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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 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1996

Electro-optic Lightning Detector

The design, alignment, calibration, and field deployment of a solid-state lightning detector is described. The primary sensing component of the detector is a potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) electro-optic crystal that is attached in series to a flat plate aluminum antenna; the antenna is exposed to the ambient thundercloud electric field. A semiconductor laser diode (lambda = 685 nm), polarizing optics, and the crystal are arranged in a Pockels cell configuration. Lightning-caused electric field changes are related to small changes in the transmission of laser light through the optical cell. Several hundred lightning electric field change excursions were recorded during five thunderstorms that occurred in the summer of 1998 at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in northern Alabama.

Koshak, William J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Electro-Optic Lighting Detector

The design, alignment, calibration, and field deployment of a solid-state lightning detector is described. The primary sensing component of the detector is a potassium dihydrogen phosphate electro-optic crystal that is attached in series to a flat-plate aluminum antenna; the antenna is exposed to the ambient thundercloud electric field. A semiconductor laser diode (lambda = 685 nm), polarizing optics, and the crystal are arranged in a Pockels cell configuration. Lightning-caused electric field changes are related to small changes in the transmission of laser light through the optical cell. Several hundred lightning electric field change excursions were recorded during five thunderstorms that occurred in the summer of 1998 at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in northern Alabama.

Koshak, William J.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Three-Dimensional Network Adjustment of Laser Tracker Measurements for Large-Scale Metrology Applications

The adjustment of laser tracker network measurements for large-scale metrology applications has unique considerations not commonly encountered in the network adjustment approaches generally used in either standard metrology or in traditional geodetic surveying. Many applications that require the measurement accuracy of a laser tracker are confined to small working areas to measure the dimensional quality of manufactured parts. Large-scale metrology applications require the same high measurement accuracy, but over a comparatively larger working area. This paper describes a unified least-squares approach to adjust three-dimensional survey network measurements that takes into account the unique considerations of large-scale metrology networks. The impetus for these unique considerations arises from an application that falls neatly between the disciplines of metrology and geodesy—resembling a mixture of the conditions and requirements from both. In conclusion, this paper will also describe a case study of a large-scale metrology survey network used to align the particle accelerator at Michigan State University’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB).

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

On-Orbit Cross Calibration Between the Osiris-Rex Orbiting Laser Altimeter and Navigation Camera

Accurate shape models of small bodies provide both science value and resources for precision relative navigation. One instrument commonly used for generating shape models is the laser altimeter. Laser altimeters require accurate intrinsic and extrinsic calibration knowledge to produce accurate shape models. Here, we describe a method used for updating the intrinsic and extrinsic calibration parameters of the laser altimeter onboard the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft, OLA (OSIRISREx Laser Altimeter). We perform the calibration update by comparing the OLA scans with monocular camera images of the asteroid surface captured by the primary navigation camera.

Andrew J. Liounis↗
NASA NTRS1998

Electro-Optic Lightning Detector

The design, alignment, calibration, and field deployment of a solid-state lightning detector is described. The primary sensing component of the detector is a potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) electro-optic crystal that is attached in series to a flat plate aluminum antenna; the antenna is exposed to the ambient thundercloud electric field. A semiconductor laser diode (lambda = 685 nm), polarizing optics, and the crystal are arranged in a Pockels cell configuration. Lightning-caused electric field changes are then related to small changes in the transmission of laser light through the optical cell. Several hundred lightning electric field change excursions were recorded during 4 thunderstorms that occurred in the summer of 1998 at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Northern Alabama.

Koshak, Willliam↗
DOE OSTI2021

Low-divergence femtosecond X-ray pulses from a passive plasma lens

Electron and X-ray beams originating from compact laser-wakefield accelerators have very small source sizes that are typically on the micrometre scale. Therefore, the beam divergences are relatively high, which makes it difficult to preserve their high quality during transport to applications. To improve on this, tremendous efforts have been invested in controlling the divergence of the electron beams, but no mechanism for generating collimated X-ray beams has yet been demonstrated experimentally. Here we propose and realize a scheme where electron bunches undergoing focusing in a dense, passive plasma lens can emit X-ray pulses with divergences approaching the incoherent limit. Furthermore, compared with conventional betatron emission, the divergence of this so-called plasma lens radiation is reduced by more than an order of magnitude in solid angle, while maintaining a similar number of emitted photons per electron. This X-ray source offers the possibility of producing brilliant and collimated few-femtosecond X-ray pulses for ultra-fast science, in particular for studies based on X-ray diffraction and absorption spectroscopy.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2022

