Influence of reforming processes on the fracture strength of solids.
Reformation processes effect on stress-time-to- fracture behavior of solids, considering governing differential equation
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Reformation processes effect on stress-time-to- fracture behavior of solids, considering governing differential equation
Research in existence and electronic structure of heterocyclic radicals
It is shown that on days with frontal activity in the atmosphere the levels of fibrinolysis and fibrinogenolysis are increased. The reactions of fibrinolysis and fibrinogenolysis to the passage of warm and cold fronts varies with the season of the year.
A study of the elevated temperature slow plastic flow properties of the B2 aluminide Fe-39.8at.% Al was undertaken. Polycrystalline materials possessing several different microstructures were produced by the hot extrusion of prealloyed powder and, in some cases, postextrusion heat treatments. Compression tests were conducted in air at 1200, 1300 and 1400 K. Such testing revealed that the extrusion temperature affected the active deformation mechanisms where material extruded at 1505 K had a stress exponent about twice that of the intermetallic extruded at 1200 K. Grain size refinement to about 10 microns was found to strengthen the Fe-39.8at.% Al material; unfortunately, the effectiveness of such strengthening is limited to a homologous temperature of about 0.75 for strain rates of commercial interest (less than 10 to the -7th/sec).
LANDSAT thematic mapper (TM) data are being used to refine and validate a stochastic spatial computer model to be applied to coastal resource management problems in Louisiana. Two major aspects of the research are: (1) the measurement of area of land (or emergent vegetation) and water and the length of the interface between land and water in TM imagery of selected coastal wetlands (sample marshes); and (2) the comparison of spatial patterns of land and water in the sample marshes of the imagery to that in marshes simulated by a computer model. In addition to activities in these two areas, the potential use of a published autocorrelation statistic is analyzed.
The continuing disintegration of the coastal marshes of Louisiana is one of the major environmental problems of the nation. The problem of marsh loss in Louisiana is relevant to fishery management because Louisiana leads the nation in landings of fishery products, and most of the landed species are dependent upon estuaries and their associated tidal marshes. In evaluating the potential effect of marshland loss on fisheries, the first two critical factors to consider are: whether land-water interface in actual disintegrating marshes is currently increasing or decreasing, and the magnitude of the change. In the present study, LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) data covering specific marshes in coastal Louisiana were used to test conclusions from the Browder et al (1984) model with regard to the stage in disintegration at which maximum interface occurs; to further explore the relationship between maximum interface and the pattern of distribution of land and water suggested by the model; and to determine the direction and degree of change in land-water interface in relation to land loss in actual marshes.
The land-water interface of coastal marshes may influence the production of estuarine-dependent fisheries more than the area of these marshes. To test this hypothesis, a spatial model was created to explore the dynamic relationship between marshland-water interface and level of disintegration in the decaying coastal marshes of Louisiana's Barataria, Terrebonne, and Timbalier basins. Calibrating the model with Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite imagery, a parabolic relationship was found between land-water interface and marsh disintegration. Aggregated simulation data suggest that interface in the study area will soon reach its maximum and then decline. A statistically significant positive linear relationship was found between brown shrimp catch and total interface length over the past 28 years. This relationship suggests that shrimp yields will decline when interface declines, possibly beginning about 1995.
The Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres GCM is used to study the sensitivity of the simulated July circulation to modifications in the parameterization of dry and moist convection, evaporation from falling raindrops, and cloud-radiation interaction. It is shown that the Arakawa-Schubert (1974) cumulus parameterization and a more realistic dry convective mixing calculation yielded a better intertropical convergence zone over North Africa than the previous convection scheme. It is found that the physical mechanism for the improvement was the upward mixing of PBL moisture by vigorous dry convective mixing. A modified rain-evaporation parameterization which accounts for raindrop size distribution, the atmospheric relative humidity, and a typical spatial rainfall intensity distribution for convective rain was developed and implemented. This scheme led to major improvements in the monthly mean vertical profiles of relative humidity and temperature, convective and large-scale cloudiness, rainfall distributions, and mean relative humidity in the PBL.
