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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 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Few-cycle self-compression of GW mid-IR pulses in an anti-resonant fiber in ambient air

We report self-compression of mid-IR optical pulses to the few-cycle regime in an anti-resonant hollow core fiber filled with ambient air. Transform-limited 120-fs duration input optical pulses with 160 μJ energy are compressed to 29.8 fs (< 3 cycles) with a compression efficiency of 75%, resulting in 2.6 GW peak power few-cycle pulses. In addition, we show that nonlinear compression is maintained when the fiber is coiled, allowing for a compact setup. Lastly, we elucidate the dynamics involved in this self-compression setup via numerical simulations and identify the critical role played by Raman shifting in molecular gases and ionization limitations.

Hettel, Will [University of Colorado & NIST, Bould↗
NASA NTRS1991

High enthalpy, hypervelocity flows of air and argon in an expansion tube

An expansion tube with a free piston driver has been used to generate quasi-steady hypersonic flows in argon and air at flow velocities in excess of 9 km/s. Irregular test flow unsteadiness has limited the performance of previous expansion tubes, and it has been found that this can be avoided by attention to the interaction between the test gas accelerating expansion and the contact surface in the primary shock tube. Test section measurements of pitot pressure, static pressure and flat plate heat transfer are reported. An approximate analytical theory has been developed for predicting the velocities achieved in the unsteady expansion of the ionizing or dissociating test gas.

Neely, A. J↗
DOE OSTI2020

Crossroads Able "Gilda"

At 5:55 am local time on June 30, 1946, a B-29 bomber took to the air carrying a Fat Man bomb, christened Gilda. Named after a Rita Haworth movie character, Gilda was released over a target array of ninety-three ships, including the Japanese battleship Nagato, the German cruiser Prinz Eugen, and the United States aircraft carrier Independence, all of which carried varying amounts of munitions, fuel, and animals. Although Gilda missed its aiming point, the explosion sank five ships and severely damaged eight others. A large number of pigs, goats, and rats were exposed to lethal doses of ionizing radiation. Visually, Gilda was not that impressive, particularly to those expecting an apocalyptic event. As the New York Times reporter William Laurence recalled, “To some of the newspaper men aboard, keyed up to the point of expecting the observer ship to be blown out of the water, the spectacle, obscured somewhat by an intervening white cloud, was a disappointment. To me, who could distinguish between the natural cloud and the atomic cloud, the sight was awesome and spine chilling.”

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
NASA NTRS2019

Mechanical Design and Configuration of Penetrations for the Europa Clipper Avionics Vault Structure

The main purpose of the Avionics Vault is to shield radiation sensitive electronics for the Europa Clipper Spacecraft. The vault is a box structure made out of aluminum panels. The panels are roughly 10 mm thick in order to shield the electronics from the orbital total ionizing radiation around Jupiter. The vault requires an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) of at least 70 dB in order to mitigate EMI with the spacecraft radar receiver. Overall, the vault accommodates four main types of penetrations: receptacle connectors, pass-through cables, fluid lines, and vent holes. More than 150 cables penetrate the vault panels to connect to electronic boxes inside. Fluid pipes enter and exit the vault to transfer heat to the rest of the spacecraft. Vent holes provide a path for air to escape from the vault during launch. Several novel penetrations designs were created to meet EMI and radiation shielding requirements. Receptacle connectors interface to the vault panels using 1.3 mm thick Ta10W plates. Pass-through cables penetrate the vault using aluminum clamshells after being wrapped with Teflon cushion tape, Kapton tape, and copper tape. Vent hole penetrations consist of a copper mesh for EMI shielding and an aluminum radiation shield bracket to direct air out of the vault during launch. Fluid lines terminate at the vault wall using mechanical fittings that resemble a nut and bolt interface. In addition, most mechanical seams and penetrations utilize EMI gaskets to ensure proper EMI shielding. To reduce risk and confirm that the vault penetration designs were appropriate for EMI shielding, an EMI chamber at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was used to test a mock-up vault panel with multiple variations of all four main types of vault penetrations. This EMI SE test also incorporated different methods for bundling pass-through cables, and a comparison of flange mounted connectors versus jam nut connectors. A low noise preamplifier and a Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analyzer measured E-field levels transmitting through the mock-up vault panel. The results showed a shielding effectiveness of 77 dB for the mock-up vault panel, which exceeds the 70 dB target for Europa Clipper. Both the flange mounted connectors and jam nut connectors exhibited similar EMI SE results at the measured frequencies, and all variations of vault penetrations showed favorable EMI SE levels. Since the flight panels will be much larger and include many more penetrations, there will be testing of the flight vault to confirm its EMI SE is compliant with environmental requirements.

