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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 NTRS1994

Eddy current correction in volume-localized MR spectroscopy

The quality of volume-localized magnetic resonance spectroscopy is affected by eddy currents caused by gradient switching. Eddy currents can be reduced with improved gradient systems; however, it has been suggested that the distortion due to eddy currents can be compensated for during postprocessing with a single-frequency reference signal. The authors propose modifying current techniques for acquiring the single-frequency reference signal by using relaxation weighting to reduce interference from components that cannot be eliminated by digital filtering alone. Additional sequences with T1 or T2 weighting for reference signal acquisition are shown to have the same eddy current characteristics as the original signal without relaxation weighting. The authors also studied a new eddy current correction method that does not require a single-frequency reference signal. This method uses two free induction decays (FIDs) collected from the same volume with two sequences with opposite gradients. Phase errors caused by eddy currents are opposite in these two FIDs and can be canceled completely by combining the FIDs. These methods were tested in a phantom. Eddy current distortions were corrected, allowing quantitative measurement of structures such as the -CH = CH- component, which is otherwise undetectable.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗
NASA NTRS1973

System design of the Pioneer Venus spacecraft. Volume 7: Communication subsystem studies

Communications subsystem tradeoffs were undertaken to establish a low cost and low weight design consistent with the mission requirements. Because of the weight constraint of the Thor/Delta launched configuration, minimum weight was emphasized in determining the Thor/Delta design. In contrast, because of the greatly relaxed weight constraint of the Atlas/Centaur launched configuration, minimum cost and off the shelf hardware were emphasized and the attendant weight penalities accepted. Communication subsystem hardware elements identified for study included probe and bus antennas (CM-6, CM-17), power amplifiers (CM-10), and the large probe transponder and small probe stable oscillator required for doppler tracking (CM-11, CM-16). In addition, particular hardware problems associated with the probe high temperature and high-g environment were investigated (CM-7).

Newlands, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Robust Mosaicking of Stereo Digital Elevation Models from the Ames Stereo Pipeline

Robust estimation method is proposed to combine multiple observations and create consistent, accurate, dense Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from lunar orbital imagery. The NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) aims to produce higher-quality terrain reconstructions of the Moon from Apollo Metric Camera (AMC) data than is currently possible. In particular, IRG makes use of a stereo vision process, the Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP), to automatically generate DEMs from consecutive AMC image pairs. However, the DEMs currently produced by the ASP often contain errors and inconsistencies due to image noise, shadows, etc. The proposed method addresses this problem by making use of multiple observations and by considering their goodness of fit to improve both the accuracy and robustness of the estimate. The stepwise regression method is applied to estimate the relaxed weight of each observation.

Kim, Tae Min↗
NASA NTRS1992

Compliant Walker

Walker supports person with limited use of legs and back. Enables person to stand upright, move with minimum load, and rest at will taking weight off legs. Consists of wheeled frame with body harness connected compliantly to side structures. Harness supports wearer upright when wearer relaxes and takes weight off lower extremities. Assumes partial to full body weight at user's discretion.

Kerley, James J.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Delayed simultaneous release mechanism

The disclosed appendage release mechanism is particularly adapted for use with spacecraft operating with despin mechanisms and releasable appendages. It includes a flexible loop and a number of appendage releasing devices which are attached to the flexible loop. The appendage releasing devices are made up of piston-cams and ball latches which hold the appendages as long as the flexible loop is maintained in a taut condition, but which release the appendages upon relaxation of the flexible loop. The flexible loop remains taut as long as the despin weights remain attached, but relaxes when the despin weights are released.

