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At least 1,495 records · Page 83

Vestibulo-Ocular Responses to Vertical Translation using a Hand-Operated Chair as a Field Measure of Otolith Function

The translational Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (tVOR) is an important otolith-mediated response to stabilize gaze during natural locomotion. One goal of this study was to develop a measure of the tVOR using a simple hand-operated chair that provided passive vertical motion. Binocular eye movements were recorded with a tight-fitting video mask in ten healthy subjects. Vertical motion was provided by a modified spring-powered chair (swopper.com) at approximately 2 Hz (+/- 2 cm displacement) to approximate the head motion during walking. Linear acceleration was measured with wireless inertial sensors (Xsens) mounted on the head and torso. Eye movements were recorded while subjects viewed near (0.5m) and far (approximately 4m) targets, and then imagined these targets in darkness. Subjects also provided perceptual estimates of target distances. Consistent with the kinematic properties shown in previous studies, the tVOR gain was greater with near targets, and greater with vision than in darkness. We conclude that this portable chair system can provide a field measure of otolith-ocular function at frequencies sufficient to elicit a robust tVOR.

Wood, S. J.↗

Computed Tomography Inspection and Analysis for Additive Manufacturing Components

Computed tomography (CT) inspection was performed on test articles additively manufactured from metallic materials. Metallic AM and machined wrought alloy test articles with programmed flaws were inspected using a 2MeV linear accelerator based CT system. Performance of CT inspection on identically configured wrought and AM components and programmed flaws was assessed using standard image analysis techniques to determine the impact of additive manufacturing on inspectability of objects with complex geometries.

Beshears, Ronald D.↗

Computed Tomography Inspection and Analysis for Additive Manufacturing Components

Computed tomography (CT) inspection was performed on test articles additively manufactured from metallic materials. Metallic AM and machined wrought alloy test articles with programmed flaws and geometric features were inspected using a 2-megavolt linear accelerator based CT system. Performance of CT inspection on identically configured wrought and AM components and programmed flaws was assessed to determine the impact of additive manufacturing on inspectability of objects with complex geometries.

Beshears, Ronald D.↗

Results of Landing Tests of Kellett YG-1 Autogiro (A. C. R. 35-278)

Flight tests were made with a Kellett YG-1 autogiro to determine the relationship between the ground reaction and the vertical velocity at contact for landings of the flared and gliding three-point types. The data obtained are presented in the form of time histories of linear accelerations at the center of gravity resulting from the initial landing impact. In addition, the attitude angle and velocity of the autogiro at contact were measured. The landings were all mild as compared to those representative of airplanes tested in this manner, the maximum vertical velocity being 4.4 feet per second with a corresponding normal acceleration of 2.35 g.

Gilruth, R. R.↗

The Turbolift: Linear Sled Hybrid Artificial Gravity Concept

Future crewed space exploration missions into deep space will require enhanced countermeasure technologies to ensure astronaut health. One such hazard is extended exposure to reduced gravity levels (i.e., microgravity, lunar gravity, or Martian gravity). Reduced gravity negatively impacts many physiological systems, leading to hydrostatic intolerance, musculoskeletal atrophy, sensorimotor impairment, bone demineralization, cardiovascular deconditioning, and visual alterations. Various countermeasures have been employed for mitigating these effects, such as exercise, pharmaceuticals, diet, and fluid loading. However, these approaches treat individual symptoms, such that each physiological system is addressed with typically one countermeasure. An alternative to this approach is artificial gravity (AG), which promises to be a holistic, comprehensive countermeasure. The traditional approach to creating AG is through centrifugation. However, centrifugation is not a "pure" form of AG and typically includes the drawbacks of Coriolis forces, gravity gradients, and vestibular cross-coupled illusions.As an alternative, we have proposed a Linear Sled Hybrid (LSH) AG system to mitigate astronauts' physiological deconditioning. This system functions by applying pure linear acceleration to produce footward loading. There is a half rotation (180_) to reorient the rider between acceleration and deceleration phases, such that the loading remains footward, as when standing on Earth. The rotation also provides some footward acceleration to the lower body through centripetal acceleration; hence the "hybrid" aspect of the design. At the end of the deceleration, the rider than accelerates back in the opposite direction and the sequence repeats.This proposed system could be integrated with future crewed space vehicles in a variety of manners.