Giersch, Louis↗
DOE OSTI2022

Atmospheric pressure plasma functionalization of polystyrene

Atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJs) are used to improve the adhesive and hydrophilic properties of commodity hydrocarbon polymers such as polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene (PS). These improvements largely result from adding oxygen functional groups to the surface. PS functionalization is of interest to produce high value biocompatible well-plates and dishes, which require precise control over surface properties. In this paper, we discuss results from a computational investigation of APPJ functionalization of PS surfaces using He/O 2 /H 2 O gas mixtures. A newly developed surface reaction mechanism for functionalization of PS upon exposure to these plasmas is discussed. A global plasma model operated in plug-flow mode was used to predict plasma-produced species fluxes onto the PS surface. A surface site balance model was used to predict oxygen-functionalization of the PS following exposure to the plasma and ambient air. We found that O-occupancy on the surface strongly correlates with the O-atom flux to the PS, with alcohol groups and cross-linked products making the largest contributors to total oxygen fraction. Free radical sites, such as alkoxy and peroxy, are quickly consumed in the post-plasma exposure to air through passivation and cross-linking. O-atom fluences approaching 10 17 cm -2 saturate the O-occupancy on the PS surface, creating functionality that is not particularly sensitive to moderate changes in operating conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2017

Environmental Testbed Development to Evaluate Power Distribution Materials in Electrified Aircraft (EA)

NASA is pursuing the development of electrified propulsion (EP) technologies to improve air transportation in terms of efficiency, affordability, and sustainability. The power requirements are expected to reach 20 megawatts for large EP commercial airliners. A key challenge is transmission and distribution of the high voltage (20 kilovolts) needed for some EP systems. This is a challenge because the risk of electrical failure in aircraft at high altitude (low pressure) due to corona discharge and other forms of partial discharge increases significantly when voltages exceed 327 V. Corona discharge is a form of partial discharge in which gaseous molecules are ionized by strong electric fields. Corona discharge leads to aging in power transmission lines. Aging is a leading cause of electrical failure in electrical insulation materials. In particular, aging from electrical, vibrational, and thermal stresses decrease the performance life of insulation materials. There are currently no test standards or equipment that can effectively age materials under high altitude, voltage and frequency conditions. This poster proposes a design for a test system including an environmental chamber that can simulate the environment of future EP systems for material and component aging tests.

