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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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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

An integrated approach to the remote sensing of floating ice

Review article on remote sensing applications to glaciology. Ice parameters sensed include: ice cover vs open water, ice thickness, distribution and morphology of ice formations, vertical resolution of ice thickness, ice salinity (percolation and drainage of brine; flushing of ice body with fresh water), first-year ice and multiyear ice, ice growth rate and surface heat flux, divergence of ice packs, snow cover masking ice, behavior of ice shelves, icebergs, lake ice and river ice; time changes. Sensing techniques discussed include: satellite photographic surveys, thermal IR, passive and active microwave studies, microwave radiometry, microwave scatterometry, side-looking radar, and synthetic aperture radar. Remote sensing of large aquatic mammals and operational ice forecasting are also discussed.

Campbell, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Drag coefficients for winter Antarctic pack ice

Air-ice and ice-water drag coefficients referenced to 10-m-height winds for winter Antarctic pack ice based on measurements made from R/V Polarstern during the Winter Weddell Sea Project, 1986 (WWSP-86), and from R/V Akademik Fedorov during the Winter Weddell Gyre Study, 1989 (WWGS-89), are presented. The optimal values of the air-ice drag coefficients, made from turbulent flux measurements, are (1.79 +/- 0.06) x 10 exp -3 for WWSP-86 and (1.45 +/- 0.09) x 10 exp -3 for WWGS-89. A single ice-water drag coefficient for both WWSP-86 and WWGS-89, estimated from periods of ice drift throught to represent free-drift conditions, is (1.13 +/- 0.26) x 10 exp -3, and the ice-water turning angle is 18 +/- 18 deg. It is suggested that for a typical Antarctic winter pack ice cover, the ice cover reduces the momentum flux from the atmosphere to the ocean by about 33 percent.

Wamser, Christian↗
NASA NTRS1970

Disc pack cleaning table saves computer time

Disc pack holding table is support frame upon which computer disc pack is loaded and protective cover released. This combination permits manual off-line cleaning of disc pack storage units at any time without shutting down the computer, and eliminates on-line disc drive unit to hold pack during cleaning.

Guy, J. T., Sr.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Microwave emission from snow and glacier ice

The microwave brightness temperature for snow fields was studied assuming that the snow cover consists of closely packed scattering spheres which do not interact coherently. The Mie scattering theory was used to compute the volume scattering albedo. It is shown that in the wavelength range from 0.8 to 2.8 cm, most of the micro-radiation emanates from a layer 10 meters or less in thickness. It is concluded that it is possible to determine snow accumulation rates as well as near-surface temperature.

Chang, T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Progress in AMSR Snow Algorithm Development

Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) will be flown on-board of the Japanese Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) and United States Earth Observation System (EOS) PM-1 satellite. AMSR is a passive microwave radiometer with frequency ranges from 6.9 GHz to 89 GHz. It scans conically with a constant incidence angle of 55 deg at the Earth's surface. The swath width is about 1600 km. With a large antenna, AMSR will provide the best spatial resolution of multi-frequency radiometer from space. This provides us an opportunity to improve the snow parameter retrieval. Accurate determination of snow parameters from space is a challenging effort. Over the years, many different techniques have been used to account for the complicated snow parameters such as the density, stratigraphy, snow grain size, temperature variation of the snow-pack. Forest type, fractional forest cover and land use type also need to be considered in developing an improved retrieval algorithm. However, snow is such a dynamic variable, snow-pack parameter keeps changing once the snow is deposited on the earth surface. Currently, NASDA and NASA are developing AMSR snow retrieval algorithms. These algorithms are now being carefully tested and evaluated using the SSM/I data. Due to limited snow-pack data available for comparison, this activity is progressing slowly. However, it is clear that in order to improve the snow retrieval algorithm, it is necessary to model the metamorphism history of the snow-pack.

Chang, Alfred↗
NASA NTRS1989

Passive microwave in situ observations of winter Weddell Sea ice

Results are presented on the microwave radiative characteristics of Antarctic sea ice measured during the 1986 Winter Weddell Sea Project with a set of portable radiometers. Radiometer measurements at 6, 10, 18, 37, and 90 GHz in vertical and horizontal polarizations were supplemented by near-simultaneous measurements of the ice physical characteristics (including ice thickness, salinity, temperature, snow cover, and density) made during two cruises, lasting 3 months each. Measurements were obtained on various types of sea ice over a large portion of the Weddell-Sea ice cover, including four transects across the entire ice pack. Data analysis shows a large variability in the multispectral microwave emissivities of different ice types, especially at 90 GHz, demonstrating a strong potential of the use of the 90-GHz channel, in combination with lower-frequency channels, for detailed characterizations of the ice cover.

Comiso, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1978

High temperature surface protection

Alloys of the MCrAlX type are the basis for high temperature surface protection systems in gas turbines. M can be one or more of Ni, Co, or Fe and X denotes a reactive metal added to enhance oxide scale adherence. The selection and formation as well as the oxidation, hot corrosion and thermal fatigue performance of MCrAlX coatings are discussed. Coatings covered range from simple aluminides formed by pack cementation to the more advanced physical vapor deposition overlay coatings and developmental plasma spray deposited thermal barrier coatings.

