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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

NASA uses Eclipse RCP Applications for Experiments on the International Space Station

Eclipse is going to space for the first time in 2013! The International Space Station (ISS) is used as a site for experiments any software developed as part of these experiments has to comply with extensive and strict user interface guidelines. NASA Ames Research Center's Intelligent Robotics Group is doing 2 sets of experiments, both with astronauts using Eclipse RCP applications to remotely control robots. One experiment will control SPHERES with an Android Smartphone on the ISS the other experiment will control a K10 rover on Earth.

Cohen, Tamar↗
NASA NTRS2017

Evolving Understanding of Antarctic Ice-Sheet Physics and Ambiguity in Probabilistic Sea-Level Projections

Mechanisms such as ice-shelf hydrofracturing and ice-cliff collapse may rapidly increase discharge from marine-based ice sheets. Here, we link a probabilistic framework for sea-level projections to a small ensemble of Antarctic ice-sheet (AIS) simulations incorporating these physical processes to explore their influence on global-mean sea-level (GMSL) and relative sea-level (RSL). We compare the new projections to past results using expert assessment and structured expert elicitation about AIS changes. Under high greenhouse gas emissions (Representative Concentration Pathway [RCP] 8.5), median projected 21st century GMSL rise increases from 79 to 146 cm. Without protective measures, revised median RSL projections would by 2100 submerge land currently home to 153 million people, an increase of 44 million. The use of a physical model, rather than simple parameterizations assuming constant acceleration of ice loss, increases forcing sensitivity: overlap between the central 90% of simulations for 2100 for RCP 8.5 (93-243 cm) and RCP 2.6 (26-98 cm) is minimal. By 2300, the gap between median GMSL estimates for RCP 8.5 and RCP 2.6 reaches >10 m, with median RSL projections for RCP 8.5 jeopardizing land now occupied by 950 million people (versus 167 million for RCP 2.6). The minimal correlation between the contribution of AIS to GMSL by 2050 and that in 2100 and beyond implies current sea-level observations cannot exclude future extreme outcomes. The sensitivity of post-2050 projections to deeply uncertain physics highlights the need for robust decision and adaptive management frameworks.

Kopp, Robert E.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Inputs to GCAM-USA: IM3 Phase 2 Experiments

Overview This dataset contains XML input files for the IM3 Phase 2 version of GCAM-USA. The files are organized into two categories: Scenario-specific inputs represent hydroclimate and socioeconomic effects on water availability, heating and cooling degree-hours, and agricultural productivity. They support eight IM3 canonical scenarios: rcp45cooler_ssp3 rcp45cooler_ssp5 rcp45hotter_ssp3 rcp45hotter_ssp5 rcp85cooler_ssp3 rcp85cooler_ssp5 rcp85hotter_ssp3 rcp85hotter_ssp5 Model-improvement inputs extend GCAM-USA v5.3 with updated representations of coal and nuclear power plant retirements, electricity trade among U.S. interconnections, offshore carbon storage costs, and groundwater depletion constraints. Data structure Scenario-specific inputs rcp45_runoff/ and rcp85_runoff/XML files describing water availability by HUC2 basin under the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. rcp45_hdcd/ and rcp85_hdcd/XML files containing monthly-day and monthly-night heating and cooling degree-hours at the U.S. state level for different RCP-SSP combinations. rcp45_agyields/ and rcp85_agyields/XML files describing changes in agricultural productivity at the intersection of GCAM regions and HUC2 water basins for different RCP-SSP combinations. rcp45_emissions_pathway/The emissions-constraint XML file used to represent the RCP 4.5 pathway. Model-improvement inputs core_retire/Updates coal-fired power plant retirement schedules based on New England ISO. GCAMUSA_IM3_elec_trade_interconnect.xmlRestricts electricity trade to occur within the ERCOT, WECC, and IE interconnections. nuclear_USA.xmlUpdates the retirement schedules of the Diablo Canyon and Palisades nuclear power plants. high_cost_offshore_carbon.xmlUpdates the assumed cost of offshore carbon storage. water_supply_constrained_gleeson_5pct.xmlReplaces WaterGAP historical groundwater-depletion estimates with data from the Gleeson dataset and limits groundwater extraction to 5% of the available groundwater in each Superwell grid cell. How to use the data This dataset is designed for use with the IM3 version of GCAM-USA. Download or clone GCAM-USA from the IM3 GCAM GitHub repository at https://github.com/IMMM-SFA/gcam-core and check out the gcam-usa-im3 branch. Place the downloaded folder im3scenarios in the gcam-core/input directory while preserving the provided folder structure.

