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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

Expansion pattern of helium-enriched shells associated with solar flares

The dependence of the thickness of the helium-enriched shell on the longitudinal position of the parent flares is considered along with the large-scale configuration of the expanding shell in interplanetary space. It is found that shock waves, magnetic bottles, and helium-enriched shells appear to expand eastwards of the meridian plane which crosses the flare region. It seems that the formation of the observed pattern of the shells is influenced by the interplanetary magnetic field between the sun and the earth.

Sakurai, K.↗

Long-term monitoring of the earth's radiation budget; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 17, 18, 1990

The uses of the broadband flux measurements as well as the improvements in the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment in instrumentation and data reduction are summarized. Scientific uses of earth-radiation budget data are discussed, along with a perspective on the instrumentation giving a new foundation for studies of the radiation budget, with emphasis on calibration and long-term stability. Cloud identification and angular modeling are covered including angular dependence models for radiance to flux conversion and the pattern recognition of clouds and ice in polar regions. The surface-radiation budget and atmospheric radiative flux divergence from the Clouds and Earth Radiant Energy System are covered, and time dependence of the earth's radiation fields, determination of the outgoing longwave radiation and its diurnal variations are considered.

Barkstrom, Bruce R.↗

On the maximum off-axis gain of symmetrical pencil-beam antennas

For a general class of symmetrical pencil-beam antennas, the gain at a given off-axis angle can be maximized by choosing the proper antenna size. The maximum gain at the given angle relative to the on-axis gain is independent of the given angle and dependent only on the main-beam pattern. It is computed here for four commonly used gain functions. Its value, in all cases, is close to 4 dB. This result is important in the definition of service areas for communication and broadcast satellites.

Sawitz, P. H.↗

Method for retrieving the true backscattering coefficient from measurements with a real antenna

Coherent and incoherent scattering produce contributions to the power backscattered by a surface at angles near normal incidence, and these contributions are further weighed by the antenna pattern. On the basis of a theoretical model describing the backscattering from a rough soil surface, a procedure is developed for retrieving the true angular pattern of the backscattering coefficient from its measured estimates, where these estimates are based on the usual assumption that the coefficient is approximately constant over the angular extent of the antenna beam for narrow beam systems. The retrieved backscattering coefficient patterns were then used to evaluate the dependence of the coefficient on soil surface roughness at 1.5, 4.25, and 7.25 GHz.

Ulaby, F. T.↗

Laser agile illumination for object tracking and classification - Feasibility study

The 'agile illumination' concept for discrimination between ICBM warheads and decoys involves a two-aperture illumination with coherent light, diffraction of light by propagation, and a resulting interference pattern on the object surface. A scanning two-beam interference pattern illuminates one object at a time; depending on the shape, momentum, spinning, and tumbling characteristics of the interrogated object, different temporal signals will be obtained for different classes of objects.

Scholl, Marija S.↗

Technique for Evaluating the Erosive Properties of Ablative Internal Insulation Materials

A technique for determining the average erosion rate versus Mach number of candidate internal insulation materials was developed for flight motor applications in 12 inch I.D. test firing hardware. The method involved the precision mounting of a mechanical measuring tool within a conical test cartridge fabricated from either a single insulation material or two non-identical materials each of which constituted one half of the test cartridge cone. Comparison of the internal radii measured at nine longitudinal locations and between eight to thirty two azimuths, depending on the regularity of the erosion pattern before and after test firing, permitted calculation of the average erosion rate and Mach number. Systematic criteria were established for identifying erosion anomalies such as the formation of localized ridges and for excluding such anomalies from the calculations. The method is discussed and results presented for several asbestos-free materials developed in-house for the internal motor case insulation in solid propellant rocket motors.

McComb, J. C.↗

Development of an integrated BEM approach for hot fluid structure interaction: BEST-FSI: Boundary Element Solution Technique for Fluid Structure Interaction

As part of the continuing effort at NASA LeRC to improve both the durability and reliability of hot section Earth-to-orbit engine components, significant enhancements must be made in existing finite element and finite difference methods, and advanced techniques, such as the boundary element method (BEM), must be explored. The BEM was chosen as the basic analysis tool because the critical variables (temperature, flux, displacement, and traction) can be very precisely determined with a boundary-based discretization scheme. Additionally, model preparation is considerably simplified compared to the more familiar domain-based methods. Furthermore, the hyperbolic character of high speed flow is captured through the use of an analytical fundamental solution, eliminating the dependence of the solution on the discretization pattern. The price that must be paid in order to realize these advantages is that any BEM formulation requires a considerable amount of analytical work, which is typically absent in the other numerical methods. All of the research accomplishments of a multi-year program aimed toward the development of a boundary element formulation for the study of hot fluid-structure interaction in Earth-to-orbit engine hot section components are detailed. Most of the effort was directed toward the examination of fluid flow, since BEM's for fluids are at a much less developed state. However, significant strides were made, not only in the analysis of thermoviscous fluids, but also in the solution of the fluid-structure interaction problem.

