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At least 1,693 records · Page 94

Extrusion process optimization for toughness in balloon films

An experimental optimization process for blown film extrusion is described and examined in terms of the effects of the technique on the toughness of balloon films. The optimization technique by Cantor (1990) is employed which involves the identification of key process variables including screw speed, nip speed, bubble diameter, and frost-line height for analysis to optimize the merit function. The procedure is employed in the extrusion of a low-density polyethylene polymer, and the resulting optimized materials are toughness- and puncture-tested. Balloon toughness is optimized in the analytical relationship, and the process parameters are modified to attain optimal toughness. The film produced is shown to have an average toughness of 24.5 MPa which is a good value for this key property of balloon materials for high-altitude flights.

Cantor, K. M.↗

Autonomous Modal Identification of the Space Shuttle Tail Rudder

Autonomous modal identification automates the calculation of natural vibration frequencies, damping, and mode shapes of a structure from experimental data. This technology complements damage detection techniques that use continuous or periodic monitoring of vibration characteristics. The approach shown in the paper incorporates the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA) as a data analysis engine and an autonomous supervisor to condense multiple estimates of modal parameters using ERA's Consistent-Mode Indicator and correlation of mode shapes. The procedure was applied to free-decay responses of a Space Shuttle tail rudder and successfully identified the seven modes of the structure below 250 Hz. The final modal parameters are a condensed set of results for 87 individual ERA cases requiring approximately five minutes of CPU time on a DEC Alpha computer.

Pappa, Richard S.↗

Safe Use of Hydrogen and Hydrogen Systems

This is a viewgraph presentation that is a course for teaching the safe use of hydrogen. The objectives of the course are 1. To familiarize the student with H2 safety properties 2. To enable the identification, evaluations and addressing of H2 system hazards 3. To teach: a. Safe practices for, b. Design, c. Materials selection, d. H2 system operation, e. Physical principles and empirical observations on which these safe practices are based, f. How to respond to emergency situations involving H2, g How to visualize safety concepts through in-class exercises, h. Identify numerous parameters important to H2 safety.

Maes, Miguel↗

Reconstruction of the shuttle reentry air data parameters using a linearized Kalman filter

This paper presents the reconstruction of the space shuttle's wind-relative reentry trajectory for the orbital flights. The technique uses a linearized Kalman filter (LKF) to merge highand low-frequency inertial and wind-relative data to obtain enhanced high-frequency results that closely follow expected mean levels. Two verifications are presented. First, wind trajectories resulting from the reconstruction are compared with analytically predicted values. There is close comparison. Second, the frequency characteristics are investigated using system identification techniques. The stability and control model generated using the LKF trajectory shows good agreement between measured and predicted spacecraft response for both high and low frequencies.

Whitmore, S. A.↗

Criteria for Realizing Room-Temperature Electrical Transport Applications of Topological Materials

The unusual electronic states found in topological materials can enable a new generation of devices and technologies, yet a long-standing challenge has been finding materials without deleterious parallel bulk conduction. This can arise either from defects or thermally activated carriers. In this study, the criteria that materials need to meet to realize transport properties dominated by the topological states, a necessity for a topological device, are clarified. This is demonstrated for 3D topological insulators, 3D Dirac materials, and 1D quantum anomalous Hall insulators, though this can be applied to similar systems. The key parameters are electronic bandgap, dielectric constant, and carrier effective mass, which dictate under what circumstances (defect density, temperature, etc.) the unwanted bulk state will conduct in parallel to the topological states. As these are fundamentally determined by the basic atomic properties, simple chemical arguments can be used to navigate the phase space to ultimately find improved materials. This will enable rapid identification of new systems with improved properties, which is crucial to designing new material systems and push a new generation of topological technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral line catalogue

A computer accessible catalogue of submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral lines in the frequency range between O and 3000 GHz (such as; wavelengths longer than 100 m) is discussed. The catalogue was used as a planning guide and as an aid in the identification and analysis of observed spectral lines. The information listed for each spectral line includes the frequency and its estimated error, the intensity, lower state energy, and quantum number assignment. The catalogue was constructed by using theoretical least squares fits of published spectral lines to accepted molecular models. The associated predictions and their estimated errors are based upon the resultant fitted parameters and their covariances.

Poynter, R. L.↗

Submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral line catalogue

A computer accessible catalogue of submillimeter, millimeter and microwave spectral lines in the frequency range between 0 and 3000 GHZ (i.e., wavelengths longer than 100 mu m) is presented which can be used a planning guide or as an aid in the identification and analysis of observed spectral lines. The information listed for each spectral line includes the frequency and its estimated error, the intensity, lower state energy, and quantum number assignment. The catalogue was constructed by using theoretical least squares fits of published spectral lines to accepted molecular models. The associated predictions and their estimated errors are based upon the resultant fitted parameters and their covariances. Future versions of this catalogue will add more atoms and molecules and update the present listings (133 species) as new data appear. The catalogue is available as a magnetic tape recorded in card images and as a set of microfiche records.

