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NASA NTRS2001

Responses of the Jovian Atmosphere to Cometary Particles and Photon Impacts

Detailed calculations were performed of the deposition of energetic oxygen ions into the atmosphere of Jupiter. A Monte Carlo simulation was used. Similar processes occur in other astrophysical environments to which our methods can be applied. In particular Cravens has suggested that the X-ray emissions seen from comets are due to transitions from excited states following capture of electrons by solar wind ions colliding with the atmosphere of the comet. Alternative proposals have been advanced for the source of the cometary X-rays. We have carried out a study of the spectra and have shown that with the spectral resolution of about 20 eV the different excitation mechanisms can be distinguished. The response of the two components of the solar wind predict a spectrum that is consistent with the cometary observations. X-rays from the comets arise from the slow solar wind.

Dalgarno, Alex↗

NASA NTRS1987

Method of measuring field funneling and range straggling in semiconductor charge-collecting junctions

Electric-field funneling length is measured while irradiating a semiconductor charge-collecting junction with electron-hole-pair generating charged particles at a first junction bias voltage. The bias voltage is then reduced to a second level in order to reduce the depth of the depletion region such that the total charge can no longer be collected by drift and measured in the energy band previously displayed in the multichannel analyzer. This is representative of the maximum electric field funnelling length which may be calculated by measuring the difference at the second bias voltage level of the depletion width and the ion penetration range. The bias voltage is further lowered to a third level at which the particles are collected over a spread of energy levels while at least some of the particles are still collected at the selected energy level. From this the different depths of penetration of the particles are determined while additional effects due to diffusion are minimized.

Zoutendyk, John A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A scaling law for accretion zone sizes

Current theories of runaway planetary accretion require small random velocities of the accreted particles. Two body gravitational accretion cross sections which ignore tidal perturbations of the Sun are not valid for the slow encounters which occur at low relative velocities. Wetherill and Cox have studied accretion cross sections for rocky protoplanets orbiting at 1 AU. Using analytic methods based on Hill's lunar theory, one can scale these results for protoplanets that occupy the same fraction of their Hill sphere as does a rocky body at 1 AU. Generalization to bodies of different sizes is achieved here by numerical integrations of the three-body problem. Starting at initial positions far from the accreting body, test particles are allowed to encounter the body once, and the cross section is computed. A power law is found relating the cross section to the radius of the accreting body (of fixed mass).

Greenzweig, Yuval↗

NASA NTRS2008

John F. Kennedy Space Center's Technology Development and Application 2006-2007 Report

Topics covered include: Reversible Chemochromic Hydrogen Detectors; Determining Trajectory of Triboelectrically Charged Particles, Using Discrete Element Modeling; Using Indium Tin Oxide To Mitigate Dust on Viewing Ports; High-Performance Polyimide Powder Coatings; Controlled-Release Microcapsules for Smart Coatings for Corrosion Applications; Aerocoat 7 Replacement Coatings; Photocatalytic Coatings for Exploration and Spaceport Design; New Materials for the Repair of Polyimide Electrical Wire Insulation; Commodity-Free Calibration; Novel Ice Mitigation Methods; Crack Offset Measurement With the Projected Laser Target Device; New Materials for Structural Composites and Protective Coatings; Fire Chemistry Testing of Spray-On Foam Insulation (SOFI); Using Aerogel-Based Insulation Material To Prevent Foam Loss on the Liquid-Hydrogen Intertank; Particle Ejection and Levitation Technology (PELT); Electrostatic Characterization of Lunar Dust; Numerical Analysis of Rocket Exhaust Cratering; RESOLVE Projects: Lunar Water Resource Demonstration and Regolith Volatile Characterization; Tribocharging Lunar Soil for Electrostatic Beneficiation; Numerically Modeling the Erosion of Lunar Soil by Rocket Exhaust Plumes; Trajectory Model of Lunar Dust Particles; Using Lunar Module Shadows To Scale the Effects of Rocket Exhaust Plumes; Predicting the Acoustic Environment Induced by the Launch of the Ares I Vehicle; Measuring Ultrasonic Acoustic Velocity in a Thin Sheet of Graphite Epoxy Composite; Hail Size Distribution Mapping; Launch Pad 39 Hail Monitor Array System; Autonomous Flight Safety System - Phase III; The Photogrammetry Cube; Bird Vision System; Automating Range Surveillance Through Radio Interferometry and Field Strength Mapping Techniques; Next-Generation Telemetry Workstation; GPS Metric Tracking Unit; and Space-Based Range.

