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At least 217 records · Page 12

Development of data processing interpretation and analysis system for the remote sensing of trace atmospheric gas species

Problems associated with the development of the measurement of air pollution from satellites (MAPS) experiment program are addressed. The primary thrust of this research was the utilization of the MAPS experiment data in three application areas: low altitude aircraft flights (one to six km); mid altitude aircraft flights (eight to 12 km); and orbiting space platforms. Extensive research work in four major areas of data management was the framework for implementation of the MAPS experiment technique. These areas are: (1) data acquisition; (2) data processing, analysis and interpretation algorithms; (3) data display techniques; and (4) information production.

Casas, J. C.↗

Comparison Analysis Between Nevada and TSS Using a Jet Engine Exhaust Nozzle Test Rig

Thermal analysis in both simple and complex models can require calculating the propagation of radiant energy to and from multiple surfaces. This can be accomplished through simple estimation techniques or complex computationally intense computer modeling simulations. Currently there are a variety of computer analysis techniques used to simulate the propagation of radiant energy, each having advantages and disadvantages. The major objective of this effort was to compare two ray tracing radiation propagation analysis programs (NEVADA and TSS) Net Energy Verification and Determination Analyzer and Thermal Synthesizer System with experimental data. Results from a non-flowing, electrically heated test rig was used to verify the calculated radiant energy propagation from a nozzle geometry that represents an aircraft propulsion nozzle system. In general the programs produced comparable overall results, and results slightly higher then the experimental data. Upon inspection of individual radiation interchange factors, differences were evident and would have been magnified if a more radical model temperature profile was analyzed. Bidirectional reflectivity data (BRDF) was not used do to modeling limitations in TSS. For code comparison purposes, this nozzle geometry represents only one case for one set of analysis conditions. Since each computer code has advantages and disadvantages bases on scope, requirements, and desired accuracy, the usefulness of this single case study may be limiting.

Baumeister, Joseph F.↗

Case studies of gravity waves associated with isolated tornadic storms on January 13, 1976

Penetrative convection, thunderstorms, squall lines, etc., all generate atmospheric gravity waves which can be observed by a ground-based ionospheric Doppler sounder array. Sources of these waves can be determined from reverse ray tracing computations. Case studies of gravity waves associated with isolated tornadic storms on January 13, 1976 were summarized to establish the minimum data sampling time required for correct spectral analysis and ray tracing computations. It was concluded that the data sampling time can be reduced to two to three times the wave period while still obtaining a reasonably good power spectral density. It was also demonstrated that the data sampling time can be reduced to two to three times the time delay of the wave arrival between two station pairs while still obtaining a justifiably good cross-spectral analysis. Computed source locations of the observed gravity waves are compared with conventional and satellite meteorological data.

Hung, R. J.↗

Particle-in-cell simulations of expanding high energy density plasmas with laser ray tracing

The design and analysis of high energy density (HED) laser experiments typically rely on radiation hydrodynamics simulations. However, some laser–plasma interaction regimes are not collisional and cannot be adequately modeled with hydrodynamics. For example, strongly driven magnetic reconnection and magnetized collisionless shock experiments possess extended hydrodynamic or even kinetic properties, necessitating first-principles kinetic simulations. In this paper, we present the benchmarking and first results obtained with a laser-ray-tracing and inverse bremsstrahlung absorption module implemented in the particle-in-cell code PSC. The simulation results are compared to radiation hydrodynamic simulations using the FLASH code as well as analytical estimates. We successfully benchmark the energy deposition model and overall hydrodynamic evolution of the systems. We also consider possible kinetic effects that may be expected from laser-target ablation in the HED regime, including non-local transport and two-temperature effects.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Development of data processing, interpretation and analysis system for the remote sensing of trace atmospheric gas species

The major emphasis is on the advancement of remote sensing technology. In particular, the gas filter correlation radiometer (GFCR) technique was applied to the measurement of trace gas species, such as carbon monoxide (CO), from airborne and Earth orbiting platforms. Through a series of low altitude aircraft flights, high altitude aircraft flights, and orbiting space platform flights, data were collected and analyzed, culminating in the first global map of carbon monoxide concentration in the middle troposphere and stratosphere. The four major areas of this remote sensing program, known as the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS) experiment, are: (1) data acquisition, (2) data processing, analysis, and interpretation algorithms, (3) data display techniques, and (4) information processing.