Poynter, R. L.↗

Submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral line catalogue

This report describes a computer accessible catalogue of submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral lines in the frequency range between 0 and 10000 GHz (i.e., wavelengths longer than 30 micrometers). The catalogue can be used as a planning guide or as an aid in the identification and analysis of observed spectral lines. The information listed for each spectral line includes the frequency and its estimated error, the intensity, lower state energy, and quantum number assignment. The catalogue has been constructed using theoretical least squares fits of published spectral lines to accepted molecular models. The associated predictions and their estimated errors are based upon the resultant fitted parameters and their covariances. Future versions of this catalogue will add more atoms and molecules and update the present listings (151 species) as new data appear. The catalogue is available from the authors as a magnetic tape recorded in card images and as a set of microfiche records.

Poynter, R. L.↗

Submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral line catalog

This report describes a computer accessible catalogue of submillimeter, millimeter, and microwave spectral lines in the frequency range between 0 and 10000 GHz (i.e., wavelengths longer than 30 micrometers). The catalogue can be used as a planning guide or as an aid in the identification and analysis of observed spectral lines. The information listed for each spectral line includes the frequency and its estimated error, the intensity, lower state energy, and quantum number assignment. The catalogue has been constructed using theoretical least squares fits of published spectral lines to accepted molecular models. The associated predictions and their estimated errors are based upon the resultant fitted parameters and their covariances. Future versions of this catalogue will add more atoms and molecules and update the present listings (151 species) as new data appear. The catalogue is available from the authors as a magnetic tape recorded in card images and as a set of microfiche records.

Poynter, R. L.↗

Identification of linear systems by an asymptotically stable observer

A formulation is presented for the identification of a linear multivariable system from single or multiple sets of input-output data. The system input-output relationship is expressed in terms of an observer, which is made asymptotically stable by an embedded eigenvalue assignment procedure. The prescribed eigenvalues for the observer may be real, complex, mixed real and complex, or zero. In this formulation, the Markov parameters of the observer are identified from input-output data. The Markov parameters of the actual system are then recovered from those of the observer and used to obtain a state space model of the system by standard realization techniques. The basic mathematical formulation is derived, and extensive numerical examples using simulated noise-free data are presented to illustrate the proposed method.

Phan, Minh Q.↗

Non-Contact Thermal Characterization of NASA's HERMeS Hall Thruster

The Thermal Characterization Test of NASAs 12.5-kW Hall thruster is being completed. This thruster is being developed to support of a number of potential Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission concepts, including the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission concept. As a part of this test, an infrared-based, non-contact thermal imaging system was developed to measure Hall thruster surfaces that are exposed to high voltage or harsh environment. To increase the accuracy of the measurement, a calibration array was implemented, and a pilot test was performed to determine key design parameters for the calibration array. The raw data is analyzed in conjunction with a simplified thermal model of the channel to account for reflection. The reduced data will be used to refine the thruster thermal model, which is critical to the verification of the thruster thermal specifications. The present paper will give an overview of the decision process that led to identification of the need for a non-contact temperature diagnostic, the development of said diagnostic, the measurement results, and the simplified thermal model of the channel.

Electric Propulsion↗

Sampling and Analysis Plan for Investigation of Undeclared Nuclear Activities - 20104

The nuclear-centered energy policy in South Korea is moving towards a nuclear-free era. It also facilitates an action or progress on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) launched a new R and D project which attempts to verify nuclear activities via analyzing environmental samples. Environmental samples possibly contain significant radiological information relevant to past undeclared activities. In order to precisely verify them, it is essential to provide 1) the concrete information of target facilities, 2) appropriate methodologies and procedures, and 3) well-suited instrumentation and equipment corresponding to sample signatures. It is also important to provide scientific reliability or validity in any process such as sample collection, handling, transportation and laboratory analysis. Therefore, the information of nuclear facilities (fuel fabrication plant, graphite moderated reactor, reprocessing plant) in North Korea are reviewed in order to determine parameters for appropriate sampling methods representing a facility's characteristics. Secondly, a sampling procedure for radioactive elements is being developed based on international and domestic standards such as ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), KS (Korean industrial Standards), and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) manuals. The procedure contains some specific information including sampling process, sampling tools, amount of sample, sample identification, and other related information. Developing the qualified national guidelines is most important since sampling and analyzing results can be used as evidences of nuclear activities. The guideline developed through this work will clearly define various methodologies such as document verification, sampling procedures, collection methods, sample storage criteria, chain of custody, and transportation conditions. The final objective of this work is to establish the infrastructure and regulatory framework for assessment of nuclear activities, and provide a national guideline for sampling and analysis. This will bring confidence in the results and play a critical role in complete denuclearization progress in South Korea. (authors)