Levine, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Geophysics of an Oceanic Ice Shell on Snowball Earth

Kirschvink proposed Precambrian low-latitude glaciation could result in an albedo-driven catastrophic runaway to a "Snowball Earth" state in which pack ice up to 1 km thick covered the world ocean. The geophysical state of an ice crust on a Snowball Earth is examined.

Gaidos, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Satellite-Derived Cloud and Surface Characteristics During FIRE-ACE

Advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) products calculated for the western Arctic for April-July 1998 are used to investigate spatial, temporal, and regional patterns and variability in energy budget parameters associated with ocean- ice-atmosphere interactions over the Arctic Ocean during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) project and the First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) Regional Experiment - Arctic Cloud Experiment (FIRE-ACE). The AVHRR-derived parameters include cloud fraction, clear-sky and all-sky skin temperature and broadband albedo, upwelling and downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation, cloud top pressure and temperature, and cloud optical depth. The remotely sensed products generally agree well with field observations at the SHEBA site, which in turn is shown to be representative of a surrounding region comparable in size to a climate-model grid cell. Time series of products for other locations in the western Arctic illustrate the magnitude of spatial variability during the study period and provide spatial and temporal detail useful for studying regional processes. The data illustrate the progression of reduction in cloud cover, albedo decrease, and the considerable heating of the open ocean associated with the anomalous decrease in sea ice cover in the eastern Beaufort Sea that began in late spring. Above-freezing temperatures are also recorded within the ice pack, suggesting warming of the open water areas within the ice cover.

Maslanik, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Variability of Antarctic Sea Ice 1979-1998

The principal characteristics of the variability of Antarctic sea ice cover as previously described from satellite passive-microwave observations are also evident in a systematically-calibrated and analyzed data set for 20.2 years (1979-1998). The total Antarctic sea ice extent (concentration > 15 %) increased by 13,440 +/- 4180 sq km/year (+1.18 +/- 0.37%/decade). The area of sea ice within the extent boundary increased by 16,960 +/- 3,840 sq km/year (+1.96 +/- 0.44%/decade). Regionally, the trends in extent are positive in the Weddell Sea (1.5 +/- 0.9%/decade), Pacific Ocean (2.4 +/- 1.4%/decade), and Ross (6.9 +/- 1.1 %/decade) sectors, slightly negative in the Indian Ocean (-1.5 +/- 1.8%/decade, and strongly negative in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Seas sector (-9.5 +/- 1.5%/decade). For the entire ice pack, small ice increases occur in all seasons with the largest increase during autumn. On a regional basis, the trends differ season to season. During summer and fall, the trends are positive or near zero in all sectors except the Bellingshausen-Amundsen Seas sector. During winter and spring, the trends are negative or near zero in all sectors except the Ross Sea, which has positive trends in all seasons. Components of interannual variability with periods of about 3 to 5 years are regionally large, but tend to counterbalance each other in the total ice pack. The interannual variability of the annual mean sea-ice extent is only 1.6% overall, compared to 5% to 9% in each of five regional sectors. Analysis of the relation between regional sea ice extents and spatially-averaged surface temperatures over the ice pack gives an overall sensitivity between winter ice cover and temperature of -0.7% change in sea ice extent per K. For summer, some regional ice extents vary positively with temperature and others negatively. The observed increase in Antarctic sea ice cover is counter to the observed decreases in the Arctic. It is also qualitatively consistent with the counterintuitive prediction of a global atmospheric-ocean model of increasing sea ice around Antarctica with climate warming due to the stabilizing effects of increased snowfall on the Southern Ocean.

Zwally, H. Jay↗
NASA NTRS1984

Satellite observations of sea ice

Attention is given to techniques developed by NASA for the satellite acquisition of polar ice cover data, as well as for the spotlighting of selected ice cover areas in order to reveal detailed ice pack features. Of the visible, IR and microwave sensors available aboard satellites, only microwave units operate day and night and in all weather conditions to provide global synoptic coverage. Microwave may be either passive or active; the former include the Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer aboard Nimbus-5 and the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer of Seasat and Nimbus-7, while the latter are represented by synthetic aperture radars and radar altimeters aboard Seasat.

Thomas, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Influence of disk leakage path on labyrinth seal inlet swirl ratio

The results of numerous investigators have shown the importance of labyrinth seal inlet swirl on the calculated dynamic stiffness of labyrinth seals. These results have not included any calculation of inlet leakage swirl as a function of geometry and sealing conditions of the given seal. This paper outlines a method of calculating the inlet swirl at a given seal by introducing a radial chamber to predict the gas swirl as it goes from the stage tip down to the seal location. For a centrifugal compressor, this amounts to including the flow path from the impeller discharge, down the back of the disk or front of the cover, then into the shaft seal or eye packing, respectively. The solution includes the friction factors of both the disk and stationary wall with account for mass flow rate and calculation of radial pressure gradients by a free vortex solution. The results of various configurations are discussed and comparisons made to other published results of disk swirl.

