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At least 271 records · Page 15

Relationships Between the Bulk-Skin Sea Surface Temperature Difference, Wind, and Net Air-Sea Heat Flux

The primary purpose of this project was to evaluate and improve models for the bulk-skin temperature difference to the point where they could accurately and reliably apply under a wide variety of environmental conditions. To accomplish this goal, work was conducted in three primary areas. These included production of an archive of available data sets containing measurements of the skin and bulk temperatures and associated environmental conditions, evaluation of existing skin layer models using the compiled data archive, and additional theoretical work on the development of an improved model using the data collected under diverse environmental conditions. In this work we set the basis for a new physical model of renewal type, and propose a parameterization for the temperature difference across the cool skin of the ocean in which the effects of thermal buoyancy, wind stress, and microscale breaking are all integrated by means of the appropriate renewal time scales. Ideally, we seek to obtain a model that will accurately apply under a wide variety of environmental conditions. A summary of the work in each of these areas is included in this report. A large amount of work was accomplished under the support of this grant. The grant supported the graduate studies of Sandra Castro and the preparation of her thesis which will be completed later this year. This work led to poster presentations at the 1999 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting and 2000 IGARSS meeting. Additional work will be presented in a talk at this year's American Meteorological Society Air-Sea Interaction Meeting this May. The grant also supported Sandra Castro during a two week experiment aboard the R/P Flip (led by Dr. Andrew Jessup of the Applied Physics Laboratory) to help obtain additional shared data sets and to provide Sandra with a fundamental understanding of the physical processes needed in the models. In a related area, the funding also partially supported Dr. William Emery and Daniel Baldwin in the preparation of their publication "Accuracy of in situ sea surface temperatures used to calibrate infrared satellite measurements". The remainder of this report is drawn from these publications and presentations.

Emery, William J.↗

Unilateral lower limb suspension does not mimic bed rest or spaceflight effects on human muscle fiber function

We used Ca2+-activated skinned muscle fibers to test the hypothesis that unilateral lower leg suspension (ULLS) alters cross-bridge mechanisms of muscle contraction. Soleus and gastrocnemius biopsies were obtained from eight subjects before ULLS, immediately after 12 days of ULLS (post-0 h), and after 6 h of reambulation (post-6 h). Post-0 h soleus fibers expressing type I myosin heavy chain (MHC) showed significant reductions in diameter, absolute and specific peak Ca2+-activated force, unloaded shortening velocity, and absolute and normalized peak power. Fibers obtained from the gastrocnemius were less affected by ULLS, particularly fibers expressing fast MHC isoforms. Post-6 h soleus fibers produced less absolute and specific peak force than did post-0 h fibers, suggesting that reambulation after ULLS induced cell damage. Like bed rest and spaceflight, ULLS primarily affects soleus over gastrocnemius fibers. However, in contrast to these other models, slow soleus fibers obtained after ULLS showed a decrease in unloaded shortening velocity and a greater reduction in specific force.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗

A liposomal model that mimics the cutaneous production of vitamin D3. Studies of the mechanism of the membrane-enhanced thermal isomerization of previtamin D3 to vitamin D3

We reported previously that the rate of previtamin D3 (preD3) <==> vitamin D3 isomerization was enhanced by about 10 times in the skin compared with that in organic solvents. To elucidate the mechanism by which the rate of this reaction is enhanced in the skin, we developed a liposomal model that mimicked the enhanced isomerization of preD3 to vitamin D3 that was described in human skin. Using this model we studied the effect of changing the polarity of preD3 as well as changing the chain length and the degree of saturation of liposomal phospholipids on the kinetics of preD3 <==> vitamin D3 isomerization. We found that a decrease in the hydrophilic interaction of the preD3 with liposomal phospholipids by an esterification of the 3beta-hydroxy of preD3 (previtamin D3-3beta-acetate) reduced the rate of the isomerization by 67%. The addition of a hydroxyl on C-25 of the hydrophobic side chain (25-hydroxyprevitamin D3), which decreased the hydrophobic interaction of preD3 with the phospholipids, reduced the rate by 87%. In contrast, in an isotropic n-hexane solution, there was little difference among the rates of the conversion of preD3, its 3beta-acetate, and 25-hydroxy derivatives to their corresponding vitamin D3 compounds. We also determined rate constants (k) of preD3 <==> vitamin D3 isomerization in liposomes containing phosphatidylcholines with different carbon chain lengths. The rates of the reaction were found to be enhanced as the number of carbons (Cn) in the hydrocarbon chain of the phospholipids increased from 10 to 18. In conclusion, these results support our hypothesis that amphipathic interactions between preD3 and membrane phospholipids stabilize preD3 in its "cholesterol like" cZc-conformer, the only conformer of preD3 that can convert to vitamin D3. The stronger these interactions were, the more preD3 was likely in its cZc conformation at any moment and the faster was the rate of its conversion to vitamin D3.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗

