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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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NASA NTRS1999

Cloud Statistics for NASA Climate Change Studies

The Principal Investigator participated in two field experiments and developed a global data set on cirrus cloud frequency and optical depth to aid the development of numerical models of climate. Four papers were published under this grant. The accomplishments are summarized: (1) In SUCCESS (SUbsonic aircraft: Contrail & Cloud Effects Special Study) the Principal Investigator aided weather forecasters in the start of the field program. A paper also was published on the clouds studied in SUCCESS and the use of the satellite stereographic technique to distinguish cloud forms and heights of clouds. (2) In SHEBA (Surface Heat Budget in the Arctic) FIRE/ACE (Arctic Cloud Experiment) the Principal Investigator provided daily weather and cloud forecasts for four research aircraft crews, NASA's ER-2, UCAR's C-130, University of Washington's Convert 580, and the Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service's Convert 580. Approximately 105 forecasts were written. The Principal Investigator also made daily weather summaries with calculations of air trajectories for 54 flight days in the experiment. The trajectories show where the air sampled during the flights came from and will be used in future publications to discuss the origin and history of the air and clouds sampled by the aircraft. A paper discussing how well the FIRE/ACE data represent normal climatic conditions in the arctic is being prepared. (3) The Principal Investigator's web page became the source of information for weather forecasting by the scientists on the SHEBA ship. (4) Global Cirrus frequency and optical depth is a continuing analysis of global cloud cover and frequency distribution are being made from the NOAA polar orbiting weather satellites. This analysis is sensitive to cirrus clouds because of the radiative channels used. During this grant three papers were published which describe cloud frequencies, their optical properties and compare the Wisconsin FM Cloud Analysis to other global cloud data such as the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program (ISCCP) and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE). A summary of eight years of HIRS data will be published in late 1998. Important information from this study are: 1) cirrus clouds cover most of the earth, 2) they are found about 40% of the time globally, 3) in the tropics cirrus cloud frequencies are even higher, from 80-100%, 4) there is slight evidence that cirnis cloud cover is increasing in the northern hemisphere at about 0.5% per year, and 5) cirrus clouds have an average infrared transmittance of about 40% of the terrestrial radiation. (5) Global Cloud Frequency Statistics published on the Principal Investigator's web page have been used in the planning of the future CRYSTAL experiment and have been used for refinements of a global numerical model operated at the Colorado State University.

Wylie, Donald P.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Effective Gravitational Temperature in Sedimentation

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is used to study the slow settling motions of spheres in suspensions ranging from dilute to highly concentrated, 0.05 less than phi less than 0.50. During sedimentation, velocity fluctuations are found to be organized into regions of characteristic size L approximately 11 a phi(exp-1/3) and buoyant mass DELTA m given by the rms density fluctuations in a region of size L(sup 3) assuming random statistics with excluded volume effects. A simple model accurately predicts the magnitudes of the velocity fluctuations DELTA V. Finally, we find a new universal relation for particle diffusion during sedimentation that can be written in a Stokes-Einstein type form as D approximately (DELTA mg L)/(6 pi eta L), where the effective temperature DELTA mg L is the gravitational potential energy of density fluctuations.

Segre, Philip N.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Electron impact excitation of H2 - Rydberg band systems and the benchmark dissociative cross section for H Lyman-alpha

The cross sections sigma R 1 (2p) for excitation of H Ly-alpha emission produced by electron impact on H2 is reexamined. A more accurate estimate for sigma R 1 (2p) is obtained based on Born approximation estimates of the H2 Rydberg system cross sections using measured relative excitation functions. The obtained value is (8.18 + or -1.2) x 10 to the -18th sq cm at 100 eV, a factor of 0.69 below the value universally applied to cross section measurements over the past decade. Cross sections for the H2 Rydberg systems fixed in magnitude by the Born approximation have also been obtained using experimentally determined excitation functions. Accurate analytic expressions for these cross sections allow the direct calculation of rate coefficients.