Gruber, Jason↗

Feasibility Study of a Multi Tilt-rotor Aircraft as the Artemis Lunar Training Vehicle

The Lunar Landing Research Vehicles (LLRVs) and the Lunar Landing Training Vehicles (LLTVs) provided astronaut candidates for the Apollo program with essential experience and confidence required to complete the missions, and contributed to six successful manned landings on the moon. The primary challenge in terrestrial training was being able to replicate the ratio of bank angle to linear acceleration that a pilot would experience in lunar gravity. Presently, as the Artemis program seeks to return humans to the Moon by 2025, engineers are evaluating suitable platforms to serve as an In-Flight Trainer (IFT) or Artemis Lunar Training Vehicle (ALTV) for astronauts training in the task of manual landing. The program is investigating the viability of current technology in the field of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles and is evaluating using a multi tilt-rotor aircraft platform as a candidate platform for a preliminary ALTV. The tilt-rotor capability enables the vehicle attitude to be decoupled from its flight path, which is a crucial requirement in realistically simulating lunar gravity on Earth. Other key considerations include compensating for a lack of aerodynamic forces while flying through the atmosphere of Earth, as well as the ability to simulate the dynamics of multiple different lander designs for the Human Landing System (HLS) program. This paper details the feasibility study and presents a preliminary flight control architecture for an IFT based on a notional multi tilt-rotor platform. The modeling-following control law, based on nonlinear dynamic inversion (NDI), removes the need for gain scheduling because the vehicle operates across a wide range of flight conditions. The inner-loop dynamic control allocation strategy consists of a static portion that is optimized offline for trim while compensating for the difference in gravity and a dynamic portion that is computed in real time. The reference model consists of the full closed-loop dynamics of a generic HLS design. The modularity of the flight control architecture enables evaluation of multiple HLS concepts with minimal modifications to the control law. Simulation results of the multi tilt-rotor configuration following the final portion of the Apollo 11 descent trajectory are shown.

Jing Pei↗

Feasibility Study of a Multi-Tilt-Rotor Aircraft as the Artemis Lunar Training Vehicle

The Lunar Landing Research Vehicles (LLRVs) and the Lunar Landing Training Vehicles (LLTVs) provided astronauts of the Apollo program with essential experience and confidence required to complete the missions, and contributed to six successful manned landings on the moon. The primary challenge in terrestrial training was being able to replicate the ratio of tilt angle to linear acceleration that a pilot would experience in lunar gravity. Presently, as the Artemis program seeks to return humans to the Moon by 2025, engineers are evaluating suitable platforms to serve as an In-Flight Trainer (IFT) or Artemis Lunar Training Vehicle (ALTV) for astronauts training in the task of manual landing. The program is investigating the viability of current technology in the field of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles and is evaluating using a multi-tilt-rotor aircraft platform as a candidate for a preliminary ALTV. The tilt-rotor capability enables the vehicle attitude to be decoupled from its flight path, which is a crucial requirement in realistically simulating lunar gravity on Earth. Other key considerations include compensating for a lack of aerodynamic forces while flying through the atmosphere of Earth, as well as the ability to simulate the dynamics of multiple different lander designs for the Human Landing System (HLS) program. This paper details the feasibility study and presents a preliminary flight control architecture for an IFT based on a notional multi-tilt-rotor platform. The model-following control law, based on nonlinear dynamic inversion (NDI), removes the need for gain scheduling. The inner-loop dynamic control allocation strategy consists of a static portion that is optimized offline for trim while compensating for the difference in gravity and a dynamic portion that is computed in real time. The reference model consists of the full closed-loop dynamics of a generic HLS design. The modularity of the flight control architecture enables evaluation of multiple HLS concepts with minimal modifications to the control law. Simulation results of the multi-tilt-rotor configuration following the final portion of the Apollo 11 descent trajectory are shown.

