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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 325 records · Page 18

An Alternate Set of Basis Functions for the Electromagnetic Solution of Arbitrarily-Shaped, Three-Dimensional, Closed, Conducting Bodies Using Method of Moments

In this work, we present an alternate set of basis functions, each defined over a pair of planar triangular patches, for the method of moments solution of electromagnetic scattering and radiation problems associated with arbitrarily-shaped, closed, conducting surfaces. The present basis functions are point-wise orthogonal to the pulse basis functions previously defined. The prime motivation to develop the present set of basis functions is to utilize them for the electromagnetic solution of dielectric bodies using a surface integral equation formulation which involves both electric and magnetic cur- rents. However, in the present work, only the conducting body solution is presented and compared with other data.

Mackenzie, Anne I.↗

Preliminary Spectroscopic Measurements for a Gallium Electromagnetic (GEM) Thruster

As a propellant option for electromagnetic thrusters, liquid ,gallium appears to have several advantages relative to other propellants. The merits of using gallium in an electromagnetic thruster (EMT) are discussed and estimates of discharge current levels and mass flow rates yielding efficient operation are given. The gallium atomic weight of 70 predicts high efficiency in the 1500-2000 s specific impulse range, making it ideal for higher-thrust, near-Earth missions. A spatially and temporally broad spectroscopic survey in the 220-520 nm range is used to determine which species are present in the plasma and estimate electron temperature. The spectra show that neutral, singly, and doubly ionized gallium species are present in a 20 J, 1.8 kA (peak) are discharge. With graphite present on the insulator to facilitate breakdown, singly and doubly ionized carbon atoms are also present, and emission is observed from molecular carbon (CZ) radicals. A determination of the electron temperature was attempted using relative emission line data, and while the spatially and temporally averaged, spectra don't fit well to single temperatures, the data and presence of doubly ionized gallium are consistent with distributions in the 1-3 eV range.

Thomas, Robert E.↗

The Final Merger of Massive Black Holes: Recoils, Gravitational Waves, and Electromagnetic Signatures

The final merger of two massive black holes produces a powerful burst of gravitational radiation, emitting more energy than all the stars in the observable universe combined. The resulting gravitational waveforms will be easily detectable by the space-based LISA out to redshifts z > 10, revealing the masses and spins ofthe black holes to high precision. If the merging black holes have unequal masses, or asymmetric spins, the final black hole that forms can recoil with a velocity exceeding 1000 km/s. And, when the black holes merge in the presence of gas and magnetic fields, various types of electromagnetic signals may also be produced. For more than 30 years, scientists have tried to compute black hole mergers using the methods of numerical relativity. The resulting computer codes have been plagued by instabilities, causing them to crash well before the black holes in the binary could complete even a single orbit. Within the past few years, however, this situation has changed dramatically, with a series of remarkable breakthroughs. This talk will focus on new results that are revealing the dynamics and waveforms of binary black hole mergers, recoil velocities, and the possibility of accompanying electromagnetic outbursts.

Centrella, Joan↗

Electromagnetic Interactions GenERalized (EIGER): Applications at Johnson Space Center

This slide presentation reviews the software framework for the analysis and design of complex electromagnetic systems. The system called Electromagnetic Interactions GenERalized (EIGER) is a hybrid finite element solution for wave equations and deru=ives boundary element solutions for integral equation formulations. Written in Fortran 90 Eiger uses object-oriented design methods to abstract key analysis components. EIGER has been applied to higher order modeling for analysis of antennas to assist in the design of the antennas of a mini-AERCam. EIGER might also be used to model the Ion Cyclotron Resonant heating stage for the VAriable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR).

Dobbins, Justin A.↗

Electromagnetic Launch Vehicle Fairing and Acoustic Blanket Model of Received Power Using FEKO

Evaluating the impact of radio frequency transmission in vehicle fairings is important to sensitive spacecraft. This paper employees the Multilevel Fast Multipole Method (MLFMM) feature of a commercial electromagnetic tool to model the fairing electromagnetic environment in the presence of an internal transmitter. This work is an extension of the perfect electric conductor model that was used to represent the bare aluminum internal fairing cavity. This fairing model includes typical acoustic blanketing commonly used in vehicle fairings. Representative material models within FEKO were successfully used to simulate the test case.

Trout, Dawn H.↗

The Final Merger of Massive Black Holes: Recoils, Gravitational Waves, and Electromagnetic Signatures

The final merger of two massive black holes produces a powerful burst of gravitational radiation, emitting more energy than all the stars in the observable universe combined. The resulting gravitational waveforms will be easily detectable by the space-based LISA out to redshifts z greater than 10, revealing the masses and spins of the black holes to high precision. If the merging black holes have unequal masses, or asymmetric spins, the final black hole that forms can recoil with a velocity exceeding 1000 km/s. And, when the black holes merge in the presence of gas and magnetic fields, various types of electromagnetic signals may also be produced. For more than 30 years, scientists have tried to compute black hole mergers using the methods of numerical relativity. The resulting computer codes have been plagued by instabilities, causing them to crash well before the black holes in the binary could complete even a single orbit. Within the past few years, however, this situation has changed dramatically, with a series of remarkable breakthroughs. This talk will focus on new results that are revealing the dynamics and waveforms of binary black hole mergers, recoil velocities, and the possibility of accompanying electromagnetic outbursts.