Shemansky, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A quasi-steady state cosmological model with creation of matter

A universe is envisioned in which there was a major creation episode when the mean universal density was about 10 to the -27 g/cu cm. Explicit equations are given for the creation of matter; in a cosmological approximation, these equations lead to expressions for the time-dependence of the cosmological scale factor S(t), but do not entail, as big bang cosmology does, that S(t) tend to zero at some finite time t. The equations therefore possess a universality that is absent from big bang cosmology. Creation occurs when certain conservation equations involving the gradient of a scalar field C(i) are satisfied.

Hoyle, F.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Deep Radiostratigraphy of the East Antarctic Plateau: Connecting the Dome C and Vostok Ice Core Sites

Several airborne radar-sounding surveys are used to trace internal reflections around the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C and Vostok ice core sites. Thirteen reflections, spanning the last two glacial cycles, are traced within 200 km of Dome C, a promising region for million-year-old ice, using the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics High-Capacity Radar Sounder. This provides a dated stratigraphy to 2318 m depth at Dome C. Reflection age uncertainties are calculated from the radar range precision and signal-to-noise ratio of the internal reflections. The radar stratigraphy matches well with the Multichannel Coherent Radar Depth Sounder (MCoRDS) radar stratigraphy obtained independently. We show that radar sounding enables the extension of ice core ages through the ice sheet with an additional radar-related age uncertainty of approximately 1/3-1/2 that of the ice cores. Reflections are extended along the Byrd-Totten Glacier divide, using University of Texas/Technical University of Denmark and MCoRDS surveys. However, core-to-core connection is impeded by pervasive aeolian terranes, and Lake Vostok's influence on reflection geometry. Poor radar connection of the two ice cores is attributed to these effects and suboptimal survey design in affected areas. We demonstrate that, while ice sheet internal radar reflections are generally isochronal and can be mapped over large distances, careful survey planning is necessary to extend ice core chronologies to distant regions of the East Antarctic ice sheet.

airborne electromagnetic soundings↗
NASA NTRS1966

Electron impact cross sections for aeronomy.

Quantitative comparison of systematic approaches to generation of inelastic impact cross section with aid of simple universal excitation cross section function

BORN APPROXIMATION↗
NASA NTRS2001

Flow-Tagging Velocimetry for Hypersonic Flows Using Fluorescence of Nitric Oxide

We investigate a new type of flow-tagging velocimetry technique for hypersonic flows. The technique involves exciting a thin line of nitric oxide molecules with a laser beam and then, after some delay, acquiring an image of the displaced line. One component of velocity is determined from the time of flight. This method is applied to measure the velocity profile in a Mach 8.5 laminar, hypersonic boundary layer in the Australian National Universities T2 free-piston shock tunnel. The velocity is measured with an uncertainty of approximately 2%. Comparison with a CFD simulation of the flow shows reasonable agreement.

Danehy, P. M.↗
NASA NTRS2006

A Sub-filter Scale Noise Equation far Hybrid LES Simulations

Hybrid LES/subscale modeling approaches have an important advantage over the current noise prediction methods in that they only involve modeling of the relatively universal subscale motion and not the configuration dependent larger scale turbulence . Previous hybrid approaches use approximate statistical techniques or extrapolation methods to obtain the requisite information about the sub-filter scale motion. An alternative approach would be to adopt the modeling techniques used in the current noise prediction methods and determine the unknown stresses from experimental data. The present paper derives an equation for predicting the sub scale sound from information that can be obtained with currently available experimental procedures. The resulting prediction method would then be intermediate between the current noise prediction codes and previously proposed hybrid techniques.

Goldstein, Marvin E.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Evaluation of Brightness Temperature Sensitivity to Snowpack Physical Properties Using Coupled Snow Physics and Microwave Radiative Transfer Models