Balloon Design Software

PlanetaryBalloon Version 5.0 is a software package for the design of meridionally lobed planetary balloons. It operates in a Windows environment, and programming was done in Visual Basic 6. By including the effects of circular lobes with load tapes, skin mass, hoop and meridional stress, and elasticity in the structural elements, a more accurate balloon shape of practical construction can be determined as well as the room-temperature cut pattern for the gore shapes. The computer algorithm is formulated for sizing meridionally lobed balloons for any generalized atmosphere or planet. This also covers zero-pressure, over-pressure, and super-pressure balloons. Low circumferential loads with meridionally reinforced load tapes will produce shapes close to what are known as the "natural shape." The software allows for the design of constant angle, constant radius, or constant hoop stress balloons. It uses the desired payload capacity for given atmospheric conditions and determines the required volume, allowing users to design exactly to their requirements. The formulations are generalized to use any lift gas (or mixture of gases), any atmosphere, or any planet as described by the local acceleration of gravity. PlanetaryBalloon software has a comprehensive user manual that covers features ranging from, but not limited to, buoyancy and super-pressure, convenient design equations, shape formulation, and orthotropic stress/strain.

Farley, Rodger↗

Skin-friction gauge for use in hypervelocity impulse facilities

A transducer is presented which can measure as rise-time of about 20 microsec, and is thereby applicable to measurements in the high-enthalpy flows associated with hypervelocity impulse facilities. Results are presented which demonstrate the effectiveness of the concept in the case of skin-friction measurements conducted on a flat plate at Mach 3.2. The calibration used was against theoretical skin-friction values in a simple flow.

Kelly, G. M.↗

Structural Integrity Evaluation of the Lear Fan 2100 Aircraft

An in-situ nondestructive inspection was conducted to detect manufacturing and assembly induced defects in the upper two wing surfaces (skin s) and upper fuselage skin of the Lear Fan 2100 aircraft E009. The effects of the defects, detected during the inspection, on the integrity of the structure was analytically evaluated. A systematic evaluation was also conducted to determine the damage tolerance capability of the upper wing skin against impact threats and assembly induced damage. The upper wing skin was divided into small regions for damage tolerance evaluations. Structural reliability, margin of safety, allowable strains, and allowable damage size were computed. The results indicated that the impact damage threat imposed on composite military aircraft structures is too severe for the Lear Fan 2100 upper wing skin. However, the structural integrity is not significantly degraded by the assembly induced damage for properly assembled structures, such as the E009 aircraft.

Composites↗

Dispersive optical model analysis of 208 Pb generating a neutron-skin prediction beyond the mean field

In this work, a nonlocal dispersive optical model analysis is carried out for neutrons and protons in 208 Pb. Elastic-scattering angular distributions, total and reaction cross sections, single-particle energies, neutron and proton numbers, the charge distribution, and the binding energy are fitted to extract the neutron and proton self-energies both above and below the Fermi energy. From the single-particle propagator derived from these self-energies, we determine the charge and matter distributions in 208 Pb. The predicted spectroscopic factors are consistent with results from the ($\textit{e,e}'\textit{p}$) reaction and inelastic-electron-scattering data to very high-spin states. Sensible results for the high-momentum content of neutrons and protons are obtained, with protons appearing more correlated, in agreement with experiment and ab initio calculations of asymmetric matter. A neutron skin of 0.25 ± 0.05 fm is deduced. An analysis of several nuclei leads to the conclusion that finite-size effects play a nonnegligible role in the formation of the neutron skin in finite nuclei.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Estimation of Effective Doses for Radiation Cancer Risks on ISS, Lunar, and Mars Missions with Space Radiation Measurement