Dargush, G. F.↗

Adjoint-Operator Learning For A Neural Network

Electronic neural networks made to synthesize initially unknown mathematical models of time-dependent phenomena or to learn temporally evolving patterns by use of algorithms based on adjoint operators. Algorithms less complicated, involve less computation and solve learning equations forward in time possibly simultaneously with equations of evolution of neural network, thereby both increasing computational efficiency and making real-time applications possible.

Barhen, Jacob↗

The Aviation System Analysis Capability Airport Capacity and Delay Models

The ASAC Airport Capacity Model and the ASAC Airport Delay Model support analyses of technologies addressing airport capacity. NASA's Aviation System Analysis Capability (ASAC) Airport Capacity Model estimates the capacity of an airport as a function of weather, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) procedures, traffic characteristics, and the level of technology available. Airport capacity is presented as a Pareto frontier of arrivals per hour versus departures per hour. The ASAC Airport Delay Model allows the user to estimate the minutes of arrival delay for an airport, given its (weather dependent) capacity. Historical weather observations and demand patterns are provided by ASAC as inputs to the delay model. The ASAC economic models can translate a reduction in delay minutes into benefit dollars.

Lee, David A.↗

Magnetic Damping of g-Jitter Driven Flows: 3-D Calculations

A 3-D numerical model is developed to represent the oscillating natural convection induced in a cylindrical cavity filled with Ga-doped germanium with and without the presence of an external magnetic field. The model is developed based on the penalty-finite element solution of the equations describing the transport of momentum, heat and solutal element as well as the electromagnetic field distribution in the melt pool. Automatic time step control is applied to help speed up the calculations. Numerical simulations are conducted to study the convection and magnetic damping effects as a function of frequency, directions and amplitudes of g-jitter and also the direction and magnitudes of the applied magnetic fields. The results show that the g-jitter driven flow is time dependent and exhibits a complex recirculating convection pattern in three dimensions and that an applied magnetic field can be employed to suppress this deleterious convective flow and both magnitude and orientation of the applied field are important in magnetic damping of the g-jitter induced convective flows.

Shang, D. Y.↗

Improvements for Image Compression Using Adaptive Principal Component Extraction (APEX)

The issues of image compression and pattern classification have been a primary focus of researchers among a variety of fields including signal and image processing, pattern recognition, data classification, etc. These issues depend on finding an efficient representation of the source data. In this paper we collate our earlier results where we introduced the application of the. Hilbe.rt scan to a principal component algorithm (PCA) with Adaptive Principal Component Extraction (APEX) neural network model. We apply these technique to medical imaging, particularly image representation and compression. We apply the Hilbert scan to the APEX algorithm to improve results

Ziyad, Nigel A.↗

Muscle organizers in Drosophila: the role of persistent larval fibers in adult flight muscle development

In many organisms muscle formation depends on specialized cells that prefigure the pattern of the musculature and serve as templates for myoblast organization and fusion. These include muscle pioneers in insects and muscle organizing cells in leech. In Drosophila, muscle founder cells have been proposed to play a similar role in organizing larval muscle development during embryogenesis. During metamorphosis in Drosophila, following histolysis of most of the larval musculature, there is a second round of myogenesis that gives rise to the adult muscles. It is not known whether muscle founder cells organize the development of these muscles. However, in the thorax specific larval muscle fibers do not histolyze at the onset of metamorphosis, but instead serve as templates for the formation of a subset of adult muscles, the dorsal longitudinal flight muscles (DLMs). Because these persistent larval muscle fibers appear to be functioning in many respects like muscle founder cells, we investigated whether they were necessary for DLM development by using a microbeam laser to ablate them singly and in combination. We found that, in the absence of the larval muscle fibers, DLMs nonetheless develop. Our results show that the persistent larval muscle fibers are not required to initiate myoblast fusion, to determine DLM identity, to locate the DLMs in the thorax, or to specify the total DLM fiber volume. However, they are required to regulate the number of DLM fibers generated. Thus, while the persistent larval muscle fibers are not obligatory for DLM fiber formation and differentiation, they are necessary to ensure the development of the correct number of fibers.

