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At least 145 records · Page 8

Development of AC impedance methods for evaluating corroding metal surfaces and coatings

In an effort to investigate metal surface corrosion and the breakdown of metal protective coatings the AC Impedance Method was applied to zinc chromate primer coated 2219-T87 aluminum. The model 368-1 AC Impedance Measurement System recently acquired by the MSFC Corrosion Research Branch was used to monitor changing properties of coated aluminum disks immersed in 3.5% NaCl buffered at ph 5.5 over three to four weeks. The DC polarization resistance runs were performed on the same samples. The corrosion system can be represented by an electronic analog called an equivalent circuit that consists of transistors and capacitors in specific arrangements. This equivalent circuit parallels the impedance behavior of the corrosion system during a frequency scan. Values for resistances and capacities that can be assigned in the equivalent circuit following a least squares analysis of the data describe changes that occur on the corroding metal surface and in the protective coating. A suitable equivalent circuit was determined that predicts the correct Bode phase and magnitude for the experimental sample. The DC corrosion current density data are related to equivalent circuit element parameters.

Knockemus, Ward↗

The corrosion mechanisms for primer coated 2219-T87 aluminum

To investigate metal surface corrosion and the breakdown of metal protective coatings, the ac Impedance Method was applied to zinc chromate primer coated 2219-T87 aluminum. The EG&GPARC Model 368 ac Impedance Measurement System, along with dc measurements with the same system using the Polarization Resistance Method, was used to monitor changing properties of coated aluminum disks immersed in 3.5 percent NaCl solutions buffered at pH 5.5 and pH 8.2 over periods of 40 days each. The corrosion system can be represented by an electronic analog called an equivalent circuit consisting of resistors and capacitors in specific arrangements. This equivalent circuit parallels the impedance behavior of the corrosion system during a frequency scan. Values for resistances and capacitances, that can be assigned in the equivalent circuit following a least squares analysis of the data, describe changes occurring on the corroding metal surface and in the protective coatings. A suitable equivalent circuit has been determined which predicts the correct Bode phase and magnitude for the experimental sample. The dc corrosion current density data are related to equivalent circuit element parameters.

Danford, Merlin D.↗

An electrochemical study of corrosion protection by primer-topcoat systems on 4130 steel with ac impedance and dc methods

To investigate metal surface corrosion and the breakdown of metal protective coatings, the ac impedance method is applied to six systems of primer coated and primer topcoated 4130 steel. Two primers were used: a zinc-rich epoxy primer and a red lead oxide epoxy primer. The epoxy-polyamine topcoat was used in four of the systems. The EG and G-PARC Model 368 ac impedance measurement system, along with dc measurements with the same system using the polarization resistance method, were used to monitor changing properties of coated 4230 steel disks immersed in 3.5 percent NaCl solutions buffered at pH 5.4 over periods of 40 to 60 days. The corrosion system can be represented by an electronic analog called an equivalent circuit consisting of resistors and capacitors in specific arrangements. This equivalent circuit parallels the impedance behavior of the corrosion system during a frequency scan. Values for the resistors and capacitors, that can be assigned in the equivalent circuit following a least-squares analysis of the data, describe changes that occur on the corroding metal surface and in the protective coatings. Two equivalent circuits have been determined that predict the correct Bode phase and magnitude of the experimental sample at different immersion times. The dc corrosion current density data are related to equivalent circuit element parameters. Methods for determining corrosion rate with ac impedance parameters are verified by the dc method.

Mendrek, M. J.↗

Preliminary calibration plan for the Advanced Particles and Field Observatory (APAFO) magnetometer experiment

Prelaunch and postlaunch calibration plans for the APAFO magnetometer experiment are presented. A study of tradeoffs between boom length and spacecraft field is described; the results are summarized. The prelaunch plan includes: calibration of the Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VFM), Star Sensors, and Scalar Helium Magnetometer (SHM); optical bench integration; and acquisition of basic spacecraft field data. Postlaunch calibration has two phases. In phase one, SHM data are used to calibrate the VFM, total vector magnetic field data are used to calibrate a physical model of the spacecraft field, and both calibrations are refined by iteration. In phase two, corrected vector data are transformed into geocentric coordinates, previously undetected spacecraft fields are isolated, and initial geomagnetic field models are computed. Provided the SHM is accurate to the required 1.0 nT and can be used to calibrate the VFM to the required 3.0- nT accuracy, the tradeoff study indicates that a 12 m boom and a spacecraft field model uncertainty of 5 percent together allow the 1.0 nT spacecraft field error requirement to be met.