Moyer, X. W.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Resistance exercise-induced fluid shifts: change in active muscle size and plasma volume

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the reduction in plasma volume (PV) induced by resistance exercise reflects fluid loss to the extravascular space and subsequently selective increase in cross-sectional area (CSA) of active but not inactive skeletal muscle. We compared changes in active and inactive muscle CSA and PV after barbell squat exercise. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to quantify muscle involvement in exercise and to determine CSA of muscle groups or individual muscles [vasti (VS), adductor (Add), hamstring (Ham), and rectus femoris (RF)]. Muscle involvement in exercise was determined using exercise-induced contrast shift in spin-spin relaxation time (T2)-weighted MR images immediately postexercise. Alterations in muscle size were based on the mean CSA of individual slices. Hematocrit, hemoglobin, and Evans blue dye were used to estimate changes in PV. Muscle CSA and PV data were obtained preexercise and immediately postexercise and 15 and 45 min thereafter. A hierarchy of muscle involvement in exercise was found such that VS > Add > Ham > RF, with the Ham and RF showing essentially no involvement. CSA of the VS and Add muscle groups were increased 10 and 5%, respectively, immediately after exercise in each thigh with no changes in Ham and RF CSA. PV was decreased 22% immediately following exercise. The absolute loss of PV was correlated (r2 = 0.75) with absolute increase in muscle CSA immediately postexercise, supporting the notion that increased muscle size after resistance exercise reflects primarily fluid movement from the vascular space into active but not inactive muscle.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗
NASA NTRS1995

Noninvasive analysis of human neck muscle function

STUDY DESIGN. Muscle use evoked by exercise was determined by quantifying shifts in signal relaxation times of T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. Images were collected at rest and after exercise at each of two intensities (moderate and intense) for each of four head movements: 1) extension, 2) flexion, 3) rotation, and 4) lateral flexion. OBJECTIVE. This study examined the intensity and pattern of neck muscle use evoked by various movements of the head. The results will help elucidate the pathophysiology, and thus methods for treating disorders of the cervical musculoskeletal system. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA. Exercise-induced contrast shifts in T2 has been shown to indicate muscle use during the activity. The noninvasive nature of magnetic resonance imaging appears to make it an ideal approach for studying the function of the complex neuromuscular system of the neck. METHODS. The extent of T2 increase was examined to gauge how intensely nine different neck muscles or muscle pairs were used in seven subjects. The absolute and relative cross-sectional area of muscle showing a shift in signal relaxation was assessed to infer the pattern of use among and within individual neck muscles or muscle pairs. RESULTS. Signal relaxation increased with exercise intensity for each head movement. The absolute and relative cross-sectional area of muscle showing a shift in signal relaxation also increased with exercise load. Neck muscles or muscle pairs extensively used to perform each head movement were: extension--semispinalis capitis and cervicis and splenius capitis; flexion--sternocleidomastoid and longus capitis and colli; rotation--splenius capitis, levator scapulae, scalenus, semispinalis capitis ipsilateral to the rotation, and sternocleidomastoid contralateral; and lateral flexion--sternocleidomastoid CONCLUSION. The results of this study, in part, agree with the purported functions of neck muscles derived from anatomic location. This also was true for the few selected muscles that have been examined in human electromyographic studies. Neck muscle function and morphology can be studied at a detailed level using exercise-induced shifts in magnetic resonance images.

