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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Validation of 3D MHD simulations of Ne/D 2 mixed shattered pellet injection in JET

Nonlinear 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling of shattered pellet injection (SPI) in JET tokamak plasmas is performed with the JOREK code. The study focuses on the validation of simulation result with respect to experimental observations, addressing in particular figures of merit for the efficiency of the SPI, as a technique to mitigate thermal loads by injecting radiative impurities like neon during the thermal quench (TQ) phase of disruptions. A set of JET pulses with neon/deuterium atomic mixture ratio in the shattered pellet varying from 10% to 100% provides the experimental data to be compared with. Simulations using different models for the ablation of solid fragments and the radiation of neon impurities are considered. Synthetic diagnostics are employed for a direct quantitative comparison with key JET diagnostic systems providing in particular radiation, electron temperature and density, and magnetic measurements. 3D radiation structures from MHD simulations are analyzed to estimate the toroidal asymmetry of radiation, which is difficult to measure in JET due to the presence of only two toroidally displaced multi-channel bolometry systems. JOREK simulations show that, before the TQ, the bulk of the radiation is concentrated in a toroidal region enclosing the radiating fragments that is missed by both multi-channel bolometers, suggesting a possible underestimation of the total radiation by such diagnostic systems in the pre-TQ phase. On the other hand, JOREK predicts that during the TQ the radiation becomes more toroidally symmetric, with positive implications for the heat load to plasma facing components.

JOREK↗
NASA NTRS2011

Sustainably Sourced, Thermally Resistant, Radiation Hard Biopolymer

This material represents a breakthrough in the production, manufacturing, and application of thermal protection system (TPS) materials and radiation shielding, as this represents the first effort to develop a non-metallic, non-ceramic, biomaterial-based, sustainable TPS with the capability to also act as radiation shielding. Until now, the standing philosophy for radiation shielding involved carrying the shielding at liftoff or utilizing onboard water sources. This shielding material could be grown onboard and applied as needed prior to different radiation landscapes (commonly seen during missions involving gravitational assists). The material is a bioplastic material. Bioplastics are any combination of a biopolymer and a plasticizer. In this case, the biopolymer is a starch-based material and a commonly accessible plasticizer. Starch molecules are composed of two major polymers: amylase and amylopectin. The biopolymer phenolic compounds are common to the ablative thermal protection system family of materials. With similar constituents come similar chemical ablation processes, with the potential to have comparable, if not better, ablation characteristics. It can also be used as a flame-resistant barrier for commercial applications in buildings, homes, cars, and heater firewall material. The biopolymer is observed to undergo chemical transformations (oxidative and structural degradation) at radiation doses that are 1,000 times the maximum dose of an unmanned mission (10-25 Mrad), indicating that it would be a viable candidate for robust radiation shielding. As a comparison, the total integrated radiation dose for a three-year manned mission to Mars is 0.1 krad, far below the radiation limit at which starch molecules degrade. For electron radiation, the biopolymer starches show minimal deterioration when exposed to energies greater than 180 keV. This flame-resistant, thermal-insulating material is non-hazardous and may be sustainably sourced. It poses no hazardous waste threats during its lifecycle. The material composition is radiation-tolerant up to megarad doses, indicating its use as a radiation shielding material. It is lightweight, non-metallic, and able to be mechanically densified, permitting a tunable gradient of thermal and radiation protection as needed. The dual-use (thermal and radiation shielding), sustainable nature of this material makes it suitable for both industrial applications as a sustainable/green building material, and for space applications as thermal protection material and radiation shield.

Pugel, Diane↗
NASA NTRS1966

Radiation used to temperature compensate semiconductor strain gages

Exposure to high energy electron radiation reduces the temperature coefficients of resistance and gage factor of a range of resistivities of n- and p-type semiconductor silicon strain gages. After irradiation, the gages are heated to a high temperature for a 24-hour period to stabilize their temperature coefficients.

Gross, C.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Quantum-mechanical treatment of an electron undergoing synchrotron radiation.

The problem of an electron moving perpendicular to an intense magnetic field is approached from the framework of quantum mechanics. A numerical solution to the related rate equations describing the probabilities of occupation of the electron's energy states is put forth along with the expected errors involved. The quantum-mechanical approach is found to predict a significant amount of energy broadening with time for an initially monoenergetic electron beam entering a region of an intense magnetic field as long as the product of initial energy and magnetic field is of order 50 MG BeV or larger.

White, D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Planetary plasma waves

The primary types of plasma waves observed in the vicinity of the planets Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are described. The observations are organized according to the various types of plasma waves observed, ordered according to decreasing distance from the planet, starting from the sunward side of the planet, and ending in the region near the closest approach. The plasma waves observed include: electron plasma oscillations and ion acoustic waves; trapped continuum radiation; electron cyclotron and upper hybrid waves; whistler-mode emissions; electrostatic ion cyclotron waves; and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves.

