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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

Comparison of Landsat Thematic Mapper and Geophysical and Environmental Research Imaging Spectrometer data for the Cuprite mining district, Esmeralda, and Nye counties, Nevada

Landsat TM images and Geophysical and Environmental Research Imaging Spectrometer (GERIS) data were analyzed for the Cuprite mining district and compared to available geologic and alteration maps of the area. The TM data, with 30 m resolution and 6 broadbands, allowed discrimination of general mineral groups. Clay minerals, playa deposits, and unaltered rocks were mapped as discrete spectral units using the TM data, but specific minerals were not determined, and definition of the individual alteration zones was not possible. The GERIS, with 15 m spatial resolution and 63 spectral bands, permitted construction of complete spectra and identification of specific minerals. Detailed spectra extracted from the images provided the ability to identify the minerals alunite, kaolinite, hematite, and buddingtonite by their spectral characteristics. The GERIS data show a roughly concentrically zoned hydrothermal system. The mineralogy mapped with the aircraft system conforms to previous field and multispectral image mapping. However, identification of individual minerals and spatial display of the dominant mineralogy add information that can be used to help determine the morphology and genetic origin of the hydrothermal system.

Kierein-Young, Kathryn S.↗

Ethane abundance on Neptune

IR spectroscopic measurements of the C2H6 RR (4,5) emission line at 840.9764/cm have been used to infer Neptune's ethane mole fractions; while the resulting value is lower than that obtained by Orton et al. (1987), it lies within their 2-sigma error bounds. The present results are also found to require 2.0-5.8 times more ethane in the 0.02-2 mbar pressure region than predicted by the Romani and Atreya (1989) photochemical model. Better agreement is obtainable through a reduction of eddy mixing in the lower stratosphere and/or an increase of stratospheric temperature by more than 10 K above the 6-mbar level.

Kostiuk, Theodor↗

Far-infrared and submillimeter-wavelength observations of star-forming dense cores. I - Spectra

Far-infrared and submillimeter photometry of 10 low-mass star formation regions containing embedded IRAS sources is presented. These new observations define the peak of the spectral energy distributions of these objects and provide more precise estimates of their bolometric luminosities. Two new sources, L1527 and L483, are among the reddest known low-mass objects, with spectral energy distribution peaks at 100-200 microns and extremely steep IRAS slopes. These cold sources have spectra which are similar to blackbodies of 30-40 K but have significant excess emission on the Wien side. Models of the spectral energy distributions using a spherically symmetric core structure indicate that these sources have visual extinctions greater than 1000 mag. However, models with these large extinctions predict too little near-infrared emission. A nonspherically symmetric distribution of circumstellar material may play a role in the generation of the extra near-infrared emission.

Ladd, E. F.↗

Engineering calculations of three-dimensional inviscid hypersonic flow fields

An approximate solution technique has been developed for three-dimensional, inviscid, hypersonic flows. The method uses Maslen's explicit pressure equation and the assumption of approximate stream surfaces in the shock layer. This approximation represents a simplification of Maslen's asymmetric method. The solution procedure involves iteratively changing the shock shape in the subsonic-transonic region until the correct body shape is obtained. Beyond this region, the shock surface is determined by using a marching procedure. Results are presented herein for a paraboloid and elliptic cone at angle of attack. Calculated surface pressure distributions, shock shapes, and property profiles are compared with experimental data and finite-difference solutions of the Euler equations. Comparisons of the results of the present method with experimental data and detailed predictions are very good. Since the present method provides a very rapid computational procedure, it can be used for parametric or preliminary design applications. One useful application would be to incorporate a heating procedure for aerothermal studies.

