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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 1,441 records · Page 80
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Root Pulling Force Across Drought in Maize Reveals Genotype by Environment Interactions and Candidate Genes

High-throughput, field-based characterization of root systems for hundreds of genotypes in thousands of plots is necessary for breeding and identifying loci underlying variation in root traits and their plasticity. We designed a large-scale sampling of root pulling force, the vertical force required to extract the root system from the soil, in a maize diversity panel under differing irrigation levels for two growing seasons. We then characterized the root system architecture of the extracted root crowns. We found consistent patterns of phenotypic plasticity for root pulling force for a subset of genotypes under differential irrigation, suggesting that root plasticity is predictable. Using genome-wide association analysis, we identified 54 SNPs as statistically significant for six independent root pulling force measurements across two irrigation levels and four developmental timepoints. For every significant GWAS SNP for any trait in any treatment and timepoint we conducted post hoc tests for genotype-by-environment interaction, using a mixed model ANOVA. We found that 8 of the 54 SNPs showed significant GxE. Candidate genes underlying variation in root pulling force included those involved in nutrient transport. Although they are often treated separately, variation in the ability of plant roots to sense and respond to variation in environmental resources including water and nutrients may be linked by the genes and pathways underlying this variation. While functional validation of the identified genes is needed, our results expand the current knowledge of root phenotypic plasticity at the whole plant and gene levels, and further elucidate the complex genetic architecture of maize root systems.

Woods, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS1972

A numerical investigation of film cooling as an alternate thermal protection system for spacecraft during atmospheric reentry

Research was undertaken to determine the mass required to protect a surface during atmospheric reentry by injecting a cold gas tangentially along the surface. A consideration of this problem revealed that the boundary layer equations could be employed to approximate the most important flow configurations which occur in film cooling. However, even with this simplification, the equations to be solved are complex, nonlinear, coupled partial differential equations. Due to the relative weakness of classical methods of boundary layer analysis, finite difference methods were chosen as the best approach to the formidable problem under consideration. Instead of blindly adopting a proposed technique and trying to force it to the problem, a more systematic study was deemed to be not only desirable but necessary. A relatively basic study of the application of finite difference methods was undertaken with the objective of developing an algorithm capable of obtaining accurate solutions to film cooling problems.

Clausing, A. M.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Transonic flow past lifting wings.

Work conducted by Norstrud (1971) has been extended to lifting flows with the inclusion of embedded continuous supercritical regions. The approach taken follows some fundamental steps proposed for two-dimensional flows by Oswatitsch (1950). The governing integral equation is replaced by a system of nonlinear algebraic equations. The method of parametric differentiation is applied to the solution of this system of equations. The analytical analysis is discussed together with a numerical analysis in the case of a wing configuration with arbitrary thickness distribution.

Norstrud, H.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Evolution of satellite resonances by tidal dissipation.

Analysis of a realistic model shows how satellites' gravitational interaction can halt their differential tidal evolution when resonant commensurabilities of their orbital periods are reached. The success of this study lends support to the hypothesis that orbit-orbit resonances among satellites in the solar system, including the Titan-Hyperion case, did evolve as a result of tidal energy dissipation. Consideration of the time scale for this evolution process, possible now that the capture mechanism has been revealed, can offer more sophisticated constraints on the tidal dissipation function, Q, and on past orbital conditions.

Greenberg, R.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Optimization of MLS receivers for multipath environments

Optimal design studies of MLS angle-receivers and a theoretical design-study of MLS DME-receivers are reported. The angle-receiver results include an integration of the scan data processor and tracking filter components of the optimal receiver into a unified structure. An extensive simulation study comparing the performance of the optimal and threshold receivers in a wide variety of representative dynamical interference environments was made. The optimal receiver was generally superior. A simulation of the performance of the threshold and delay-and-compare receivers in various signal environments was performed. An analysis of combined errors due to lateral reflections from vertical structures with small differential path delays, specular ground reflections with neglible differential path delays, and thermal noise in the receivers is provided.

Mcalpine, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

HCMM: Soil moisture in relation to geologic structure and lithology, northern California

The author has identified the following significant results. A preliminary analysis of the HCMM imagery of the project area indicated that locally some differentiation of lithologic units within the Northern Coast Range may be possible. Of significance, however, was a thermally cool linear area that appeared on the 30 May 1978 Nite-IR. This linear feature seemed to coincide with the Bear Mt. Fault and with the axis of the Chico Monocline along the eastern margin of the Sacramento Valley.

