 50 GPa, 80 to 350 C), crystalline quartz (5.0 to 21.5 GPa, 80 to 250 C), forsterite (7.5 to 28.0 GPa, approximately 30 to 160 C) and Bamble bronzite (6.0 to 26.0 GPa, approximately 30 to 225 C). It is concluded that release adiabat data should be used, wherever available, for calculations of residual temperature, and that adequate descriptions of the shock and release processes in minerals are more complex than generally assumed.

Raikes, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A kinetic approach to compressible turbulence

A kinetic theory of strong turbulence is developed by decomposing fluctuation of distribution function into scaled components, or ranks, to represent three transport processes: macroscopic evolution, transport property and relaxation. Closure is obtained by formulating a relaxation process for the approach of eddy diffusivity to equilibrium. The kinetic equation is solved and three transport functions of turbulence in adiabatic gas are derived: two transfer functions describe turbulent mode transfer, and a coupling function describes the build-up of kinetic energy at the expense of internal energy. The energy balance in the inertial subrange of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence in an adiabatic gas yields a k to the -3rd law, in agreement with numerical computations from one dimensional model of compressible turbulence.

Tchen, C. M.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Outer Radiation Belt Dynamics During the October 2012 Storm Revisited: Rapid Inward Radial Transport From a Dynamic Outer Boundary

Earth's outer radiation belt electron flux is highly variable and can be enhanced by over an order of magnitude over timescales less than one day, as observed during the October 2012 storm. Previous studies of this storm (e.g., Reeves et al., 2013, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1237743) have invoked local acceleration to explain this. However, here, we argue that the observations can instead be explained by fast inward radial transport. One method often invoked to distinguish between these two acceleration processes is the existence of local peaks in electron phase space density (PSD) as a function of L* at fixed first, M, and second, K, adiabatic invariants. However, this method relies on the assumption that the evolution of the PSD as a function of L* occurs over timescales slower than the satellite orbital period. Here, high spatiotemporal resolution data from the Global Positioning System (GPS) spacecraft constellation is used to show that enhancements in the PSD occur during the October 2012 storm over short timescales not resolvable by the Van Allen Probes. In addition, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite spacecraft data also indicate that these enhancements are consistent with relativistic electron injections. A radial diffusion model is shown to reproduce the PSD dynamics observed by the Van Allen Probes, once rapid variations at the simulation outer boundary are included, consistent with GPS data. This verifies that apparently “locally growing” peaks in PSD along high apogee satellite orbits can be produced by fast inward radial transport without requiring the action of any local acceleration processes.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
NASA NTRS1979

High-resolution X-ray observations of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant with the Einstein Observatory

Cas A was observed with the imaging detectors on the Einstein X-ray Observatory. The mass of the expanding shell due to the interaction of the blast wave and the ambient medium is determined. This indicates that Cas A is probably not in the free expansion phase, but has not yet reached the adiabatic phase of expansion. Detailed comparison of X-ray, optical, and radio images shows various degrees of correlation, indicating that several processes for emission are present. An upper limit of 1,500,000 K is established for any stellar remnant that is below the expected temperature of a neutron star by a factor of about 5. The total mass of the SNR is found to be 10-30 solar masses

Murray, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Initial thermal plasma observations from ISEE-1

The initial measurements of magnetospheric thermal ions by the Plasma Composition Experiment on ISEE-1 are presented to demonstrate the surprising variety in this plasma population. The data provide evidence that the adiabatic mapping of the high latitude ionosphere to the equatorial plasma trough provides an insufficient description of the origin, transport, and accumulation processes which supply low energy ions to the outer plasmasphere and plasma trough.

Baugher, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Focusing anisotropy of solar cosmic rays

Analysis of 50-MeV particle data from ICE and 1-GeV data from eight high-latitude neutron monitors of the February 16, 1984 solar cosmic ray event indicates that an exponential with scattering mean free path of greater than 2 AU and with index in the 1.3-1.7 range provides a better description of particle anisotropies than the first-order form, confirming the prediction from cosmic ray transport theories which incorporate the effect of adiabatic focusing into the usual pitch angle scattering formalism. The time profile of the event is largely a reflection of coronal transport processes, with good fits provided by a coronal diffusion coefficient of about 10 to the 18th sq cm/s and with velocity-dependent escape. The simple method of predicting the interplanetary scattering parameters has application where particle injection is nearly continuous, but where previously accelerated particles have filled the heliosphere with a large omnidirectional background.

Bieber, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Prediction and control of transition in hypersonic boundary layers

In this paper, the role of compressible linear stability theory in prediction of boundary layer transition at supersonic and hypersonic speeds is investigated. Computations for sharp cones, using the e exp N method with N = 10, show that the first oblique Tollmien-Schlichting mode is responsible for transition at adiabatic wall conditions for freestream Mach numbers up to 7. For cold walls, the two-dimensional second mode dominates the transition process at lower hypersonic Mach numbers due to the well-known destabilizing effect of cooling on the second mode. It is shown that pressure gradient and suction may be used to stabilize this mode. Some results on the real gas effects on hypersonic boundary-layer stability are presented.