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NASA NTRS2018

High Strength Ceramic Fibers and Methods of Fabrication

A method and apparatus for forming a plurality of fibers from (e.g., CVD) precursors, including a reactor adapted to grow a plurality of individual fibers; and a plurality of independently controllable lasers, each laser of the plurality of lasers growing a respective fiber. A high performance fiber (HPF) structure, including a plurality of fibers arranged in the structure; a matrix disposed between the fibers; wherein a multilayer coating is provided along the surfaces of at least some of the fibers with an inner layer region having a sheet-like strength; and an outer layer region, having a particle-like strength, such that any cracks propagating toward the outer layer from the matrix propagate along the outer layer and back into the matrix, thereby preventing the cracks from approaching the fibers. A method of forming an interphase in a ceramic matrix composite material having a plurality of SiC fibers, which maximizes toughness by minimizing fiber to fiber bridging, including arranging a plurality of SiC fibers into a preform; selectively removing (e.g., etching) silicon out of the surface of the fibers resulting in a porous carbon layer on the fibers; and replacing the porous carbon layer with an interphase layer (e.g., Boron Nitride), which coats the fibers to thereby minimize fiber to fiber bridging in the preform.

Pegna, Joseph↗

NASA NTRS1993

Composition and modal frequencies of hypervelocity particles less than 1 millimeter in diameter in low-Earth orbit

We have continued to systematically analyze the projectile residues associated with hypervelocity impact features on the surfaces of the 'Chemistry of Micrometeoroid Experiment' (CME) that was in low-Earth orbit (LEO) for 5.7 years aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). Last year we reported on the systematic analysis, via SEM-EDX methods, of all craters greater than 20 microns in diameter on the collectors from LDEF's trailing edge and approximately 200 craters greater than 75 microns in diameter from the aluminum 1100 substrates from the forward-facing surfaces. This latter group represents less than 20 percent of all craters on the A11 collectors, because the particle flux is substantially higher for the forward-facing orientations relative to the trailing-edge surfaces. To date, we have analyzed some 600 craters on the A11 aluminum collectors, yet this report summarizes only 400 features, because not all of the results have been completely reduced and entered into our database.

Bernhard, R. P.↗

NASA NTRS1989

The computation of thermo-chemical nonequilibrium hypersonic flows

Several conceptual designs for vehicles that would fly in the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds have been developed recently. For the proposed flight conditions the air in the shock layer that envelops the body is at a sufficiently high temperature to cause chemical reaction, vibrational excitation, and ionization. However, these processes occur at finite rates which, when coupled with large convection speeds, cause the gas to be removed from thermo-chemical equilibrium. This non-ideal behavior affects the aerothermal loading on the vehicle and has ramifications in its design. A numerical method to solve the equations that describe these types of flows in 2-D was developed. The state of the gas is represented with seven chemical species, a separate vibrational temperature for each diatomic species, an electron translational temperature, and a mass-average translational-rotational temperature for the heavy particles. The equations for this gas model are solved numerically in a fully coupled fashion using an implicit finite volume time-marching technique. Gauss-Seidel line-relaxation is used to reduce the cost of the solution and flux-dependent differencing is employed to maintain stability. The numerical method was tested against several experiments. The calculated bow shock wave detachment on a sphere and two cones was compared to those measured in ground testing facilities. The computed peak electron number density on a sphere-cone was compared to that measured in a flight test. In each case the results from the numerical method were in excellent agreement with experiment. The technique was used to predict the aerothermal loads on an Aeroassisted Orbital Transfer Vehicle including radiative heating. These results indicate that the current physical model of high temperature air is appropriate and that the numerical algorithm is capable of treating this class of flows.