Energy↗
DOE OSTI2025

Reversible Ferroelectric Polarization Modulation of Chiral Molecular Ferroelectrics by Circularly Polarized Light

Abstract The optical modulation of ferroelectric polarization constitutes a transformative, non‐contact strategy for the precise manipulation of ferroelectric properties, heralding advancements in optically stimulated ferroelectric devices. Despite its potential, progress in this domain is constrained by material limitations and the intricate nature of the underlying mechanisms. Recent studies have achieved efficient regulation of ferroelectric polarization and thermal conductivity in chiral ferroelectric thin films through the application of left‐ and right‐handed circularly polarized light (LCP and RCP). Differential absorption of circularly polarized light (CPL) induces nonequilibrium carrier dynamics, generating distinctive interfacial electrostatic fields that enable precise control of ultrathin ferroelectric films. For (R)‐BINOL−DIPASi and (S)‐BINOL−DIPASi (C 26 H 26 O 2 Si), polarization changes surpass 23%, exhibiting opposite response under LCP and RCP excitation. In R chiral films, remnant polarization decreases from 1.05 µC cm − 2 under LCP to 0.85 µC cm − 2 under RCP, whereas in S chiral films, polarization increases from 0.85 µC cm − 2 under LCP to 0.98 µC cm − 2 under RCP. This reversible modulation facilitates reliable switching between ON and OFF states, presenting the potential of chiral ferroelectric materials for flexible, high‐speed integrated photonic sensor technologies.

Chemistry↗
NASA NTRS2015

Joint Projections of US East Coast Sea Level and Storm Surge

Future coastal flood risk will be strongly influenced by sea-level rise (SLR) and changes in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. These two factors are generally considered independently. Here, we assess twenty-first century changes in the coastal hazard for the US East Coast using a flood index (FI) that accounts for changes in flood duration and magnitude driven by SLR and changes in power dissipation index (PDI, an integrated measure of tropical cyclone intensity, frequency and duration). Sea-level rise and PDI are derived from representative concentration pathway (RCP) simulations of 15 atmosphere- ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs). By 2080-2099, projected changes in the FI relative to 1986-2005 are substantial and positively skewed: a 10th-90th percentile range 4-75 times higher for RCP 2.6 and 35-350 times higher for RCP 8.5. High-end Fl projections are driven by three AOGCMs that project the largest increases in SLR, PDI and upper ocean temperatures. Changes in PDI are particularly influential if their intra-model correlation with SLR is included, increasing the RCP 8.5 90th percentile FI by a further 25%. Sea-level rise from other, possibly correlated, climate processes (for example, ice sheet and glacier mass changes) will further increase coastal flood risk and should be accounted for in comprehensive assessments.

cyclones↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Digital Twin Framework Utilizing Machine Learning for Robust Predictive Maintenance: Enhancing Tire Health Monitoring

We introduce a novel digital twin (DT) framework for the predictive maintenance of long-term physical systems. Using monitoring tire health as an application, we show how the DT framework can be used to enhance automotive safety and efficiency, and how the technical challenges can be overcome using a three-step approach. First, to manage the data complexity over a long operation span, we employ data reduction techniques to concisely represent physical tires using historical performance and usage data. Relying on these data, for fast real-time prediction, we train a transformer-based model offline on our concise dataset to predict future tire health over time, represented as remaining casing potential (RCP). Based on our architecture, our model quantifies both epistemic and aleatoric uncertainties, providing reliable confidence intervals around predicted RCP. Second, to incorporate real-time data, we update the predictive model in the DT framework, ensuring its accuracy throughout its lifespan with the aid of hybrid modeling and the use of the discrepancy function. Third, to assist decision-making in predictive maintenance, we implement a tire state decision algorithm, which strategically determines the optimal timing for tire replacement based on RCP forecasted by our transformer model. This approach ensures that our DT accurately predicts system health, continually refines its digital representation, and supports predictive maintenance decisions. Furthermore, our framework effectively embodies a physical system, leveraging big data and machine learning (ML) for predictive maintenance, model updates, and decision-making.