Materials Test chamber Design↗
NASA NTRS2024

Plasma-Based Elemental Analyzer for Crewed Transit and Planetary Habitation

As NASA continues to perform research on the ISS and move towards the Moon and Mars, it is important for astronauts to have a technology capable of determining the composition of solid, liquid, and gas samples. Currently, samples are transported back to Earth for analysis, which may impact results due to the time delay of samples waiting to be returned to Earth as well as potential sample contamination from re-entry, change in environment, and various personnel handling. Therefore, researchers at the Applied Chemistry Lab at KSC have developed a proof-of-concept “Plasma-Based Elemental Analyzer,” which has the capability of testing solid, liquid, and gas samples for identification. Currently, the analysis is only qualitative, with quantitative identification left for future work. This technology is similar to ICP-OES, but differs in instrument size and sample preparation. Both technologies use plasma to ionize samples for light emission. The plasma elemental analyzer aims to be portable and lightweight, require only electrical power, and analyze solid, liquid, and gas samples. It does not use acid digestion or a nebulizer, requires less power than ICP-OES, and is able to operate with minimal to no usage of argon gas. Furthermore, the plasma elemental analyzer operates within low power constraints, which makes it feasible for usage on future missions with higher power constraints. The technology was tested at atmospheric pressure using mostly room air as the carrier gas for plasma production in the proof-of-concept study. The results showed the peak signals of the elements with an associated arbitrary signal intensity that allowed for qualitative identification. Solid samples that were tested included inedible biomass from the Golden Heirloom Cherry Tomato plant and Lunar Highlands Simulants (LHS-1). The liquid samples included elements of interest for the space crop production community. This work showed that a system smaller than the traditional ICP-OES equipment is able to be designed and implemented in future use cases, although it requires further development.

Kenneth Engeling↗
DOE OSTI2024

Charging, aggregation, and electrostatic dispersion of radioactive and nonradioactive particles in the atmosphere

Electrostatic dispersion can significantly impact the microphysical behavior of charged particles and ions until reaching zero space charge. However, although radioactive particles can be strongly charged in air, the influence of electrostatic dispersion has been neglected in understanding their behavior. This study is aimed at investigating the time evolution of the charge and size distributions of radioactive and nonradioactive particles in air and developing simple approaches for applications. With processes involving charging, aggregation, and electrostatic dispersion, a comprehensive population balance model (PBM) has been developed to examine particle charge/size distribution dynamics. It is shown that compared to nonradioactive particles, the charge and size distributions of radioactive particles may evolve differently with time because radioactivity and electrostatic dispersion can significantly affect the charging and aggregation kinetics of the particles. It is found that, after the Fukushima accident, background aerosols in the pathway of radioactive plumes might be highly charged due to ionizing radiation, suggesting that radiation fields may strongly influence in situ measurements of charged atmospheric particles. The comprehensive PBM is simplified, and then the verification and application of the simplified PBMs are discussed. This study provides useful insight into how radioactivity can affect the dynamic behavior of particles in atmospheric systems including radiation sources.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Neuroprotectin D1 Attenuates Blast Overpressure Induced Reactive Microglial Cells in the Cochlea

Objective/Hypothesis We examined a neuroinflammatory response associated with glial activation in the cochlea exposed to blast overpressure and evaluated the potential therapeutic efficacy of specialized pro‐resolving mediators such as neuroprotectin D1, NPD1; (10R, 17S‐dihydroxy‐4Z, 7Z, 11E, 13E, 15Z, 19Z‐docosahexaenoic acid) in a rodent blast‐induced auditory injury model. Study Design Animal Research. Methods A compressed‐air driven shock tube was used to expose anesthetized adult male Long‐Evan rats to shock waves simulating an open‐field blast exposure. Approximately 30 minutes after blast exposure, rats were treated with NPD1 (100 ng/kg body wt.) or vehicle delivered intravenously via tail vein injection. Rats were then euthanized 48 hours after blast exposure. Unexposed rats were included as controls. Tissue sections containing both middle and inner ear were prepared with hematoxylin–eosin staining to elucidate histopathological changes associated with blast exposure. Cochlear tissues were evaluated for relative expression of ionized calcium‐binding adaptor 1 (Iba1), as an indicator of microglial activation by immunohistochemistry and western blot analyses. Results Our animal model resulted in an acute injury mechanism manifested by damage to the tympanic membrane, hemorrhage, infiltration of inflammatory cells, and increased expression of Iba1 protein. Moreover, therapeutic intervention with NPD1 significantly reduced Iba1 expression in the cochlea, suggesting a reduction of a neuroinflammatory response caused by blast overpressure. Conclusions Blast overpressure resulted in an increased expression of proteins involved in gliosis within the auditory system, which were reduced by NPD1. Treatment of NPD1 suggests an effective strategy to reduce or halt auditory microglial cell activation due to primary blast exposure. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope , 131:E2018–E2025, 2021