Candler, Graham↗

NASA NTRS2016

Comparison of Quantum Mechanical and Empirical Potential Energy Surfaces and Computed Rate Coefficients for N2 Dissociation

Physics-based modeling of hypersonic flows is predicated on the availability of chemical reaction rate coefficients and cross sections for the collisional processes. This approach has been built around the use of quantum mechanical calculations to describe the interaction between the colliding particles. In this approach a potential energy surface (PES) is computed by solving the electronic Schrödinger equation and collision cross sections are determined for that PES using classical, semiclassical or quantum mechanical scattering methods. The rate coefficients are computed by integrating the thermally weighted cross sections. State-to-state rate coefficients are determined by only integrating over a thermal distribution of collisional energies. Finally, thermal rate coefficients are determined by summation of the state-to-state rate coefficients for reactions of molecules in all relevant ro-vibrational energy levels. If the flow is in thermal non-equilibrium, the translational, vibrational and rotational energy modes can be represented in different ways: three unique temperatures can be used to describe the distributions, the populations of individual ro-vibrational energy levels can be determined by solving the Master Equation, or through the use of direct simulation in particle-based Monte Carlo sampling. The PES-to-rate coefficient approach had been proposed and attempted in the early days of digital computing, but it is only in the last 15 years that computer hardware and software have been up to the task of calculating accurate interatomic and intermolecular potentials.

Jaffe, Richard L.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Method and apparatus for neutralizing potentials induced on spacecraft surfaces

A potential induced on the surface of an orbiting spacecraft is neutralized to the potential of a plasma through which the spacecraft is traveling by directing charged particles into the plasma from the spacecraft surface. The induced potential occurs in response to bombardment of the spacecraft surface by ambient charged particles which may be negative or positive. The charged particles directed into the plasma from the surface have the same polarity as the induced potential to provide the neutralization. The invention can be utilized to maintain different, electrically isolated segments of a spacecraft surface at the same potential to prevent electric discharges between the different parts and thereby protect electric circuits within the spacecraft.

Hunter, R. E.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Method of forming silicon structures with selectable optical characteristics

Silicon and metal are coevaporated onto a silicon substrate in a molecular beam epitaxy system with a larger than stoichiometric amount of silicon so as to epitaxially grow particles of metal silicide embedded in a matrix of single crystal epitaxially grown silicon. The particles interact with incident photons by resonant optical absorption at the surface plasmon resonance frequency. Controlling the substrate temperature and deposition rate and time allows the aspect ratio of the particles to be tailored to desired wavelength photons and polarizations. The plasmon energy may decay as excited charge carriers or phonons, either of which can be monitored to indicate the amount of incident radiation at the selected frequency and polarization.

Fathauer, Robert W.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Particle kinetic simulation of high altitude hypervelocity flight

Rarefied flows about hypersonic vehicles entering the upper atmosphere or through nozzles expanding into a near vacuum may only be simulated accurately with a direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Under this grant, researchers enhanced the models employed in the DSMC method and performed simulations in support of existing NASA projects or missions. DSMC models were developed and validated for simulating rotational, vibrational, and chemical relaxation in high-temperature flows, including effects of quantized anharmonic oscillators and temperature-dependent relaxation rates. State-of-the-art advancements were made in simulating coupled vibration-dissociation recombination for post-shock flows. Models were also developed to compute vehicle surface temperatures directly in the code rather than requiring isothermal estimates. These codes were instrumental in simulating aerobraking of NASA's Magellan spacecraft during orbital maneuvers to assess heat transfer and aerodynamic properties of the delicate satellite. NASA also depended upon simulations of entry of the Galileo probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter to provide drag and flow field information essential for accurate interpretation of an onboard experiment. Finally, the codes have been used extensively to simulate expanding nozzle flows in low-power thrusters in support of propulsion activities at NASA-Lewis. Detailed comparisons between continuum calculations and DSMC results helped to quantify the limitations of continuum CFD codes in rarefied applications.