Laser-Guided Space Interferometer

The mirrors of astronomical interferometers need to be aligned within a fraction of a wavelength relative to one another. This would be especially challenging for optical instruments with mirrors separated by hundreds of meters flying in Earth’s orbit. However, in this work, we show that this alignment can be achieved by means of: (i) flying the mirror cluster in a particular orbital configuration; (ii) closing a coarse positioning loop using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System); and (iii) closing a fine wavefront-control loop using light from a laser guide star. The orbital configuration is designed to keep the mirrors passively pointing at the target star (up to a small orbital perturbation) while the interferometer cluster is orbiting and changing its baseline. The laser guide star would be flying in the same orbit but in the opposite direction. In medium- or high-Earth orbit, the interferometer would be able to observe a star for several hours per orbit. In this work, we analyzed the performance of an optical space interferometer consisting of nine 20 cm mirrors mounted on CubeSats and flying 3 km apart (together with a combiner and a laser guide star small satellite). This configuration supports a resolution of 0.04 milliarcseconds - an order of magnitude better than current ground-based interferometers. We estimate the performance of this system imaging stellar surfaces assuming perfect wavefront estimation and control.

Leonid Pogorelyuk↗
DOE OSTI2025

Accurate determination of uranium isotope abundances by wavelength modulation spectroscopy in atomic beams

The design and demonstration of an optical analysis system based on wavelength modulation spectroscopy in an atomic beam for uranium isotope abundance determinations is presented. This system probes the uranium 5f 3 6d7s 2 ( 5 L 6 ) → 5f 2 6d 2 7s 2 ( 5 K 5 ) transition at 861.031 nm, which is considered to be the most suitable transition for uranium isotopic analysis. A new laser characterization strategy was developed for the conditions where optimum laser wavelength modulation depth was small compared to the free spectral range (FSR) of etalons. Two capabilities enabled the higher-precision determination of isotope abundances of atomic beams: (1) reduction of low-frequency additive noise, especially the noise caused by black-body radiation and (2) suppression of non-absorption transmission losses. The performance of this system was validated with uranium samples of various isotopic compositions. Further, by comparing the measurements using natural uranium samples between the direct absorption and the wavelength modulation approaches, a 21-fold decrease in uncertainty of the integrated absorbance and a 6.8-fold improvement in the 1-σ precision of the number density were achieved. In addition, by comparing the results using uranium oxide samples, a 6.1-fold decrease in the uncertainty of inferred isotope abundance was obtained. These results demonstrate that the 1f-normalized 2f wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS-2f/1f) technique enables higher-precision analysis of atomic beams.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2025

First Demonstration of Improved Fusion Yield with Increased Compression through Reduced Adiabat in Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments at the National Ignition Facility

Recent advancements in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have achieved a significant milestone by demonstrating target gains greater than one, yet future applications necessitate much higher target gains. One approach to achieving improved implosion performance is to pursue increased fuel compression via a lowered implosion adiabat. Experiments have been performed testing a reduced adiabat by introducing small changes to the drive laser pulse shape and the resulting shock timing for an existing implosion design at 1.9 MJ laser drive with near-ignition performance (experiment N210808). Experiments using the updated design demonstrate, for the very first time, increased compression and fusion yield in ICF implosions on the NIF by using a lower fuel adiabat, and increased compression with a reduced adiabat in high-density carbon ablators. Compared to the previously best-performing experiment with a laser energy of 1.9 MJ, these experiments exhibit increases of up to 80% and 14% in nuclear fusion yield and fuel compression, respectively, and with repeatable performance. Further, it is the only implosion design to have achieved a target gain exceeding one with a laser energy of less than 2 MJ. These findings highlight the efficacy of reduced adiabat designs in achieving higher compression and fusion yields, offering a promising pathway for future ICF applications. In conclusion, this Letter not only addresses a long-standing question in ICF but also paves the way for achieving higher target gains with optimized implosion strategies.

