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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 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Separation processes during binary monotectic alloy production

Observation of microgravity solidification processes indicates that outside of sedimentation, at least two other important effects can separate the phases: critical-point wetting and spreading; and thermal migration of second-phase droplets due to interfacial tension gradients. It is difficult to study these surface tension effects while in a unit gravity field. In order to investigate the processes occurring over a temperature range, i.e., between a consolute point and the monotectic temperature, it is necessary to use a low-gravity environment. The MSFC drop tube (and tower), the ballistic trajectory KC-135 airplane, and the Space Shuttle are ideal facilities to aid formation and testing of hypotheses. Much of the early work in this area focuses on transparent materials so that process dynamics may be studied by optical techniques such as photography for viewing macro-processes; holography for studying diffusional growth; spinodal decomposition and coalescence; ellipsometry for surface wetting and spreading effects; and interferometry and spectroscopy for small-scale spatial resolution of concentration profiles.

Frazier, D. O.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Space environment robot vision system

A prototype twin-camera stereo vision system for autonomous robots has been developed at Goddard Space Flight Center. Standard charge coupled device (CCD) imagers are interfaced with commercial frame buffers and direct memory access to a computer. The overlapping portions of the images are analyzed using photogrammetric techniques to obtain information about the position and orientation of objects in the scene. The camera head consists of two 510 x 492 x 8-bit CCD cameras mounted on individually adjustable mounts. The 16 mm efl lenses are designed for minimum geometric distortion. The cameras can be rotated in the pitch, roll, and yaw (pan angle) directions with respect to their optical axes. Calibration routines have been developed which automatically determine the lens focal lengths and pan angle between the two cameras. The calibration utilizes observations of a calibration structure with known geometry. Test results show the precision attainable is plus or minus 0.8 mm in range at 2 m distance using a camera separation of 171 mm. To demonstrate a task needed on Space Station Freedom, a target structure with a movable I beam was built. The camera head can autonomously direct actuators to dock the I-beam to another one so that they could be bolted together.

Wood, H. John↗
DOE OSTI2026

Machine Learning–Augmented Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Spectral Discrimination of Iron Oxalates

Enhanced characterization and phase identification of post-PUREX Pu Oxalates (PuOXA) are pivotal for nonproliferation and pre-detonation nuclear forensics. Despite significant advances in the characterization of PuO 2 samples, little is known about the impact of both the chemical structure and oxidation states of PuOXA (i.e., Pu(III) and Pu(IV)) have on optical emission signatures. Here, we demonstrate the analytical capabilities of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) applied to Fe(II) and Fe(III) oxalate samples as surrogates for PuOXA, highlighting the discriminating features in the LIBS emission spectra arising from differences in the oxidation states within mixed FeOXA samples. We report the enhancement of spectral feature selection using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which enables the analytical superiority of machine learning algorithms such as Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA), Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR), Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Random Forest Regression (RFR) over conventional univariate techniques for phase discrimination and chemometric analysis. Cluster analysis revealed how both matrix effects and laser ablation influence cluster separability by introducing spectral artifacts that misdirect the maximization of variance. PCA-selected emission lines were used in the regression models, demonstrating that both univariate and multivariate linear regression models (i.e., PLSR and SVR) can achieve acceptable performance, with machine learning models outperforming conventional calibration regressions. Furthermore, the application of non-linearly activated PCA-selected emission lines illustrates how simplifying the data while retaining captured variance enables the use of less complex and more computationally efficient models. Furthermore, this is particularly evident in the underperformance of RFR, which suffers from increased computational costs and overfitting owing to its high complexity.

Oxalates↗
NASA NTRS2008

Flexible Structural-Health-Monitoring Sheets

A generic design for a type of flexible structural-health-monitoring sheet with multiple sensor/actuator types and a method of manufacturing such sheets has been developed. A sheet of this type contains an array of sensing and/or actuation elements, associated wires, and any other associated circuit elements incorporated into various flexible layers on a thin, flexible substrate. The sheet can be affixed to a structure so that the array of sensing and/or actuation elements can be used to analyze the structure in accordance with structural-health-monitoring techniques. Alternatively, the sheet can be designed to be incorporated into the body of the structure, especially if the structure is made of a composite material. Customarily, structural-health monitoring is accomplished by use of sensors and actuators arrayed at various locations on a structure. In contrast, a sheet of the present type can contain an entire sensor/actuator array, making it unnecessary to install each sensor and actuator individually on or in a structure. Sensors of different types such as piezoelectric and fiber-optic can be embedded in the sheet to form a hybrid sensor network. Similarly, the traces for electric communication can be deposited on one or two layers as required, and an entirely separate layer can be employed to shield the sensor elements and traces.

