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At least 199 records · Page 11

Influence of Exercise Modality on Cerebral-Ocular Hemodynamics and Pressures

Background: Moderate and high intensity aerobic or resistance exercise has clearly identified benefits for cardiac, muscle, and bone health. However, the impact of such exercise - either as a mitigating or an exacerbating factor - on the development of the visual impairment and intracranial pressure syndrome (VIIP) is unknown. Accordingly, our aim was to characterize the effect of an acute bout of resistance (RE), moderate-intensity continuous (CE), and high-intensity interval exercise (IE) during a cephalad fluid shift on cerebral-ocular hemodynamics and pressures. Methods: 10 male subjects (36 plus or minus 9 years) completed 4 testing days in a 15 degree head-down tilt (HDT): (1) assessment of maximum volume of O (sub 2), (2) RE session (4 sets of 12 repetition maximum leg press exercise), (3) CE session (30 minutes of cycling at 60 percent maximum volume of O (sub 2)), and (4) IE session (4 by 4-minute intervals of exercise at 85 percent maximum volume of O (sub 2) with 3-minute active rest periods). During each session, blood flow (Vivid-e, GE Healthcare) in extracranial arteries (common carotid artery, CCA; internal carotid artery, ICA; external carotid artery, ECA and vertebral artery, VA), and mean blood flow velocity in middle cerebral artery (MCA), internal jugular pressure (IJP; VeinPress), and intraocular pressure (IOP; Icare PRO) were measured at rest, at the end of each resistance or interval set, and every 5 minutes during continuous exercise. Translaminar pressure gradient (TLPG) was estimated by subtracting IJP from IOP. Results: There were no differences across days in pre-exercise resting blood flows or pressures. IOP decreased slightly from HDT rest (20.2 plus or minus 2.3 millimeters of mercury) to exercise (RE: 19.2 plus or minus 2.8 millimeters of mercury; CE: 18.9 plus or minus 3.2 millimeters of mercury; IE: 20.1 plus or minus 2.8 millimeters of mercury), while IJP decreased during CE (31.6 plus or minus 9.5 millimeters of mercury) and RE (32.0 plus or minus 8.1 millimeters of mercury), and increased during IE (35.1 plus or minus 9.5 millimeters of mercury) from HDT rest (33.3 plus or minus 6.5 millimeters of mercury). Estimated TLPG was increased during IE only. Compared to RE and CE, IE resulted in the greatest increase in MCA blood flow velocity and extracranial artery blood flow. Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest that high-intensity IE acutely increases cerebral blood flow, IJP, and TLPG. Alterations in TLPG is one mechanism that may contribute to optic nerve sheath edema in astronauts. Accordingly, acutely raising IOP and/or orbital pressure during exercise could optimize cerebral-ocular pressures during spaceflight.

Scott, J.↗

Velocity and flow angle measurements in the Langley 0.3-meter transonic cryogenic tunnel using a laser transit anemometer

The Laser Transit Anemometer (LTA) system is described. In the LTA system two parallel laser beams of known separation and cross sectional area are focussed at the same location or plane. When a particle in a flow field passes through both beams and the time is recorded for its transit (time of flight), its velocity can be calculated knowing the distance between the beams. By rotating the two beams (spots) around a common center and recording the number of valid events (a particle which passes through both spots in the proper sequence) at each angle the flow angle can be determined by curve fitting a predetermined number of angles or points and calculating the peak of what should be a Gaussian curve. The best angle or flow angle is defined as the angle at which the maximum number of valid events occurs. The LTA system functioned properly although conditions were less than desirable.

Honaker, W. C.↗

Thermocouple Boundary Layer Rake

Apparatus and method for providing a velocity flow profile near a reference surface. A measuring device utilizes a plurality of thermojunction pairs to provide the velocity flow profile in accordance with behavior of a gas relative to a constant thickness strut which stands vertically from the reference surface such that the span is normal to the surface, and the chord is parallel to the surface along the initial flow direction. Each thermojunction is carried on either side of a heater formed on a measuring surface in a constant thickness portion of a strut. Additionally, each thermojunction of a given pair is located at a predetermined height from the reference surface. Gas velocity data obtained from temperature differentials from one side of the heater to the other at each successive height is utilized to generate the velocity and turbulence level profiles.