The research is comprised of the following tasks: use of simple analytical and numerical models of a coupled troposphere-stratosphere system to examine the effects of radiation and ozone on planetary wave dynamics and the tropospheric circulation; use of satellite data obtained from the Nimbus 7 Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS) instrument and Solar Backscattered Ultraviolet (SBUV) experiment, in conjunction with National Meteorological Center (NMC) data, to determine the planetary wave vertical structures, dominant wave spectra, ozone spectra, and time variations in diabatic heating rate; and synthesis of the modeling and observational results to provide a better understanding of the effects that stratospheric processes have on tropospheric dynamics.
Current research focused on the examination of the effects of ozone heating and Newtonian cooling on the linear stability of transient planetary waves. A finite difference numerical model was developed in which the basic state wind, temperature, and ozone distributions were constructed using ground-based and satellite data. Preliminary results indicate that ozone dynamics interaction may play a more important role in the stability and maintenance of planetary waves than previously thought, particularly in summer when the mean solar zenith angle is smallest and thus ozone heating largest. Examination of the finite amplitude interactions among radiation, ozone, and dynamics was carried out. Self-consistent, coupled equations governing the weakly nonlinear interactions are currently being analyzed to provide a better understanding of wave-mean flow interactions and ozone transport in a continuously stratified model of the troposphere-stratosphere coupled system.
High thermal gradient casting of PWA 1480 was evaluated as an avenue for reducing the size of casting porosity. Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) was also employed for the elimination of casting pores. An alternate to the standard PWA 1480 coating plus diffusion bonding aging heat treatment cycle was also evaluated for potential improvements in the properties of interest to the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) application. Microstructural changes associated with the high thermal gradient casting process were quantified by measurement of the size and density of the casting porosity, the amount of retained casting eutectic, and dendrite arm spacings. The results of the advanced processing have shown an improvement in material microstructure due to high thermal gradient casting. Improved homogeneity of PWA 1480 is advantageous in providing an improved solution heat treatment window and, potentially, easier HIP. High thermal gradient casting improves fatigue life by reducing casting pore size. The alternate heat treatment improves the balance of strength and ductility which appears to improve low cycle fatigue life, but with a reduction in short time stress rupture life. Based upon these tests, hot isostatic pressing appears to afford further improvements in cyclic life, though additional evaluation is suggested. Development of the alternate heat treatment is not recommended due to the reduced stress rupture capability and the need to develop a new properties data base. High thermal gradient casting and HIP are recommended for application to single crystal castings.
This report summarizes research funded through NASA's Soil Landscape Climate Program which includes studies of the systematics of carbon storage and flux in the terrestrial environment, specifically terrestrial soils. Efforts focussed on the nature of carbon behavior in arid environments, where the majority of the carbon is present as inorganic carbon stored as pedogenic carbonate in desert calcic soils. Studies were supported of soils in two areas of western North America's major deserts: the Mojave Desert and the Chihuahuan Desert. Part 1 of this report summarizes the results of research conducted in the area of the Providence Mountains, California in the eastern Mojave Desert. Part 2 of this report summarizes the results of research in the Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, one of the sites of the UMN Biology Department's Long Term Ecological Research.
The major challenge in biology today is biocomplexity: the need to explain how cell and tissue behaviors emerge from collective interactions within complex molecular networks. Part I of this two-part article, described a mechanical model of cell structure based on tensegrity architecture that explains how the mechanical behavior of the cell emerges from physical interactions among the different molecular filament systems that form the cytoskeleton. Recent work shows that the cytoskeleton also orients much of the cell's metabolic and signal transduction machinery and that mechanical distortion of cells and the cytoskeleton through cell surface integrin receptors can profoundly affect cell behavior. In particular, gradual variations in this single physical control parameter (cell shape distortion) can switch cells between distinct gene programs (e.g. growth, differentiation and apoptosis), and this process can be viewed as a biological phase transition. Part II of this article covers how combined use of tensegrity and solid-state mechanochemistry by cells may mediate mechanotransduction and facilitate integration of chemical and physical signals that are responsible for control of cell behavior. In addition, it examines how cell structural networks affect gene and protein signaling networks to produce characteristic phenotypes and cell fate transitions during tissue development.