Radiation protection practices define the effective dose as a weighted sum of equivalent dose over major sites for radiation cancer risks. Since a crew personnel dosimeter does not make direct measurement of effective dose, it has been estimated with skin-dose measurements and radiation transport codes for ISS and STS missions. The Phantom Torso Experiment (PTE) of NASA s Operational Radiation Protection Program has provided the actual flight measurements of active and passive dosimeters which were placed throughout the phantom on STS-91 mission for 10 days and on ISS Increment 2 mission. For the PTE, the variation in organ doses, which is resulted by the absorption and the changes in radiation quality with tissue shielding, was considered by measuring doses at many tissue sites and at several critical body organs including brain, colon, heart, stomach, thyroid, and skins. These measurements have been compared with the organ dose calculations obtained from the transport models. Active TEPC measurements of lineal energy spectra at the surface of the PTE also provided the direct comparison of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) or trapped proton dose and dose equivalent. It is shown that orienting the phantom body as actual in ISS is needed for the direct comparison of the transport models to the ISS data. One of the most important observations for organ dose equivalent of effective dose estimates on ISS is the fractional contribution from trapped protons and GCR. We show that for most organs over 80% is from GCR. The improved estimation of effective doses for radiation cancer risks will be made with the resultant tissue weighting factors and the modified codes.

Kim, M.Y.↗

Experimental subsonic drag properties of the space shuttle orbiter TPS tiles

The drag characteristics of the space shuttle orbiter thermal protection system (TPS) tiles were studied experimentally in subsonic flow. Full-scale tiles were mounted to a 3.05 x 3.5 m test board in four configurations plus a completely smooth case. Pressure gradients were produced by tilting the board relative to the freestream. The drags due to steps, slots, and gaps between the tiles were evaluated at various orientations, pressure gradients, and Reynolds numbers. Results showed that the contribution of gaps and slots were minor compared to those of typical steps. The results for skin friction did not correlate as a fully rough surface. Thus, the surface area of the TPS tiles was sufficient to allow smooth-wall Reynolds number effects even though the steps between tiles could double the skin friction.

Norton, D. J.↗

Influence of transverse surface waves on turbulent boundary layers

Wavy wall experiments using solid waves and progressive waves have been reported. For this paper, the major effects of waviness of the wall on the flow are identified as due to oscillatory curvature (convex-concavity) and oscillatory acceleration/deceleration of the flow, which imposes a highly nonequilibrium influence upon the turbulence structure. The theoretical analysis in this presentation takes into account proper turbulence modeling (including the nonequilibrium effects) for the wavy wall problem. The analysis proceeds in three stages: (1) inviscid solution for induced pressure due to the physical wall, (2) solution of a turbulent boundary layer with pressure gradients and curvature effects in the modeling from which the profile correction is computed, and (3) induced pressure computations for the corrected profile. The phase shift of pressure perturbations with respect to the physical wall can be predicted, and pressure drag and skin friction drag can be estimated, with nonlinear viscous effects included. Comparison of the theoretical estimates with experimental data are also presented.

Balasubramanian, R.↗

Structure Damage Simulations Accounting for Inertial Effects and Impact and Optimization of Grid-Stiffened Non-Circular Shells

The goal of this research project is to develop modelling and analysis strategy for the penetration of aluminium plates impacted by titanium impactors. Finite element analysis is used to study the penetration of aluminium plates impacted by titanium impactors in order to study the effect of such uncontained engine debris impacts on aircraft-like skin panels. LS-DYNA3D) is used in the simulations to model the impactor, test fixture frame and target barrier plate. The effects of mesh refinement, contact modeling, and impactor initial velocity and orientation were studied. The research project also includes development of a design tool for optimum design of grid-stiffened non-circular shells or panels subjected to buckling.