Non-NASA Center↗

Electromagnetic Properties of Filled, Pixellated Arrays

Filled arrays of bolometers are currently being employed for use in astronomy from the far-infrared through millimeter parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Because of the large range of wavelengths for which this is applicable, the number of modes supported by a bolometric pixel will vary according to specific application. Withington et al. (2003) have built a formalism for treating the electromagnetic properties of such bolometers by propagating the second order statistical properties of the radiation through a canonical optical system. In this work, we use this formalism to construct beam pattern images of square pixels for various ratios of p/lambda where p is the pixel size and lambda is the wavelength. In the low mode limit, the diffraction effects cause the beam pattern to be circular with a quadrupole dependence of Stokes Q and U. High mode cases approach the geometric limit. The polarization in these cases can be seen to trace the pixel edges. The effective size of the beam has a direct impact on the inter-pixel coupling and sets the number of independent detectors in an astronomical focal plane. This technique illustrates and quantifies the relationship between pixel size and angular resolution limits for a given wavelength and telescope. This is especially true in the limit of low p/lambda. In this case, the diffraction due to pixelization is non-negligible for the calculation of the overall angular resolution of the telescope. In addition, for instruments that are polarization sensitive, this method also provides a quantitative method for determining the contribution of the instrument to the measured polarization.

Chuss, David T.↗

Production regimes in four eastern boundary current systems

High productivity (maxima ~3 g C m(sup -2)day(sup -1)) of the Eastern Boundary Currents (EBCs), i.e. the California, Peru-Humboldt, Canary and Benguela Currents, is driven by a combination of local forcing and large-scale circulation. The characteristics of the deep water brought to the surface by upwelling favorable winds depend on the large-scale circulation patterns. Here we use a new hydrographic and nutrient climatology together with satellite measurements ofthe wind vector, sea-surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll concentration, and primary production modeled from ocean color to quantify the meridional and seasonal patterns of upwelling dynamics and biological response. The unprecedented combination of data sets allows us to describe objectively the variability for small regions within each current and to characterize the governing factors for biological production. The temporal and spatial environmental variability was due in most regions to large-scale circulation, alone or in combination with offshore transport (local forcing). The observed meridional and seasonal patterns of biomass and primary production were most highlycorrelated to components representing large-scale circulation. The biomass sustained by a given nutrient concentration in the Atlantic EBCs was twice as large as that of the Pacific EBCs. This apparent greater efficiency may be due toavailability of iron, physical retention, or differences in planktonic community structure.

circulation patternsoceans↗

Non-Gaussian Analysis of Turbulent Boundary Layer Fluctuating Pressure on Aircraft Skin Panels

The purpose of the study is to investigate the probability density function (PDF) of turbulent boundary layer fluctuating pressures measured on the outer sidewall of a supersonic transport aircraft and to approximate these PDFs by analytical models. Experimental flight results show that the fluctuating pressure PDFs differ from the Gaussian distribution even for standard smooth surface conditions. The PDF tails are wider and longer than those of the Gaussian model. For pressure fluctuations in front of forward-facing step discontinuities, deviations from the Gaussian model are more significant and the PDFs become asymmetrical. There is a certain spatial pattern of the skewness and kurtosis behavior depending on the distance upstream from the step. All characteristics related to non-Gaussian behavior are highly dependent upon the distance from the step and the step height, less dependent on aircraft speed, and not dependent on the fuselage location. A Hermite polynomial transform model and a piecewise-Gaussian model fit the flight data well both for the smooth and stepped conditions. The piecewise-Gaussian approximation can be additionally regarded for convenience in usage after the model is constructed.