Casas, Joseph C.↗

ATMOS data processing and science analysis methods

The atmospheric trace molecule spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument, a high-speed Fourier transform spectrometer operating in the middle IR (2.2-16 microns), recorded more than 1500 solar spectra at about 0.0105/cm resolution during its first mission onboard the shuttle Challenger in the spring of 1985. These spectra were acquired during high-sun conditions for studies of the solar atmosphere and during low-sun conditions for studies of the earth's upper atmosphere. This paper describes the steps by which the telemetry data were converted into spectra suitable for analysis, the analysis software and methods developed for the atmospheric and solar studies, and the ATMOS data analysis facility.

Norton, Robert H.↗

Data reduction analysis and application technique development for atmospheric trace gas constituents derived from remote sensors on satellite or airborne platforms

The applicability of the gas filter correlation radiometer (GFCR) to the measurement of tropospheric carbon monoxide gas was investigated. An assessment of the GFRC measurement system to a regional measurement program was conducted through extensive aircraft flight-testing of several versions of the GFRC. Investigative work in the following areas is described: flight test planning and coordination, acquisition of verifying CO measurements, determination and acquisition of supporting meteorological data requirements, and development of supporting computational software.

Casas, J. C.↗

Analysis of hypercube cache performance using address traces generated by TRAPEDS

The authors utilize a recently developed software method of capturing and analyzing address traces, known as TRAPEDS (TRAce Producing Execution Driven Simulation), to provide address traces for cache performance evaluation on a hypercube multicomputer. Utilizing TRAPEDS user code traces obtained from the implementations of several parallel algorithms on the Intel iPSC/2 hypercube, the authors simulate the cache performance effects of changing cache size, line size, and set associativity. Particular attention is devoted to the effect on cache performance of changing the dimension of the hypercube for a particular program and to the variation in cache statistics among the nodes of the hypercube.

Stunkel, Craig B.↗

TRAPEDS: Producing traces for multicomputers via execution-driven simulation

Trace-driven simulation is an important aid in performance analysis of computer systems. Capturing address traces for these simulations is a difficult problem for single processors and particularly for multicomputers. Even when existing trace methods can be used on multicomputers, the amount of collected data typically grows with the number of processors, so I/O and trace storage costs increase. A new technique is presented which modifies the executable code to dynamically collect the address trace from the user code and analyzes this trace during the execution of the program. This method helps resolve the I/O and storage problems and facilitates parallel analysis of the address trace. If a trace stored on disk is desired, the generated trace information can also be written to files during execution, with a resultant drop in program execution speed. An initial implementation on the Intel iPSC/2 hypercube multicomputer is detailed, and sample simulation results are presented. The effect of this trace collection method on execution time is illustrated.

Stunkel, Craig B.↗

TRAPEDS - Producing traces for multicomputers via execution driven simulation

Trace-driven simulation is an important aid in performance analysis of computer systems. Capturing address traces for these simulations is a difficult problem for single processors and particularly for multicomputers. Even when existing trace methods can be used on multicomputers, the amount of collected data typically grows with the number of processors, so I/O and trace storage costs increase. A new technique is presented which modifies the executable code to dynamically collect the address trace from the user code and analyzes this trace during the execution of the program. This method helps resolve the I/O and storage problems and facilitates parallel analysis of the address trace. If a trace stored on disk is desired, the generated trace information can also be written to files during execution, with a resultant drop in program execution speed. An initial implementation on the Intel iPSC/2 hypercube multicomputer is detailed, and sample simulation results are presented. The effect of this trace collection method on execution time is illustrated.