Mei, Chuh↗

Advection from the North Atlantic as the Forcing of Winter Greenhouse Effect Over Europe

In winter, large interannual fluctuations in the surface skin temperature are observed over central Europe: we observe a difference of 9.8 K comparing warm February 1990 with cold February 1996 for the region 50-60 degrees N; 5-35 degrees E. Previous studies show that advection from the North Atlantic constitutes the forcing to such fluctuations. The advection is quantified by Index I(sub na), the average of the ocean-surface wind speed over the eastern North Atlantic when the direction is from the southwest (when the wind is from another direction, it counts as a zero speed to the average). Average Ina for February 1990 was 10.6 in s(exp -1), but for February 1996 I(sub na) was only 2.4 m s(exp -1). A large value of I(sub na) means a strong southwesterly flow which brings warm and moist air into Europe at low level, producing a steeper tropospheric lapse rate. Strong ascending motions result, which we observe in February 1990 at 700 mb. The near-surface moisture rises to higher (and cooler) levels, producing clouds and precipitation. Total preciptable water and cloud-cover fraction have larger values in February 1990 than in 1996. The difference in the greenhouse effect between these two scenarios can be translated into a virtual irradiating source of 2.6 W m(exp -2) above the February 1990 atmosphere, which, as an order of magnitude estimate, contributes to the warming of the surface by 2.6 K. If we accept this estimate as numerically pertinent, the direct effect stands as 7.2 K (9.8 K - 2.6 K), and therefore its greenhouse-effect reinforcement is by 36%. This constitutes a substantial positive feedback to the direct effect, which is the inflow of warm air to the low troposphere over Europe.

Otterman, Jay↗

Added noise due to the effect of an upstream wake on a propeller

An analytical/computational study has been conducted to predict the effect of an upstream wing or pylon on the noise of an operating propeller. The wing trailing edge was placed at variable distances (0.1 and 0.3 chord) upstream of a scaled model propeller (SR-2). The wake was modeled using a similarity formulation. The instantaneous pressure distribution on the propeller blades during the passage through the wake was formulated in terms of a time-dependent variation of each blade section's angle of attack and in terms of the shed vortices from the blade trailing edge. It was found that the final expressions for the unsteady loads considerably altered the radiated noise pattern. Predicted noise for various observer positions, rotational speeds, and propeller/pylon distances were computed and are presented in terms of the pressure time history, harmonics of the Fourier analysis, and overall sound pressure levels (OASPL). The addition of the tangential stress due to skin friction was found to have a damping effect on the acoustic pressure time history and the resulting spectrum of the generated noise. It is shown that the positioning of a pylon upstream of a propeller indeed increases the overall noise.

Takallu, M. A.↗

Integrated cooling (i-Cool) textile of heat conduction and sweat transportation for personal perspiration management

Perspiration evaporation plays an indispensable role in human body heat dissipation. However, conventional textiles tend to focus on sweat removal and pay little attention to the basic thermoregulation function of sweat, showing limited evaporation ability and cooling efficiency in moderate/profuse perspiration scenarios. Here, we propose an integrated cooling (i-Cool) textile with unique functional structure design for personal perspiration management. By integrating heat conductive pathways and water transport channels decently, i-Cool exhibits enhanced evaporation ability and high sweat evaporative cooling efficiency, not merely liquid sweat wicking function. In the steady-state evaporation test, compared to cotton, up to over 100% reduction in water mass gain ratio, and 3 times higher skin power density increment for every unit of sweat evaporation are demonstrated. Besides, i-Cool shows about 3 °C cooling effect with greatly reduced sweat consumption than cotton in the artificial sweating skin test. The practical application feasibility of i-Cool design principles is well validated based on commercial fabrics. Owing to its exceptional personal perspiration management performance, we expect the i-Cool concept can provide promising design guidelines for next-generation perspiration management textiles.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Estimation Of Organ Doses From Solar Particle Events For Future Space Exploration Missions

