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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 OSTI2020

X-ray free-electron laser wavefront sensing using the fractional Talbot effect

Wavefront sensing at X-ray free-electron lasers is important for quantitatively understanding the fundamental properties of the laser, for aligning X-ray instruments and for conducting scientific experimental analysis. A fractional Talbot wavefront sensor has been developed. This wavefront sensor enables measurements over a wide range of energies, as is common on X-ray instruments, with simplified mechanical requirements and is compatible with the high average power pulses expected in upcoming X-ray free-electron laser upgrades. Single-shot measurements were performed at 500 eV, 1000 eV and 1500 eV at the Linac Coherent Light Source. These measurements were applied to study both mirror alignment and the effects of undulator tapering schemes on source properties. The beamline focal plane position was tracked to an uncertainty of 0.12 mm, and the source location for various undulator tapering schemes to an uncertainty of 1m, demonstrating excellent sensitivity. These findings pave the way to use the fractional Talbot wavefront sensor as a routine, robust and sensitive tool at X-ray free-electron lasers as well as other high-brightness X-ray sources.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1994

A high resolution liquid xenon imaging telescope for 0.3-10 MeV gamma-ray astrophysics: Construction and initial balloon flights

An instrument is described which will provide a direct image of gamma-ray line or continuum sources in the energy range 300 keV to 10 MeV. The use of this instrument to study the celestial distribution of the (exp 26)Al isotope by observing the 1.809 MeV deexcitation gamma-ray line is illustrated. The source location accuracy is 2' or better. The imaging telescope is a liquid xenon time projection chamber coupled with a coded aperture mask (LXe-CAT). This instrument will confirm and extend the COMPTEL observations from the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) with an improved capability for identifying the actual Galactic source or sources of (exp 26)Al, which are currently not known with certainty. sources currently under consideration include red giants on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), novae, Type 1b or Type 2 supernovae, Wolf-Rayet stars and cosmic-rays interacting in molecular clouds. The instrument could also identify a local source of the celestial 1.809 MeV gamma-ray line, such as a recent nearby supernova.

Aprile, Elena↗
NASA NTRS1994

The broad band X-ray spectrum of SN 1978k and two other luminous X-ray sources in the spiral galaxy NGC 1313

We present preliminary results of our analysis of the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) PV phase observation of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 1313. ASCA cleanly resolves the three previously known luminous sources, one of which is the very luminous supernova, SN 1978k. The spectrum of SN 1978k is described by either a power law with a photon index gamma approximately 2.2 or a thermal model with temperature kT approximately 3.0 keV and abundances Z approximately 0.2 Z(sun). There is no evidence for strong line emission from it or from the other two sources. The spectrum of SN 1978k arises either in shocked gas in extreme departure from ionization equilibrium or from synchrotron processes associated with a newborn pulsar. A second source, near the galactic center, is well-fit by a power-law with a photon index of approximately 1.8. It is possibly an active nucleus-like source, but physically displaced from the optical nucleus of the galaxy. The spectrum of the third source, located 8 kpc south of the nucleus, along with the absence of an optical counterpart, suggests that it is a low mass X-ray binary; but its high X-ray luminosity clouds this interpretation. This observation demonstrates the ability of ASCA to perform effective broad band spectroscopic measurements of sources at a 2-10 keV flux level of 5 x 10(exp -13) erg cm(exp -2) s(exp -1).

Petre, Robert↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Fast Butterfly-Compressed Hadamard–Babich Integrator for High-Frequency Helmholtz Equations in Inhomogeneous Media with Arbitrary Sources

Here we present a butterfly-compressed representation of the Hadamard-Babich (HB) ansatz for the Green's function of the high-frequency Helmholtz equation in smooth inhomogeneous media. For a computational domain discretized with Nv discretization cells, the proposed algorithm first solves and tabulates the phase and HB coefficients via eikonal and transport equations with observation points and point sources located at the Chebyshev nodes using a set of much coarser computation grids, and then butterfly compresses the resulting HB interactions from all Nv cell centers to each other. The overall CPU time and memory requirement scale as O(Nv log2 Nv) for any bounded two-dimensional (2D) domains with arbitrary excitation sources. A direct extension of this scheme to bounded 3D domains yields an O(Nv4/3) CPU complexity, which can be further reduced to quasi-linear complexities with proposed remedies. The scheme can also efficiently handle scattering problems involving inclusions in inhomogeneous media. Although the current construction of our HB integrator does not accommodate caustics, the resulting HB integrator itself can be applied to certain sources, such as concave-shaped sources, to produce caustic effects. Compared to finite-difference frequency domain methods, the proposed HB integrator is free of numerical dispersion and requires fewer discretization points per wavelength. As a result, it can solve wave propagation problems well beyond the capability of existing solvers. Remarkably, the proposed scheme can accurately model wave propagation in 2D domains with 640 wavelengths per direction and in 3D domains with 54 wavelengths per direction on a state-of-the-art supercomputer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Hadamard--Babich ansatz↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reverse Time Migration of Explosion-generated Infrasound and Ground-Coupled Airwaves