Stunkel, Craig B.↗

Assessment of HAB Particulate Tracing in EMU Helmet in Support of Eva 80

After water was reported in the EMU helmet during ISS US EVA-80, mitigation strategies were created to attempt to arrest the motion of any droplets that enter the helmet for future Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). This included adding absorbent materials into the interior of the helmet. But before a mitigation strategy can be implemented, it must first be proven to be safe. Towards this aim, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was done tracing the paths of particulates potentially generated by the absorbent material. The objective was to characterize the risk these particulates pose for inspiration and eye irritation by tracking what percentage of particulates contact the suit-wearer’s face, eyes, or mouth. The model consisted of a human mannikin head and torso inside the EMU suit and helmet. The software used was ANSYS Fluent, with discrete phase modeling enabled to generate and track the particulates within the ventilation flow of the helmet.

Abigail Rose Baukus↗

Assessment of HAB Particulate Tracing in EMU Helmet in Support of Eva 80

After water was reported in the EMU helmet during ISS US EVA-80, mitigation strategies were created to attempt to arrest the motion of any droplets that enter the helmet for future Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). This included adding absorbent materials into the interior of the helmet. But before a mitigation strategy can be implemented, it must first be proven to be safe. Towards this aim, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was done tracing the paths of particulates potentially generated by the absorbent material. The objective was to characterize the risk these particulates pose for inspiration and eye irritation by tracking what percentage of particulates contact the suit-wearer’s face, eyes, or mouth. The model consisted of a human mannikin head and torso inside the EMU suit and helmet. The software used was ANSYS Fluent, with discrete phase modeling enabled to generate and track the particulates within the ventilation flow of the helmet.

Abigail Baukus↗

Assessment of HAB Particulate Tracing in EMU Helmet in Support of Eva 80

After water was reported in the EMU helmet during ISS US EVA-80, mitigation strategies were created to attempt to arrest the motion of any droplets that enter the helmet for future Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). This included adding absorbent materials into the interior of the helmet. But before a mitigation strategy can be implemented, it must first be proven to be safe. Towards this aim, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was done tracing the paths of particulates potentially generated by the absorbent material. The objective was to characterize the risk these particulates pose for inspiration and eye irritation by tracking what percentage of particulates contact the suit-wearer’s face, eyes, or mouth. The model consisted of a human mannikin head and torso inside the EMU suit and helmet. The software used was ANSYS Fluent, with discrete phase modeling enabled to generate and track the particulates within the ventilation flow of the helmet.

Abigail Baukus↗

Rheoencephalographic (REG) Assessment of Head and Neck Cooling for use with Multiple Sclerosis Patients

We have prepared a computer program (RHEOSYS:RHEOencephalographic impedance trace scanning SyStem) that can be used to automate the analysis of segmental impedance blood flow waveforms. This program was developed to assist in the post test analysis of recorded impedance traces from multiple segments of the body. It incorporates many of the blood flow, segmental volume, and vascular state indices reported in the world literature. As it is currently programmed, seven points are selected from each blood flow pulse and associated ECG waveforrn: 1. peak of the first ECG QRS complex, 2. start of systolic slope on the blood flow trace, 3. maximum amplitude of the impedance pulse, 4. position of the dicrotic notch, 5. maximum amplitude of the postdicrotic segment, 6. peak of the second ECG QRS complex, and 7. start of the next blood flow pulse. These points we used to calculate various geometric, area, and time-related values associated with the impedance pulse morphology. RHEOSYS then calculates a series of 34 impedance and cardiac cycle parameters which include pulse amplitudes; areas; pulse propagation times; cardiac cycle times; and various measures of arterial and various tone, contractility, and pulse volume. We used this program to calculate the scalp and intracranial blood flow responses to head and neck cooling as it may be applied to lower the body temperatures of multiple sclerosis patients. Twelve women and twelve men were tested using a commercially available head and neck cooling system operated at its maximum cooling capacity for a period of 30 minutes. Head and neck cooling produced a transient change in scalp blood flow and a significant, (P<0.05) decrease of approx. 30% in intracranial blood flow. Results of this experiment will illustrate how REG and RHEOSYS can be used in biomedical applications.