Ríos, José David↗
NASA NTRS2003

Polar Cap Disturbances: Mesosphere and Thermosphere-Ionosphere Response to Solar-Terrestrial Interactions

The Polar Cap is the Upper-Atmosphere cum Mag-netosphere region which is enclosed by the poleward boundary of the Auroral Oval and is threaded by open geomagnetic tield lines. In this region, there is normally a steady precipition (Polar "drizzle") of low energy (w 300eV) electrons that excite optical emissions from the ionosphere. At times, enhanced ionization patches are formed near the Dayside Cusp regions that drift across the Polar Cap towards the Night Sector of the Auroral Oval. Discrete auroral arcs and auroras formed during Solar Magnetic Cloud (SMC)/Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) events are also observed in the Polar Cap. Spectrophotometric observations of all these Polar Cap phenomena provide a measure of the average energy as well a energy flux of the electrons precipitating in the Polar Cap region during these disturbances. Such measurements also point to modulations of the Polar Cap Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere (MLT) air density and temperature by zonally symmetric tides whose Hough functions peak in the Polar region. MLT cooling during Stratospheric Warming events and their relation to Polar Vortex and associated Gravity wave activities are also observed at the Polar Cap sites.

Sivjee, G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Development of cosmic ray techniques

It is pointed out that most advances of cosmic-ray physics have been directly related to the development of observational techniques. A review is presented of the history of the evolution of the techniques and equipment for the study of cosmic-ray physics, taking into account the new scientific advances accompanying each new development related to experimental technology. All of the early observations were performed by means of ionization chambers. These chambers had already been in use for a number of years, when they were first applied to the study of cosmic rays in the early years of this century. However, an application to the low-intensity cosmic radiation required special refinements. Attention is given to the design of suitable electrometers, the development of self-recording instruments, the 'tube counter', the development of the coincidence method, a cosmic-ray 'telescope', a magnetic lens for cosmic rays, an arrangement of Geiger-Mueller counters for the demonstration of secondary radiation, cloud chambers, scintillation counters, and air shower experiments.

Rossi, B.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Induced charging of shuttle orbiter by high electron-beam currents

Emission of high-current electron beams that was proposed for some Spacelab payloads required substantial return currents to the orbiter skin in order to neutralize the beam charge. Since the outer skin of the vehicle was covered with approximately 1200 sq m of thermal insulation which has the dielectric quality of air and an electrical conductivity that was estimated by NASA at 10 to the -9 power to 10 to the -10 power mhos/m, considerable transient charging and local potential differences were anticipated across the insulation. The theory for induced charging of spacecraft due to operation of electron guns was only developed for spherical metal vehicles and constant emission currents, which were not directly applicable to the orbiter situation. Field-aligned collection of electron return current from the ambient ionosphere at orbiter altitudes provides up to approximately 150 mA on the conducting surfaces and approximately 2.4 A on the dielectric thermal insulation. Local ionization of the neutral atmosphere by energetic electron bombardment or electrical breakdown may provide somewhat more return current.

Liemohn, H. B.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Charge Analyzer Responsive Local Oscillations