NASA Program Space Physiology and Countermeasures↗
NASA NTRS2002

Structural Fluctuations and Thermophysical Properties of Molten II-VI Compounds

The objectives of the project are to conduct ground-based experimental and theoretical research on the structural fluctuations and thermophysical properties of molten II-VI compounds to enhance the basic understanding of the existing flight experiments in microgravity materials science programs as well as to study the fundamental heterophase fluctuation phenomena in these melts by: 1) conducting neutron scattering analysis and measuring quantitatively the relevant thermophysical properties of the II-VI melts (such as viscosity, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity and density) as well as the relaxation characteristics of these properties to advance the understanding of the structural properties and the relaxation phenomena in these melts and 2) performing theoretical analyses on the melt systems to interpret the experimental results. All the facilities required for the experimental measurements have been procured, installed and tested. Thermal diffusivity of molten tellurium has been measured by a laser flash method in the temperature range of 500 C to 900 C. The measured diffusivity as a function of temperature agrees fairly well with published data. However, a relaxation phenomenon, which shows a slow drift of the measured thermal conductivity toward the equilibrium value after cooling of the melt, was observed for the first time. An apparatus based on the transient torque induced by a rotating magnetic field has been developed to determine the viscosity and electrical conductivity of semiconducting liquids. Viscosity measurements on molten tellurium showed a similar relaxation behavior to the measured diffusivity. The density and volume expansion coefficients for pure Te and HgTe melts were measured as a function of temperature using a pycnometric method. A density maximum was found for both melts but no relaxation behavior was observed. Neutron scattering experiments were performed on the HgTe and HgZnTe melts and the results on pair distribution showed better resolution than previously reported. A simple kinetic theory, which contains the formation reactions of Te polymerization that increases the molecular weight, was proposed to interpret the relaxation behavior of HgZnTe viscosity data.

Su, Ching-Hua↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Multivibrational Mode Relaxation Scheme for Two-Temperature Thermochemical State Models

An approach to estimate the effective vibrational relaxation time for polyatomic molecules under the context of two-temperature thermochecmial state model is proposed. Landau-Teller vibrational relaxation equation is used as a basis, and vibrational energies are estimated with partition energy functions assuming harmonic oscillator model. A special weighting procedure is presented, and effective vibrational relaxation time is derived. A series of numerical experiments with CO2 and NH3 mixtures is performed, and the aeroheating results are presented. The results of CO2 environment simulations are compared with the vibrational relaxation model of Park et al. [JTHT, 8(1994), pp. 9–23]. The simulations are also conducted with a modified Landau-Teller expression.

Vibrational relaxation time↗
NASA NTRS1984

The influence of rat suspension-hypokinesia on the gastrocnemius muscle

Hind-limb hypokinesia was induced in rats by the Morey method to characterize the response of the gastrocnemius muscle. A comparison of rats suspended for 2 weeks with weight, sex, and litter-matched control rats indicate no difference in gastrocnemius wet weight, contraction, or one-half relaxation times, but less contractile function as indicated by lowered dP/dt. Myosin ATPase staining identified uniform Type I (slow-twitch) and II (fast-twitch) atrophy in the muscles from 4 of 10 rats suspended for 2 weeks and 1 of 12 rats suspended for 4 weeks; muscles from three other rats of the 4-week group displayed greater Type I atrophy. Other histochemical changes were characteristic of a neuropathy. These data together with recently acquired soleus data (29) indicate the Morey model, like space flight, evokes greater changes in the Type I or slow twitch fibers of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles.

Templeton, G. H.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A graph theoretic approach to scene matching

The ability to match two scenes is a fundamental requirement in a variety of computer vision tasks. A graph theoretic approach to inexact scene matching is presented which is useful in dealing with problems due to imperfect image segmentation. A scene is described by a set of graphs, with nodes representing objects and arcs representing relationships between objects. Each node has a set of values representing the relations between pairs of objects, such as angle, adjacency, or distance. With this method of scene representation, the task in scene matching is to match two sets of graphs. Because of segmentation errors, variations in camera angle, illumination, and other conditions, an exact match between the sets of observed and stored graphs is usually not possible. In the developed approach, the problem is represented as an association graph, in which each node represents a possible mapping of an observed region to a stored object, and each arc represents the compatibility of two mappings. Nodes and arcs have weights indicating the merit or a region-object mapping and the degree of compatibility between two mappings. A match between the two graphs corresponds to a clique, or fully connected subgraph, in the association graph. The task is to find the clique that represents the best match. Fuzzy relaxation is used to update the node weights using the contextual information contained in the arcs and neighboring nodes. This simplifies the evaluation of cliques. A method of handling oversegmentation and undersegmentation problems is also presented. The approach is tested with a set of realistic images which exhibit many types of sementation errors.

