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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 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

From AFF to CCNT : JPL's evolving family of multifunction constellation transceivers

This paper describes the profiles and requirements of the ST-3 and ST-5 missions, and discusses the unique technological challenges each of them presents. Bothe the AFF and CCNT trace their heritage to GPS receivers, using measurements of both RF carrier phase and a ranging code. They will operate, however, at very different frequency bands; the ADD at Ka-band, and the CCNT at S-band.

Constellation Communications and Navigation Transc↗
NASA NTRS2008

Application of Ruze Equation for Inflatable Aperture Antennas

Inflatable aperture reflector antennas are an emerging technology that NASA is investigating for potential uses in science and exploration missions. As inflatable aperture antennas have not been proven fully qualified for space missions, they must be characterized properly so that the behavior of the antennas can be known in advance. To properly characterize the inflatable aperture antenna, testing must be performed in a relevant environment, such as a vacuum chamber. Since the capability of having a radiofrequency (RF) test facility inside a vacuum chamber did not exist at NASA Glenn Research Center, a different methodology had to be utilized. The proposal to test an inflatable aperture antenna in a vacuum chamber entailed performing a photogrammetry study of the antenna surface by using laser ranging measurements. A root-mean-square (rms) error term was derived from the photogrammetry study to calculate the antenna surface loss as described by the Ruze equation. However, initial testing showed that problems existed in using the Ruze equation to calculate the loss due to errors on the antenna surface. This study utilized RF measurements obtained in a near-field antenna range and photogrammetry data taken from a laser range scanner to compare the expected performance of the test antenna (via the Ruze equation) with the actual RF patterns and directivity measurements. Results showed that the Ruze equation overstated the degradation in the directivity calculation. Therefore, when the photogrammetry study is performed on the test antennas in the vacuum chamber, a more complex equation must be used in light of the fact that the Ruze theory overstates the loss in directivity for inflatable aperture reflector antennas.

Welch, Bryan W.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Microwave microscope studies of trapped vortex dynamics in superconductors

Trapped vortices in superconductors introduce residual resistance in superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities and disrupt the operation of superconducting quantum and digital electronic circuits. Understanding the detailed dynamics of trapped vortices under oscillating magnetic fields is essential for advancing these technologies. We have developed a near-field magnetic microwave microscope to study the dynamics of a limited number of trapped vortices under the probe when stimulated by a localized rf magnetic field. By measuring the local second-harmonic response (𝑃 2⁢f ) at subfemto-Watt levels, we isolate signals exclusively arising from trapped vortices, excluding contributions from surface defects and Meissner screening currents. Toy models of niobium superconductor hosting vortex pinning sites are introduced and studied with time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) simulations of probe/sample interaction to better understand the measured second-harmonic response. The simulation results demonstrate that the second-harmonic response of trapped vortex motion under a localized rf magnetic field shares key features with the experimental data. Here, this measurement technique provides access to vortex dynamics at the micrometer scale, such as depinning events and spatially resolved pinning properties, as demonstrated in measurements on a niobium film with an antidot flux pinning array.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1975

Radiated microwave power transmission system efficiency measurements

The measured and calculated results from determining the operating efficiencies of a laboratory version of a system for transporting electric power from one point to another via a wireless free space radiated microwave beam are reported. The system's overall end-to-end efficiency as well as intermediated conversion efficiencies were measured. The maximum achieved end-to-end dc-to-ac system efficiency was 54.18% with a probable error of + or - 0.94%. The dc-to-RF conversion efficiency was measured to be 68.87% + or - 1.0% and the RF-to-dc conversion efficiency was 78.67 + or - 1.1%. Under these conditions a dc power of 495.62 + or - 3.57 W was received with a free space transmitter antenna receiver antenna separation of 170.2 cm (67 in).