Rich, E. I.↗
NASA NTRS1985

On numerical integration and computer implementation of viscoplastic models

Due to the stringent design requirement for aerospace or nuclear structural components, considerable research interests have been generated on the development of constitutive models for representing the inelastic behavior of metals at elevated temperatures. In particular, a class of unified theories (or viscoplastic constitutive models) have been proposed to simulate material responses such as cyclic plasticity, rate sensitivity, creep deformations, strain hardening or softening, etc. This approach differs from the conventional creep and plasticity theory in that both the creep and plastic deformations are treated as unified time-dependent quantities. Although most of viscoplastic models give better material behavior representation, the associated constitutive differential equations have stiff regimes which present numerical difficulties in time-dependent analysis. In this connection, appropriate solution algorithm must be developed for viscoplastic analysis via finite element method.

Chang, T. Y.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Quality assurance procedures for V378A matrix resin

A characterization methodology has been developed on which to base quality assurance procedures for U.S. Polymeric V378A bismaleimide matrix resin. Chemical composition is established by partition reverse phase and size exclusion liquid chromatography. Cure rheology behavior is quantitatively characterized by dynamic viscoelastic analysis using the parallel plate technique. The overall cure process is characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. The sensitivity of the procedures is evaluated by studying the effects of ambient out time on the chemical end behaviorial properties of the resin.

Hamermesh, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Analytical determination of propeller performance degradation due to ice accretion

A computer code has been developed which is capable of computing propeller performance for clean, glaze, or rime iced propeller configurations, thereby providing a mechanism for determining the degree of performance degradation which results from a given icing encounter. The inviscid, incompressible flow field at each specified propeller radial location is first computed using the Theodorsen transformation method of conformal mapping. A droplet trajectory computation then calculates droplet impingement points and airfoil collection efficiency for each radial location, at which point several user-selectable empirical correlations are available for determining the aerodynamic penalities which arise due to the ice accretion. Propeller performance is finally computed using strip analysis for either the clean or iced propeller. In the iced mode, the differential thrust and torque coefficient equations are modified by the drag and lift coefficient increments due to ice to obtain the appropriate iced values. Comparison with available experimental propeller icing data shows good agreement in several cases. The code's capability to properly predict iced thrust coefficient, power coefficient, and propeller efficiency is shown to be dependent on the choice of empirical correlation employed as well as proper specification of radial icing extent.

Miller, T. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Turbulence And Evaporation In Clusters Of Drops

Report presents theoretical model of evaporation of cluster of drops of single-component liquid fuel in and of processes of exchange between cluster and gas surrounding it. Formulation of model has three components: description of conservation of mass, molecular species, and enthalpy in sphere of influence of each drop; description of conservation of mass, molecular species, and enthalpy in cluster volume; description of convective effects by use of differential equations expressing conservation of momentum for gases and drops. Results obtained from analysis show turbulence enhances evaporation and controlling factor in evaporation of very dense clusters. Practical implication of findings evaporation of fuel controlled more readily near fuel injector than farther along combustor.

Bellan, Josette↗
NASA NTRS1993

A critical analysis of the accuracy of several numerical techniques for combustion kinetic rate equations

A detailed analysis of the accuracy of several techniques recently developed for integrating stiff ordinary differential equations is presented. The techniques include two general-purpose codes EPISODE and LSODE developed for an arbitrary system of ordinary differential equations, and three specialized codes CHEMEQ, CREK1D, and GCKP4 developed specifically to solve chemical kinetic rate equations. The accuracy study is made by application of these codes to two practical combustion kinetics problems. Both problems describe adiabatic, homogeneous, gas-phase chemical reactions at constant pressure, and include all three combustion regimes: induction, heat release, and equilibration. To illustrate the error variation in the different combustion regimes the species are divided into three types (reactants, intermediates, and products), and error versus time plots are presented for each species type and the temperature. These plots show that CHEMEQ is the most accurate code during induction and early heat release. During late heat release and equilibration, however, the other codes are more accurate. A single global quantity, a mean integrated root-mean-square error, that measures the average error incurred in solving the complete problem is used to compare the accuracy of the codes. Among the codes examined, LSODE is the most accurate for solving chemical kinetics problems. It is also the most efficient code, in the sense that it requires the least computational work to attain a specified accuracy level. An important finding is that use of the algebraic enthalpy conservation equation to compute the temperature can be more accurate and efficient than integrating the temperature differential equation.

Radhadrishnan, Krishnan↗
NASA NTRS1993

Ishtar deformed belts: Evidence for deformation from below?

The mountain belts of Ishtar Terra are unique on Venus. Models for their formation include mantle upwelling, mantle downwelling, and horizontal convergence. The present forms of these models are too simple to predict surface strain, topography, or gravity. More detailed models will require specific constraints as imposed by geologic relations. In order to develop specific constraints for geodynamic models, we examine the geology of Ishtar Terra as viewed in Magellan SAR imagery in an attempt to interpret regional surface strain patterns. In this paper, we present geologic and structural relations that leads us to postulate that Ishtar deformed belts result from shear forces within the mantle acting on the lithosphere, and not by horizontal forces from colliding plates. We propose that the surface strains result from differential strain and displacement of domains within the upper mantle, and that further analysis of Ishtar deformation may allow us to identify individual domains within the mantle, and to constrain displacement trajectories between domains.