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

The forward-backward asymmetry and differences of partial moments in inclusive semileptonic $B$ decays

Global fits to moments of kinematic distributions measured in inclusive semileptonic B\rightarrow X_c l \nu_l B → X c l ν l enable the determination of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element \left|V_{cb}\right| | V c b | together with non-perturbative matrix elements of the heavy quark expansion. In current fits, only two distinct kinematic distributions are employed and, as a consequence, higher moments of these distributions need to be taken into account to extract the relevant non-perturbative matrix elements. The moments of a given distribution are highly correlated and experimental uncertainties increase for higher moments. To address these issues, Turczyk suggested the inclusion of the charged lepton forward-backward asymmetry \mathcal{A}_{FB} 𝒜 F B in global fits, since it provides information on non-perturbative parameters beyond the commonly used moments. It is possible to construct differences of partial moments of kinematic distributions, which can provide additional information on the non-perturbative parameters beyond \mathcal{A}_{FB} 𝒜 F B and are studied in this work for the first time. Further, experimental cuts on the four-momentum transfer square are studied and are shown to preserve the shape of the angular distribution, in contrast to commonly used cuts on the lepton energy. Finally, the impact of final-state radiation and experimental lepton identification requirements on measurements of \mathcal{A}_{FB} 𝒜 F B and differences of partial moments are discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Institutional and environmental aspects of geothermal energy development

Until recently, the majority of work in geothermal energy development has been devoted to technical considerations of resource identification and extraction technologies. The increasing interest in exploiting the variety of geothermal resources has prompted an examination of the institutional barriers to their introduction for commercial use. A significant effort was undertaken by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a part of a national study to identify existing constraints to geothermal development and possible remedial actions. These aspects included legislative and legal parameters plus environmental, social, and economic considerations.

Citron, O. R.↗

Detection, Identification, Location, and Remote Sensing Using SAW RFID Sensor Tags

The Electromagnetic Systems Branch (EV4) of the Avionic Systems Division at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX is studying the utility of surface acoustic wave (SAW) radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags for multiple wireless applications including detection, identification, tracking, and remote sensing of objects on the lunar surface, monitoring of environmental test facilities, structural shape and health monitoring, and nondestructive test and evaluation of assets. For all of these applications, it is anticipated that the system utilized to interrogate the SAW RFID tags may need to operate at fairly long range and in the presence of considerable multipath and multiple-access interference. Towards that end, EV4 is developing a prototype SAW RFID wireless interrogation system for use in such environments called the Passive Adaptive RFID Sensor Equipment (PARSED) system. The system utilizes a digitally beam-formed planar receiving antenna array to extend range and provide direction-of-arrival information coupled with an approximate maximum-likelihood signal processing algorithm to provide near-optimal estimation of both range and temperature. The system is capable of forming a large number of beams within the field of view and resolving the information from several tags within each beam. The combination of both spatial and waveform discrimination provides the capability to track and monitor telemetry from a large number of objects appearing simultaneously within the field of view of the receiving array. In this paper, we will consider the application of the PARSEQ system to the problem of simultaneous detection, identification, localization, and temperature estimation for multiple objects. We will summarize the overall design of the PARSEQ system and present a detailed description of the design and performance of the signal detection and estimation algorithms incorporated in the system. The system is currently configured only to measure temperature (jointly with range and tag ID), but future versions will be revised to measure parameters other than temperature as SAW tags capable of interfacing with external sensors become available. It is anticipated that the estimation of arbitrary parameters measured using SAW-based sensors will be based on techniques very similar to the joint range and temperature estimation techniques described in this paper.