Dickinson, R. M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modeling Methods for 3D Lightning Mapping from Space

Global lightning detection has advanced greatly over the past few decades both on ground and from orbit. Ground-based systems like the Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) excel at high-precision 3D reconstruction of local flashes, while spaceborne lightning sensors have much larger potential coverage but are limited by coarser resolution and often rely on data from other instruments to determine 3D flash locations. CubeSpark is a new mission concept focused on combining these two methods in the form of six small satellites in low-Earth orbit. CubeSpark will combine RF and bispectral optical measurements of lightning in order to map the 3D structure of both individual flashes and their parent thunderstorms at 1-2 km spatial resolution on a global scale, enabling a host of new atmospheric, climate, and space electricity studies. The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility and expected resolution of lightning mapping via indivudal VHF sources using different methods and detector combinations. Flashes were simulated beneath orbital configurations consisting of 1-6 satellites, taking into account the complicated interactions with Earth's ionosphere. In the multi-satellite (>5) approach, RF detectors on each satellite measure the arrival times of impulsive VHF sources to collectively pinpoint their locations in 3D and reconstruct flashes with higher resolution than has been achieved from space. The same can process can be performed with 3-4 satellites by constraining sources' horizontal locations with onboard optical imagers. A 1-2 station approach follows the established method of determining the height of an RF source using the arrival time difference between direct RF waves and their reflections off the Earth's surface. Here we present preliminary results of the expected accuracy of these methods to inform potential satellite missions like CubeSpark.

Lightning↗
NASA NTRS1982

Orbit determination of low-altitude earth satellites using GPS RF Doppler

This paper investigates the use of one type of GPS-signal derived measurement, the doubly differenced GPS RF Doppler, in the orbit determination of low-altitude earth satellites. This measurement is simple to make, is insensitive to clock errors and provides a continuous determination of the user satellite orbit. Analysis shows that, with a constellation of 18 GPS satellites and 13 ground stations, the 1300 km altitude of a user satellite (TOPEX) can be determined to 5 cm in 2 hours of tracking. Examination is made of the effects of employing fewer ground stations, of different solution strategies, and of introducing fictitious thrust parameters to alleviate the geopotential modeling error which is one of the major error sources.

Wu, S. C.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Toward Emittance Measurements at 11.7 GHz Short-Pulse High-Gradient RF Gun

A short pulse high gradient RF gun has been recently tested at Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) facility. The carried-out test showed that the 1,5-cell gun was able to inject 3 MeV, up to 100 pC bunches at room tem-perature being fed by 9 ns up to 300 MW 11.7 GHz puls-es. The cathode field was as high as about 400 MV/m. So high field is aimed to mitigate repealing Coulomb forces substantially. In accordance with simulations the emit-tance could be as low as less than 0.2 mcm. To obtain so low emittance in the experiment, the gun is assumed to be equipped with a downstream linac to be fed from the same power extractor as the gun itself. Here we report design of the RF power distribution system splitting RF power among the gun and the linac, results of low-power tests, and emittance measurement plans for upcoming new experiment at AWA.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Methods of controllable interstitial oxygen doping in niobium

A method for vacuum heat treating Nb, such as is used in superconducting radio frequency cavities, to engineer the interstitial oxygen profile with depth into the surface to conveniently optimize the low-temperature rf surface resistance of the material. An example application is heating of 1.3 GHz accelerating structures between 250-400° C. to achieve a very high quality factor of 5×1010 at 2.0 K. With data supplied by secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements, application of oxide decomposition and oxygen diffusion theory was applied to quantify previously unknown parameters crucial in achieving the oxygen alloy concentration profiles required to optimize the rf surface resistance. RF measurements of vacuum heat treated Nb superconducting radio frequency cavities confirmed the minimized surface resistance (higher Q0) previously expected only from 800° C. diffusive alloying with nitrogen.

Palczewski, Ari D.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Error analysis for Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973 conducted at the JPL Mesa west antenna range

Theoretical analysis and experimental data are combined to yield the errors to be used with antenna gain, antenna patterns, and RF cable insertion loss measurements for the Mariner Venus-Mercury 1973 Flight Project. These errors apply to measurements conducted at the JPL Mesa, West Antenna Range, on the high gain antenna, low gain antenna, and RF coaxial cables.