Radiation protection practices define the effective dose as a weighted sum of equivalent dose over major organ sites for radiation cancer risks. Since a crew personnel dosimeter does not make direct measurement of the effective dose, it has been estimated with skin-dose measurements and radiation transport codes for ISS and STS missions. If sufficient protection is not provided near solar maximum, the radiation risk can be significant due to exposure to sporadic solar particle events (SPEs) as well as to the continuous galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) on future exploratory-class and long-duration missions. For accurate estimates of overall fatal cancer risks from SPEs, the specific doses at various blood forming organs (BFOs) were considered, because proton fluences and doses vary considerably across marrow regions. Previous estimates of BFO doses from SPEs have used an average body-shielding distribution for the bone marrow based on the computerized anatomical man model (CAM). With the development of an 82-point body-shielding distribution at BFOs, the mean and variance of SPE doses in the major active marrow regions (head and neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis and thighs) will be presented. Consideration of the detailed distribution of bone marrow sites is one of many requirements to improve the estimation of effective doses for radiation cancer risks.

Kim, Myung-Hee↗

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Skin-Stiffener Separation Using a Seven-Point Bend Configuration

Skin-stiffener separation in stiffened composite panels consists of a complex interaction between multiple scales of progressive damage and failure mechanisms. This work used a superposed cohesive element method of modeling resistance curve effects that represents the structural interface of a unidirectional tape skin and a fabric stiffener. Finite element models using cohesive elements with input properties obtained from tape-to-fabric interface characterization tests were compared to experimental results of a stable skin-stiffener separation characterization test using a seven-point bend fixture. This fixture deformed the stiffened panel specimens into a buckled configuration which induced mixed-mode interlaminar stress states at the skin-stiffener interface. The advantage of this fixture was the potential for more stable damage initiation and delamination growth compared to a stringer-stiffened panel under axial compression. Use of the superposed cohesive elements showed promise, but the characterization of interface material properties as input to the cohesive elements remains a crucial component to be investigated to ensure accurate prediction of skin-stiffener separation.

Kosztowny, Cyrus J. R.↗

Skin-stiffener interface stresses in composite stiffened panels

A model and solution method for determining the normal and shear stresses in the interface between the skin and the stiffener attached flange were developed. An efficient, analytical solution procedure was developed and incorporated in a sizing code for stiffened panels. The analysis procedure described provides a means to study the effects of material and geometric design parameters on the interface stresses. These stresses include the normal stress, and the shear stresses in both the longitudinal and the transverse directions. The tendency toward skin/stiffener separation may therefore be minimized by choosing appropriate values for the design variables. The most important design variables include the relative bending stiffnesses of the skin and stiffener attached flange, the bending stiffness of the stiffener web, and the flange width. The longitudinal compressive loads in the flange and skin have significant effects on the interface stresses.

Wang, J. T. S.↗

Numerical Investigation of Wall-Cooling Effect on Aero-Optical Distortions for Hypersonic Boundary Layer

Compressible wall-modeled large-eddy simulations of Mach 8 turbulent boundary-layer flows over a flat plate were carried out for the conditions of the hypersonic wind tunnel at Sandia National Laboratories. The simulations provide new insight into the effect of wall cooling on the aero-optical path distortions for hypersonic turbulent boundary-layer flows. Four different wall-to-recovery temperature ratios, 0.3, 0.48, 0.71, and 0.89, are considered. Despite the much lower grid resolution, the mean velocity, temperature, and resolved Reynolds stress profiles from the simulation for a temperature ratio of 0.48 are in good agreement with those from a reference direct numerical simulation. The normalized root-mean-square optical path difference obtained from the present simulations is compared with that from reference direct numerical simulations, Sandia experiments, as well as predictions obtained with a semi-analytical model by Notre Dame University. Here the present analysis focuses on the effect of wall cooling on the wall-normal density correlations, on key underlying assumptions of the aforementioned model such as the strong Reynolds analogy, and on the elevation angle effect on the optical path difference. Wall cooling is found to increase the velocity fluctuations and decrease the density fluctuations, resulting in an overall reduction of the normalized optical path distortion. Compared to the simulations, the basic strong Reynolds analogy overpredicts the temperature fluctuations for cooled walls. Also different from the strong Reynolds analogy, the velocity and temperature fluctuations are not perfectly anticorrelated. Finally, as the wall temperature is raised, the density correlation length, away from the wall but inside the boundary layer, increases significantly for beam paths tilted in the downstream direction.

42 ENGINEERING↗