advanced computing infrastructure↗
NASA NTRS1994

Formal design and verification of a reliable computing platform for real-time control (phase 3 results)

In this paper the design and formal verification of the lower levels of the Reliable Computing Platform (RCP), a fault-tolerant computing system for digital flight control applications, are presented. The RCP uses NMR-style redundancy to mask faults and internal majority voting to flush the effects of transient faults. Two new layers of the RCP hierarchy are introduced: the Minimal Voting refinement (DA_minv) of the Distributed Asynchronous (DA) model and the Local Executive (LE) Model. Both the DA_minv model and the LE model are specified formally and have been verified using the Ehdm verification system. All specifications and proofs are available electronically via the Internet using anonymous FTP or World Wide Web (WWW) access.

Butler, Ricky W.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Advanced Reference Counting Pointers for Better Performance

A computer program implements reference counting pointers (RCPs) that are lock-free, thread-safe, async-safe, and operational on a multiprocessor computer. RCPs are powerful and convenient means of managing heap memory in C++ software. Most prior RCP programs use locks to ensure thread safety and manage concurrency. The present program was developed in a continuing effort to explore ways of using the C++ programming language to develop safety-critical and mission- critical software. This effort includes exploration of lock-free algorithms because they offer potential to avoid some costly and difficult verification problems. Unlike previously published RCP software, the present program does not use locks (meaning that no thread can block progress on another thread): Instead, this program implements algorithms that exploit capabilities of central-processing- unit hardware so as to avoid locks. Once locks are eliminated, it becomes possible to realize the other attributes mentioned in the first sentence. In addition to the abovementioned attributes, this program offers several advantages over other RCP programs that use locks: It is smaller (and, hence, is faster and uses less memory), it is immune to priority inversion, and there is no way for it to cause a C++ exception.

Reinholtz, William↗
NASA NTRS2014

Collaborative WorkBench for Researchers - Work Smarter, Not Harder

It is important to define some commonly used terminology related to collaboration to facilitate clarity in later discussions. We define provisioning as infrastructure capabilities such as computation, storage, data, and tools provided by some agency or similarly trusted institution. Sharing is defined as the process of exchanging data, programs, and knowledge among individuals (often strangers) and groups. Collaboration is a specialized case of sharing. In collaboration, sharing with others (usually known colleagues) is done in pursuit of a common scientific goal or objective. Collaboration entails more dynamic and frequent interactions and can occur at different speeds. Synchronous collaboration occurs in real time such as editing a shared document on the fly, chatting, video conference, etc., and typically requires a peer-to-peer connection. Asynchronous collaboration is episodic in nature based on a push-pull model. Examples of asynchronous collaboration include email exchanges, blogging, repositories, etc. The purpose of a workbench is to provide a customizable framework for different applications. Since the workbench will be common to all the customized tools, it promotes building modular functionality that can be used and reused by multiple tools. The objective of our Collaborative Workbench (CWB) is thus to create such an open and extensible framework for the Earth Science community via a set of plug-ins. Our CWB is based on the Eclipse [2] Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which is designed as a small kernel containing a plug-in loader for hundreds of plug-ins. The kernel itself is an implementation of a known specification to provide an environment for the plug-ins to execute. This design enables modularity, where discrete chunks of functionality can be reused to build new applications. The minimal set of plug-ins necessary to create a client application is called the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) [3]; The Eclipse RCP also supports thousands of community-contributed plug-ins, making it a popular development platform for many diverse applications including the Science Activity Planner developed at JPL for the Mars rovers [4] and the scientific experiment tool Gumtree [5]. By leveraging the Eclipse RCP to provide an open, extensible framework, a CWB supports customizations via plug-ins to build rich user applications specific for Earth Science. More importantly, CWB plug-ins can be used by existing science tools built off Eclipse such as IDL or PyDev to provide seamless collaboration functionalities.