Danny P Hwang↗

Simultaneous analysis of collinear neutron time-of-flight (nToF) traces applied to pulsed fusion experiment

On pulsed fusion experiments, the neutron time of flight (nToF) diagnostic provides critical information on the fusion neutron energy spectrum. This work presents an analysis technique that uses two collinear nToF detectors, potentially to measure nuclear bang time and directional flow velocities. Two collinear detectors may be sufficient to disambiguate the contributions of nuclear bang time and directional flow velocities to the first moment of the neutron energy spectrum, providing an independent measurement of nuclear bang time. In conclusion, preliminary results from measured nToF traces on the National Ignition Facility and additional applications of this technique are presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A model for a continuous-wave iodine laser

A model for a continuous-wave (CW) iodine laser has been developed and compared with the experimental results obtained from a solar-simulator-pumped CW iodine laser. The agreement between the calculated laser power output and the experimental results is generally good for various laser parameters even when the model includes only prominent rate coefficients. The flow velocity dependence of the output power shows that the CW iodine laser cannot be achieved with a flow velocity below 1 m/s for the present solar-simulator-pumped CW iodine laser system.

Hwang, In H.↗

Deployable Emergency Shutoff Device Blocks High-Velocity Fluid Flows

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a device and method for blocking the flow of fluid from an open pipe. Motivated by the sea-bed oil-drilling catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, NASA innovators designed the device to plug, control, and meter the flow of gases and liquids. Anchored with friction fittings, spikes, or explosively activated fasteners, the device is well-suited for harsh environments and high fluid velocities and pressures. With the addition of instrumentation, it can also be used as a variable area flow metering valve that can be set based upon flow conditions. With robotic additions, this patent-pending innovation can be configured to crawl into a pipe then anchor and activate itself to block or control fluid flow.

Nabors, Sammy A.↗

Initial Assessment of Erosion/Abrasion Issues Related to Gas-Cooled Reactors

The US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is investigating the graphite erosion concern detailed in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC), Section III, Division 5, “High Temperature Reactors.” The special consideration in Subsection HH, Subpart A (HHA)-3143, “Abrasion and Erosion,” was described in ASME BPVC Section III, Division 5, which was accepted with exception/limitation in a US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Technical Review. This report describes ORNL’s FY 2023 comprehensive research of erosion-related reports and publications to further study the proposed gas flow velocity limitation to the erosion effect in graphite structure in the ASME BPVC. This report also proposes that a nondimensional fluid parameter, the Reynolds number, might be a better alternative than gas flow velocity for comparing erosion effects caused by carbonaceous dust in fast-flowing helium coolant in gas-cooled reactors (GCRs).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Physical conditions in the cool parts of spicules

The resonance lines of Na, Sr(+), and the Mg triplet system, together with the middle H Balmer lines, are used to determine the plasma parameters in the cool parts of spicules. Results are presented for the heights 2100 and 2500 km according to the chromospheric line emission data reported by Dunn et al. (1968) for the 1962 eclipse. The low flow-velocity solutions require unsatisfactorily high temperature and microturbulence values (the derived thicknesses are also uncomfortably large). The remaining solutions have flow velocities and thicknesses that are in line with expectations from direct spicule observations, and the electron densities are comparable to those obtained from continuum measurements at the 1952 eclipse. However, contrary to most preconceptions, hydrogen is found to be predominantly neutral in these regions; the total gas pressure is consequently quite large - in fact, exceeding the adjacent interspicular pressure by about a factor of 10.

Landman, D. A.↗

Mitral inertance in humans: critical factor in Doppler estimation of transvalvular pressure gradients

The pressure-velocity relationship across the normal mitral valve is approximated by the Bernoulli equation DeltaP = 1/2 rhoDeltav(2) + M. dv/dt, where DeltaP is the atrioventricular pressure difference, rho is blood density, v is transmitral flow velocity, and M is mitral inertance. Although M is indispensable in assessing transvalvular pressure differences from transmitral flow, this term is poorly understood. We measured intraoperative high-fidelity left atrial and ventricular pressures and simultaneous transmitral flow velocities by using transesophageal echocardiography in 100 beats (8 patients). We computed mean mitral inertance (M) by M = integral((DeltaP)-(1/2 x rho v(2))dt/integral(dv/dt)dt and we assessed the effect of the inertial term on the transmitral pressure-flow relation. ranged from 1.03 to 5.96 g/cm(2) (mean = 3.82 +/- 1.22 g/cm(2)). DeltaP calculated from the simplified Bernoulli equation (DeltaP = 1/2. rhov(2)) lagged behind (44 +/- 11 ms) and underestimated the actual peak pressures (2.3 +/- 1.1 mmHg). correlated with left ventricular systolic pressure (r = -0.68, P < 0.0001) and transmitral pressure gradients (r = 0.65, P < 0.0001). Because mitral inertance causes the velocity to lag significantly behind the actual pressure gradient, it needs to be considered when assessing diastolic filling and the pressure difference across normal mitral valves.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗

Survey of Primary Flow Measurement Parameters at the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel

An assessment of the methods and locations used to measure the primary flow conditions in the NASA Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel was conducted during calibration activities following the facility conversion from a Freon-12 heavy-gas test medium to R-134a. A survey of stagnation pressure, plenum static pressure, and stagnation temperature was undertaken at many pertinent locations in the settling chamber, plenum, and contraction section of the wind tunnel and these measurements were compared to those of the existing primary flow measurement systems. Local flow velocities were measured in the settling chamber using a pitot probe. Results illustrate that small discrepancies exist between measured primary tunnel flow conditions and the survey measurements. These discrepancies in tunnel stagnation pressure, plenum pressure, and stagnation temperature were found to be approximately +/- 1-3 psf and 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit. The propagation of known instrument errors in measured primary flow conditions and its impact on tunnel Mach number, dynamic pressure, flow velocity, and Reynolds number have been investigated analytically and shown to require careful attention when considering the uncertainty in measured test section conditions.

Piatak, David J.↗

Performance of conical jet nozzles in terms of flow and velocity coefficients

Performance characteristics of conical jet nozzles were determined in an investigation covering a range of pressure ratios from 1.0 to 2.8, cone half-angles from 5 degrees to 90 degrees, and outlet-inlet diameter ratios from 0.50 to 0.91. All nozzles investigated had an inlet diameter of 5 inches. The flow coefficients of the conical nozzles investigated were dependent on the cone half-angle, outlet-inlet diameter ratio, and pressure ratio. The velocity coefficients were essentially constant at pressure ratios below the critical. For increasing pressures above critical pressure ratio, there was a small decrease in velocity coefficient that was dependent on pressure ratio and independent of cone half-angle and outlet-inlet diameter ratio. Therefore the variation in performance (air flow and thrust) of several nozzles, selected for the same performance at a particular design condition, was proportional to the ratio of their flow coefficients.

Grey, Ralph E↗

Investigation of Body Force Effects on Flow Boiling Critical Heat Flux

The bubble coalescence and interfacial instabilities that are important to modeling critical heat flux (CHF) in reduced-gravity systems can be sensitive to even minute body forces. Understanding these complex phenomena is vital to the design and safe implementation of two-phase thermal management loops proposed for space and planetary-based thermal systems. While reduced gravity conditions cannot be accurately simulated in 1g ground-based experiments, such experiments can help isolate the effects of the various forces (body force, surface tension force and inertia) which influence flow boiling CHF. In this project, the effects of the component of body force perpendicular to a heated wall were examined by conducting 1g flow boiling experiments at different orientations. FC-72 liquid was boiled along one wall of a transparent rectangular flow channel that permitted photographic study of the vapor-liquid interface at conditions approaching CHF. High-speed video imaging was employed to capture dominant CHF mechanisms. Six different CHF regimes were identified: Wavy Vapor Layer, Pool Boiling, Stratification, Vapor Counterflow, Vapor Stagnation, and Separated Concurrent Vapor Flow. CHF showed great sensitivity to orientation for flow velocities below 0.2 m/s, where very small CHF values where measured, especially with downflow and downward-facing heated wall orientations. High flow velocities dampened the effects of orientation considerably. Figure I shows representative images for the different CHF regimes. The Wavy Vapor Layer regime was dominant for all high velocities and most orientations, while all other regimes were encountered at low velocities, in the downflow and/or downward-facing heated wall orientations. The Interfacial Lift-off model was modified to predict the effects of orientation on CHF for the dominant Wavy Vapor Layer regime. The photographic study captured a fairly continuous wavy vapor layer travelling along the heated wall while permitting liquid contact only in wetting fronts, located in the troughs of the interfacial waves. CHF commenced when wetting fronts near the outlet were lifted off the wall. The Interfacial Lift-off model is shown to be an effective tool for predicting the effects of body force on CHF at high velocities.

Zhang, Hui↗

Observation of the critical velocity peak in superfluid films

Critical flow velocities measured by Doppler-shifted third sound in unsaturated helium II films are shown to exhibit a well-defined maximum as a function of film thickness and at this maximum to be considerably higher than those usually found in film flow. In addition the critical velocity is strongly temperature dependent below the maximum and relatively temperature independent above.