Kirk, R. Gordon↗
NASA NTRS2007

A New Sea Ice Model: Pancakes to Metrics

We are developing, testing, and validating a new sea ice dynamics model that treats the ice cover as an elastic/decohesive material in the permanent pack and includes the correct frazil/pancake behavior in the marginal zone. Two salient features of present ice dynamics models are that they do not: 1) reproduce the oriented fracture patterns of openings and closings in the pack ice, and 2) accurately model the effects of frazil/pancake ice formation in the ice margin. These poorly modeled areas account for a substantial portion of the ice growth, turbulent heat flux to the atmosphere, salt flux to the ocean, and energy dissipation due to slippage, ridging, and rafting, in the Arctic. Existing sea ice models have shown limited success in predicting the degree to which a lead will open for prescribed or observed forcing conditions. An important aspect of the new model we are developing is that the existence of cracks, along with their orientation, opening, and closing, is predicted. To put this effort in perspective a short history of ice dynamics modeling and data collection is presented. The RGPS data set is used to validate the model. As part of the testing and validation of the model, we are working on a new metric for comparing linear features (leads and ridges) in the data and model to be used in data assimilation for this model. The model framework is presented as well as some results showing the creation and development of leads in a simulation of ice dynamics in the Beaufort Sea. Other presentations by the authors will show other results from this effort.

Coon, M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Satellite observations of sea ice

An overview is presented of Antarctic and Arctic sea ice studies using data from the Nimbus-5 ESMR and the Nimbus-7 SMMR passive microwave radiometers. Four years (1973-1976) of ESMR data for the Antarctic Ocean define the characteristics of the seasonal cycle including regional contrasts and interannual variations. Major advances include the discovery of the Weddell polynya and the presence of substantial areas of open water in the Antarctic winter pack ice. Regional differences in sea ice extent on time-scales of about a month are shown to be associated with variations in surface-wind fields. In the Arctic, the computation of sea ice concentration is complicated by the presence of multiyear ice, but the amount of multiyear ice becomes an important measurable quantity with dual-polarized, multifrequency passive microwave sensors. Analysis of SMMR data demonstrates its advantage for studying the spatial and temporal variability of the Arctic ice cover. Large observed interannual variations in the distribution of the multiyear pack ice and the presence of significant divergent areas in the central Arctic during winter contrast markedly with the classical view of the Arctic pack ice.

Cavalieri, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Status of wraparound contact solar cells and arrays

Solar cells with wraparound contacts provide the following advantages in array assembly: (1) eliminate the need for discretely formed, damage susceptible series tabs; (2) eliminate the n gap problem by allowing the use of uniform covers over the entire cell surface; (3) allow a higher packing factor by reducing the additional series spacing formly required for forming, and routing the series tab; and (4) allow the cell bonding to the interconnect system to be a single-side function wherein series contacts can be made at the same time parallel contracts are made.

Baraona, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Centrifugal Adsorption Cartridge System

The centrifugal adsorption cartridge system (CACS) is an apparatus that recovers one or more bioproduct(s) from a dilute aqueous solution or suspension flowing from a bioreactor. The CACS can be used both on Earth in unit gravity and in space in low gravity. The CACS can be connected downstream from the bioreactor; alternatively, it can be connected into a flow loop that includes the bioreactor so that the liquid can be recycled. A centrifugal adsorption cartridge in the CACS (see figure) includes two concentric cylinders with a spiral ramp between them. The volume between the inner and outer cylinders, and between the turns of the spiral ramp is packed with an adsorbent material. The inner cylinder is a sieve tube covered with a gas-permeable, hydrophobic membrane. During operation, the liquid effluent from the bioreactor is introduced at one end of the spiral ramp, which then constrains the liquid to flow along the spiral path through the adsorbent material. The spiral ramp also makes the flow more nearly uniform than it would otherwise be, and it minimizes any channeling other than that of the spiral flow itself. The adsorbent material is formulated to selectively capture the bioproduct(s) of interest. The bioproduct(s) can then be stored in bound form in the cartridge or else eluted from the cartridge. The centrifugal effect of the spiral flow is utilized to remove gas bubbles from the liquid. The centrifugal effect forces the bubbles radially inward, toward and through the membrane of the inner cylinder. The gas-permeable, hydrophobic membrane allows the bubbles to enter the inner cylinder while keeping the liquid out. The bubbles that thus enter the cylinder are vented to the atmosphere. The spacing between the ramps determines rate of flow along the spiral, and thereby affects the air-bubble-removal efficiency. The spacing between the ramps also determines the length of the fluid path through the cartridge adsorbent, and thus affects the bioproduct-capture efficiency of the cartridge. Depending on the application, several cartridges could be connected in a serial or parallel flow arrangement. A parallel arrangement can be used to increase product-capturing and flow capacities while maintaining a low pressure drop. A serial arrangement can be used to obtain high product-capturing capacity; alternatively, series-connected cartridges can be packed with different adsorbents to capture different bioproducts simultaneously.

Gonda, Steve R.↗