Voorhies, C. V.↗

The two-way time synchronization system via a satellite voice channel

A newly developed two-way time synchronization system is described in this paper. The system uses one voice channel at a SCPC satellite digital communication earth station, whose bandwidth is only 45 kHz, thus saving satellite resources greatly. The system is composed of one master station and one or several, up to sixty-two, secondary stations. The master and secondary stations are equipped with the same equipment, including a set of timing equipment, a synthetic data terminal for time synchronizing, and a interface unit between the data terminal and the satellite earth station. The synthetic data terminal for time synchronization also has an IRIG-B code generator and a translator. The data terminal of master station is the key part of whole system. The system synchronization process is full automatic, which is controlled by the master station. Employing an autoscanning technique and conversational mode, the system accomplishes the following tasks: linking up liaison with each secondary station in turn, establishing a coarse time synchronization, calibrating date (years, months, days) and time of day (hours, minutes, seconds), precisely measuring the time difference between local station and the opposite station, exchanging measurement data, statistically processing the data, rejecting error terms, printing the data, calculating the clock difference and correcting the phase, thus realizing real-time synchronization from one point to multiple points. We also designed an adaptive phase circuit to eliminate the phase ambiguity of the PSK demodulator. The experiments have shown that the time synchronization accuracy is better than 2 mu S. The system has been put into regular operation.

Heng-Qiu, Zheng↗

MANN: A program to transfer designs for diffractive optical elements to a MANN photolithographic mask generator

There are two basic areas of interest for diffractive optics. In the first, the property of wavefront division is exploited for achieving optical fanout, analogous to the more familiar electrical fanout of electronic circuitry. The basic problem here is that when using a simple uniform diffraction grating the energy input is divided unevenly among the output beams. The other area of interest is the use of diffractive elements to replace or supplement standard refractive elements such as lenses. Again, local grating variations can be used to control the amount of bending imparted to optical rays, and the efficiency of the diffractive element will depend on how closely the element can be matched to the design requirements. In general, production restrictions limit how closely the element approaches the design, and for the common case of photolithographic production, a series of binary masks is required to achieve high efficiency. The actual design process is much more involved than in the case of elements for optical fanout, as the desired phase of the optical wavefront over some reference plane must be specified and the phase alteration to be introduced at each point by the diffraction element must be known. This generally requires the utilization of a standard optical design program. Two approaches are possible. In the first approach, the diffractive element is treated as a special type of lens and the ordinary optical design equations are used. Optical design programs tend to follow a second approach, namely, using the equations of optical interference derived from holographic theory and then allowing the introduction of phase front corrections in the form of polynomial equations. By using either of these two methods, diffractive elements can be used not only to compensate for distortions such as chromatic or spherical aberration, but also to perform the work of a variety of other optical elements such as null correctors, beam shapers, etc. The main focus of the project described in this report is how the design information from the lens design program is incorporated into the photolithographic process. It is shown that the MANN program, a photolithographic mask generator, fills the need for a link between lens design programs and mask generation controllers.The generated masks can be used to expose a resist-coated substrate which is etched and then must be re-coated, re-exposed, and re-etched for making copies, just as in the electronics industry.

Matthys, Donald R.↗

On the Asymptotic Regimes and the Strongly Stratified Limit of Rotating Boussinesq Equations