Vincent, N. L.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nonlocal subpicosecond delay metrology using spectral quantum interference

Precise knowledge of position and timing information is critical to support elementary protocols such as entanglement swapping on quantum networks. While approaches have been devised to use quantum light for such metrology, they largely rely on time-of-flight (ToF) measurements with single-photon detectors and, therefore, are limited to picosecond-scale resolution owing to detector jitter. In this work, we demonstrate an approach to distributed sensing that leverages phase modulation to map changes in the spectral phase to coincidence probability, thereby overcoming the limits imposed by single-photon detection. By extracting information about the joint biphoton phase, we measure a generalized delay—the difference in signal–idler arrival, relative to local radio frequency (RF) phase modulation. For nonlocal ranging measurements, we achieve (2$σ$) precision of ±0.04 ps and for measurements of the relative RF phase, (2$σ$) precision of ±0.7°. We complement this fine timing information with ToF data from single-photon time-tagging to demonstrate absolute measurement of time delay. By relying on off-the-shelf telecommunications equipment and standard quantum resources, this approach has the potential to reduce overhead in practical quantum networks.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Commissioning of SRF Cavity Analyzer System

Research and development in Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities manufacturing, surface treatment, preparation, and doping techniques for the improvement of cavities performance necessitate reliable cavities’ intrinsic quality factor measurement with accurate and repeatable results. Fermilab Vertical Test Stand facility (VTS) performs ~270 cavities tests per year, including R&D cavities as well as production cavities at each step of their preparation for the placement in accelerator’s cryomodules. Current Fermilab VTS testing system is based on the scalar approach of power measurement, which neglects potential error factors of the RF networks with distributed parameters, hence the assessed measurement errors of such a system might be slightly underestimated. Alternative approach, utilizing a vector measurement (amplitude and phase) of RF signals in the setup with a cavity as a device under test, promises an enhanced accuracy and results traceability. New cavity an alyser system based on this approach (Vector VTS) was developed by D. Frolov et al. and currently undergoes a commissioning process. Basic underlying principles of the system will be presented with the methods of quality factor extraction from S-parameters measurement of multiport cavities and brief error analysis will be discussed. The system architecture will be shown with main components parameters and ensuing testing capabilities. Multiple tests results will be discussed with a cross-check comparison of the results obtained with a conventional testing method. System advantages such as automated calibration process and additional features as a built- in microphonics measurement capability will be presented.

Netepenko, A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

RF gauging efforts with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as applicable to subcritical space vehicle systems

The RF gauging concept is based on the interaction between a fluid dielectric medium in an enclosed metallic cavity and electromagnetic fields set up within that cavity. In RF gauging systems, the fundamental measurement relies on the interpretation of changes in the resonant RF frequencies of an enclosed tank as the mass of the propellant contained in the tank is changed. In addition to a discussion of the basic principles of operation of these systems, the study presents a description of the current breadboard implementation with typical test arrangements, along with supporting test data. The experimental testing of the RF gauging technique for liquid cryogen mass gauging indicates that this technique is a feasible approach to liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen gauging under all attitude or reduced gravity environments.

Thompson, H. E.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The temporal structure of RF radiation from lightning

Radiation from lightning in the RF band from 3-300 MHz has been examined. Simultaneous measurements were made of the RF radiation from lightning together with records of fast and slow field changes. Continuous analogue recordings were made with a system having 300 kHz of bandwidth in the RF channels. The temporal history of RF radiation of these frequencies consists of a sequence of discrete pulses. The data reveal a distinct pattern in the radiation which is independent of frequency and depends on the type of lightning flash: Cloud-to-ground flashes are characterized by an abrupt beginning associated with the stepped leader, whereas cloud-to-cloud flashes begin with a slower train of noise pulses more typical of the end of both types of flash. An exception to this pattern is cloud-to-ground flashes preceded by a breakdown phase, in which case the radiation begins like a cloud-to-cloud flash.