Ranganath, Heggere S.↗
NASA NTRS2000

High Order Discontinuous Gelerkin Methods for Convection Dominated Problems with Application to Aeroacoustics

This project is about the investigation of the development of the discontinuous Galerkin finite element methods, for general geometry and triangulations, for solving convection dominated problems, with applications to aeroacoustics. On the analysis side, we have studied the efficient and stable discontinuous Galerkin framework for small second derivative terms, for example in Navier-Stokes equations, and also for related equations such as the Hamilton-Jacobi equations. This is a truly local discontinuous formulation where derivatives are considered as new variables. On the applied side, we have implemented and tested the efficiency of different approaches numerically. Related issues in high order ENO and WENO finite difference methods and spectral methods have also been investigated. Jointly with Hu, we have presented a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for solving the nonlinear Hamilton-Jacobi equations. This method is based on the RungeKutta discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for solving conservation laws. The method has the flexibility of treating complicated geometry by using arbitrary triangulation, can achieve high order accuracy with a local, compact stencil, and are suited for efficient parallel implementation. One and two dimensional numerical examples are given to illustrate the capability of the method. Jointly with Hu, we have constructed third and fourth order WENO schemes on two dimensional unstructured meshes (triangles) in the finite volume formulation. The third order schemes are based on a combination of linear polynomials with nonlinear weights, and the fourth order schemes are based on combination of quadratic polynomials with nonlinear weights. We have addressed several difficult issues associated with high order WENO schemes on unstructured mesh, including the choice of linear and nonlinear weights, what to do with negative weights, etc. Numerical examples are shown to demonstrate the accuracies and robustness of the methods for shock calculations. Jointly with P. Montarnal, we have used a recently developed energy relaxation theory by Coquel and Perthame and high order weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) schemes to simulate the Euler equations of real gas. The main idea is an energy decomposition under the form epsilon = epsilon(sub 1) + epsilon(sub 2), where epsilon(sub 1) is associated with a simpler pressure law (gamma)-law in this paper) and the nonlinear deviation epsilon(sub 2) is convected with the flow. A relaxation process is performed for each time step to ensure that the original pressure law is satisfied. The necessary characteristic decomposition for the high order WENO schemes is performed on the characteristic fields based on the epsilon(sub l) gamma-law. The algorithm only calls for the original pressure law once per grid point per time step, without the need to compute its derivatives or any Riemann solvers. Both one and two dimensional numerical examples are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of this approach.

Shu, Chi-Wang↗
NASA NTRS1984

Influence of suspension hypokinesia on rat soleus muscle

Hindlimb hypokinesia was induced in rats by the Morey method to characterize the response of the soleus muscle. Rats suspended for 1-4 wk exhibited continuous and significant declines in soleus mass, function, and contractile duration. Soleus speeding was in part explained by an alteration in fiber type. The normal incidence of 70-90 percent type I fibers in the soleus muscle was reduced after 4 wk of suspension to 50 percent or less in 9 of 11 rats. A significant decline in type I myosin isozyme content occurred without a change in that of type II. Other observed histochemical changes were characteristic of denervation. Consistent with soleus atrophy, there was a significant increase in lysosomal (acid) protease activity. One week of recovery after a 2-wk suspension was characterized by a return to values not significantly different from control for muscle wet weights, peak contraction force, one-half relaxation time, and type I myosin. Persistent differences from control were observed in maximal rate of tension development, contraction time, and denervation-like changes.