Asymptotic regimes of geophysical dynamics are described for different Burger number limits. Rotating Boussinesq equations are analyzed in the asymptotic limit, of strong stratification in the Burger number of order one situation as well as in the asymptotic regime of strong stratification and weak rotation. It is shown that in both regimes horizontally averaged buoyancy variable is an adiabatic invariant for the full Boussinesq system. Spectral phase shift corrections to the buoyancy time scale associated with vertical shearing of this invariant are deduced. Statistical dephasing effects induced by turbulent processes on inertial-gravity waves are evidenced. The 'split' of the energy transfer of the vortical and the wave components is established in the Craya-Herring cyclic basis. As the Burger number increases from zero to infinity, we demonstrate gradual unfreezing of energy cascades for ageostrophic dynamics. The energy spectrum and the anisotropic spectral eddy viscosity are deduced with an explicit dependence on the anisotropic rotation/stratification time scale which depends on the vertical aspect ratio parameter. Intermediate asymptotic regime corresponding to strong stratification and weak rotation is analyzed where the effects of weak rotation are accounted for by an asymptotic expansion with full control (saturation) of vertical shearing. The regularizing effect of weak rotation differs from regularizations based on vertical viscosity. Two scalar prognostic equations for ageostrophic components (divergent velocity potential and geostrophic departure ) are obtained.

Babin, A.↗

DS-2 Mars Microprobe Battery

In January of 1999 the NM DS-2 Mars microprobe will be launched to impact on Mars in December. The technical objectives of the missions are to demonstrate: key technologies, a passive atmospheric entry, highly integrated microelectronics which can withstand both low temperatures and high decelerations, and the capability to conduct in-situ, surface and subsurface science data acquisition. The scientific objectives are to determine if ice is present below the Martian surface, measure the local atmospheric pressure, characterize the thermal properties of the martian subsurface soil, and to estimate the vertical temperature gradient of the Martian soil. The battery requirements are 2-4 cell batteries, with voltage of 6-14 volts, capacity of 550 mAh at 80C, and 2Ah at 25C, shelf life of 2.5 years, an operating temperature of 60C and below, and the ability to withstand shock impact of 80,000 g's. The technical challenges and the approach is reviewed. The Li-SOCL2 system is reviewed, and graphs showing the current and voltage is displayed, along with the voltage over discharge time. The problems encountered during the testing were: (1) impact sensitivity, (2) cracking of the seals, and (3) delay in voltage. A new design resulted in no problems in the impact testing phase. The corrective actions for the seal problems involved: (1) pre weld fill tube, (2) an improved heat sink during case to cover weld and (3) change the seal dimensions to reduce stress. To correct the voltage delay problem the solutions involved: (1) drying the electrodes to reduce contamination by water, (2) assemblage of the cells within a week of electrode manufacture, (3) ensure electrolyte purity, and (4) provide second depassivation pulse after landing. The conclusions on further testing were that the battery can: (1) withstand anticipated shock of up to 80,000 g, (2) meet the discharge profile post shock at Mars temperatures, (3) meet the required self discharge rate and (4) meet environmental requirements.

Frank, H.↗

RFI to CMS: An Approach to Regulatory Acceptance of Site Remediation Technologies

Lockheed Martin made a smooth transition from RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations'(NASA) Michoud Assembly Facility (MA-F) to its Corrective Measures Study (CMS) phase within the RCRA Corrective Action Process. We located trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination that resulted from the manufacture of the Apollo Program Saturn V rocket and the Space Shuttle External Tank, began the cleanup, and identified appropriate technologies for final remedies. This was accomplished by establishing a close working relationship with the state environmental regulatory agency through each step of the process, and resulted in receiving approvals for each of those steps. The agency has designated Lockheed Martin's management of the TCE-contamination at the MAF site as a model for other manufacturing sites in a similar situation. In February 1984, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) issued a compliance order to begin the clean up of groundwater contaminated with TCE. In April 1984 Lockheed Martin began operating a groundwater recovery well to capture the TCE plume. The well not only removes contaminants, but also sustains an inward groundwater hydraulic gradient so that the potential offsite migration of the TCE plume is greatly diminished. This effort was successful, and for the agency to give orders and for a regulated industry to follow them is standard procedure, but this is a passive approach to solving environmental problems. The goal of the company thereafter was to take a leadership, proactive role and guide the MAF contamination clean up to its best conclusion at minimum time and lowest cost to NASA. To accomplish this goal, we have established a positive working relationship with LDEQ, involving them interactively in the implementation of advanced remedial activities at MAF as outlined in the following paragraphs.