Levine, D. M.↗
DOE OSTI2020

NDSE Static Series V & VI Test Results

The purpose for the Neutron-Diagnosed Subcritical Experiment (NDSE) Static Test Series at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Area 11 is to develop and validate the capability to make precise and accurate measurements of k eff for Special Nuclear Material (SNM) targets with k eff ~ 0.95.1 The series has now completed six sets of measurements using the deuterium-tritium (DT) Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) neutron source, with a Rocky-Flats-Shells Highly Enriched Uranium (RF HEU) target, to measure the gamma die-away to this purpose. The last of these series, Series V and VI, are the subject of this report. Both series were performed on a target comprised of the Object IV HEU + CH 2 configuration, which is identical to Object II but with smaller DPF collimators that limit the incident neutron flux to the HEU radius.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS1995

On Ba(+) production in the CRIT 2 experiment

Analysis of partical data from the CRIT 2 experiment, studying Alfven's critical ionization velocity (CIV) effect, shows that the density of newly created ions (presumably Ba(+) from the shaped-charge beam) is consistent with the increase in total plasma density measured by the independent RF plasma probe on board (Swenson et al., 1990) at the most active time period. We model this ion production using the measured electron flux data and the neutral barium model of Stenbaek-Nielsen et al. (1990a). To identify the main source mechanisms which may contribute most to the barium ionization, a simple model for the barium ion density at the payload location is developed based on Liouvilles theorem. We estimate that the electron impact ionization is responsible for 90% of the barium ion production observed by CRIT 2 in the first release and up to 45% in the second release. By employing a two-state approximation calculation (Rapp and Francis, 1962), the Ba-O(+) charge exchange cross section is found to range from about 2.0 X 10(exp -17) sq cm at a velocity of 4 km/s to 2.0 X 10(exp -15) sq cm at a velocity of 20 km/s. This result suggests that the Ba-O(+) charge exchange is probably dominant among all the non-CIV ionization processes. By considering the charge exchange process in our density model, the barrium ion densities are calculated for the two releases on CRIT II. The comparison between the model results and the observed data is found to be resonably consistent if the cross sections, as calculated above, are multiplied by 0.3 for the first release and 1.0 for the second release. Our result suggests that the charge exchange process could be the most important non-CIV ionization mechanism in the CRIT II experiment and it should be considered carefully case by case in CIV experiments.

Liou, K.↗
DOE OSTI2025

KIPM Detector Characterization in QUIET

Kinetic Inductance Phonon‑Mediated (KIPM) detectors are superconducting microwave resonators that sense energy depositions in the substrate through a transient shift in their resonant frequency. In this work, I installed new devices in the QUIET cryogenic facility and used a network analyzer to drive them across a range of power levels. At each setting, I measured the transmitted signal and fit it to a simple notch‑filter model, allowing us to extract key performance metrics. Despite the increased noise at low power, the model consistently captured the resonance behavior. I first measured the resonance parameters as a function of RF drive power, then repeated the measurement across a range of temperatures to test whether the device behaved like an MKID. While the notch-filter fits captured the resonance reliably, the observed temperature dependence did not match the expected MKID signature — indicating that these first in-house fabricated chips are not yet functioning as true MKIDs. Overall, this reframes our work as a study of resonance parameter extraction and identification, pointing towards future iterations of device design and fabrication to get the true MKID response.

Savitala, Akash [U. Washington, Seattle (main); Fe↗
DOE OSTI2020

Measurement and modeling of the radio frequency sheath impedance in a large magnetized plasma

The DC and RF properties of radio frequency (RF) driven sheaths were studied in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California, Los Angeles. The experiments diagnosed RF sheaths on field lines connected to a grounded plate at one end and an ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) antenna at the other end. The experimental setup permitted measurement of the RF sheath impedance at the plate as a function of DC sheath voltage, with the latter controlled by varying the RF current applied to the antenna. Here, the DC current-voltage characteristics of these sheaths and the RF sheath impedance measurements were compared with modeling. Hot electrons, present in the LAPD plasma, were inferred to contribute significantly to both the DC and RF currents and hence the RF impedance. It was postulated that at very low power hot electrons could not access the region of the plasma subject to RF waves, resulting in an increased RF impedance. Within some experimental limitations and significant assumptions, an RF sheath impedance model was verified by the experimental data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