Qing, Xinlin↗
NASA NTRS2021

TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). V. A Sub-Neptune Transiting a Young Star in a Newly Discovered 250 Myr Association

The detection and characterization of young planetary systems offer a direct path to study the processes that shape planet evolution. We report on the discovery of a sub-Neptune-sized planet orbiting the young star HD 110082 (TOI-1098). Transit events we initially detected during TESS Cycle 1 are validated with time-series photometry from Spitzer. High-contrast imaging and high-resolution, optical spectra are also obtained to characterize the stellar host and confirm the planetary nature of the transits. The host star is a late-F dwarf (M⁎ = 1.2Mꙩ) with a low-mass, M dwarf binary companion (M⁎ = 0.26Mꙩ) separated by nearly one arcminute (∼6200 au). Based on its rapid rotation and Lithium absorption, HD 110082 is young, but is not a member of any known group of young stars (despite proximity to the Octans association). To measure the age of the system, we search for coeval, phase-space neighbors and compile a sample of candidate siblings to compare with the empirical sequences of young clusters and to apply quantitative age-dating techniques. In doing so, we find that HD 110082 resides in a new young stellar association we designate MELANGE-1, with an age of 250(+50, -70) Myr. Jointly modeling the TESS and Spitzer light curves, we measure a planetary orbital period of 10.1827 days and radius of R(p) = 3.2 ± 0.1Rꚛ. HD 110082 b’s radius falls in the largest 12% of field-age systems with similar host-star mass and orbital period. This finding supports previous studies indicating that young planets have larger radii than their field-age counterparts.

TESS↗
NASA NTRS2021

TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). V. A Sub-Neptune Transiting a Young Star in a Newly Discovered 250 Myr Association

The detection and characterization of young planetary systems offer a direct path to study the processes that shape planet evolution. We report on the discovery of a sub-Neptune-sized planet orbiting the young star HD 110082(TOI-1098). Transit events we initially detected during TESS Cycle 1 are validated with time-series photometry from Spitzer. High-contrast imaging and high-resolution, optical spectra are also obtained to characterize the stellar host and confirm the planetary nature of the transits. The host star is a late-F dwarf(Må=1.2Me)with a low-mass,M dwarf binary companion(Må=0.26Me)separated by nearly one arc minute(∼6200 au). Based on its rapid rotation and Lithium absorption, HD 110082 is young, but is not a member of any known group of young stars(despite proximity to the Octans association). To measure the age of the system, we search for coeval, phase-space neighbors and compile a sample of candidate siblings to compare with the empirical sequences of young clusters and to apply quantitative age-dating techniques. In doing so, we find that HD 110082 resides in a new young stellar association we designate MELANGE-1, with an age of -+ 2507050 Myr. Jointly modeling the TESS and Spitzer light curves, we measure a planetary orbital period of 10.1827 days and radius of Rp=3.2±0.1R⊕. HD 110082 b’s radius falls in the largest 12% of field age systems with similar host-star mass and orbital period. This finding supports previous studies indicating that young planets have larger radii than their field-age counterparts

Benjamin M. Tofflemire↗
NASA NTRS2002

Optical Scattering Characterization for the Glennan Microsystems Microscale Particulate Classifier

Small sensors that are tolerant to mechanically and thermally harsh environments present the possibility for in-situ particle characterization in propulsion, industrial, and planetary science applications. Under a continuing grant from the Glennan Microsystems Initiative to the Microgravity Fluids Physics Branch of the NASA-Glenn Research Center, a Microscale Particle Classifier (MiPAC) instrument is being developed. The MiPAC instrument will be capable of determining the size distribution of airborne particles from about 1 nm to 30 micrometers, and will provide partial information as to the concentration, charge state, shape, and structure of the particles, while being an order of magnitude smaller in size and lighter in weight than presently commercially available instruments. The portion of the instrument that will characterize the nm-range particles will employ electrical mobility techniques and is being developed under a separate grant to Prof. David Pui of the University of Minnesota. The portion of the instrument that will characterize the micrometer-size particles such as dirt, pollens, spores, molds, soot, and combustion aerosols will use light scattering techniques. The development of data analysis techniques to be employed in the light scattering portion of the instrument is covered by this grant.