Telschow, K.↗

Pc 5 pulsations in the outer dawn magnetosphere seen by ISEE 1 and 2

A long-lasting Pc 5 pulsation at the dawn flank of the magnetosphere is studied using particle and field instrumentation from the ISEE 1 and 2 satellites. Electric field and particle modulation signatures were clearer than magnetic field variations, consistent with the satellites' position in latitude near the equatorial node of a fundamental resonance. Pulsation flow velocities along the ISEE 1 trajectory were calculated from particle characteristics using data from several instruments and from electric and magnetic field data. These flow velocities were all consistent with each other, but the velocities derived from plasma and energetic particle observations were a factor of 2.5 larger than velocities derived from the fields data. In contrast to observations of pulsations during magnetic storms, which often involve resonant or gyrating particle behavior, particles at all energies sampled (10 eV to 200 keV) appeared to respond passively to the pulsation throughout most of the period of interest.

Mitchell, D. G.↗

Low velocity opposed-flow frame spread in a transport-controlled environment DARTFire

The overall objectives of the DARTFire project are to uncover the underlying physics and increase understanding of the mechanisms that cause flames to propagate over solid fuels against a low velocity of oxidizer flow in a low-gravity environment. Specific objectives are (1) to analyze experimentally observed flame shapes, measured gas-phase field variables, spread rates, radiative characteristics, and solid-phase regression rates for comparison with previously developed model prediction capability that will be continually extended, and (2) to investigate the transition from ignition to either flame propagation or extinction in order to determine the characteristics of those environments that lead to flame evolution. To meet the objectives, a series of sounding rocket experiments has been designed to exercise several of the dimensional, controllable variables that affect the flame spread process over PMMA in microgravity, i.e., the opposing flow velocity (1-20 cm/s), the external radiant flux directed to the fuel surface (0-2 W/cm(exp 2)), and the oxygen concentration of the environment (35-70%). Because radiative heat transfer is critical to these microgravity flame spread experiments, radiant heating is imposed, and radiant heat loss will be measured. These are the first attempts at such an experimental control and measurement in microgravity. Other firsts associated with the experiment are (1) the control of the low velocity, opposed flow, which is of the same order as diffusive velocities and Stefan flows; (2) state-of-the-art quantitative flame imaging for species-specific emissions (both infrared and ultraviolet) in addition to novel intensified array imaging to obtain a color image of the very dim, low-gravity flames.

West, Jeff↗

Slow mode transition in the frontside magnetosheath

Three magnetosheath passes with density enhancements in front of the magnetopause are studied with data from ISEE 1, 2, and 3. The density structure appears to be locally generated and slow mode in nature. In one pass when ISEE 1 and 2 were well separated, the motion of the density structure can be determined. The density structure appears to stand in the magnetosheath flow. Thus, it propagates upstream in the rest frame of the flow. The flow in and near the density structure appears to be closer to isothermal than adiabatic. The flow velocity decreases from super-slow to being close to the intermediate and slow mode velocities at the outer edge of the density structure. This study provides additional evidence that the density structure in front of the magnetopause is a slow mode transition in which the flow velocity decreases to the MHD slow mode velocity. The slow mode transition may consist of two wave fronts and a region with strong slow mode waves. This slow mode transition may play an important role in establishing the flow and field pattern near the magnetopause.

Song, P.↗

Flutter of articulated pipes at finite amplitude

The plane motion of an articulated pipe made of two segments is examined and the flow velocity at which flutter manifests itself is sought. The pressure in the reservoir feeding the pipe is kept constant. In contrast to previous works, the flow velocity is not taken as a prescribed parameter of the system but is left to follow the laws of motion. This approach requires a nonlinear formulation of the problem and the equations of motion are solved using Krylov-Bogoliubov's method. A graph of the amplitude of the limit cycles, as a function of the fluid-system mass ratio, is presented and conclusions are drawn as to the necessity of considering nonlinearities in the analysis.

Rousselet, J.↗

Mechanisms of microgravity flame spread over a thin solid fuel - Oxygen and opposed flow effects

Microgravity tests varying oxygen concentration and forced flow velocity have examined the importance of transport processes on flame spread over very thin solid fuels. Flame spread rates, solid phase temperature profiles and flame appearance for these tests are measured. A flame spread map is presented which indicates three distinct regions where different mechanisms control the flame spread process. In the near-quenching region (very low characteristic relative velocities) a new controlling mechanism for flame spread - oxidizer transport-limited chemical reaction - is proposed. In the near-limit, blowoff region, high opposed flow velocities impose residence time limitations on the flame spread process. A critical characteristic relative velocity line between the two near-limit regions defines conditions which result in maximum flammability both in terms of a peak flame spread rate and minimum oxygen concentration for steady burning. In the third region, away from both near-limit regions, the flame spread behavior, which can accurately be described by a thermal theory, is controlled by gas-phase conduction.

Olson, S. L.↗