Ramachandran, Rahul↗
NASA NTRS2015

Heat-Related Mortality Projections for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Disease Under the Changing Climate in Beijing, China

Because heat-related health effects tend to become more serious at higher temperatures, there is an urgent need to determine the mortality projection of specific heat-sensitive diseases to provide more detailed information regarding the variation of the sensitivity of such diseases. In this study, the specific mortality of cardiovascular and respiratory disease in Beijing was initially projected under five different global-scale General Circulation Models (GCMs) and two Representative Concentration Pathways scenarios (RCPs) in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s compared to the 1980s. Multi-model ensembles indicated cardiovascular mortality could increase by an average percentage of 18.4 percent, 47.8 percent, and 69.0 percent in the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s under RCP 4.5, respectively, and by 16.6 percent, 73.8 percent and 134 percent in different decades respectively, under RCP 8.5 compared to the baseline range. The same increasing pattern was also observed in respiratory mortality. The heat-related deaths under the RCP 8.5 scenario were found to reach a higher number and to increase more rapidly during the 21st century compared to the RCP4.5 scenario, especially in the 2050s and the 2080s. The projection results show potential trends in cause-specific mortality in the context of climate change, and provide support for public health interventions tailored to specific climate-related future health risks.

health↗
NASA NTRS2014

Probabilistic 21st and 22nd Century Sea-Level Projections at a Global Network of Tide-Gauge Sites

Sea-level rise due to both climate change and non-climatic factors threatens coastal settlements, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Projections of mean global sea-level (GSL) rise provide insufficient information to plan adaptive responses; local decisions require local projections that accommodate different risk tolerances and time frames and that can be linked to storm surge projections. Here we present a global set of local sea-level (LSL) projections to inform decisions on timescales ranging from the coming decades through the 22nd century. We provide complete probability distributions, informed by a combination of expert community assessment, expert elicitation, and process modeling. Between the years 2000 and 2100, we project a very likely (90% probability) GSL rise of 0.5–1.2 m under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5, 0.4–0.9 m under RCP 4.5, and 0.3–0.8 m under RCP 2.6. Site-to-site differences in LSL projections are due to varying non-climatic background uplift or subsidence, oceanographic effects, and spatially variable responses of the geoid and the lithosphere to shrinking land ice. The Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) constitutes a growing share of variance in GSL and LSL projections. In the global average and at many locations, it is the dominant source of variance in late 21st century projections, though at some sites oceanographic processes contribute the largest share throughout the century. LSL rise dramatically reshapes flood risk, greatly increasing the expected number of “1-in-10” and “1-in-100” year events.

sea level↗
NASA NTRS2020

ISMIP6 Antarctica: A Multi-Model Ensemble of the Antarctic Ice Sheet Evolution Over the 21st Century

Ice flow models of the Antarctic ice sheet are commonly used to simulate its future evolution in response to different climate scenarios and assess the mass loss that would contribute to future sea level rise. However, there is currently no consensus on estimates of the future mass balance of the ice sheet, primarily because of differences in the representation of physical processes, forcings employed and initial states of ice sheet models. This study presents results from ice flow model simulations from 13 international groups focusing on the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet during the period 2015–2100 as part of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison for CMIP6 (ISMIP6). They are forced with outputs from a subset of models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), representative of the spread in climate model results. Simulations of the Antarctic ice sheet contribution to sea level rise in response to increased warming during this period varies between -7:8 and 30.0 cm of sea level equivalent (SLE) under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario forcing. These numbers are relative to a control experiment with constant climate conditions and should therefore be added to the mass loss contribution under climate conditions similar to present-day conditions over the same period. The simulated evolution of the West Antarctic ice sheet varies widely among models, with an overall mass loss, up to 18.0 cm SLE, in response to changes in oceanic conditions. East Antarctica ass change varies between -6.1 and 8.3 cm SLE in the simulations, with a significant increase in surface mass balance outweighing the increased ice discharge under most RCP 8.5 scenario forcings. The inclusion of ice shelf collapse, here assumed to be caused by large amounts of liquid water ponding at the surface of ice shelves, yields an additional simulated mass loss of 28mm compared to simulations without ice shelf collapse. The largest sources of uncertainty come from the climate forcing, the ocean-induced melt rates, the calibration of these melt rates based on oceanic conditions taken outside of ice shelf cavities and the ice sheet dynamic response to these oceanic changes. Results under RCP 2.6 scenario based on two CMIP5 climate models show an additional mass loss of 0 and 3 cm of SLE on average compared to simulations done under present-day conditions for the two CMIP5 forcings used and display limited mass gain in East Antarctica.