Riley, Christopher J.↗

The relationship of extratropical outgoing longwave radiation to monthly geopotential teleconnection patterns

The relationship between low frequency variations in extratropical fields of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and geopotential teleconnection patterns as determined by rotated principal components analysis of the NMC 500-mb heights is investigated in the Northern Hemisphere. The monthly broadband OLR is obtained from the Nimbus-6 and Nimbus-7 Wide-Field-Of-View radiometer record. Each of the main 500-mb teleconnection patterns has a characteristic signal in the OLR field for the month in which the 500-mb pattern occurs. The OLR signals mark cloud and diabatic heating events that are associated with the teleconnection patterns. A demonstration is given of correlation between extratropical monthly OLR and geopotential height. Coupled with the expected tropospheric response to radiation on monthly time scale. This demonstration stresses the importance of the radiation simulation in model studies of the low frequency variability of atmospheric circulation. The extratropical OLR does not appear to be a useful predictor for the 500-mb teleconnection patterns on a monthly time scale.

Charlock, Thomas P.↗

A determination of the infrared optical depth of the El Chichon volcanic cloud

Infrared transmission spectra of the atmosphere above 11-km altitude were obtained in December 1982 and April/May 1983 from a NASA Convair 990 aircraft. The observations on the first flight series encompassed low and middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, while the observations on the second series covered a wide range of latitudes in both hemispheres. These data have been analyzed to derive the optical depth of the El Chichon volcanic cloud at a wavelength of 8.4 microns. These data imply that concentrated sulfuric acid was the dominant source of aerosol extinction in the 8- to 12-microns window region of the earth's atmosphere and that the volume modal particle radius equalled 0.6 + or - 0.1 mu at the time of the observations. At these times, the volcanic particles produced a significant warming of the lower stratosphere and had a nontrivial impact on the radiation budget of the troposphere and ground in the Northern Hemisphere.

Pollack, James B.↗

Fluctuations of high clouds and 500-mb geopotential heights in baroclinic waveguides

The spatial phase relationship between the atmospheric circulation and the bandpass fluctuations in cloudiness are investigated using satellite retrievals of high cloud areas reported by Stowe et al. (1988, 1989) NMC 500-mb geopotential heights in northern extratropics. Results of the analysis suggest that the high-cloud structures of baroclinic waves are less spatially coherent than the internal geopotential-height structures. It is shown that over the North Pacific, small-scale (latitudinal wavenumber 13-18) fluctuations in geopotential play a greater role in forcing high cloudiness than do medium-scale (latitudinal wavenumber 7-12) fluctuations in geopotential.

Charlock, Thomas P.↗

Far-infrared properties of NGC 6822

IRAS FIR maps of NGC 6822, one of the few noninteracting Magellanic irregular galaxies resolved in the FIR by IRAS, are examined and compared to optical and H I data. The diffuse FIR emission at large radii from the center of the galaxy is found to be due to Galactic cirrus. There is a general correspondence between H-alpha and FIR emission in that FIR peaks are associated with major H II complexes, but the ratio of the FIR to the H-alpha emission varies between these complexes by about a factor of five. H I mass-to-FIR luminosity ratios cover a similar range for the three major H I cloud complexes in NGC 6822. More than about half of the FIR flux is produced in regions near H II region complexes. The remaining flux comes from diffuse FIR emission that extends over the entire optically visible galaxy. A model for the galaxy is discussed in which the galaxy is fairly transparent and the FIR is strongest where there is a strong UV source and higher optical depth due to dust in gas clouds.

Gallagher, John S., III↗

Surface radiation budget in the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) effort and in the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX)

The surface radiation budget (SRB) and the atmospheric radiative flux divergence (ARD) are vital components of the weather and climate system. The importance of radiation in a complex international scientific endeavor, the GEWEX of the World Climate Research Programme is explained. The radiative transfer techniques and satellite instrumentation that will be used to retrieve the SRB and ARD later in this decade with the CERES are discussed; CERES is a component of the Earth Observing System satellite program. Examples of consistent SRB and ARD retrievals made with Nimbus-7 and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data from July 1983 are presented.

Charlock, Thomas P.↗

Use of nonlinear design optimization techniques in the comparison of battery discharger topologies for the space platform

A detailed comparison of a boost converter, a voltage-fed, autotransformer converter, and a multimodule boost converter, designed specifically for the space platform battery discharger, is performed. Computer-based nonlinear optimization techniques are used to facilitate an objective comparison. The multimodule boost converter is shown to be the optimum topology at all efficiencies. The margin is greatest at 97 percent efficiency. The multimodule, multiphase boost converter combines the advantages of high efficiency, light weight, and ample margin on the component stresses, thus ensuring high reliability.