Lock, James A.↗
NASA NTRS1981

AlGaAs/GaAs transverse junction stripe lasers with distributed feedback

Transverse junction stripe (TJS) lasers with periodic feedback were fabricated in two geometries. An interferometric and wet chemical etching technique was used to create a feedback grating across the entire pumping region for the distributed feedback (DFB) TJS laser and to create the separate distributed Bragg reflectors/DBR) for the TJS/DBR laser. The TJS/DFB laser was a double heterostructure device grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) and had a third order grating etched in the top ALO.2GaO.8As layer. The grating was buried by growing an ALO.35GaO.65As layer on the grating by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MO-CVD). The TJS/DBR laser was also fabricated in an LPE double heterostructure. The top AlGaAs layer was thinned to 0.1 micron over more than half of the laser so that the grating would be close to the GaAs active layer and optical field. Single mode operation in both configurations was obtained. The thermal shift of the laser wavelength in both cases was less than 1 Angstrom/deg K, compared to the 3 Angstrom/deg K shift of the spontaneous emission peak.

Hafich, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Approach guidance for outer planet Pioneer missions

An overall parametric system analysis of the use of an optical approach guidance measurement system (using a V-slit electrooptical 'star-pipper') onboard a Pioneer-type spin-stabilized spacecraft for outer planet missions. Optical measurements of satellites of Saturn and Uranus against the star background are considered. Measurement geometry and spacecraft attitude are evaluated in depth with respect to two Pioneer missions: Saturn-Uranus and Jupiter-Uranus atmospheric entry probe missions with departure from Earth in November/December, 1980. A preliminary evaluation of long-term attitude stability measurements of Pioneer 10 is presented in the Appendix. The major conclusions are: (1) at Saturn flyby, viewing some medium period satellites can provide the best measurement results. (2) At Uranus approach, viewing the planet may give best measurements if early bus-probe separation is required. (3) Final measurement accuracy depends on the data format transmitted to Earth and the applied data interpretation techniques.-

Bejczy, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Hybrid Architecture Active Wavefront Sensing and Control

A method was developed for performing relatively high-speed wavefront sensing and control to overcome thermal instabilities in a segmented primary mirror telescope [e.g., James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at L2], by using the onboard fine guidance sensor (FGS) to minimize expense and complexity. This FGS performs centroiding on a bright star to feed the information to the pointing and control system. The proposed concept is to beam split the image of the guide star (or use a single defocused guide star image) to perform wavefront sensing using phase retrieval techniques. Using the fine guidance sensor star image for guiding and fine phasing eliminates the need for other, more complex ways of achieving very accurate sensing and control that is needed for UV-optical applications. The phase retrieval occurs nearly constantly, so passive thermal stability over fourteen days is not required. Using the FGS as the sensor, one can feed segment update information to actuators on the primary mirror that can update the primary mirror segment fine phasing with this frequency. Because the thermal time constants of the primary mirror are very slow compared to this duration, the mirror will appear extremely stable during observations (to the level of accuracy of the sensing and control). The sensing can use the same phase retrieval techniques as the JWST by employing an additional beam splitter, and having each channel go through a weak lens (one positive and one negative). The channels can use common or separate detectors. Phase retrieval can be performed onboard. The actuation scheme would include a coarse stage able to achieve initial alignment of several millimeters of range (similar to JWST and can use a JWST heritage sensing approach in the science camera) and a fine stage capable of continual updates.

Feinberg, Lee↗
DOE OSTI2021

TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME). V. A Sub-Neptune Transiting a Young Star in a Newly Discovered 250 Myr Association

The detection and characterization of young planetary systems offer a direct path to study the processes that shape planet evolution. We report on the discovery of a sub-Neptune-sized planet orbiting the young star HD 110082 (TOI-1098). Transit events we initially detected during TESS Cycle 1 are validated with time-series photometry from Spitzer. High-contrast imaging and high-resolution, optical spectra are also obtained to characterize the stellar host and confirm the planetary nature of the transits. The host star is a late-F dwarf (M {sub ⋆} = 1.2M {sub ⊙}) with a low-mass, M dwarf binary companion (M {sub ⋆} = 0.26M {sub ⊙}) separated by nearly one arcminute (∼6200 au). Based on its rapid rotation and Lithium absorption, HD 110082 is young, but is not a member of any known group of young stars (despite proximity to the Octans association). To measure the age of the system, we search for coeval, phase-space neighbors and compile a sample of candidate siblings to compare with the empirical sequences of young clusters and to apply quantitative age-dating techniques. In doing so, we find that HD 110082 resides in a new young stellar association we designate MELANGE-1, with an age of 250{sub −70}{sup +50} Myr. Jointly modeling the TESS and Spitzer light curves, we measure a planetary orbital period of 10.1827 days and radius of R {sub p} = 3.2 ± 0.1R {sub ⊕}. HD 110082 b’s radius falls in the largest 12% of field-age systems with similar host-star mass and orbital period. This finding supports previous studies indicating that young planets have larger radii than their field-age counterparts.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1995