Hélène Seroussi↗
NASA NTRS2019

Importance of Tree- and Species-Level Interactions With Wildfire, Climate, and Soils in Interior Alaska: Implications for Forest Change Under A Warming Climate

The boreal zone of Alaska is dominated by interactions between disturbances, vegetation, and soils. These interactions are likely to change in the future through increasing permafrost thaw, more frequent and intense wildfires, and vegetation change from drought and competition. We utilize an individual tree-based vegetation model, the University of Virginia Forest Model Enhanced (UVAFME), to estimate current and future forest conditions across sites within interior Alaska. We updated UVAFME for application within interior Alaska, including improved simulation of permafrost dynamics, litter decay, nutrient dynamics, fire mortality, and post-fire regrowth. Following these updates, UVAFME output on species-specific biomass and stem density was comparable to inventory measurements at various forest types within interior Alaska. We then simulated forest response to climate change at specific inventory locations and across the Tanana Valley River Basin on a 2 × 2 km2 grid. We derived projected temperature and precipitation from a five-model average taken from the CMIP5 archive under the RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. Results suggest that climate change and the concomitant impacts on wildfire and permafrost dynamics will result in overall decreases in biomass (particularly for spruce (Picea spp.)) within the interior Tanana Valley, despite increases in quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) biomass, and a resulting shift towards higher deciduous fraction. Simulation results also predict increases in biomass at cold, wet locations and at high elevations, and decreases in biomass in dry locations, under both moderate (RCP 4.5) and extreme (RCP 8.5) climate change scenarios. These simulations demonstrate that a highly detailed, species interactive model can be used across a large region within Alaska to investigate interactions between vegetation, climate, wildfire, and permafrost. The vegetation changes predicted here have the capacity to feed back to broader scale climate-forest interactions in the North American boreal forest, a region which contributes significantly to the global carbon and energy budgets.

forest modeling↗
DOE OSTI2025

Effects of carbon substitution on magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects in Mn 65-x Ga 17 C 18+x compounds

This study involved the tuning of the magnetic, magnetocaloric, and room-temperature structural properties of Mn 65-x Ga 17 C 18+x (0 ≤ x ≤ 4) compounds prepared using a high-energy ball milling (HEBM) technique. This study indicates that the crystal structure of all the compounds can be described as an anti-perovskite cubic structure with the Pm-3m space group and the crystal cell volume decreases with increasing carbon concentration. The system shows a first-order structural phase transition at a temperature T=T M between two cubic phases having different magnetic structures. The phases are characterized by antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) -like behavior at low (T < T M ) and high (T M > T) temperature regions, respectively. A suppression of the AFM phase was observed with increasing C concentration. The temperature-induced first-order transitions (FOTs) were found to possess a small thermal hysteresis in the magnetization (~2-3 K) in an applied magnetic field of H = 50 kOe. Magnetic entropy changes estimated from isothermal magnetization curves indicate that the largest value of the magnetic entropy change of |ΔS M | = 2.1 J kg -1 K -1 for x = 4 with ΔH = 50 kOe, with a relative cooling power (RCP) of ~190 J kg -1 . Furthermore, high-energy ball milling (HEBM), a scalable technique, has been demonstrated as a viable method to synthesize magnetocaloric materials with substantial RCP values.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Future Intensity‐Duration‐Frequency Curves of Extreme Precipitation in the Midwest United States From Convection‐Permitting Modeling