Accurately locating sources of seismic and infrasonic energy is integral to global monitoring of earthquakes and explosions. Infrasound arrivals times can be used to calculate the origins of events that generate acoustic energy. Picking times of emergent infrasound arrivals, however, can be difficult and prone to uncertainty. Reverse time migration (RTM) is a waveform based location method that does not rely on picked arrival times. Here we use RTM to locate a known chemical explosion that generated acoustic and acoustic-to-seismic signals on 26 and 108 receivers, respectively. All location predictions are less than 24 km from the known location with time errors of less than three minutes. We find strong overall agreement between our results and those of existing RTM and arrival time based methods. Our initial results suggest that RTM is a promising method of event location using acoustic arrivals recorded on both infrasound and seismic instrumentation.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
NASA NTRS1973

Role of pressure transients in the detection and identification of lunar surface gas sources.

The dynamic behavior of neutral gases emitted from lunar surface sources is investigated. Pressure transients to be expected from several types of possible lunar surface sources are constructed. An approximate method is developed to estimate the source-sensor separation distance and the amount of effluent release. The case for which the source location and effluent molecular weight can be determined from ancillary data is discussed. It is shown that, if such data are available, pressure transients detected by either Apollo lunar surface experiment package ion spectrometers or cold cathode gages can be used to determine the release rate and the total amount of effluent release from the source.

Hall, F. G.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Waveform Analysis of AE in Composites

Advanced, waveform based acoustic emission (AE) techniques have been developed to evaluate damage mechanisms in the testing of composite materials. This approach, more recently referred to as Modal AE, provides an enhanced capability to discriminate and eliminate noise signals from those generated by damage mechanisms. Much more precise source location can also be obtained in comparison to conventional, threshold crossing arrival time determination techniques. Two successful examples of the application of Modal AE are presented in this work. In the first, the initiation of transverse matrix cracking in cross-ply, tensile coupons was monitored. In these tests, it was documented that the same source mechanism, matrix cracking, can produce widely different AE signal amplitudes dependent on laminate stacking sequence and thickness. These results, taken together with well known propagation effects of attenuation and dispersion of AE signals in composite laminates, cast further doubt on the validity of simple amplitude or amplitude distribution analysis for AE source determination. For the second example, delamination propagation in composite ring specimens was monitored. Pressurization of these composite rings is used to simulate the stresses in a composite rocket motor case. AE signals from delamination propagation were characterized by large amplitude flexural plate mode components which have long signal durations because of the large dispersion of this mode.

Prosser, William H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Radiation from a double layer jet

The aerodynamic radiation caused by two acoustic point sources located symmetrically on the sides of a double layer jet which produces a velocity discontinuity was examined, with attention given to the effect on the sound by the stream. Basic equations were defined in terms of wave propagation in the fluid in motion and a Fourier transformation. It was found that the radiation due to a point source on one side of the jet is enhanced by the presence of sound transmitted from the other side. The effect is expressed as a function of the reflection coefficient, wherein the reflections take place at the vortex interfaces separating the fluid in motion from the fluid at rest. The intensity patterns were determined to be kidney-shaped, lung-shaped, and heart-shaped, and characterized by a deep valley in the directivity pattern. The significance of the findings for STOL aircraft ejector thrust augmentation is mentioned.