Barton, Richard J.↗

High Voltage EEE Parts for EMA/EHA Applications on Manned Launch Vehicles

The objective of this paper is an assessment of high voltage electronic components required for high horsepower electric thrust vector control (TVC) systems for human spaceflight launch critical application. The scope consists of creating of a database of available Grade 1 electrical, electronic and electromechanical (EEE) parts suited to this application, a qualification path for potential non-Grade 1 EEE parts that could be used in these designs, and pathfinder testing to validate aspects of the proposed qualification plan. Advances in the state of the art in high power electric power systems enable high horsepower electric actuators, such as the electromechnical actuator (EMA) and the electro-hydrostatic actuator (EHA), to be used in launch vehicle TVC systems, dramaticly reducing weight, complexity and operating costs. Designs typically use high voltage insulated gate bipolar transistors (HV-IGBT). However, no Grade 1 HV-IGBT exists and it is unlikely that market factors alone will produce such high quality parts. Furthermore, the perception of risk, the lack of qualification methodoloy, the absence of manned space flight heritage and other barriers impede the adoption of commercial grade parts onto the critical path. The method of approach is to identify high voltage electronic component types and key parameters for parts currently used in high horsepower EMA/EHA applications, to search for higher quality substitutes and custom manufacturers, to create a database for these parts, and then to explore ways to qualify these parts for use in human spaceflight launch critical application, including grossly derating and possibly treating hybrid parts as modules. This effort is ongoing, but results thus far include identification of over 60 HV-IGBT from four manufacturers, including some with a high reliability process flow. Voltage ranges for HV-IGBT have been identified, as has screening tests used to characterize HV-IGBT. BSI BS ISO 21350 Space systems Off-the-shelf item utilization, developed from Marshall Work Instruction MWI8060.1 OFF-THE-SHELF HARDWARE UTILIZATION IN FLIGHT HARDWARE DEVELOPMENTwas found to provide guidance for including commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware for use in critical applications.

Griffin, Trent↗

Tool for Automated Retrieval of Generic Event Tracks (TARGET)

Methods have been developed to identify and track tornado-producing mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) automatically over the continental United States, in order to facilitate systematic studies of these powerful and often destructive events. Several data sources were combined to ensure event identification accuracy. Records of watches and warnings issued by National Weather Service (NWS), and tornado locations and tracks from the Tornado History Project (THP) were used to locate MCSs in high-resolution precipitation observations and GOES infrared (11-micron) Rapid Scan Operation (RSO) imagery. Thresholds are then applied to the latter two data sets to define MCS events and track their developments. MCSs produce a broad range of severe convective weather events that are significantly affecting the living conditions of the populations exposed to them. Understanding how MCSs grow and develop could help scientists improve their weather prediction models, and also provide tools to decision-makers whose goals are to protect populations and their property. Associating storm cells across frames of remotely sensed images poses a difficult problem because storms evolve, split, and merge. Any storm-tracking method should include the following processes: storm identification, storm tracking, and quantification of storm intensity and activity. The spatiotemporal coordinates of the tracks will enable researchers to obtain other coincident observations to conduct more thorough studies of these events. In addition to their tracked locations, their areal extents, precipitation intensities, and accumulations all as functions of their evolutions in time were also obtained and recorded for these events. All parameters so derived can be catalogued into a moving object database (MODB) for custom queries. The purpose of this software is to provide a generalized, cross-platform, pluggable tool for identifying events within a set of scientific data based upon specified criteria with the possibility of storing identified events into a searchable database. The core of the application uses an implementation of the connected component labeling (CCL) algorithm to identify areas of interest, then uses a set of criteria to establish spatial and temporal relationships between identified components. The CCL algorithm is used for identifying objects within images for computer vision. This application applies it to scientific data sets using arbitrary criteria. The most novel concept was applying a generalized CCL implementation to scientific data sets for establishing events both spatially and temporally. The combination of several existing concepts (pluggable components, generalized CCL algorithm, etc.) into one application is also novel. In addition, how the system is designed, i.e., its extensibility with pluggable components, and its configurability with a simple configuration file, is innovative. This allows the system to be applied to new scenarios with ease.

Clune, Thomas↗

Identification of O-rich structures on platinum(111)-supported ultrathin iron oxide films

Using high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) we have studied the oxidation of ultrathin FeO films grown on Pt(111). At the initial stage of the FeO film oxidation by atomic oxygen exposure, we identified three distinct types of line defects, all of which form boundaries between FeO domains of opposite orientation. Two types of line defects appearing bright ( type-i ) and dark ( type-ii ) in the STM images at typical scanning parameters are “metallic”, whereas the third line defect exhibits nonmetallic behavior ( type-iii ). Atomic-scale structure models of these line defects are proposed, with type-i defects exhibiting 4-fold coordinated Fe atoms, type-ii exhibiting 2-fold coordinated O atoms, and type-iii exhibiting tetrahedrally-coordinated Fe atoms. In addition, FeO 2 trilayer islands are formed upon oxidation, which appear at FCC-type domains of the moiré structure. At high scanning bias, distinct protrusions on the trilayer islands are observed over surface O ions, which are assigned to H adatoms. The experimental data are supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, in which bare and hydroxylated FeO 2 trilayer islands are compared. Finally, we compare the formation of O-rich features on continuous FeO films using atomic oxygen with the oxidation of Pt(111)-supported FeO islands accomplished by O 2 exposure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