Analysis of an astrometric Fizeau interferometer for GAIA

The concepts related to the operation and design of the global astrometric interferometer for astrophysics (GAIA) bring together solutions chosen for the astrometry satellite and interferometric techniques. Like the Hipparcos satellite, GAIA is a continuously scanning instrument for which the integration time on any observed object is limited by the field of view of the detector. If a final astrometric accuracy of 10 microarcsec is aimed at, a field of 1 deg in diameter is needed. A design is presented for the proposed 2.6 m baseline Fizeau interferometer with two 40 cm apertures and overall dimensions compatible with the size of the Ariane 5 payload shroud. It has a 0.9 deg diffraction limited field of view. The response of the optical system to small perturbations on each optical element is given in terms of the fringe visibility, which is shown to be dependent on the sub-aperture spot separation. The robustness of the design to thermal, mechanical and manufacturing errors is discussed. The unavoidable distortion present in wide field optical systems is analyzed in terms of displacement of the interference fringes.

Loiseau, Sacha↗
NASA NTRS1988

CELSS for advanced manned mission

An overview of the major concepts of Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) includes an identification of environmental factors, such as gravity levels, light levels, and growth volume, that influence the type of CELSS system that can be developed. Various plant growth systems are described together with their possible space applications. Life support functions performed by plants include food production, atmosphere regeneration, and water purification. Selected relationships between biological and physical-chemical life support techniques are considered as a part of these functions. Consumers in a CELSS may be humans, animals, or microorganisms, but nutritional, water, and atmosphere requirements of humans are emphasized in this report, as they are the primary requirement drivers for a CELSS design. The human role in waste generation is discussed as it affects plant nutrient availability. The role of waste management systems in recovering nutrients for plant growth and requirements for CELSS are defined for air, water, and food. Both physical and a biological nutrient recovery/waste disposal systems are examined. The separate subsystems of a CELSS are identified and discussed. Nutrient recovery, plant irradiation, automation, and facilities equipment and applications are reviewed with special attention to direct solar irradiation using fiber optics. These subsystems, along with other environmental control systems, such as thermal, humidity, and ventilation, are essential to plant growth in the space environment.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
DOE OSTI2025

How non-ohmic contact-layer diodes in perovskite pinholes affect abrupt low-voltage reverse-bias breakdown and destruction of solar cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) rapidly degrade under reverse bias, a condition that may occur during partial shading. Here, in this study, we use electrical measurements, electron microscopy, and optical and thermal imaging to investigate abrupt breakdown and hotspotting under low reverse potentials (<|-2| V). We show that microscopic pinholes in the perovskite layer cause rapid, destructive breakdown under reverse bias despite minimally reducing power conversion efficiencies. Measurements on miniature (200-micrometer diameter) PSCs and perovskite-free transport-layer diodes indicate that abrupt, low-voltage breakdown occurs in nanoscale to micrometer-scale defects and that metal migration and filamentation are unlikely causes. Reverse-bias stability substantially improves when pinholes in the perovskite and transport layers are eliminated. Atomic layer deposition of tin oxide prevents abrupt breakdown by ensuring physical separation between electrodes-not by blocking metal ion migration. Perovskite researchers should adopt cleaner, more uniform deposition techniques to enable robust PSCs for further research and commercial applications.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

A method for generating quantitative vapor-phase infrared spectra of solids: results for phenol, camphor, menthol, syringol, dicyclopentadiene and naphthalene

Here, a method is presented to generate quantitative vapor-phase infrared spectra from substances that naturally occur as solids with moderate volatility. The solid is gravimetrically dissolved into a solvent that has few infrared spectral features, typically CS 2 and CCl 4 separately. The solution is flowed at a constant rate from a linearly pumped syringe into a metered stream of nitrogen carrier gas regulated by a mass flow controller. The analyte/solvent mix is flash vaporized by volatilizing the solution across a heated stainless-steel surface as it emanates from the syringe tip. The N 2 gas-solution mixture is flowed into a long-path White cell thermostatted at a desired temperature, the long optical path compensating for the modest analyte mixing ratio. A composite spectrum is generated from typically ten or more 760-Torr pressure-broadened spectra over the 600 to 6500 cm -1 spectral range at 0.1 cm -1 spectral resolution. The solid analytes reported here using this novel technique include dicyclopentadiene, menthol, syringol, phenol, camphor, and naphthalene.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluation of a novel mid-infrared pyrometer for dynamic material experiments