Dash, R.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Gamma ray astronomy

The various source mechanisms for celestial gamma rays are reviewed. The gamma-ray data are examined as a source of information about the processes and source locations for the production of charged particle cosmic rays, galactic structure, explosive nucleosynthesis in supernovae, regions of confinement for cosmic rays, regions where matter-antimatter annihilation occurs, and the general condition in cosmological space both in the past and present. Topics include gamma rays from pi mesons by nuclear interactions, nuclear and supernovae lines, diffuse emission and discrete sources, interstellar absorption and detection of gamma rays, and others. A brief view of the available gamma-ray detection systems and techniques is presented.

Fichtel, C. E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Solar Flare X-Ray Source Motion as a Response to Electron Spectral Hardening

Context. Solar flare hard X-rays (HXRs) are thought to be produced by nonthermal coronal electrons stopping in the chromosphere, or remaining trapped in the corona. The collisional thick target model (CTTM) predicts that more energetic electrons penetrate to greater column depths along the flare loop. This requires that sources produced by harder power-law injection spectra should appear further down the legs or footpoints of a flareloop. Therefore, the frequently observed hardening of the injected power-law electron spectrum during flare onset should be concurrent with a descending hard X-ray source. Aims. To test this implication of the CTTM by comparing its predicted HXR source locations with those derived from observations of a solar flare which exhibits a nonthermally-dominated spectrum before the peak in HXRs, known as an early impulsive event. Methods. HXR images and spectra of an early impulsive C-class flare were obtained using the Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). Images were reconstructed to produce HXR source height evolutions for three energy bands. Spatially-integrated spectral analysis was performed to isolate nonthermal emission, and to determine the power-law index of the electron injection spectrum. The observed height-time evolutions were then fit with CTTM-based simulated heights for each energy, using the electron spectral indices derived from the RHESSI spectra. Results. The flare emission was found to be dominantly nonthermal above approx. 7 keV, with emission of thermal and nonthermal X-rays likely to be simultaneously observable below that energy. The density structure required for a good match between model and observed source heights agreed with previous studies of flare loop densities. Conclusions. The CTTM has been used to produce a descent of model HXR source heights that compares well with observations of this event. Based on this interpretation, downward motion of nonthermal sources should indeed occur in any flare where there is spectral hardening in the electron distribution during a flare. However, this would often be masked by thermal emission associated with flare plasma pre-heating. As yet, flare models that predict transfer of energy from the corona to the chromosphere by means other than a flux of nonthermal electrons do not predict this observed source descent. Therefore, flares such as this will be key in explaining this elusive energy transfer process.

X-rays↗
NASA NTRS2011

Gamma-Ray Pulsars

The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has revolutionized the study of pulsar physics with the detection of over 80 gamma-ray pulsars. Several new populations have been discovered, including 24 radio quiet pulsars found through gamma-ray pulsations alone and about 20 millisecond gamma-ray pulsars. The gamma-ray pulsations from millisecond pulsars were discovered by both folding at periods of known radio millisecond pulsars or by detecting them as gamma-ray sources that are followed up by radio pulsar searches. The second method has resulted in a phenomenally successful synergy, with -35 new radio MSPs (to date) having been discovered at Fermi unidentified source locations and the gamma-ray pulsations having then been detected in a number of these using the radio timing solutions. The higher sensitivity and larger energy range of the Fermi Large Area Telescope has produced detailed energy-dependent light curves and phase-resolved spectroscopy on brighter pulsars, that have ruled out polar cap models as the major source of the emission in favor of outer magnetosphere accelerators. The large number of gamma-ray pulsars now allows for the first time meaningful population and sub-population studies that are revealing surprising properties of these fascinating sources.

Harding, Alice K.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Electromagnetic hiss and relativistic electron losses in the inner zone

It is shown that ELF hiss is present in the inner radiation zone (L less than 2) during both storms and substorms. This presence is ascribed to propagation of waves into this region from a distributed source located at high altitude near the equatorial plasmapause. Two major effects allow hiss to reach the inner zone during storms and substorms: (1) the observed tendency for plasmaspheric hiss to be greatly intensified during the recovery phase as the outward-moving plasmapause encounters the electrons that have been freshly injected into the magnetosphere; (2) the displacement of the plasmapause, and the presumed source region, to low altitudes during high levels of magnetic activity.

