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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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Flash apparatus for measuring thermal diffusivities at temperatures from 300 to 1,000 degrees C modified; measures specific heats of samples to accuracy of 4 to 5 percent. Specific heat and thermal diffusivity of sample measured. Xenon flash emits pulse of radiation, absorbed by sputtered graphite coating on sample. Sample temperature measured with thermocouple, and temperature rise due to pulse measured by InSb detector.
Emittance and specific heat determination by transient thermal vacuum technique using coatings as function of temperature
The James Webb Space Telescope will include an optical bench known as the integrated science instrument module (ISIM). Candidate structural materials for the ISIM must have low density, high stiffness, high thermal conductivity, and low thermal expansion coefficient at the operating temperature of 30 Kelvin. The specific heat is also important in modeling the on-orbit cooldown. We built two different systems for measuring the thermal conductivity and specific heat of samples between 4 Kelvin and 290 Kelvin. Both experiments were carefully designed to minimize potential errors due to radiative heat transfer. We chose the cooling system and instrumentation to allow long-term unattended operation. Software was developed to automate each experiment. It used an algorithm designed to ensure that each system was in thermal equilibrium before a measurement was taken. We describe the two experiments and present the data.
This paper describes a drop calorimeter with an electromagnetic levitator that was specifically built for enthalpy measurements of undercooled liquids, including high-melting-point metals. Design diagrams of this device and of a furnace for making a suspended drop are presented together with results of measurements on an aluminum sample.
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The specific heat at constant volume C(sob V) of a simple fluid diverges near its liquid-vapor critical point. However, gravity-induced density stratification due to the divergence of isothermal susceptibility hinders the direct comparison of the experimental data with the predictions of renormalization group theory. In the past, a microgravity environment has been considered essential to eliminate the density stratification. We propose to perform specific heat measurements of He-3 on the ground using a method to cancel the density stratification. A He-3 fluid layer will be heated from below, using the thermal expansion of the fluid to cancel the hydrostatic compression. A 6% density stratification at a reduced temperature of 10(exp -5) can be cancelled to better than 0.1% with a steady 1.7 micro K temperature difference across a 0.05 cm thick fluid layer. A conventional AC calorimetry technique will be used to determine the heat capacity. The minimized bulk density stratification with a relaxation time 6500 sec at a reduced temperature of 10(exp -5) will stay unchanged during 1 Hz AC heating. The smear of the specific heat divergence due to the temperature difference across the cell is about 0.1% at a reduced temperature of 10(exp -6). The combination of using High Resolution Thermometry with a 0.5 n K temperature resolution in the AC technique and the cancellation of the density stratification will enable C(sub V) to be measured down to a reduced temperature of 10(exp -6) with less than a 1% systematic error.
Thermo-physical properties of two bulk metallic glass forming alloys, Ti34Zr11Cu47Ni8 (VIT 101) and Zr57Nb5Ni12.6Al10CU15.4 (VIT 106), were investigated in the stable and undercooled melt. Our investigation focused on measurements of the specific heat in the stable and undercooled liquid using the method of AC modulation calorimetry. The VIT 106 exhibited a maximum undercooling of 140 K in free radiative cooling. Specific heat measurements could be performed in stable melt down to an undercooling of 80 K. Analysis of the specific heat data indicate an anomaly near the equilibrium liquidus temperature. This anomaly is also observed in y the temperature dependencies of the external relaxation time, the specific volume, and the surface tension; it is tentatively attributed to a phase separation in the liquid state. The VIT 101 specimen exhibited a small undercooling of about 50 K. Specific heat measurements were performed in the stable and undercooled melt. These various results will be combined with ground based work such as the measurement of T-T-T curves in the electrostatic levitator and low temperature viscosity and specific heat measurements for modeling the nucleation kinetics of these alloys.
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Industrial processing of metals and ceramics is now being streamlined by the development of theoretical models. High temperature thermophysical properties of these materials are required to successfully apply these theories. Unfortunately, there is insufficient experimental data available for many of these properties, particularly in the molten state. Microwave fields can be used to measure specific heat, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity and dielectric constants at high temperatures. We propose to (1) develop a microwave flash method (analogous to the laser flash technique) that can simultaneously measure the thermal diffusivity and specific heat of insulators and semiconductors at high temperatures, (2) an appropriate theory and experimental apparatus to demonstrate the measurement of the specific heat of a metal using a new microwave ac specific heat technique, and (3) experimental methods for noncontact measurement of the real and imaginary dielectric constants.
InI single crystals are a promising room temperature detector material for X-rays and γ-rays. To improve crystal growth of the material by simulations, knowledge of thermophysical properties is essential, and since InI is orthorhombic, the anisotropy has to be taken into account. The temperature dependence of several thermophysical properties have been measured for InI, including the anisotropic thermal expansion, specific heat, and the thermal diffusivity in the b direction. The anisotropic thermal expansion coefficients, determined by X-ray diffraction, were α11=1.03·10-5 K-1, α22= 3.77·10-5 K-1, and α33 = 6.26·10-5 K-1. The specific heat, measured by DSC, was 0.226 J g-1 K-1 at 335K, with a temperature dependence of 9.582·10-5 J g-1 K-2. In the course of the X-ray diffraction and DSC measurements, it was shown that supposed phase changes, reported in older literature, are actually not phase changes but oxidation effects. The thermal diffusivity in the b direction, measured by the Xenon Flash method, was 0.288·10-6 m2s-1 at RT, decreasing to 0.253·10-6 m2 s-1 at 450K. In addition, the volume increase upon melting and the thermal expansion of the melt have been determined.