Temperature is a complicated thermodynamic parameter to measure in dynamic compression experiments. Optical pyrometry is a general-purpose “work-horse” technique for measuring temperature from a radiant surface on these experimental platforms. The optical pyrometry channels are commonly held to the visible or Near-Infrared spectrum, which provides high fidelity temperature measurement for shock temperature above ∼1200–1500 K. However, low temperature (T < 1200 K) dynamic material experiments, including low pressure or quasi-isentropic studies, as well as experiments with complex thermodynamic paths, require Mid-Infrared (Mid-IR) for high fidelity measurements. This article outlines the design, testing, and characterization of a novel Mid-IR pyrometer system that can be configured between 2.5 and 5.0 µm, suitable for lower temperature measurements and for increasing the fidelity and precision of higher temperature measurements. Experimental validation was done on two separate gas gun platforms, with two separate impact velocities, achieving temperatures between 450 and 1100 K.

Dutra, E. C. (ORCID:0000000167649195)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Solution-Processable Polymer Donor-Small Molecule Acceptor Bulk Heterojunction Organocatalysts for Enhancing CO 2 -to-CO Photoconversion

Metal-free organic semiconductors have emerged as a kind of promising star material in photocatalysis. However, their photocatalytic efficacy is impeded by the great recombination rate of the photogenerated charge carriers. Herein, we demonstrate the devising of solution-processable organic semiconductor bulk heterojunction (BHJ) systems with varying ratios by using BP3DT and PC 61 BM as the donor (D) and acceptor (A) candidates, respectively, for enhanced selective CO production from CO 2 photoreduction. The prepared BP3DT/PC 61 BM BHJs are solution-processed on both glass substrates (GS) and molecular sieves (MS) via a drop-casting technique to form an active thin film and porous photocatalysts to catalyze CO production. All BP3DT/PC 61 BM BHJs efficiently produce CO as the primary product in the existence of trace-level TEA/H 2 O (0.5 mL). Our results show that the photocatalytic efficiency depended on the D/A w% ratios and its nanoscale phase separation morphology within the BHJ, contributing to the promotion of exciton dissociation. Additionally, the BHJ undergoes an ostensible morphological transition from large-scale phase-separation to a fine mixed homogeneous nanoscale by varying the BP3DT/PC 61 BM blend ratio from 30/70 w% to 70/30 w%, which increases the interfacial area and shortens the distance of the exciton to the D/A surface, and promotes charge carrier separation, corroborated by photo-optical and photoelectrochemical experimental results. Accordingly, the resulting BP3DT/PC 61 BM BHJ@MS with a D/A ratio of 70/30 w% achieves a CO yield of 819 μmol·g cat -1 h -1 , surpassing those of pure PC 61 BM (126 μmol·g cat -1 h -1 ) and BP3DT (72 μmol·g cat -1 h -1 ) by 6.5- to 11.3-fold and also exceeding that of metal-free linear conjugated polymer-based organocatalysts reported to date. Specifically, this is the first work to develop an organic-semiconductor-based BHJ photocatalyst, which may offer a nascent way to design more efficient organocatalysts for CO 2 reduction.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1976

Laser velocimetry applied to transonic and supersonic aerodynamics

Measurements obtained with laser velocimetry in a Mach 2.9 separated turbulent boundary layer and in the transonic flow past a two-dimensional airfoil section are presented and compared to data realized by conventional techniques. Agreement in mean velocities was realized where the pressure measurements could be considered reliable; however, in regions of instantaneous reverse velocities, the laser results were found to be consistent with the physics of the flow whereas the pressure data were not. Streamwise turbulence intensities are also presented. In the transonic airfoil study, velocity measurements obtained immediately outside the upper surface boundary layer of a 6-inch chord NACA 64A010 airfoil are compared to edge velocities inferred from surface pressure measurements. For free-stream Mach numbers of 0.6 and 0.8, the agreement in results was very good. "Dual scatter" optical arrangements in conjunction with a single particle, counter-type signal processor were employed in these investigations.

Johnson, D. A.↗