Tsurutani, B. T.↗
NASA NTRS1991

An anomalous component of Neptune radio emission - Implications for the auroral zone

The Voyager planetary radio astronomy experiment detected a bursty, narrow-band radio emission originating in Neptune's magnetosphere. The time of occurrence of nearly all of the episodes of this bursty radio emission can be explained on the basis of a radio source located just above and to the east of the south magnetic offset tilted dipole (OTD) tip (Farrell et al., 1990). However, several episodes of bursty emission do not occur at the usual frequency and planetaray rotation phase for emissions of this type. The occurrences of these rarely seen anomalous episodes are shifted systematically in planetary longitude so as to be consistent with a source of emission to the southwest of the southern magnetic OTD pole. Owing to the proximity of these sources to the magnetic polar region, they are associated with an active auroral region. Therefore, at least from the standpoint of the radio emission, the picture that emerges is of an auroral zone with two emission hot spots approximately diametrically east and west of the south magnetic pole. The possibility of a complete radio-active auroral oval is discussed.

Desch, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Application of the Pseudo Wigner-Ville Distribution to the Measurement of the Dispersion of Lamb Modes in Graphite/Epoxy Plates

Acoustic waves propagate in thin plates as guided or Lamb modes. The velocities of these modes are dispersive in that they depend not only on the material elastic properties and density, but also on the frequency. Accurate characterization of Lamb wave dispersion is important in many acoustic based nondestructive evaluation techniques. It is necessary for ultrasonic measurements in thin plates to determine elastic properties and for flaw detection and localization. In acoustic emission (AE) testing, if not taken into account, highly dispersive Lamb mode propagation can lead to large errors in source location. In this study, the pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution (PWVD) was used for measurement of group velocity dispersion of Lamb waves in a unidirectional graphite/epoxy (AS4/3502) laminate. The PWVD is one of a number of transforms which provide a time-frequency representation of a digitized time series. Broad band acoustic waves were generated by a pencil lead fracture (Hsu-Neilsen source) and were detected with broad band ultrasonic transducers. The arrival times for the lowest order symmetric (S(sub 0)) and antisymmetric (A(sub 0)) Lamb modes were determined from measurements of the time at which the respective peak amplitudes occurred in the PWVD. Measurements were made at several source-to-detector distances and a least squares fit used to calculate the velocity. Results are presented for propagation along, and perpendicular to, the fiber direction. Theoretical dispersion curves were also calculated and a comparison between theory and experiment demonstrates good agreement.

Prosser, W. H.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Improvements to the Simulated CubeSpark Satellite Constellation and Their Effects on Lightning Geolocation Accuracy from Orbit

The CubeSpark mission concept is being developed as a constellation of up to six satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) for high resolution 3D lightning mapping using optical and radio frequency (RF) sensors. Individual lightning VHF signals are simulated from Earth’s atmosphere through the ionosphere to each satellite, using their arrival times to reconstruct source locations. Here we present recent updates to these simulations based on improved ionospheric modeling, with a focus on the expected three-dimensional resolution. These studies include testing from the equator up to high latitudes, with varying vertical total electron content (vTEC), and using between one and six orbiting stations. In addition to the more robust ionosphere model, the constellation formation has also been updated to reduce its resulting errors and increase the effective range of VHF geolocation from space. The goals of CubeSpark include mapping thundercloud charge structure as well as lightning channel lengths relevant to climatology, meteorology, and more. These applications require location uncertainty less than 1-2 km in each dimension. This improved algorithm shows sufficient resolution up to high latitudes, including significantly larger areas having 3D resolution less than 1 km. Analysis of the distributions of biases in simulated arrival times has also revealed the unexpected relationship between the shape of those distributions and the resulting uncertainties. This work helps to refine our understanding of the sources of error in lightning geolocation and reinforces the potential for post-processing improvements in this and other similar systems.