Montogomery, Leslie D.↗

Mars Spark Source Prototype Developed

The Mars Spark Source Prototype (MSSP) hardware was developed as part of a proof of concept system for the detection of trace metals such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic in Martian dusts and soils. A spark discharge produces plasma from a soil sample, and detectors measure the optical emission from metals in the plasma to identify and quantify them. Trace metal measurements are vital in assessing whether or not the Martian environment will be toxic to human explorers. The current method of x-ray fluorescence can yield concentrations of major species only. Other instruments are incompatible with the volume, weight, and power constraints for a Mars mission. The new instrument will be developed primarily for use in the Martian environment, but it would be adaptable for terrestrial use in environmental monitoring. The NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field initiated the development of the MSSP as part of Glenn's Director's Discretionary Fund project for the Spark Analysis Detection of Trace Metal Species in Martian Dusts and Soils. The objective of this project is to develop and demonstrate a compact, sensitive optical instrument for the detection of trace hazardous metals in Martian dusts and soils.

Eichenberg, Dennis J.↗

Quantative Measurements of Trace Elements and Three-Dimensional Atomic Scale Characterisation of Presolar O-rich Oxides and Silicates: An Atom Probe Tomography Approach

Presolar grains are recordsof a single moment in stellar evolution which have survived nebula and parent body processingwithin our Solar System. These grains condensed within a range of stellar envi-ronments including asymptotic giant branch stars, red giant branch stars, nova, supernova (SN) and hydrogen burning electron capture supernova(ECSN)[1,2]. Iso-topic and chemical compositions can be used to unravel details about environmental conditions at the time of their condensation and physical and chemical processes occurring at the time. For example,nucleosynthesis, stellar evolution, physical properties of stellar atmos-pheres, mixing from inner core to outer envelope, galac-tic chemical evolution, interstellar medium and parent body processing.NanoSIMS enables detailed characterisation of iso-topic compositions and rapid in situidentification of O-rich presolar oxides and silicates using their character-istic 17O/16O and 18O/16O isotopic ratios.Spectroscopic techniques e.g., auger spectroscopyand transmission electron microscopy, have provided additional details on major and minor chemical signatures. However, due tospatial resolution limitations,interaction volumes and interferencesfrom surrounding grains for in situtech-niques, attaining quantative characterisation of trace el-ements,hasproved challenging[1,3]. As the most sensitive geochemical tracers of envi-ronmental changes, trace elements are essential to un-ravelling the geochemical record of their parent stellar environments and evolutionary pathways[4].We car-ried out correlated in situisotopic and chemical analyses of 13 presolar grains to better understand stellar evolu-tion. In this work, we achieved this using a custom ap-proach, coordinating NanoSIMS, Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX)and Atom Probe Tomography(APT).Our objective was to develop an approach which could ena-ble precise targeting of presolar grains for atom probe tomography and successfully execute atomic scale anal-yses of presolar oxides and silicates, to achieve quantative analysis of their trace elements for the first time.We also aimed to test the capability for Atom Probe tomography to measure isotopic compositions and stoichiometries of presolar oxide and silicate grains.