There are multiple existing microwave radiative transfer models (RTMs) to simulate the brightness temperature (Tb) of snowpacks. It is still challenging to have consistent Tb responses from RTMs due to individual physical formulations of the snowpack scattering process. This article examines three of the widely-used multi-layer RTMs: 1) the microwave emission model of layered snowpacks (MEMLS); 2) the dense media radiative transfer based on the quasi-crystalline approximation (QCA) of Mie scattering of densely packed sticky spheres (DMRTQMS); and 3) the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT) model. Interestingly, these models yield slightly different Tb responses when driven by the same physical snowpack properties. Tb variations, dependent on the choice of RTMs, are then evaluated to improve the understanding of model differences in microwave emission from a snowpack. We first perform a sensitivity study of the Tb predictions from the three RTMs as a function of snow grain sizes, densities, and depths. While Tb from all three RTMs decreases with increasing snow grain sizes, it is found that a scaling factor is required to have the same amount of Tb attenuation for small grain sizes within the Rayleigh scattering regime. For larger grain sizes, however, a scaling coefficient is not enough to match the model outputs due to the different scattering assumptions of the RTMs. For a single snow layer with increasing snow depths and densities, all three RTMs exhibit Tb attenuations arising from the increase in path lengths and optical depths. Further evaluations are conducted by feeding the three RTMs with the output of a snow physics model driven by in situ weather forcing in a coupled simulation. Outputs of this coupled model include snowpack physical properties and Tbs. By using snow stratigraphy observations, another set of Tb simulation is also conducted with RTMs driven by in situ snowpit observations. The snow physics outputs from the coupled case are compared against in situ snow stratigraphy observations.

Do Hyuk Kang↗
NASA NTRS2021

NASA / NIST / FAA Technical Interchange Meeting on Computational Materials Approaches for Qualification by Analysis for Aerospace Applications

This report documents the goals, organization and outcomes of a Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) on Computational Materials Approaches for Qualification by Analysis, co-organized by NASA, NIST and the FAA. The TIM was held at NASA Langley Research Center on January 15-16, 2020. Approximately 60 subject matter experts (SMEs) representing 8 aerospace manufacturers, 7 government organizations and 2 universities participated. Expertise of the SMEs spanned the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale from the low-to-mid TRL focus of government laboratories and universities to the high TRL perspective of the regulatory organizations and aerospace manufacturers. During this TIM, the future needs of the government regulators and manufacturers motivated the overall discussion and framed the input given by the participants. Hence, the key objectives of the TIM were to understand existing gaps in model-based, e.g., computational materials, processing and performance predictions for aerospace materials and components and forecast how they can be matured to support material, process and part-level qualification and certification (Q&C). The TIM focused on process-intensive metallic materials technologies, including, but not limited to, additive manufacturing. Participation was roughly evenly divided among the processing and performance tracks, suggesting that both topic areas are generally perceived as being both valuable and requiring additional investment. The output of this TIM may be used by both participating and other organizations, in part, as guidance for future national efforts on maturing computational materials capabilities for use in the Q&C of advanced metallic material systems in aerospace applications.

Edward H Glaessgen↗
NASA NTRS1990

Planetary astronomy of Mars. Mars data reduction

Grant #NAGW-1408 was specifically awarded to obtain telescopic visible and near-IR spectral imaging of Mars during the 1988 apparition (9/28/88). The observing program was highly successful producing approximately 2 Gbytes of data, but was only funded for one year and virtually all of the funds were spent in data acquisition. The follow-up grant was funded the following year for reduction of these data into a scientifically productive form, which because of the size and nature of our observations, was a non-trivial task. A more detailed scientific analysis of these data (fully reduced) is in progress now and will take a number of years. Extended geologic analyses of the astronomical data are being funded by the NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics program. The objective was to produce detailed reflectance spectra for contiguous, spatially resolved surface elements covering most of the planet (about +50 degrees to -90 degrees latitude, all longitudes). A total of 6 observing runs, of 3-4 days duration each, were conducted on the University of Arizona's 1.5m telescope on Mt. Bigelow. We present a sketch map showing the approximate total extent of our spectral image coverage. Nearly all of Mars south of 40 degrees N was observed at least once. About half of the area shown was observed multiple times. South of 65 degrees S, including the south polar cap, our coverage is heavily redundant. The first run was conducted June 29 - July 1, 1988 (all dates are UT) to serve as a baseline prior to possible dust storm activity on Mars. The other observing runs were closer to opposition: Sept. 3-6, 13-15, 24-26, and Oct. 5-7 and 16-18. The September and October observations were scheduled to provide maximum longitudinal coverage. This was also intended to provide a balance between surface observations and observations of predicted dust storm activity. No global dust storm developed in 1988, so we have a large volume of data for the surface of Mars.