Lightning↗
NASA NTRS1998

Direction-Finding Measurements of Heliospheric 2-3 kHz Radio Emissions

Using data from the Voyager 1 plasma wave instrument, a series of direction-finding measurements is presented for the intense 1992-93 heliospheric 2- to 3-kHz radio emission event, and several weaker events extending into 1994. Direction-finding measurements can only be obtained during roll maneuvers, which are performed about once every three months. Two parameters can be determined from the roll-induced intensity modulation, the azimuthal direction of arrival (measured around the roll axis), and the modulation index (the peak-to-peak amplitude divided by the peak amplitude). Measurements were made at two frequencies, 1.78 and 3.11 kHz. No roll modulation was observed at 1.78 kHz, which is consistent with an isotropic source at this frequency. In most cases an easily measurable roll modulation was detectable at 3.11 kHz. Although the azimuth angles have considerable scatter, the directions of arrival at 3.11 kHz can be organized into three groups, each of which appears to be associated with a separate upward drifting feature in the radio emission spectrum. The first group, which is associated with the main 1992-93 event, is consistent with a source located near the nose of the heliosphere. The remaining two groups, which occur after the main 1992-93 event, have azimuth angles well away from the nose of the heliosphere. The modulation indexes vary over a large range, from 0.06 to 0.61, with no obvious trend. Although the variations in the directions of arrival and modulation indicies appear to reflect changes in the position and angular size of the source, it is also possible that they could be caused by refraction or scattering due to density structures in the solar wind.

Gurnett, Donald A.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Uncertainty Quantification of Capacitor Switching Transient Location using Machine Learning

Identification of capacitor switching transient location provides valuable insight into the state of the associated equipment. Machine learning (ML) models, and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in particular, have demonstrated remarkable performance in signal location. However, ML models are data driven whose predictions are affected by noise in data and may also suffer from large extrapolation errors when applied to new conditions. Uncertainty quantification (UQ) is necessary to ensure model trustworthiness and avoid overconfident predictions in extrapolation. Here, in this work, we propose a novel UQ method, called PI3NN, to quantify prediction uncertainty of ML models and integrate the method with CNNs for transient source location. PI3NN calculates Prediction Intervals by training 3 Neural Networks and uses root-finding methods to determine the interval precisely. Additionally, PI3NN can identify out-of-distribution (OOD) data in a nonstationary condition to avoid overconfident prediction. Results indicate that with PI3NN, transient signals are not only correctly identified, but when said signals are subject to corruptions characteristic of an actual power monitoring system (e.g. non-ideal sensors), the model recognizes when it is uncertain about its predictions, effectively letting the user know when to accept or discard the results.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurements and Analyses to Enable Science for the Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE)

Coastal cities provide the opportunity to characterize the substantial effects of manmade particles on marine cloud properties and processes. La Jolla lies to the north of San Diego, California, but it is often about a day directly downwind of the major pollution sources located in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The large dynamic range of aerosol particle concentrations combined with the multi-hour to multi-day persistence of stratocumulus cloud layers makes the site ideal for investigating the seasonal changes in cloud and aerosol properties as well as the quantitative relationships between cloud and aerosol properties. The Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE) characterized the extent, radiative properties, aerosol interactions, and precipitation characteristics of stratocumulus clouds in the Eastern Pacific across all four seasons at two coastal sites in La Jolla. This project was designed to enhance and expand the scientific uses of the ARM AMF1 measurements from EPCAPE. The goal was to ensure meaningful observations were collected that would enable science. The project included the following objectives: (1) Reviewing the ARM AMF1 measurements [ARM, 2021a; b] and circulating a summary of the measurements each week, (2) Comparing AMF1 measurements to those provided by collaborators (including filter measurements at the pier), (3) Collecting and analyzing filter samples from Scripps Pier by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), (4) Assisting in operations of instruments provided by Guest PIs when possible, and (5) Providing an initial compilation of EPCAPE aerosol and cloud seasonal differences. The expected outcomes of these objectives were enhanced proposals and publications using EPCAPE measurements by helping to identify instrument issues, expanded data access and awareness by distributing weekly plots and related summaries, improved source-related attribution of aerosols with elemental tracers, additional observations provided by Guest PIs, and accelerated ACI studies enabled by the compiled seasonal summaries of aerosol and cloud properties. Three examples of the science enabled by this project are findings that (i) aerosol and cloud aqueous production contributes more than half of sulfate particle mass concentration, (ii) upwind sources make chemical composition very similar at nearby sites despite local differences in meteorology, and (iii) most of the large mass concentration of semi-volatile organic components is co-emitted and co-evaporated with nitrate. Together these findings illustrate how ARM extended field campaigns in coastal regions can be used to constrain ACI processes with direct observations. By using the unique ARM suite of cloud radiative products in addition to the measured aerosol properties at a coastal location, we were able to address the more specific question of which aerosol particles cause how much of the effects on clouds. Identifying this signature in coastal areas provides an opportunity to test the representation of aerosol sources by global models in a range of clean and urban-influenced conditions.

Russell, Lynn [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA ↗