In addition to its primary role of studying non-linear heat transport effects near the lambda transition of He-4, the DYNAMX apparatus is suitable for measurements of the specific heat and the velocity of second sound. We plan to take advantage of available time on orbit to make measurements in these areas near to the lambda transition. The specific heat work would be similar to LPE, aimed at improving our knowledge of the singularity in the bulk heat capacity at the transition, but would provide more accurate results close to the transition. It would focus roughly equally on each side of the transition and would be synergistic with the CQ experiment, providing wider-range data at Q = 0. The second sound measurements are made possible by the fast time constant and high resolution of the DYNAMX thermometers, which allow accurate time-of-flight measurements of second sound pulses. It appears possible to measure the second sound velocity to about 1% at a reduced temperature of t = 5x10(exp -8) by averaging over a moderate number of pulses. The data would complement and extend earlier ground-based measurements, leading to improved tests of the theory of static critical phenomena at the lambda transition.
Magnetoaerodynamic drag and shock stand-off distance studies - free stream Mach number and specific heat ratio measurements
This is a final report for the work initiated in September of 1994 under the grant NAG8-1085 - NASA/OMU, on the fabrication of bulk and single crystal synthesis, specific heat measuring and STM studies of high temperature superconductors. Efforts were made to fabricate bulk and single crystals of mercury based superconducting material. A systematic thermal analysis on the precursors for the corresponding oxides and carbonates were carried out to synthesized bulk samples. Bulk material was used as seed in an attempt to grow single crystals by a two-step self flux process. On the other hand bulk samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility, We studied the specific heat behavior in the range from 80 to 300 K. Some preliminary attempts were made to study the atomic morphology of our samples. As part of our efforts we built an ac susceptibility apparatus for measuring the transition temperature of our sintered samples.
We carry out state of the art simulations of properties of confined liquid helium near the superfluid transition to a degree of accuracy which allows to make predictions for the outcome of fundamental physics experiments in microgravity. First we report our results for the finite-size scaling behavior of heat capacity of superfluids for cubic and parallel-plate geometry. This allows us to study the crossover from zero and two dimensions to three dimensions. Our calculated scaling functions are in good agreement with recently measured specific heat scaling functions for the above mentioned geometries. We also present our results of a quantum simulation of submonolayer of molecular hydrogen deposited on an ideal graphite substrate using path-integral quantum Monte Carlo simulation. We find that the monolayer phase diagram is rich and very similar to that of helium monolayer. We are able to uncover the main features of the complex monolayer phase diagram, such as the commensurate solid phases and the commensurate to incommensurate transition, in agreement with the experiments and to find some features which are missing from the experimental analysis.
In 2012, NASA's mission of landing the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) on Mars was successful. MSL was protected by an ablative heatshield of tiled low density material known as PICA (phenolic impregnated carbon ablator). The heatshield was instrumented with MEDLI (MSL Entry Descent Landing Instrument) a suite of sensors & thermocouples at discrete locations in order to monitor the in-depth ablator temperature response and surface pressure. MEDLI was designed and developed by NASA Langley, in partnership with NASA Ames Research Center for the purposes of probing Mars and evaluating the performance of the spacecraft upon entry into the Martian atmosphere. The flight data reduces the uncertainty in engineer models for predicting the response of a spacecraft towards the extreme heating environment of an entry into the Martian atmosphere. MEDLI2 is a part of the Mars 2020 mission and is the next-generation sensor suite for entry, descent, and landing. This data will again help engineers validate their flight models. Additionally, the atmospheric data, can help us understand atmospheric density and winds. This is a critical study for reducing risks to both robotic and future human missions to Mars. Engineered models for Mars 2020 are dependent upon parameters related to the materials response to heating and radiation. In this work, the thermal properties and other measurements of various ablative materials are analyzed to achieve greater utility of the 2012 MEDLI flight data and more accurately determine the parameters being used in Mars 2020. The purpose of this study was to measure specific heat, thermal conductivity, char yield, reflectance as a function of wavelength, and other thermal parameters and optical properties of various ablative materials. CO2(g) at extreme temperatures emits radiation impacting MEDLI2 flight predictions. Emissivity & absorptivity as a function of temperature were calculated from FTIR and UV-Vis data as a means of investigating whether these materials might absorb CO2 radiation upon entry into the Mars atmosphere.
We present specific heat measurements in the 2 – 20 K range of several commercially available epoxies (Stycast 1266, Stycast 2850FT, EPO-TEK 377, and EPO-TEK 377H) and mixtures of one of these epoxy binders and fillers such as silica, carbon lamp black, and graphite. The results are briefly described in the context of the Debye model.