Boyd, Iain↗

NASA NTRS1994

Particle kinetic simulation of high altitude hypervelocity flight

Rarefied flows about hypersonic vehicles entering the upper atmosphere or through nozzles expanding into a near vacuum may only be simulated accurately with a direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Under this grant, researchers enhanced the models employed in the DSMC method and performed simulations in support of existing NASA projects or missions. DSMC models were developed and validated for simulating rotational, vibrational, and chemical relaxation in high-temperature flows, including effects of quantized anharmonic oscillators and temperature-dependent relaxation rates. State-of-the-art advancements were made in simulating coupled vibration - dissociation - recombination for post-shock flows. Models were also developed to compute vehicle surface temperatures directly in the code rather than requiring isothermal estimates. These codes were instrumental in simulating aerobraking of NASA's Magellan spacecraft during orbital maneuvers to assess heat transfer and aerodynamic properties of the delicate satellite. NASA also depended upon simulations of entry of the Galileo probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter to provide drag and flow field information essential for accurate interpretation of an onboard experiment. Finally, the codes have been used extensively to simulate expanding nozzle flows in low-power thrusters in support of propulsion activities at NASA-Lewis. Detailed comparisons between continuum calculations and DSMC results helped to quantify the limitations of continuum CFD codes in rarefied applications.

Boyd, Iain↗

NASA NTRS1974

Dustsonde and lidar measurements of stratospheric aerosols - A comparison

Comparison of lidar and in situ measurements of stratospheric aerosol profiles obtained by backscattered ruby laser light and by direct in situ sampling over Laramie, Wyoming, on two nights in mid-September 1972. The lidar backscattering and the particle number density profiles correlated well. Based on these initial comparative experiments, the ground-based lidar coupled with temperature soundings appears to be a possible method for determining the relative aerosol profile under given stratospheric loading conditions.

Northam, G. B.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Eigenfunctions of the magnetospheric radial-diffusion operator

The applicability of eigenfunction methods to the theory of magnetospheric radial diffusion is investigated analytically, with a focus on the operator (Lambda) for radiation-belt and ring-current particles. It is shown that the eigenfunctions of Lambda can be expressed in terms of a linear combination of ordinary Bessel functions of the first and second kinds, and that the solution for the drift-averaged phase-space density can be expressed as the sum of a quasi-static solution and a time-dependent superposition of the eigenfunctions of Lambda. Results for illustrative and practical sample problems are presented in extensive tables and graphs and discussed in detail.

Schulz, Michael↗

NASA NTRS1988

Light scattering of large rough particles application to cometary grains

While the electromagnetic field scattered by a spherical particle is classically obtained by the Helmholtz equation, the general case of an arbitrary particle may be investigated in the general framework of the interaction of a wave with a scattering potential. A wave function then satisfies the Schroedinger equation. The general solution of the Schroedinger equation is given. The main disadvantage of this approach are its restriction to large particles and its scalar nature preventing the calculation of the polarization. However, Perrin and Lamy have shown how to avoid the second limitation and retrieve a vectorial description. They proved that in the case of large spheres when the ad hoc assumptions are satisfied, the expression of the scattering amplitude may be approximated by an expansion series in partial waves, i.e., on a discrete basis. The analogy may be generalized, and the ratio of the two components for a rough particle obtained by taking the ratio of the reflectivities for the two directions of polarization. These reflectivities involve the simple and double reflections calculated following the method developed by Wolff for rough surfaces. The theory is further detailed.

Lamy, Philippe L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Calculation of two-neutron multiplicity in photonuclear reactions

The most important particle emission processes for electromagnetic excitations in nucleus-nucleus collisions are the ejection of single neutrons and protons and also pairs of neutrons and protons. Methods are presented for calculating two-neutron emission cross sections in photonuclear reactions. The results are in a form suitable for application to nucleus-nucleus reactions.

Norbury, John W.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Calculation of two-neutron multiplicity in photonuclear reactions

Norbury, John W.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Removal of orbital debris

The several methods presently identified for the reduction of orbital debris populations are broadly classifiable as either preventive or remedial, and fall within distinctive operational regimes. For all particles, (1) in the 250-2000-km altitude band, intelligent sweepers may be used; (2) for large objects, in the 80-250-km altitude band, orbital decay renders removal impractical; (3) for the 250-750-km altitude band, deorbit devices should be used; (4) for 750-2500-km altitude, OMV rendezvous for propulsive deorbit package attachment is foreseeable; and beyond 2500 km, (5) propulsive escape from earth orbit is required.

Petro, Andrew J.↗