Centrella, Joan M.↗

NASA Applications for Computational Electromagnetic Analysis

Computational Electromagnetic Software is used by NASA to analyze the compatibility of systems too large or too complex for testing. Recent advances in software packages and computer capabilities have made it possible to determine the effects of a transmitter inside a launch vehicle fairing, better analyze the environment threats, and perform on-orbit replacements with assured electromagnetic compatibility.

Lewis, Catherine C.↗

Examination of Bursty Electromagnetic Waves Observed During Intervals of Turbulent Magnetosheath Reconnection

We investigate observations of intense bursts of electromagnetic waves in association with magnetic reconnection in the turbulent magnetosheath. These structured, broadband bursts occur above 80-Hz, often displaying features reminiscent of absorption bands and are observed at local minima in the magnetic field. We present detailed analyses of these intense bursts of electromagnetic waves and quantify their proximity to X- and O-nulls.

Adrian, Mark L.↗

Capabilities, Design, Construction and Commissioning of New Vibration, Acoustic, and Electromagnetic Capabilities Added to the World's Largest Thermal Vacuum Chamber at NASA's Space Power Facility

NASA s human space exploration plans developed under the Exploration System Architecture Studies in 2005 included a Crew Exploration Vehicle launched on an Ares I launch vehicle. The mass of the Crew Exploration Vehicle and trajectory of the Ares I coupled with the need to be able to abort across a large percentage of the trajectory generated unprecedented testing requirements. A future lunar lander added to projected test requirements. In 2006, the basic test plan for Orion was developed. It included several types of environment tests typical of spacecraft development programs. These included thermal-vacuum, electromagnetic interference, mechanical vibration, and acoustic tests. Because of the size of the vehicle and unprecedented acoustics, NASA conducted an extensive assessment of options for testing, and as result, chose to augment the Space Power Facility at NASA Plum Brook Station, of the John H. Glenn Research Center to provide the needed test capabilities. The augmentation included designing and building the World s highest mass capable vibration table, the highest power large acoustic chamber, and adaptation of the existing World s largest thermal vacuum chamber as a reverberant electromagnetic interference test chamber. These augmentations were accomplished from 2007 through early 2011. Acceptance testing began in Spring 2011 and will be completed in the Fall of 2011. This paper provides an overview of the capabilities, design, construction and acceptance of this extraordinary facility.

Motil, Susan M.↗

Update on High-Temperature Coils for Electromagnets

A report revisits the subject matter of "High-Temperature Coils for Electromagnets" (LEW-17164), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 26, No. 8, (August 2002) page 38. To recapitulate: Wires have been developed for use in electromagnets that operate at high temperatures. The starting material for a wire of this type can be either a nickel-clad, ceramic-insulated copper wire or a bare silver wire. The wire is covered by electrical-insulation material that is intended to withstand operating temperatures in the range from 800 to 1,300 F (.430 to .700 C): The starting wire is either primarily wrapped with S-glass as an insulating material or else covered with another insulating material wrapped in S-glass prior to the winding process. A ceramic binding agent is applied as a slurry during the winding process to provide further insulating capability. The turns are pre-bent during winding to prevent damage to the insulation. The coil is then heated to convert the binder into ceramic. The instant report mostly reiterates the prior information and presents some additional information on the application of the ceramic binding agent and the incorporation of high-temperature wire into the windings.

Kascak, Albert F.↗

Electromagnetic Scattering by a Morphologically Complex Object: Fundamental Concepts and Common Misconceptions

Following Keller(Proc Symp Appl Math 1962;13:227:46), we classify all theoretical treatments of electromagnetic scattering by a morphologically complex object into first- principle (or "honest" in Keller s terminology) and phenomenological (or "dishonest") categories. This helps us identify, analyze, and dispel several profound misconceptions widespread in the discipline of electromagnetic scattering by solitary particles and discrete random media. Our goal is not to call for a complete renunciation of phenomenological approaches but rather to encourage a critical and careful evaluation of their actual origin, virtues, and limitations. In other words, we do not intend to deter creative thinking in terms of phenomenological short-cuts, but we do want to raise awareness when we stray (often for practical reasons) from the fundamentals. The main results and conclusions are illustrated by numerically-exact data based on direct numerical solutions of the macroscopic Maxwell equations.

Mischenko, Michael I.↗

Bursty, Broadband Electromagnetic Waves Associated with Thin Current Layers and Turbulent Magnetosheath Reconnection

We investigate observations of intense bursts of electromagnetic wave energy in association with the thin current layers of turbulent magnetosheath reconnection. These observed emissions form two distinct types: (i) broadband emissions that extend continuously to lOs of Hertz; and (ii) structured bursts of emitted energy that occur above 80-Hz, often displaying features reminiscent of absorption bands and are observed at local minima in the magnetic field. We present detailed analyses of these intense bursts of electromagnetic energy and quantify their proximity to X- and O-nulls, as well as their correlation to the amount of magnetic energy converted by the process of magnetic reconnection.