Hansen, V. L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A new measurement of the flux of the light cosmic-ray nuclei at high energies

A new cosmic-ray detector utilizing a ring-imaging Cerenkov counter to determine the energy of light cosmic-ray nuclei was flown on high-altitude balloon from Fort Sumner, NM, in 1991 September. We describe the design and performance of this instrument and discuss the data analysis procedures. The measurement provides a new determination of the absolute flux and differential energy spectrum of the primary cosmic-ray species helium between 40 and 320 GeV/nucleon. The experiment also yields the spectra of carbon and oxygen and some information on the intensities of the secondary nuclei Li, Be, and B. A comparison between our results and previous measurements of heavier nuclei (Z greater than or equal to 4) from HEAO 3 and Spacelab 2 indicates good consistency between these measurements. The data set is compared with the results of a leaky box propagation model. We find good agreement with this model if the abundance of helium relative to oxygen at the source is taken to be 25 +/- 6 and if the source spectrum is given by a power law in energy proportional to E(exp -2.15).

Buckley, J.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Simulation Apps Bring Us Closer to Mars

My work with mathematical modeling and computer simulations began in earnest in 1987 when I signed on with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA. At the time I was developing computer simulations to support the design of carbon dioxide (CO2) removal systems for the International Space Station (ISS) life support system. CO2 is a human metabolic waste, produced at a rate of a kilogram per day per crewmember. CO2 must be removed from the crew cabin, as it will quickly become detrimental to crew health. The systems used to remove CO2 are typically based on sorption processes, which include complex interactions of heat transfer, mass transfer, and gas flow through porous media. At this time, there were no commercial options for solving a set of coupled mathematical models such as partial differential equations (PDEs); you either force-fit the physics into a thermal analysis package or wrote your own code, complete with discretization, meshing, and solution algorithms. Unfortunately, coding CO2 removal processes from scratch did not allow an appropriate focus on the challenging yet crucial task of understanding and capturing the underlying physics via appropriate mathematical models. Configuration control was often simply ignored due to tight schedules, resulting in a code that would be quicker for a second party to rewrite than modify. In the early 2000s, I decided to move CO2 removal simulations to a platform with built-in meshing, solvers, and postprocessing capabilities, and that could solve user-defined multiphysics PDEs. The program chosen to meet these needs was COMSOL Multiphysics®. Along with freeing the engineer to focus on the underlying physics, a degree of configuration control was automatically achieved via a consistent user interface, thus allowing COMSOL users to share computer models. My team has developed simulations that are already providing a valuable debugging capability for the ISS CO2 removal system, and will provide guidance in upgrades to that system.

Knox, Jim↗
NASA NTRS2011

Differential Absorption Lidar to Measure Subhourly Variation of Tropospheric Ozone Profiles

A tropospheric ozone Differential Absorption Lidar system, developed jointly by The University of Alabama in Huntsville and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is making regular observations of ozone vertical distributions between 1 and 8 km with two receivers under both daytime and nighttime conditions using lasers at 285 and 291 nm. This paper describes the lidar system and analysis technique with some measurement examples. An iterative aerosol correction procedure reduces the retrieval error arising from differential aerosol backscatter in the lower troposphere. Lidar observations with coincident ozonesonde flights demonstrate that the retrieval accuracy ranges from better than 10% below 4 km to better than 20% below 8 km with 750-m vertical resolution and 10-min 17 temporal integration.

Kuang, Shi↗
DOE OSTI2025

Computational and experimental analysis of structural and Thermophysical properties of LiX-KX (X = chloride, iodide, or bromide) molten salts

Molten salts containing lithium (Li) and potassium (K) halides, including chlorides (Cl), bromides (Br), and iodides (I), are pivotal in advanced technological applications including nuclear reactor technologies, thermal batteries, and industrial pyrochemical processes. Despite their significance, the availability of the temperature-dependent structural and thermophysical properties of these molten salts remain scarce. Here, this study addresses this knowledge gap by predicting and measuring the key properties such as coordination number, radial distribution function, density, heat capacity, and volumetric thermal expansion of molten LiI-KI, LiBr-KBr and LiCl-KCl eutectic mixtures. Utilizing ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations, we predict these properties of LiX-KX (X=Br,I, Cl) across various temperatures, with chlorides as a benchmark. Experimental measurements using Archimedes methods and Differential Scanning Calorimetry validate the densities and heat capacities of these molten salts. Our comprehensive analysis of the structural and thermophysical properties provides critical insights into the behavior of these molten salts at various temperatures, enhancing the understanding necessary for their application in advanced technologies.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