Templeton, G. H.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Correlation of Chemical and Physical Test Data For the Environment Ageing of Coflon (PVDF)

This report aims to identify correlations between mechanical property changes and chemical/morphological structure changes for Coflon. It is intended both to illustrate the overall methodology and to indicate the testing that needs to be undertaken in order to obtain correlations. Many fluid exposures have now been carried out on Coflon during the project and many data generated as a result. The report summarises the changes observed in mechanical and physical properties and relates these as well as possible to the chemistry thought to be occurring during ageing. For this purpose, data have been collated from already-issued MERL and TRI technical and progress reports. Most of the mechanical testing of aged testpieces has been performed soon after the completion of the exposure; however, there is of necessity a delay in obtaining chemical analysis of the same testpieces, so that more physical than chemical data are shown. Three fluids have so far caused measurable deterioration of Coflon, these being: methanol (Fluid A), a methanol and amine mixture (Fluid G), and a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide gas and hydrogen sulphide gas plus aqueous amine (Fluid F). Only the effects of these fluids will be dealt with in any detail in this report, although other fluids are assessed to give relevant background information. Relevant test data collated here include: tensile modulus and related properties, mode of sample failure at break, fracture toughness, fatigue crack growth rate and resistance, stress relaxation rate, permeation coefficients, % crystallinity and molecular weight distributions together with changes in fluorine levels, and other observations where appropriate. However, not all of these were obtained for every ageing condition. Because of the wide range of tests employed, and the different ways in which their results are obtained, the following section has been included to serve as a background for making comparisons.

Morgan, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Viscosity Relaxation in Molten HgZnTe

Rotating cup measurements of the viscosity of the pseudo-binary melt, HgZnTe have shown that the isothermal liquid with zinc mole fraction 0.16 requires tens of hours of equilibration time before a steady viscous state can be achieved. Over this relaxation period, the viscosity at 790 C increases by a factor of two, while the viscosity at 810 C increases by 40%. Noting that the Group VI elements tend to polymerize when molten, we suggest that the viscosity of the melt is enhanced by the slow formation of Te atom chains. To explain the build-up of linear Te n-mers, we propose a scheme, which contains formation reactions with second order kinetics that increase the molecular weight, and decomposition reactions with first order kinetics that inactivate the chains. The resulting rate equations can be solved for the time dependence of each molecular weight fraction. Using these molecular weight fractions, we calculate the time dependence of the average molecular weight. Using the standard semi-empirical relation between polymer average molecular weight and viscosity, we then calculate the viscosity relaxation curve. By curve fitting, we find that the data imply that the rate constant for n-mer formation is much smaller than the rate constant for n-mer deactivation, suggesting that Te atoms only weakly polymerize in molten HgZnTe. The steady state toward which the melt relaxes occurs as the rate of formation of an n-mer becomes exactly balanced by the sum of the rate for its deactivation and the rate for its polymerization to form an (n+1)-mer.

Su, Ching-Hua↗
NASA NTRS1998

Real Gas Computation Using an Energy Relaxation Method and High-Order WENO Schemes

In this paper, we use a recently developed energy relaxation theory by Coquel and Perthame and high order weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) schemes to simulate the Euler equations of real gas. The main idea is an energy decomposition into two parts: one part is associated with a simpler pressure law and the other part (the nonlinear deviation) is convected with the flow. A relaxation process is performed for each time step to ensure that the original pressure law is satisfied. The necessary characteristic decomposition for the high order WENO schemes is performed on the characteristic fields based on the first part. The algorithm only calls for the original pressure law once per grid point per time step, without the need to compute its derivatives or any Riemann solvers. Both one and two dimensional numerical examples are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of this approach.

Montarnal, Philippe↗
NASA NTRS1993

National Launch System: Structures and materials

The National Launch System provides an opportunity to realize the potential of Al-Li. Advanced structures can reduce weights by 5-40 percent as well as relax propulsion system performance specifications and reduce requirements for labor and materials. The effect on costs will be substantial. Advanced assembly and process control technologies also offer the potential for greatly reduced labor during the manufacturing and inspection processes. Current practices are very labor-intensive and, as a result, labor costs far outweigh material costs for operational space transportation systems. The technological readiness of new structural materials depends on their commercial availability, producibility and materials properties. Martin Marietta is vigorously pursuing the development of its Weldalite 049 Al-Li alloys in each of these areas. Martin Marietta is also preparing to test an automated work cell concept that it has developed using discrete event simulation.

Bunting, Jack O.↗