Singer, Robert B.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Solitosynthesis: Cosmological evolution of non-topological solitons

The thermal creation, fusion, evaporation, and destruction of non-topological solitons (NTS) after a phase transition in the early universe is considered. By defining and following NTS statistical equilibrium and departures from it, and depending on particle physics parameters, one of three possible scenarios occurs. If reaction rates are high enough, a period of equilibrium occurs and relic abundances are determined by the freeze-out temperature. Equilibrium first drives most NTS's into their constituents (free phi particles) and then causes rapid fusion into large NTS's. If freeze-out occurs during the first phase, the NTS's are almost entirely destroyed, while if it occurs during the second phase, solitosynthesis occurs and NTS's may be cosmically relevant. For slow reaction rates the NTS's are born frozen out and have the abundance determined by the phase transition. Analytic approximations for determining the abundances are developed, and tested by numerically integrating a reaction network in an expanding universe. Unfortunately, for most of the parameter space considered, solito-destruction/evaporation occurs.

Griest, Kim↗
NASA NTRS1993

On the probability of magnification by cosmologically distributed gravitational lenses

An analytical method for calculating the statistical properties of source magnification caused by gravitational lenses randomly distributed throughout the universe is presented. Two lenses are considered at different redshifts to show that such an assumption is a statistically adequate approximation. The derived general formulas are applied to point-mass lenses with both point and extended sources. Analytical results of the magnification probability for point sources are accurate to within 10 percent in comparison with the available numerical simulations to moderate redshifts of less than about 2. In terms of the flux conservation, the results are accurate to within 18 percent at a redshift of 6 with respect to the Dyer-Roeder model of a clumpy universe. It is concluded that the present formulas are adequate for statistical studies of magnification by random gravitational lenses on cosmological scales.

Pei, Yichuan C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Large-scale anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation

Inhomogeneities in the large-scale distribution of matter inevitably lead to the generation of large-scale anisotropy in the cosmic background radiation. The dipole, quadrupole, and higher order fluctuations expected in an Einstein-de Sitter cosmological model have been computed. The dipole and quadrupole anisotropies are comparable to the measured values, and impose important constraints on the allowable spectrum of large-scale matter density fluctuations. A significant dipole anisotropy is generated by the matter distribution on scales greater than approximately 100 Mpc. The large-scale anisotropy is insensitive to the ionization history of the universe since decoupling, and cannot easily be reconciled with a galaxy formation theory that is based on primordial adiabatic density fluctuations.

Silk, J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Multifractal structure of speed fluctuations in recurrent streams at 1 AU and near 6 AU

This paper demonstrates the existence of multifractal structure in the velocity fluctuations associated with recurrent streams at 1 AU and near 6 AU. There is a significant evolution of the multifractal spectrum from 1 AU to 6 AU. At 1 AU the fluctuations on all scales in the indicated range are related to the local speed gradients associated with the stream structure. Near 6 AU the multifractal structure of the speed fluctuations approaches the universal form for intermittent turbulence for moments when q is greater than 5, and it has approximately the value expected for a set of discontinuities for q = 2.

Burlaga, L. F.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Numerical simulation and analysis of a prefrontal squall line. I - Observations and basic simulation results. II - Propagation of the squall line as an internal gravity wave

Results of an observational and numerical study of the squall line that occurred on June 17-18, 1978, are presented. This squall line was initially triggered by the strong surface convergence along a cold front and stretched from Illinois to the Texas Panhandle. The squall line was aligned with the surface front during its initial development, but then propagated faster than the front, resulting in a separation of approximately 200 km by 0300 UTC and 300-400 km by 0600 UTC. The Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System is used to model the squall-line development and propagation. Results are described from several experiments that tested the sensitivity to the use of the Kuo-type cumulus parameterization scheme and grid-scale microphysical processes. The movement of the squall line in the model is shown to be due to the propagation of a deep tropospheric internal gravity wave in a CISK-like process. The thermal and dynamic perturbations associated with the hypothesized wave are shown to be consistent with internal gravity wave theory.