Adrian, M. L.↗

Bursty, Broadband Electromagnetic Waves Associated with Three-Dimensional Nulls Observed in Turbulent Magnetosheath Reconnection

We investigate observations of intense bursts of electromagnetic wave energy in association with the thin current layers of turbulent magnetosheath reconnection. These observed emissions - typically detected in the layers immediately outside of the current layer proper - form two distinct types: (i) broadband emissions that extend continuously to lOs of Hertz; and (ii) structured bursts of emitted energy that occur above 80-Hz, often displaying features reminiscent of absorption bands and are observed near the local minima in the magnetic field. We present detailed analyses of these intense bursts of electromagnetic energy and quantify their proximity to X-IO-nulls and magnetic spine connected null pairs, as well as their correlation - if any - to the amount of magnetic energy converted by the process of magnetic reconnection.

Adrian, Mark L.↗

Iterative Nonlinear Tikhonov Algorithm with Constraints for Electromagnetic Tomography

Low frequency electromagnetic tomography such as the capacitance tomography (ECT) has been proposed for monitoring and mass-gauging of gas-liquid two-phase system under microgravity condition in NASA's future long-term space missions. Due to the ill-posed inverse problem of ECT, images reconstructed using conventional linear algorithms often suffer from limitations such as low resolution and blurred edges. Hence, new efficient high resolution nonlinear imaging algorithms are needed for accurate two-phase imaging. The proposed Iterative Nonlinear Tikhonov Regularized Algorithm with Constraints (INTAC) is based on an efficient finite element method (FEM) forward model of quasi-static electromagnetic problem. It iteratively minimizes the discrepancy between FEM simulated and actual measured capacitances by adjusting the reconstructed image using the Tikhonov regularized method. More importantly, it enforces the known permittivity of two phases to the unknown pixels which exceed the reasonable range of permittivity in each iteration. This strategy does not only stabilize the converging process, but also produces sharper images. Simulations show that resolution improvement of over 2 times can be achieved by INTAC with respect to conventional approaches. Strategies to further improve spatial imaging resolution are suggested, as well as techniques to accelerate nonlinear forward model and thus increase the temporal resolution.

Xu, Feng↗

Design and Performance Estimates of an Ablative Gallium Electromagnetic Thruster

The present study details the high-power condensable propellant research being conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center. The gallium electromagnetic thruster is an ablative coaxial accelerator designed to operate at arc discharge currents in the range of 10-25 kA. The thruster is driven by a four-parallel line pulse forming network capable of producing a 250 microsec pulse with a 60 kA amplitude. A torsional-type thrust stand is used to measure the impulse of a coaxial GEM thruster. Tests are conducted in a vacuum chamber 1.5 m in diameter and 4.5 m long with a background pressure of 2 microtorr. Electromagnetic scaling calculations predict a thruster efficiency of 50% at a specific impulse of 2800 seconds.

Thomas, Robert E.↗

Analysis of the Radiated Field in an Electromagnetic Reverberation Chamber as an Upset-Inducing Stimulus for Digital Systems

Preliminary data analysis for a physical fault injection experiment of a digital system exposed to High Intensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) in an electromagnetic reverberation chamber suggests a direct causal relation between the time profile of the field strength amplitude in the chamber and the severity of observed effects at the outputs of the radiated system. This report presents an analysis of the field strength modulation induced by the movement of the field stirrers in the reverberation chamber. The analysis is framed as a characterization of the discrete features of the field strength waveform responsible for the faults experienced by a radiated digital system. The results presented here will serve as a basis to refine the approach for a detailed analysis of HIRF-induced upsets observed during the radiation experiment. This work offers a novel perspective into the use of an electromagnetic reverberation chamber to generate upset-inducing stimuli for the study of fault effects in digital systems.

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo↗

Electromagnetic Compatibility Analysis Group VA-H3

During the eight weeks working at NASA, I was fortunate enough to work with the Expendable Launch Vehicle's (ELV) Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Team, who is responsible for the evaluation and analysis of any EMI risk an ELV mission might face. This group of people concern themselves with practically any form of electromagnetic interference that may risk the safety of a rocket, a mission, or even people. Taking this into consideration, the group investigates natural forms of interference, such as lightning, to manmade interferences, such as antennas.

Armanda, Carlos A.↗

Apparatus and Methods for Mitigating Electromagnetic Emissions

Apparatus, methods, and other embodiments associated with mitigation of magnetic fields are described herein. In an embodiment, a method for mitigating an electromagnetic field includes positioning a mitigating coil around a linear alternator of linear motor so that the mitigating coil is coaxially located with an alternator coil; arranging the mitigating coil to generate a field to mitigate an electromagnetic field generated by the alternator coil; and passing an induced current from the alternator coil through the mitigating coil.

Geng, Steven M.↗