Rowland, Martin A.↗

Simple Two-Dimensional Corrections for One-Dimensional Pulse Tube Models

One-dimensional oscillating flow models are very useful for designing pulse tubes. They are simple to use, not computationally intensive, and the physical relationship between temperature, pressure and mass flow are easy to understand when used in conjunction with phasor diagrams. They do not possess, however, the ability to directly calculate thermal and momentum diffusion in the direction transverse to the oscillating flow. To account for transverse effects, lumped parameter corrections, which are obtained though experiment, must be used. Or two-dimensional solutions of the differential fluid equations must be obtained. A linear two-dimensional solution to the fluid equations has been obtained. The solution provides lumped parameter corrections for one-dimensional models. The model accounts for heat transfer and shear flow between the gas and the tube. The complex Nusselt number and complex shear wall are useful in describing these corrections, with phase relations and amplitudes scaled with the Prandtl and Valensi numbers. The calculated ratio, a, between a two-dimensional solution of the oscillating temperature and velocity and a one-dimensional solution for the same shows a scales linearly with Va for Va less than 30. In this region alpha less than 0.5, that is, the enthalpy flow calculated with a two-dimensional model is 50% of a calculation using a one-dimensional model. For Va greater than 250, alpha = 0.8, showing that diffusion is still important even when it is confined to a thing layer near the tube wall.

Lee, J. M.↗

White-light Interferometry using a Channeled Spectrum: II. Calibration Methods, Numerical and Experimental Results

In the companion paper, [Appl. Opt. 46, 5853 (2007)] a highly accurate white light interference model was developed from just a few key parameters characterized in terms of various moments of the source and instrument transmission function. We develop and implement the end-to-end process of calibrating these moment parameters together with the differential dispersion of the instrument and applying them to the algorithms developed in the companion paper. The calibration procedure developed herein is based on first obtaining the standard monochromatic parameters at the pixel level: wavenumber, phase, intensity, and visibility parameters via a nonlinear least-squares procedure that exploits the structure of the model. The pixel level parameters are then combined to obtain the required 'global' moment and dispersion parameters. The process is applied to both simulated scenarios of astrometric observations and to data from the microarcsecond metrology testbed (MAM), an interferometer testbed that has played a prominent role in the development of this technology.

phase correction↗

A Systematic Approach to Isolating the Causes and Impacts of Climate Model Bias Employing Analysis Increments

One of the most promising approaches to isolating the causes and understanding the impacts of climate model formulation errors is through the utilization of information contained in short-term forecast errors. The underlying assumption being that by capturing the errors at the very early stages of growth (before nonlinearities develop), we should be able to associate those errors with specific deficiencies in the model's formulation of the relevant physical processes. Here, we provide an example of utilizing the long-term mean of the 6-hourly analysis increments (first guess forecast minus analysis) produced by MERRA-2 to correct the NASA/GEOS AGCM over well-defined regions, thereby allowing us to quantify how the reduced tendency errors in these regions manifest themselves both locally and remotely through large-scale teleconnections to reduce the model's climatological biases. We extend previous work (focused on boreal summer) to address the full annual cycle of model bias. A key result is the large seasonality of the errors over the Tibet region and their impacts on the Northern Hemisphere jet biases, and related precipitation and temperature biases over North American. Attempts to correct the phase and amplitude errors of the climatological boreal winter ridge over western North America (a likely key requirement for improving winter climate forecasts over North America) reveal a surprising complexity in the sources of the errors in what is otherwise manifest as a rather simple PNA-like bias structure.

Schubert, S.↗

Generating Accurate and Consistent Top-Of-Atmosphere Reflectance Products from the New Generation Geostationary Satellite Sensors

GeoNEX is a collaborative project by scientists from NASA, NOAA, JAXA, and other organizations around the world with the purpose of generating a suite of Earth-monitoring products using data streams from the latest geostationary (GEO) sensors including the GOES-16/17 ABI and the Himawari-8/9 AHI. An accurate and consistent top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance product, in particular the bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF), is the starting point in the scientific processing chain. We describe the main considerations and corresponding algorithms in generating the GeoNEX TOA BRF product. First, a special advantage of geostationary data streams is their high temporal resolution (~10 minutes per full-disk scan), providing a key source of information for many downstream products. To fully utilize this high temporal frequency demands a high georegistration accuracy for every acquired image. Our analysis shows that there can be substantial georegistration uncertainties in both GOES and Himawari L1b data which we addressed by implementing a phase-based correction algorithm to remove residual errors. Second, geostationary sensors have distinct illumination-view geometry features in that the solar angle changes for every pixel. Therefore, to accurately derive a BRF requires a solar position algorithm and the estimation of the pixel-wise acquisition time within an uncertainty of 10 seconds. Third, we discuss the measures we adopted to check and correct residual radiometric calibration issues of individual sensors to enable time-series analysis as well as the cross calibration between different satellite sensors (including those from low-Earth orbit). Finally, we also explain the rationale for the choice of the global grid/tile system of the GeoNEX TOA BRF product.