Hohenberger, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Labor↗
NASA NTRS1977

Portable aerosol-particle counter

Device makes real-time, precise measurements of aerosols of small particle size. Measurement combines laser velocimetry and light scattering. Technique offers advantages over currently practiced techniques: by measuring aerosol size in real-time, measuring size precisely, and having high sensitivity in size range of greatest biological concern.

Weber, F. N., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Surface measuring technique

Measurement of the surface contour of a large electrostatically formed concave reflector using a modified Foucault or knife edge test is described. The curve of the actual electrostatically formed reflector surface is compared to a curve representing a reference sphere. Measurements of surface slope and deviation are calculated every 15 cm along the reflector's horizontal and vertical diameters. Characterization of surface roughness on a small scale compared to the laser spot size at the reflector are obtained from the increased laser spot size at a distant projection screen.

Spiers, R. B., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Particle field holography data reduction by Fourier transform analysis

The size distribution of a particle field hologram is obtained with a Fourier transformation of the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern of the reconstructed hologram. Off-axis absorption holograms of particle fields with known characteristics were obtained and analyzed with a commercially available instrument. The mean particle size of the reconstructed hologram was measured with an error of + or - 5 percent, while the distribution broadening was estimated within + or - 15 percent. Small sections of a pulsed laser hologram of a synthetic fuel spray were analyzed with this method thus yielding a spatially resolved size distribution. The method yields fast and accurate automated analysis of particle field holograms.

Hess, Cecil F.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The flight demonstration program and selection process

The Orbital Refueling System (ORS); force torque sensor; Plasma Motor/Generator (PMG) proof of function; voice controlled system; infrared intercommunications; superfluid helium on orbit transfer; laser docking sensor; and the Small Expendable Deployment System (SEDS) are summarized.

Levin, G. M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A planar Mie scattering technique for visualizing supersonic mixing flows

A planar Mie scattering technique is described which allows for the direct visualization of fluid mixing in supersonic flows. The mixed fluid is visualized by laser light sheet scattering from small alcohol droplets which condense as a result of the mixing of a vapor laden subsonic stream with a cold supersonic stream. Issues related to the formation, growth and size of the droplets are addressed. The technique reveals details of the turbulent structure which are masked by the spatial integration of schlieren and shadowgraph methods. Comparative visualizations using the vapor screen method to uniformly mark the high-speed fluid are also shown.

Clemens, N. T.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The Use of Spontaneous Raman Scattering for Hydrogen Leak Detection

A fiber optic probe has been built and demonstrated that utilizes back scattered spontaneous Raman spectroscopy to detect and identify gaseous species. The small probe, coupled to the laser and data acquisition equipment with optical fibers, has applications in gaseous leak detection and process monitoring. The probe design and data acquisition system are described. Raman scattering theory has been reviewed and the results of intensity calculations of hydrogen and nitrogen Raman scattering are given. Because the device is in its developmental stage, only preliminary experimental results are presented here. Intensity scans across the rotational-vibrational Raman lines of nitrogen and hydrogen are presented. Nitrogen at a partial pressure of 0.077 MPa was detected. Hydrogen at a partial pressure of 2 kPa approached the lower limit of detectability with the present apparatus. Potential instrument improvements that would allow more sensitive and rapid hydrogen detection are identified.

Degroot, Wim A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Unsteady spot heating of a drop in a microgravity environment

The unsteady localized spot heating of a liquid drop under zero-g conditions is examined theoretically. This pertains to space experiments to measure thermal properties of materials and the purpose here is to predict the thermal behavior of such systems. Spot heating can be achieved by a laser beam focused on a small region of the drop surface. The present theoretical model deals with situations of weak Marangoni flows, whereby the thermal transport is conduction dominated. The heat flow in the drop is treated as unsteady while the surrounding gaseous region is considered to be quasisteady. The ensuing thermally driven flow is analyzed in the Stokes regime.

Sadhal, Satwindar Singh↗
NASA NTRS1991

Q-switched laser prelase detection circuit

A compact electronic circuit was developed to detect prelasing in Q-swithed pulsed laser systems and once detected to shut down the laser before the next laser pulse occurs. The circuit is small, compact, and uses a minimum of components which makes it quite economical, thus readily lending itself to commercial applications. It can easily be incorporated into virtually any Q-switched laser system or reliability of a laser system by reducing a source of possible costly optical damage. The circuit operation and instrument requirements necessary to incorporate the circuit into a laser system are discussed.

Lockard, George E.↗