Abstract During the last four decades, global warming has statistically significant intensified extreme precipitation events in the Midwestern United States (defined here as the region covering Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky), leading to increased risks to human life, property, and infrastructure. To enable climate change adaptation and resilience across various economic and social sectors in this region, updated information about future climate changes, specifically at finer spatial scales, is essential. Leveraging a new 150‐year dynamical downscaling data set at convection‐permitting resolution, this study introduces a framework to construct the projected future intensity‐duration‐frequency (IDF) curves of heavy precipitation, which are prominent tools for infrastructure design and water resources management. This framework generates IDF curves at both sub‐daily and multi‐day duration utilizing hourly in situ observations as well as quantile‐based statistical techniques in bias‐correction and return levels selection. The assumption of non‐stationarity in the distribution parameter fitting process is also implemented in this workflow. Compared to historical IDF curves for 1980–2022, future projected IDF curves for 2058–2100 under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios indicate an average intensity increase of approximately 15% and 25%, respectively, across 74 stations, considering both annual and seasonal timescales. Future projections suggest that extreme precipitation events may become more severe across six investigated return periods, with longer return periods showing a greater increase. The frequency of future extreme precipitation events in the Midwest region is also projected to double. Furthermore, current results reveal spatial heterogeneity of future trends across stations owing to the high‐resolution input data set. Plain Language Summary This study investigates the evolving nature of extreme precipitation events in the Midwestern United States under a changing climate. By leveraging a high‐resolution dynamical downscaling data set, we construct projected intensity‐duration‐frequency (IDF) curves for future extreme rainfall events. These curves serve as vital tools for infrastructure planning and water resource management. Our analysis reveals a significant increase in both the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events in the region. Future projected IDF curves for the late century indicate an average intensity increase of approximately 15%–25% compared to historical values. Moreover, the frequency of such events is expected to double. Spatial heterogeneity in future trends is observed across different stations within the Midwest, highlighting the importance of high‐resolution modeling in capturing localized climate variability. These findings underscore the urgent need for climate adaptation strategies to mitigate the increasing risks associated with extreme precipitation events in the region. Key Points This study introduces a workflow to construct future intensity‐duration‐frequency (IDF) curves over the Midwest United States using a new convection‐permitting modeling data set The current IDF construction workflow reproduces well the historical observed IDF 30 curves in summer months with median relative errors of 2.4% among 74 stations and 6 investigated durations The projected IDF curves show diverse future trends of extreme precipitation across stations, with intensity increases of approximately 15% and 25% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios, respectively, and a doubling of frequency on average

Nguyen, Trung↗
NASA NTRS1979

Antenna feed system for receiving circular polarization and transmitting linear polarization

An invention is described which provides for receiving a circularly polarized signal from an antenna feed connected to orthogonally spaced antenna elements. It also provides for transmitting a linearly polarized signal through the same feed without switches, and without suffering a 3 dB polarization mismatch loss, using an arrangement of hybrid junctions. The arrangement is comprised of two dividing hybrid junctions, each connected to a different pair of antenna elements and a summing hybrid junction. In one version, a receiver is connected to the summing hybrid junction directly. A diplexer is used to connect a transmitter to only one pair of antenna elements. In another version, designated left and right circularly polarized (LCP and RCP) transmitters are connected to the summing hybrid junction by separate diplexers, and separate LCP and RCP sensitive receivers are connected to the diplexers in order to transmit linearly polarized signals using all four antenna elements while receiving circularly polarized signals as before. An orthomode junction and horn antenna may replace the two dividing hybrid junctions and antenna feed.

Seidel, B. L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Formal design and verification of a reliable computing platform for real-time control. Phase 2: Results

The design and formal verification of the Reliable Computing Platform (RCP), a fault tolerant computing system for digital flight control applications is presented. The RCP uses N-Multiply Redundant (NMR) style redundancy to mask faults and internal majority voting to flush the effects of transient faults. The system is formally specified and verified using the Ehdm verification system. A major goal of this work is to provide the system with significant capability to withstand the effects of High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF).

Butler, Ricky W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Rust transformation/rust compatible primers

Proper surface preparation has been the key to obtain good performance by a surface coating. The major obstacle in preparing a corroded or rusted surface is the complete removal of the contaminants and the corrosion products. Sandblasting has been traditionally used to remove the corrosion products before painting. However, sandblasting can be expensive, may be prohibited by local health regulations and is not applicable in every situation. To get around these obstacles, Industry developed rust converters/rust transformers and rust compatible primers (high solids epoxies). The potential use of these products for military equipment led personnel of the Belvoir Research, Development and Engineering Center (BRDEC) to evaluate the commercially available rust transformers and rust compatible primers. Prior laboratory experience with commercially available rust converters, as well as field studies in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, revealed poor performance, several inherent limitations, and lack of reliability. It was obvious from our studies that the performance of rust converting products was more dependent on the amount and type of rust present, as well as the degree of permeability of the coating, than on the product's ability to form an organometallic complex with the rust. Based on these results, it was decided that the Military should develop their own rust converter formulation and specification. The compound described in the specification is for use on a rusted surface before the application of an organic coating (bituminous compounds, primer or topcoat). These coatings should end the need for sandblasting or the removing of the adherent corrosion products. They also will prepare the surface for the application of the organic coating. Several commercially available rust compatible primers (RCP) were also tested using corroded surfaces. All of the evaluated RCP failed our laboratory tests for primers.

Emeric, Dario A.↗