Wang, Weile↗

The CHROMA Cloud-Top Pressure Retrieval Algorithm for the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Satellite Mission

This paper provides the theoretical basis and simulated retrievals for the Cloud Height Retrieval from O2 Molecular Absorption (CHROMA) algorithm. Simulations are performed for the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), which is the primary payload on the forthcoming NASA Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission, and the Ocean Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) currently flying on the Sentinel 3 satellites. CHROMA is a Bayesian approach which simultaneously retrieves cloud optical thickness (COT), cloud-top pressure and height (CTP and CTH respectively), and (with a significant prior constraint) surface albedo. Simulated retrievals suggest that the sensor and algorithm should be able to meet the PACE mission goal for CTP error, which is ±60 mb for 65 % of opaque (COT ≥3) single-layer clouds on global average. CHROMA will provide pixel-level uncertainty estimates, which are demonstrated to have skill at telling low-error situations from high-error ones. CTP uncertainty estimates are well-calibrated in magnitude, although COT uncertainty is overestimated relative to observed errors. OLCI performance is found to be slightly better than OCI overall, demonstrating that it is a suitable proxy for the latter in advance of PACE's launch. CTP error is only weakly sensitive to correct cloud phase identification or assumed ice crystal habit/roughness. As with other similar algorithms, for simulated retrievals of multi-layer systems consisting of optically thin cirrus clouds above liquid clouds, retrieved height tends to be underestimated because the satellite signal is dominated by the optically thicker lower layer. Total (liquid plus ice) COT also becomes underestimated in these situations. However, retrieved CTP becomes closer to that of the upper ice layer for ice COT ≈3 or higher.

PACE↗

Phase-Controlled Magnetic Mirror for Wavefront Correction

Typically, light interacts with matter via the electric field and interaction with weakly bound electrons. In a magnetic mirror, a patterned nanowire is fabricated over a metallic layer with a dielectric layer in between. Oscillation of the electrons in the nanowires in response to the magnetic field of incident photons causes a re-emission of photons and operation as a "magnetic mirror." By controlling the index of refraction in the dielectric layer using a local applied voltage, the phase of the emitted radiation can be controlled. This allows electrical modification of the reflected wavefront, resulting in a deformable mirror that can be used for wavefront control. Certain applications require wavefront quality in the few-nanometer regime, which is a major challenge for optical fabrication and alignment of mirrors or lenses. The use of a deformable magnetic mirror allows for a device with no moving parts that can modify the phase of incident light over many spatial scales, potentially with higher resolution than current approaches. Current deformable mirrors modify the incident wavefront by using nano-actuation of a substrate to physically bend the mirror to a desired shape. The purpose of the innovation is to modify the incident wavefront for the purpose of correction of fabrication and alignment-induced wavefront errors at the system level. The advanced degree of precision required for some applications such as gravity wave detection (LISA - Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) or planet finding (FKSI - Fourier-Kelvin Stellar Interferometer) requires wavefront control at the limits of the current state of the art. All the steps required to fabricate a magnetic mirror have been demonstrated. The modification is to apply a bias voltage to the dielectric layer so as to change the index of refraction and modify the phase of the reflected radiation. Light is reflected off the device and collected by a phase-sensing interferometer. The interferometer determines the initial wavefront of the device and fore optics. A wavefront correction is calculated, and voltage profile for each nanowire strip is determined. The voltage is applied, modifying the local index of refraction of the dielectric under the nanowire strip. This modifies the phase of the reflected light to allow wavefront correction.

Hagopian, John↗