Progress in better determining CO2 sources and sinks will almost certainly rely on utilization of more extensive and intensive CO2 and related observations including those from satellite remote sensing. Use of advanced data requires improved modeling and analysis capability. Under NASA Carbon Cycle Science support we seek to develop and integrate improved formulations for 1) atmospheric transport, 2) terrestrial uptake and release, 3) biomass and 4) fossil fuel burning, and 5) observational data analysis including inverse calculations. The transport modeling is based on meteorological data assimilation analysis from the Goddard Modeling and Assimilation Office. Use of assimilated met data enables model comparison to CO2 and other observations across a wide range of scales of variability. In this presentation we focus on the short end of the temporal variability spectrum: hourly to synoptic to seasonal. Using CO2 fluxes at varying temporal resolution from the SIB 2 and CASA biosphere models, we examine the model's ability to simulate CO2 variability in comparison to observations at different times, locations, and altitudes. We find that the model can resolve much of the variability in the observations, although there are limits imposed by vertical resolution of boundary layer processes. The influence of key process representations is inferred. The high degree of fidelity in these simulations leads us to anticipate incorporation of realtime, highly resolved observations into a multiscale carbon cycle analysis system that will begin to bridge the gap between top-down and bottom-up flux estimation, which is a primary focus of NACP.
The Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication (EBF3) process developed at NASA Langley Research Center was evaluated using a design of experiments approach to determine the effect of processing parameters on the composition and geometry of Ti-6-4 deposits. The effects of three processing parameters: beam power, translation speed, and wire feed rate, were investigated by varying one while keeping the remaining parameters constant. A three-factorial, three-level, fully balanced mutually orthogonal array (L27) design of experiments approach was used to examine the effects of low, medium, and high settings for the processing parameters on the chemistry, geometry, and quality of the resulting deposits. Single bead high deposits were fabricated and evaluated for 27 experimental conditions. Loss of aluminum in Ti-6-4 was observed in EBF3 processing due to selective vaporization of the aluminum from the sustained molten pool in the vacuum environment; therefore, the chemistries of the deposits were measured and compared with the composition of the initial wire and base plate to determine if the loss of aluminum could be minimized through careful selection of processing parameters. The influence of processing parameters and coupling between these parameters on bulk composition, measured by Direct Current Plasma (DCP), local microchemistries determined by Wavelength Dispersive Spectrometry (WDS), and deposit geometry will also be discussed.
The In-Space Technology Experiments Program selected the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to conduct a Phase A study of the Lithium Battery Experiment. The experiment will mark the first time a rechargeable lithium battery will be flown in space. The operation of the battery involves lithium deposition and dissolution processed. Micro gravity influences these processes significantly. The experiment will check the rate capability, discharge voltage, capacity and the phenomena affecting cycle life. The paper describes the design and methodology of this experiment.
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The additive manufacturing (AM) of metals is becoming an increasingly important production process with the potential to replace traditional techniques such as casting. Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is used in many applications to print metal parts from powder. The metal powder is heated locally with sufficient laser radiation that the liquid melt easily reaches its boiling temperature, which leads to a metallic vapour jet that can entrain both powder bed particles and molten droplets. The small size of laser-matter interaction site makes a detailed experimental analysis of the process challenging. Synchrotron X-ray imaging experiments are one of the few methods which can capture the dynamic melting and solidification processes. Comparing such experiments with computer simulations of the process is an important approach in order to better understand the manufacturing process and to analyse the influence of process parameters on the evaporated gas jet and the subsequent impact on particle ejection, leading to potentially reduced AM component quality. The melting and solidification of the metal powder is simulated using an Eulerian multiphase approach based on a control volume discretization of powder bed and substrate and a volume of liquid separation from melt and gas phase. The gas phase modelled as an ideal gas reaches velocities up to 100 m/s. Lagrangian particle tracking in the simulation demonstrates that the velocity fields calculated by the Eulerian multi-phase approach in combination with a standard drag-force model lead to particle accelerations in good agreement with those measured experimentally. In order to avoid numerical laborious Lagrangian calculations, a direct method to compare an Eulerian multiphase simulation with synchrotron X-ray experiments was introduced and validated. This approach is used to analyse the influence of process parameters including laser power and laser speed on the maximal acceleration of particles from the melt pool area. While the particle acceleration increases linearly with line energy in the conduction mode, a linear decrease of the acceleration with increasing line energy can be found in the transition mode before the accel-eration increases again with line energy in the keyhole mode.