Jing Pei↗

Evaluation of Tungsten Neutron Cross Sections in the Resolved Resonance Regions

We generated a preliminary set of resonance parameters for 182-184,186W in the neutron energy range of thermal up to several keV. The evaluation methodology uses the Reich-Moore approximation to t, with the R-matrix code SAMMY, the high-resolution measurements performed in 2010 and 2012 at the GEel LINear Accelerator (GELINA) facility. Particularly for 183W, the transmission data and the capture cross sections calculated with the set of resonance parameters are compared with the experimental values, and some of the average properties of the resonance parameters are discussed. In the analyzed energy range, this work almost doubles the existing resolved resonance evaluations in the ENDF/B-VII.1 library. The analysis of the performance of the calculated cross sections based on criticality benchmarks is still in progress and it is only briefly discussed.

Pigni, Marco T↗

Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) Nuclear Science Facilities

The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) facilities for Nuclear Science consist of a high-energy "white" neutron source (Target 4) with 6 flight paths, three low-energy nuclear science flight paths at the Lujan Center, and a proton reaction area. The neutron beams produced at the Target 4 complement those produced at the Lujan Center because they are of much higher energy and have shorter pulse widths. The neutron sources are driven by the 800-MeV proton beam of the LANSCE linear accelerator. With these facilities, LANSCE is able to deliver neutrons with energies ranging from a milli-electron volt to several hundreds of MeV, as well as proton beams with a wide range of energy, time and intensity characteristics. The facilities, instruments and research programs are described briefly.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Design of a Marx-Topology Modulator for FNAL Linac

The Fermilab Proton Improvement Plan (PIP) was formed in late 2011 to address important and necessary upgrades to the Proton Source machines (Injector line, Linac and Booster). The goal is to increase the proton flux by doubling the Booster beam cycle rate while maintaining the same intensity per cycle, the same uptime, and the same residual activation in the enclosure. For the Linac, the main focus within PIP is to address reliability. One of the main tasks is to replace the present hard-tube modulator used on the 200 MHz RF system. Plans to replace this high power system with a Marx-topology modulator, capable of providing the required waveform shaping to stabilize the accelerating gradient and compensate for beam loading, will be presented, along with development data from the prototype unit.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Evaluated 182,183,184,186 W Neutron Cross Sections and Covariances in the Resolved Resonance Region

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has recently completed the resonance parameter evaluation of four tungsten isotopes, i.e., 182,183,184,186 W, in the neutron energy range of thermal up to several keV. This nuclear data work was performed with support from the US Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) in an effort to provide improved tungsten cross section and covariance data for criticality safety analyses. The evaluation methodology uses the Reich-Moore approximation of the R-matrix formalism of the code SAMMY to fit high-resolution measurements performed in 2010 and 2012 at the Geel linear accelerator facility (GELINA), as well as other experimental data sets on natural tungsten available in the EXFOR library. In the analyzed energy range, this work nearly doubles the resolved resonance region (RRR) present in the latest US nuclear data library ENDF/B-VII.1. In view of the interest in tungsten for distinct types of nuclear applications and the relatively homogeneous distribution of the isotopic tungsten—namely, 182 W(26.5%), 183 W(14.31%), 184 W(30.64%), and 186 W(28.43%) - the completion of these four evaluations represents a significant contribution to the improvement of the ENDF library. This paper presents an overview of the evaluated resonance parameters and related covariances for total and capture cross sections on the four tungsten isotopes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Remanent Activation in the Mini-SHINE Experiments

Argonne National Laboratory is assisting SHINE Medical Technologies in developing a domestic source of the medical isotope 99Mo through the fission of low-enrichment uranium in a uranyl sulfate solution. In Phase 2 of these experiments, electrons from a linear accelerator create neutrons by interacting in a depleted uranium target, and these neutrons are used to irradiate the solution. The resulting neutron and photon radiation activates the target, the solution vessels, and a shielded cell that surrounds the experimental apparatus. When the experimental campaign is complete, the target must be removed into a shielding cask, and the experimental components must be disassembled. The radiation transport code MCNPX and the transmutation code CINDER were used to calculate the radionuclide inventories of the solution, the target assembly, and the shielded cell, and to determine the dose rates and shielding requirements for selected removal scenarios for the target assembly and the solution vessels.