N D Nevill↗

Validity of the Aluminum Equivalent Approximation in Space Radiation Shielding

The origin of the aluminum equivalent shield approximation in space radiation analysis can be traced back to its roots in the early years of the NASA space programs (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo) wherein the primary radiobiological concern was the intense sources of ionizing radiation causing short term effects which was thought to jeopardize the safety of the crew and hence the mission. Herein, it is shown that the aluminum equivalent shield approximation, although reasonably well suited for that time period and to the application for which it was developed, is of questionable usefulness to the radiobiological concerns of routine space operations of the 21 st century which will include long stays onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and perhaps the moon. This is especially true for a risk based protection system, as appears imminent for deep space exploration where the long-term effects of Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) exposure is of primary concern. The present analysis demonstrates that sufficiently large errors in the interior particle environment of a spacecraft result from the use of the aluminum equivalent approximation, and such approximations should be avoided in future astronaut risk estimates. In this study, the aluminum equivalent approximation is evaluated as a means for estimating the particle environment within a spacecraft structure induced by the GCR radiation field. For comparison, the two extremes of the GCR environment, the 1977 solar minimum and the 2001 solar maximum, are considered. These environments are coupled to the Langley Research Center (LaRC) deterministic ionized particle transport code High charge (Z) and Energy TRaNsport (HZETRN), which propagates the GCR spectra for elements with charges (Z) in the range I <= Z <= 28 (H -- Ni) and secondary neutrons through selected target materials. The coupling of the GCR extremes to HZETRN allows for the examination of the induced environment within the interior' of an idealized spacecraft as approximated by a spherical shell shield, and the effects of the aluminum equivalent approximation for a good polymeric shield material such as genetic polyethylene (PE). The shield thickness is represented by a 25 g/cm spherical shell. Although one could imagine the progression to greater thickness, the current range will be sufficient to evaluate the qualitative usefulness of the aluminum equivalent approximation. Upon establishing the inaccuracies of the aluminum equivalent approximation through numerical simulations of the GCR radiation field attenuation for PE and aluminum equivalent PE spherical shells, we Anther present results for a limited set of commercially available, hydrogen rich, multifunctional polymeric constituents to assess the effect of the aluminum equivalent approximation on their radiation attenuation response as compared to the generic PE.

Badavi, Francis F.↗

Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P)Aircraft Mission: Design, Execution, and First Results

The NASA Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) aircraft mission was conducted in February-April 2001 over the NW Pacific (1) to characterize the Asian chemical outflow and relate it quantitatively to its sources and (2) to determine its chemical evolution. It used two aircraft, a DC-8 and a P-3B, operating out of Hong Kong and Yokota Air Force Base (near Tokyo), with secondary sites in Hawaii, Wake Island, Guam, Okinawa, and Midway. The aircraft carried instrumentation for measurements of long-lived greenhouse gases, ozone and its precursors, aerosols and their precursors, related species, and chemical tracers. Five chemical transport models (CTMs) were used for chemical forecasting. Customized bottom-up emission inventories for East Asia were generated prior to the mission to support chemical forecasting and to serve as a priori for evaluation with the aircraft data. Validation flights were conducted for the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) satellite instrument and revealed little bias (6 plus or minus 2%) in the MOPITT measurements of CO columns. A major event of transpacific Asian pollution was characterized through combined analysis of TRACE-P and MOPITT data. The TRACE-P observations showed that cold fronts sweeping across East Asia and the associated warm conveyor belts (WCBs) are the dominant pathway for Asian outflow to the Pacific in spring. The WCBs lift both anthropogenic and biomass burning (SE Asia) effluents to the free troposphere, resulting in complex chemical signatures. The TRACE-P data are in general consistent with a priori emission inventories, lending confidence in our ability to quantify Asian emissions from socioeconomic data and emission factors. However, the residential combustion source in rural China was found to be much larger than the a priori, and there were also unexplained chemical enhancements (HCN, CH3Cl, OCS, alkylnitrates) in Chinese urban plumes. The Asian source of CCl4 was found to be much higher than government estimates. Measurements of HCN and CH3CN indicated a dominant biomass burning source and ocean sink for both gases. Large fractions of sulfate and nitrate were found to be present in dust aerosols. Photochemical activity in the Asian outflow was strongly reduced by aerosol attenuation of UV radiation, with major implications for the concentrations of HOx, radicals. New particle formation, apparently from ternary nucleation involving NH3, was observed in Chinese urban plumes.

Jacob, Daniel J.↗