Malik, Mujeeb R.↗
NASA NTRS1941

The problem of cooling an air-cooled cylinder on an aircraft engine

An analysis of the cooling problem has been to show by what means the cooling of an air-cooled aircraft engine may be improved. Each means of improving cooling is analyzed on the basis of effectiveness in cooling with respect to power for cooling. The altitude problem is analyzed for both supercharged and unsupercharged engines. The case of ground cooling is also discussed. The heat-transfer process from the hot gases to the cylinder wall is discussed on the basis of the fundamentals of heat transfer and thermodynamics. Adiabatic air-temperature rise at a stagnation point in compressible flow is shown to depend only on the velocity of flow.

Brevoort, M J↗
NASA NTRS1985

Cosmic ray acceleration by stellar wind. Simulation for heliosphere

The solar wind deceleration by the interstellar medium may result in the existence of the solar wind terminal shock. In this case a certain fraction of thermal particles after being heated at the shock would obtain enough energy to be injected to the regular acceleration process. An analytical solution for the spectrum in the frame of a simplified model that includes particle acceleration at the shock front and adiabatic cooling inside the stellar wind cavity has been derived. It is shown that the acceleration of the solar wind particles at the solar wind terminal shock is capable of providing the total flux, spectrum and radial gradients of the low-energy protons close to one observed in the interplanetary space.

Petukhov, S. I.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Condensation in CO2 free jet expansions. I - Dimer formation.

A theoretical and experimental investigation of the kinetics of CO2 dimer formation in the adiabatically expanding core of a free jet expansion has been carried out. The theoretical analysis is based on dimer formation by an efficient termolecular process and dimer destruction by bimolecular collisions. Account is taken of the expected variation of the specific heat ratio during the expansion and of the effective increase in the termolecular collision rate at low temperatures due to the presence of loosely bound orbiting pairs. Experimental dimer concentrations were measured mass spectrometrically by forming a molecular beam from the expanded gas mixture after the onset of molecular flow. Observed dimer concentrations, for a range of pre-expansion conditions of 400 to 900 torr pressure and room temperature, are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis, provided that account is taken of the effect of loosely bound orbiting pairs at low temperatures.

Dorfeld, W. G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Structure of the magnetopause rotational discontinuity

A model is developed for the rotational discontinuities associated with the reconnection configuration on the dayside magnetopause and the energy transfer process in the tail magnetopause. The model, in which the ion dynamics is described by the fluid equations and electrons are assumed to move adiabatically along the magnetic field lines, is valid for a rotational discontinuity with a thickness greater than a few ion gyroradii. It is shown, by the inclusion of self-consistency for trapped electrons, that (1) the trapped electron density profile is uniquely related to the rate of angular rotation of the magnetic field, and (2) the sense of magnetic field rotation is determined by the ratio of the normal and tangential components of the magnetic field. It is found that the electron polarization of magnetopause rotational discontinuities should be in agreement with satellite observations.

Lee, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS2019

High Temperature Superconductor Lead Assemblies for XRISM

The RESOLVE instrument on the upcoming XRISM mission is a rebuild of the SXS instrument that successfully demonstrated high resolution X-ray spectroscopy on the Hitomi mission using a microcalorimeter array at 50 mK. As with SXS, the RESOLVE instrument requires High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) lead assemblies to carry high current to the Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) while meeting a very stringent heat conductance budget. For the RESOLVE HTS lead assemblies, we have used new materials and processes to improve the stability and consistency of solder joints to the HTS material. We have also designed a new thermal strap that eliminates stress concentrations on the HTS tapes. We present the results of testing on the engineering model and flight model units, as well as the results of long term testing on prototype solder joints.

Canavan, Edgar R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The role of O-type neutral lines in magnetic merging during substorms and solar flares

An analytical model of O-type configurations was derived, for visualizing the geometry and for numerical treatment of plasma flows. It was found that at a certain distance from the neutral line the mean particle motion became decoupled from that of magnetic field lines (which obey the MHD condition). The decoupling distance depended on initial conditions in momentum space, suggesting that the MHD approximation which averages out such conditions may not suffice for describing plasma dynamics near the neutral line. It was also found that after inflowing particles are decoupled from the field line motion, they go over to a mode of runaway acceleration along the neutral line. It is concluded that if merging occurs at an X-O pair, two particle populations may be expected - low energy particles accelerated adiabatically by earthward convection past the X-type line and high-energy particles convected towards the O-type line. The second acceleration process depends critically on the rapidity of merging and is therefore expected to vary considerably from event to event.