The first transatlantic radio transmission, demonstrated by Marconi in December of 1901, revealed the essential role of the ionosphere for radio communications. This ionized layer of the upper atmosphere controls the amount of radio power transmitted through, reflected off of, and absorbed by the atmospheric medium. Low-frequency radio signals can propagate long distances around the globe via repeated reflections off of the ionosphere and the Earth's surface. Higher frequency radio signals can punch through the ionosphere to be received at orbiting satellites. However, any turbulence in the ionosphere can distort these signals, compromising the performance or even availability of space-based communication and navigations systems. The physics associated with this distortion effect is analogous to the situation when underwater images are distorted by convecting air bubbles. In fact, these ionospheric features are often called 'plasma bubbles' since they exhibit some of the similar behavior as underwater air bubbles. These events, instigated by solar and geomagnetic storms, can cause communication and navigation outages that last for hours. To help understand and predict these outages, a world-wide community of space scientists and technologists are devoted to researching this topic. One aspect of this research is to develop instruments capable of measuring the ionospheric plasma bubbles. Figure 1 shows a photo of the Charge Analyzer Responsive to Local Oscillations (CARLO), a new instrument under development at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). It is a frequency-domain ion spectrum analyzer designed to measure the distributions of ionospheric turbulence from 1 Hz to 10 kHz (i.e., spatial scales from a few kilometers down to a few centimeters). This frequency range is important since it focuses on turbulence scales that affect VHF/UHF satellite communications, GPS systems, and over-the-horizon radar systems. CARLO is based on the flight-proven Plasma Local Anomalous Noise Environment (PLANE) instrument, previously flown on a U.S. Air Force low-Earth orbiting satellite, which successfully measured ion turbulence in five frequency decades from 0.1 Hz to 10 kHz (fig 2).

Krause, Linda Habash↗
NASA NTRS2004

Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry-Based Measurements of HO2 and RO2 During TRACE-P

The Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) mission extends NASA's Global Tropospheric Experiment (GTE) series of campaigns. TRACE-P was an aircraft-based campaign that was part of a larger ground-based and aircraft-based program (APARE) under the auspices of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) program. TRACE-P was designed to (1) determine the chemical composition of Asian outflow over the western Pacific, and to (2) determine the chemical evolution of the Asian outflow. These objectives were addressed through a variety of observations and numerical modeling exercises. In particular, the goals included sampling strategies that would improve understanding of the budgets of odd hydrogen species (OH and HO2), budgets of NOx (NO, NO2, and their reservoirs), and impacts of oxidants produced in the outflow on air quality in the United States. The NASA DC-8 and P-3B aircraft were deployed in the March and April, 2001 out of primary bases of operation in Hong Kong and Yokota Air Base in Japan. These two aircraft have complementary capabilities which allow high altitude and long range impacts, as well as low altitude, local impacts to be assessed. In order to quantify the composition and evolution of Asian outflow, it is important to quantify as many species as possible including photochemically active species (e.g. NO2, CH2O, O3, acetone, etc.), sources species (VOCs, CO, NOx, SO2, aerosols), reactive intermediates including free radicals (OH, HO2, RO2, and their reservoirs), and end products (nitric acid, sulfuric acid, secondary aerosols, etc.). The more complete the measurement suite, the more tightly constrained the numerical modeling can be (within the uncertainties of the measurements). The numerical models range in sophistication from simple steady state box models (as employed in this study) to multi-dimensional chemical transport models. Data were collected on approximately 20 flights of the DC-8 and 21 flights of the P-3B. Observations from both aircraft were used in the present analysis, but primarily focused on the P-3B flights since that was the platform on which the peroxy radical instrumentation was based.

Cantrell, Christopher A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Development of the cosmic ray techniques

It has been found that most advances of cosmic-ray physics have been directly related to the development of observational techniques. The history of observational techniques is discussed, taking into account ionization chambers, refinements applied to ionization chambers to make them suitable for an effective use in the study of cosmic radiation, the Wulf-type electrometer, the electrometer designed by Millikan and Neher, the Geiger-Mueller counter, the experiment of Bothe and Kolhoerster, the coincidence circuit, and a cosmic-ray 'telescope'. Attention is given to a magnetic lens for cosmic rays, a triangular arrangement of Geiger-Mueller counters used to demonstrate the production of a secondary radiation, a stereoscopic cloud-chamber photograph of showers, the cloud-chamber picture which provided the first evidence of the positive electron, and arrangements for studying photon components, mu-mesons, and air showers.

Rossi, B.↗