Micklich, Bradley J.↗

Performance of Ferrite Vector Modulators in the LLRF System of the Fermilab HINS 6-Cavity Test

The High Intensity Neutrino Source (HINS) 6-cavity test is a part of the Fermilab HINS Linac R&D program for a low energy, high intensity proton Hsup>- linear accelerator. One of the objectives of the 6-cavity test is to demonstrate the use of high power RF Ferrite Vector Modulators(FVM) for independent control of multiple cavities driven by a single klystron. The beamline includes an RFQ and six cavities. The LLRF system provides a primary feedback loop around the RFQ and the distribution of the regulated klystron output is controlled by secondary learning feed-forward loops on the FVMs for each of the six cavities. The feed-forward loops provide pulse to pulse correction to the current waveform profiles of the FVM power supplies to compensate for beam-loading and other disturbances. The learning feed-forward loops are shown to successfully control the amplitude and phase settings for the cavities well within the 1 % and 1 degree requirements specified for the system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

FLUKA-MARS15 Simulations to Optimize Fermilab PIP-II Movable Beam Absorber

PIP-II is the Fermilab's flagship project to provide powerful, high-intensity proton beams to the laboratory's experiments. The heart of the PIP-II project is an H- 800 MeV superconducting linear accelerator. In order to commission the beam and operate safely the linac, several constraints were evaluated. The design of a movable 5 kW beam absorber was finalized to allow staged beam commissioning in different linac locations. Prompt and residual radiation levels were calculated, and radiation shields were optimized to keep those values within the acceptable levels in the areas surrounding beam absorber. Monte Carlo calculations with FLUKA and MARS15 codes are presented in the paper to support these studies.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Short-Pulse Photoneutron Production on Beryllium Using the Mercury Pulsed Power X-ray Source

An x-ray beam can produce neutrons using beryllium as a photoneutron converter because of the relatively low 9 Be(ɤ,n) reaction energy threshold. Previous photoneutron production simulations have focused on using a linear accelerator and heavy water to generate photoneutrons for potential medical therapies. This experimental work focused on creating a short, intense neutron pulse using the Mercury pulsed power machine at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, which fired a Bremsstrahlung photon beam with an energy endpoint of 4.8 MeV. Several independent detector systems were included in the experiment to measure both the characteristics of the x-ray pulse and resulting photoneutrons. We discovered the neutron pulse follows the time history of the x-ray pulse, enabling neutron pulses as short as 30 ns with less than 10% shot-to-shot variation. The approach offers a high-flux of neutrons with a higher end-point energy than using a heavy water converter. Previous experiments at Mercury have generated fission neutrons using a higher x-ray endpoint and 238 U(n,f). Results indicate that with an optimized diode and beryllium converter target design, neutron production could be further increased.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The Beam Dynamics Updates of the Fermilab PIP-II 800 MeV Superconducting LINAC

The Proton Improvement Plan (PIP) -II is a high inten-sity proton facility being developed to support a neutrino program over the next two decades at Fermilab. At its core is the design and construction of a Continuous Wave (CW) compatible superconducting radio frequency (SRF) linear accelerator that would accelerate an average beam current of 2 mA up to 800 MeV. This paper presents recent updates in the beam dynamics leading to a reliable and robust linac design and simplifying the cryomodule assembly.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Beam Dynamics Study of PIP-II Superconducting Linac in the Presence of Misalignment Errors

The Proton Improvement Plan (PIP)-II is a proposed high intensity proton facility being developed at the Fermilab. The PIP-II is primarily based on construction of a new superconducting radio frequency (SRF) linear accelerator (linac) that would deliver an average beam current of 2mA with output energy up to 800 MeV. The linac performance is mainly determined by beam sensitivity against various component errors. These errors trigger not only emittance dilution but also a beam loss in worst cases. This paper discusses effects of component misalignments on the beam and presents alignment budget for the PIP-II SRF linac.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