Stern, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Pickup protons and water ions at Comet Halley - Comparisons with Giotto observations

The cometary ion pickup process along the sun-comet line at Comet Halley is investigated using a quasi-linear diffusion model including both pitch angle and energy diffusion, adiabatic compression, and convective motion with the solar wind flow. The model results are compared with energetic ion distributions observed by instruments on board the Giotto spacecraft. The observed power spectrum index of magnetic turbulence (gamma) is 2-2.5. The present simulation shows that when gamma was 2, the calculated proton distributions were much more isotropic than the observed ones. The numerical solutions of the quasi-linear diffusion equations show that the isotropization of the pickup ion distribution, particularly at the pickup velocity, is not complete even close to the bow shock. Given the observed turbulence level, quasi-linear theory yields pickup ion energy distributions that agree with the observed ones quite well and easily produces energetic ions with energies up to hundreds of keV.

Ye, G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mass loading and velocity diffusion models for heavy pickup ions at comet Grigg-Skjellerup

We compare model predictions of cometary water group ion densities and the solar wind slow down with measurements made by the Giotto Johnstone plasma analyzer implanted ion sensor at the encounter with comet Grigg-Skjellerup (G-S) on July 10, 1992. The observed slope of the ion density profile on approach to the comet is unexpectedly steep. Possible explanations for this are discussed. We present also a preliminary investigation of the quasilinear velocity-space diffusion of the implanted heavy ion population at G-S using a transport equation including souce, convection, adiabatic compression, and velocity diffusion terms. Resulting distributions are anisotropic, in agreement with observations. We consider theoretically the waves that may be generated by the diffusion process for the observed solar wind conditions. At initial ion injections, waves are generated at omega approximately Omega(sub i) the ion gyrofrequency, and lower frequencies are predicted for diffusion toward a bispherical shell.

Huddleston, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Advection of Potential Temperature in the Atmosphere of Irradiated Exoplanets: A Robust Mechanism to Explain Radius Inflation

The anomalously large radii of strongly irradiated exoplanets have remained a major puzzle in astronomy. Based on a two-dimensional steady-state atmospheric circulation model, the validity of which is assessed by comparison to three-dimensional calculations, we reveal a new mechanism, namely the advection of the potential temperature due to mass and longitudinal momentum conservation, a process occurring in the Earth's atmosphere or oceans. In the deep atmosphere, the vanishing heating flux forces the atmospheric structure to converge to a hotter adiabat than the one obtained with 1D calculations, implying a larger radius for the planet. Not only do the calculations reproduce the observed radius of HD 209458b, but also reproduce the observed correlation between radius inflation and irradiation for transiting planets. Vertical advection of potential temperature induced by non-uniform atmospheric heating thus provides a robust mechanism to explain the inflated radii of irradiated hot Jupiters.

tmospheric effects; methods: numerical; planets an↗
DOE OSTI2024

Scattering wave packets of hadrons in gauge theories: Preparation on a quantum computer

Quantum simulation holds promise of enabling a complete description of high-energy scattering processes rooted in gauge theories of the Standard Model. A first step in such simulations is preparation of interacting hadronic wave packets. To create the wave packets, one typically resorts to adiabatic evolution to bridge between wave packets in the free theory and those in the interacting theory, rendering the simulation resource intensive. In this work, we construct a wave-packet creation operator directly in the interacting theory to circumvent adiabatic evolution, taking advantage of resource-efficient schemes for ground-state preparation, such as variational quantum eigensolvers. By means of an ansatz for bound mesonic excitations in confining gauge theories, which is subsequently optimized using classical or quantum methods, we show that interacting mesonic wave packets can be created efficiently and accurately using digital quantum algorithms that we develop. Specifically, we obtain high-fidelity mesonic wave packets in the Z 2 and U(1) lattice gauge theories coupled to fermionic matter in 1+1 dimensions. Our method is applicable to both perturbative and non-perturbative regimes of couplings. The wave-packet creation circuit for the case of the Z 2 lattice gauge theory is built and implemented on the Quantinuum H1-1 trapped-ion quantum computer using 13 qubits and up to 308 entangling gates. The fidelities agree well with classical benchmark calculations after employing a simple symmetry-based noise-mitigation technique. This work serves as a step toward quantum computing scattering processes in quantum chromodynamics.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1984

Particle transport in planetary magnetospheres

Particle energization in Earth's and Jupiter's magnetospheres is discussed. Understanding of the large scale magnetic and electric fields in which charged particles move is reviewed. Orbit theory in the adiabatic approximation is sketched. General conditions for adiabatic breakdown at each of three levels of periodicity are presented. High energy losses and lower energy sources argue for the existence of magnetospheric accelerations. Nonadiabatic acceleration processes are mentioned. Slow diffusive energization by particle interactions with electromagnetic fluctuations is outlined. This mechanism seems adequate at Earth but, operating alone, is unconvincing for Jupiter. Adding spatial diffusion in the radially distended Jovian magnetodisk may resolve the difficulty.

Birmingham, T. J.↗