Cram, Jennifer M.↗
NASA NTRS1997

High redshift quasars and high metallicities

A large-scale code called Cloudy was designed to simulate non-equilibrium plasmas and predict their spectra. The goal was to apply it to studies of galactic and extragalactic emission line objects in order to reliably deduce abundances and luminosities. Quasars are of particular interest because they are the most luminous objects in the universe and the highest redshift objects that can be observed spectroscopically, and their emission lines can reveal the composition of the interstellar medium (ISM) of the universe when it was well under a billion years old. The lines are produced by warm (approximately 10(sup 4)K) gas with moderate to low density (n less than or equal to 10(sup 12) cm(sup -3)). Cloudy has been extended to include approximately 10(sup 4) resonance lines from the 495 possible stages of ionization of the lightest 30 elements, an extension that required several steps. The charge transfer database was expanded to complete the needed reactions between hydrogen and the first four ions and fit all reactions with a common approximation. Radiative recombination rate coefficients were derived for recombination from all closed shells, where this process should dominate. Analytical fits to Opacity Project (OP) and other recent photoionization cross sections were produced. Finally, rescaled OP oscillator strengths were used to compile a complete set of data for 5971 resonance lines. The major discovery has been that high redshift quasars have very high metallicities and there is strong evidence that the quasar phenomenon is associated with the birth of massive elliptical galaxies.

Ferland, Gary J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Estimating Trabecular Bone Mechanical Properties From Non-Invasive Imaging

An important component in developing countermeasures for maintaining musculoskeletal integrity during long-term space flight is an effective and meaningful method of monitoring skeletal condition. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an attractive non-invasive approach because it avoids the exposure to radiation associated with X-ray based imaging and also provides measures related to bone microstructure rather than just density. The purpose of the research for the 1996 Summer Faculty Fellowship period was to extend the usefulness of the MRI data to estimate the mechanical properties of trabecular bone. The main mechanical properties of interest are the elastic modulus and ultimate strength. Correlations are being investigated between these and fractal analysis parameters, MRI relaxation times, apparent densities, and bone mineral densities. Bone specimens from both human and equine donors have been studied initially to ensure high-quality MR images. Specimens were prepared and scanned from human proximal tibia bones as well as the equine distal radius. The quality of the images from the human bone appeared compromised due to freezing artifact, so only equine bone was included in subsequent procedures since these specimens could be acquired and imaged fresh before being frozen. MRI scans were made spanning a 3.6 cm length on each of 5 equine distal radius specimens. The images were then sent to Dr. Raj Acharya of the State University of New York at Buffalo for fractal analysis. Each piece was cut into 3 slabs approximately 1.2 cm thick and high-resolution contact radiographs were made to provide images for comparing fractal analysis with MR images. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans were also made of each slab for subsequent bone mineral density determination. Slabs were cut into cubes for mechanical using a slow-speed diamond blade wafering saw (Buehler Isomet). The dimensions and wet weights of each cube specimen were measured and recorded. Wet weights were also recorded. Each specimen was labeled and marked to denote anatomic orientations, i.e. superior/inferior (S/I), media/lateral (M/L), and anterior/posterior (A/P). The actual locations of each cube cut were documented and images distributed to define ROI locations for other analyses (to Raj Acharya for fractal analysis, to Jon Richardson at Baylor College of Medicine for DEXA, and to Chen Lin at Baylor College of Medicine for T2* MRI analysis). Quasistatic mechanical testing consisted of compressive loading in all three mutually perpendicular anatomic directions. Cyclic loading was applied for 10 cycles to precondition the specimen and results calculated for the eleventh. For one of three directions tested on each specimen, the 10 cycles were followed with loading to failure. Testing is currently proceeding and once completed the results will be correlated with data from the other analyses. One of the main points of interest is the relationship between fractal dimension and mechanical properties. Throughout preparation and testing all specimens were maintained hydrated with physiological saline and stored frozen when not being used.

Hogan, Harry A.↗