Sable, Dan M.↗

Contact stresses in gear teeth - A new method of analysis

A new, innovative procedure called point load superposition for determining the contact stresses in mating gear teeth is presented. It is believed that this procedure will greatly extend both the range of applicability and the accuracy of gear contact stress analysis. Point load superposition is based upon fundamental solutions from the theory of elasticity. It is an iterative numerical procedure which has distinct advantages over the classical Hertz method, the finite element method, and over existing applications with the boundary element method. Specifically, friction and sliding effects, which are either excluded from or difficult to study with the classical methods, are routinely handled with the new procedure. Presented here are the basic theory and the algorithms. Several examples are given. Results are consistent with those of the classical theories. Applications to spur gears are discussed.

Somprakit, Paisan↗

Ground-based infrared measurements of the global distribution of ozone in the atmosphere of Mars

Doppler-limited IR spectroscopy measurements of the Mars atmosphere's global ozone distribution have been obtained for June 3-7, 1988; surface pressures and temperature profiles are retrieved through inversion of the fully-resolved (C-12)(O-16)2 line. The total O3 column abundance at each position has been retrieved at each of eight positions over a range of Martian latitudes by fitting the lines with synthetic spectra generated by a radiative transfer program: column burdens of O3 are less than 2.2 microns-atm for all latitudes sampled.

Espenak, Fred↗

The Extended Duration Orbiter Regenerable CO2 Removal System

A new carbon dioxide scrubber system is undergoing development for extended duration orbiter (EDO) missions. The EDO requirements of missions up to 18 days and the capability for future missions up to 30 days necessitated the development and implementation of a regenerative CO2 removal process. This new system will reduce the launch weight and stowage volume as compared to the present method of CO2 removal, lithium hydroxide, which is stowed in canisters. The selected design, called the Regenerable CO2 Removal System (RCRS), uses a solid amine material to adsorb carbon dioxide and water vapor and periodically desorb these to space vacuum. The RCRS, which is located below the middeck floor, interfaces with the orbiter's cabin Atmospheric Revitalization System and is adjustable from four to seven crewmembers. The RCRS is designed to automatically cycle the beds from absorb to vacuum-desorb every 30 minutes. Also incorporated into the design are features such consumable recovery, external leak protection, trace contaminant control and automatic control logic operation.

Ouellette, Fred A.↗

The Io sulfur torus in 1981

Io torus spectrometry obtained in the S II and S III forbidden lines during February-March 1981 indicate that these emissions are correlated in the warm torus, and possess similar scale heights along the magnetic field lines. The observed emission scale heights can be used to estimate the ion temperature parallel to the magnetic field, given the effective ion mass. Attention is also given to simultaneous measurements of the S II forbidden 6731 line profile obtained on one night with a Fabry-Perot scanning spectrophotometer.

Oliversen, Ronald J.↗

Aspects of the evolution of the marine boundary layer during cold-air outbreaks off the southeast coast of the United States

Remote sensing and in situ measurements that were obtained in February 1986 were combined with the results from a boundary-layer model to study aspects of the evolution of the maine boundary layer (MBL) during two cold-air outbreaks (CAO) off the southeast coast of the United States. Maximum total heat fluxes occurred over the Gulf Stream northeast of Cape Hatteras where very cold, dry air encountered the Gulf Stream and where the wind speeds were very large. Maximum 6-h values for the total heat flux were as high as 2015 W/m. The magnitude of the area-average heat flux in the MBL was influenced not only by the surface air and dewpoint temperatures and the surface wind speeds off the coast but also by the area covered by Gulf Stream water (sea surface temperature greater than 22 C). The heat flux distribution off the coast rapidly produced large horizontal temperature and humidity differences over distances on the order of 100 km.

Vukovich, Fred M.↗