Rizzi, Stephen A.↗

Methods Reduce Cost, Enhance Quality of Nanotubes

For all the challenges posed by the microgravity conditions of space, weight is actually one of the more significant problems NASA faces in the development of the next generation of U.S. space vehicles. For the Agency s Constellation Program, engineers at NASA centers are designing and testing new vessels as safe, practical, and cost-effective means of space travel following the eventual retirement of the space shuttle. Program components like the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, intended to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and the Moon, must be designed to specific weight requirements to manage fuel consumption and match launch rocket capabilities; Orion s gross liftoff weight target is about 63,789 pounds. Future space vehicles will require even greater attention to lightweight construction to help conserve fuel for long-range missions to Mars and beyond. In order to reduce spacecraft weight without sacrificing structural integrity, NASA is pursuing the development of materials that promise to revolutionize not only spacecraft construction, but also a host of potential applications on Earth. Single-walled carbon nanotubes are one material of particular interest. These tubular, single-layer carbon molecules - 100,000 of them braided together would be no thicker than a human hair - display a range of remarkable characteristics. Possessing greater tensile strength than steel at a fraction of the weight, the nanotubes are efficient heat conductors with metallic or semiconductor electrical properties depending on their diameter and chirality (the pattern of each nanotube s hexagonal lattice structure). All of these properties make the nanotubes an appealing material for spacecraft construction, with the potential for nanotube composites to reduce spacecraft weight by 50 percent or more. The nanotubes may also feature in a number of other space exploration applications, including life support, energy storage, and sensor technologies. NASA s various efforts with carbon nanotubes have made it a global leader in this field. Among the many examples are Johnson Space Center s Carbon Nanotube Project, which focuses on bulk nanotube production, purification, and application, and Goddard Space Flight Center s improved arc discharge method of nanotube production, developed under the direction of Jeannette Benavides (featured in Spinoff 2007 and 2008). While the Agency continues its own research, it partners with private companies to advance this unique technology for use on Earth as well as among the stars.

Source record↗

State of the Carbon Cycle - Consequences of Rising Atmospheric CO2

The rise of atmospheric CO2, largely attributable to human activity through fossil fuel emissions and land-use change, has been dampened by carbon uptake by the ocean and terrestrial biosphere. We outline the consequences of this carbon uptake as direct and indirect effects on terrestrial and oceanic systems and processes for different regions of North America and the globe. We assess the capacity of these systems to continue to act as carbon sinks. Rising CO2 has decreased seawater pH; this process of ocean acidification has impacted some marine species and altered fundamental ecosystem processes with further effects likely. In terrestrial ecosystems, increased atmospheric CO2 causes enhanced photosynthesis, net primary production, and increased water-use efficiency. Rising CO2 may change vegetation composition and carbon storage, and widespread increases in water use efficiency likely influence terrestrial hydrology and biogeochemical cycling. Consequences for human populations include changes to ecosystem services including cultural activities surrounding land use, agricultural or harvesting practices. Commercial fish stocks have been impacted and crop production yields have been changed as a result of rising CO2. Ocean and terrestrial effects are contingent on, and feedback to, global climate change. Warming and modified precipitation regimes impact a variety of ecosystem processes, and the combination of climate change and rising CO2 contributes considerable uncertainty to forecasting carbon sink capacity in the ocean and on land. Disturbance regime (fire and insects) are modified with increased temperatures. Fire frequency and intensity increase, and insect lifecycles are disrupted as temperatures move out of historical norms. Changes in disturbance patterns modulate the effects of rising CO2 depending on ecosystem type, disturbance frequency, and magnitude of events. We discuss management strategies designed to limit the rise of atmospheric CO2 and reduce uncertainty in forecasts of decadal and centennial feedbacks of rising atmospheric CO2 on carbon storage.

Carbon Cycle↗

Looking at A 0535+26 at Low Luminosities with NuSTAR

We report on two NuSTAR observations of the high-mass X-ray binary A 0535+26 taken toward the end of its normal 2015 outburst at very low 3-50 keV luminosities of approximately 1.4 times x 10 (sup 36) ergs per second and approximately 5 times x 10 (sup 35) ergs per second, which are complemented by nine Swift observations. The data clearly confirm indications seen in earlier data that the source's spectral shape softens as it becomes fainter. The smooth exponential rollover at high energies seen in the first observation evolves to a much more abrupt steepening of the spectrum at 20-30 keV. The continuum evolution can be nicely described with emission from a magnetized accretion column, modeled using the compmag model modified by an additional Gaussian emission component for the fainter observation. Between the two observations, the optical depth changes from 0.75 plus or minus 0.04 to 0.56 plus 0.01 (sup) minus 0.04 (sub), the electron temperature remains constant, and there is an indication that the column decreases in radius. Since the energy-resolved pulse profiles remain virtually unchanged in shape between the two observations, the emission properties of the accretion column reflect the same accretion regime. This conclusion is also confirmed by our result that the energy of the cyclotron resonant scattering feature (CRSF) at approximately 45 keV is independent of the luminosity, implying that the magnetic field in the region in which the observed radiation is produced is the same in both observations. Finally, we also constrain the evolution of the continuum parameters with the rotational phase of the neutron star. The width of the CRSF could only be constrained for the brighter observation. Based on Monte Carlo simulations of CRSF formation in single accretion columns, its pulse phase dependence supports a simplified fan beam emission pattern. The evolution of the CRSF width is very similar to that of the CRSF depth, which is, however, in disagreement with expectations.

Ballhausen, Ralf↗