Gurnett, Donald A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Radiation effects on four polysulfone films

The response of polysulfones to proton and electron radiation is evaluated by assessing the radiation durability of four selected sulfones, establishing radiation interaction mechanisms with the polymer chain, and determining the dependence of radiation durability on chemical structure. Chain scission appears to predominate at lower doses up to about 10 to the 9th rad, and past this threshold the second mechanism, crosslinking, seems to predominate. This is evidenced by the increase in modulus, glass transition temperature, and increased quantity of thermally stable residue at high temperatures. The variations of chemical structure of the polysulfones appear to have little effect on the response to radiation.

Santos, B.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Periodic annealing of radiation damage in GaAs solar cells

Continuous annealing of GaAs solar cells is compared with periodic annealing to determine their relative effectiveness in minimizing proton radiation damage. It is concluded that continuous annealing of the cells in space at 150 C can effectively reduce the proton radiation damage to the GaAs solar cells. Periodic annealing is most effective if it can be initiated at relatively low fluences (approximating continuous annealing), especially if low temperatures of less than 200 C are to be used. If annealing is started only after the fluence of the damaging protons has accumulated to a high value 10 to the 11th power sq/pcm), effective annealing is still possible at relatively high temperatures. Finally, since electron radiation damage anneals even more easily than proton radiation damage, substantial improvements in GaAs solar cell life can be achieved by incorporating the proper annealing capabilities in solar panels for practical space missions where both electron and proton radiation damage have to be minimized.

Loo, R. Y.↗
DOE OSTI2021

PreMevE Update: Forecasting Ultra-Relativistic Electrons Inside Earth's Outer Radiation Belt

Energetic electrons inside Earth's Van Allen belts pose a major radiation threat to spaceborne electronics that often play vital roles in modern society. Ultra-relativistic electrons with energies greater than or equal to two megaelectron-volt (MeV) are of particular interest, and thus forecasting these ≥2 MeV electrons has a significant meaning to all space sectors. Here, we update the latest development of the predictive model for MeV electrons in the outer radiation belt. The new version, called PREdictive MEV Electron (PreMevE)-2E, forecasts ultra-relativistic electron flux distributions across the outer belt, with no need for in situ measurements of the trapped MeV electron population except at the geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Model inputs include precipitating electrons observed in low-Earthorbits by NOAA satellites, upstream solar wind speeds and densities from solar wind monitors, as well as ultra-relativistic electrons measured by one Los Alamos GEO satellite. We evaluated 32 supervised machine learning models that fall into four different classes of linear and neural network architectures, and successfully tested ensemble forecasting by using groups of top-performing models. All models are individually trained, validated, and tested by in situ electron data from NASA's Van Allen Probes mission. It is shown that the final ensemble model outperforms individual models at most L-shells, and this PreMevE-2E model can provide 25-h (~1-day) and 50-h (~2-day) forecasts with high mean performance efficiency and correlation values. Our results also suggest that this new model is dominated by nonlinear components at L-shells <~4 for ultra-relativistic electrons, different from the dominance of linear components for 1 MeV electrons as previously discovered.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1971

Impurity color centers in quartz and trapped electron dating - Electron spin resonance, thermoluminescence studies.

Investigation of impurity-related electron-hole traps that are known to be sensitive to ionizing radiations. Electron spin resonance (ESR) equivalent natural doses were determined for the Al hole trap in virgin specimens; the doses agreed with estimates based on published data for the Ge electron trap. The 0.17 deg/sec 180 and 300 C thermoluminescence (TL) peaks in natural specimens were found to have activation energies approximately correct for the Ge trap. The 300 C peak was also found to be correlated with annealing of the Ge electron resonance in gamma-irradiated, step-annealed specimens. Although the 300 C peak occurs in virgin specimens, the corresponding natural Ge electron resonance was not observed.

Mcmorris, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1961

Measurements of Sheath Currents and Equilibrium Potential on the Explorer VIII Satellite (1960 xi)

Experimental data were obtained from the Explorer VIII satellite on five parameters pertinent to the problem of the interaction of space vehicles with an ionized atmosphere. The five parameters are: photoemission current due to electrons emitted from the satellite surfaces as a result of solar radiation; electron and positive ion currents due to the diffusion of charged particles from the medium to the spacecraft; the vehicle potential relative to the medium, and the ambient electron temperature. Included in the experimental data is the aspect dependence of the photoemission and diffusion currents. On the basis of the observations, certain characteristics of the satellite's plasma sheath are postulated.

Bourdeau, R. E.↗