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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 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

Acoustic Emission Measurement with Fiber Bragg Gratings for Structure Health Monitoring

Structural Health monitoring (SHM) is a way of detecting and assessing damage to large scale structures. Sensors used in SHM for aerospace structures provide real time data on new and propagating damage. One type of sensor that is typically used is an acoustic emission (AE) sensor that detects the acoustic emissions given off from a material cracking or breaking. The use of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors to provide acoustic emission data for damage detection is studied. In this research, FBG sensors are used to detect acoustic emissions of a material during a tensile test. FBG sensors were placed as a strain sensor (oriented parallel to applied force) and as an AE sensor (oriented perpendicular to applied force). A traditional AE transducer was used to collect AE data to compare with the FBG data. Preliminary results show that AE with FBGs can be a viable alternative to traditional AE sensors.

Banks, Curtis E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Granularity in the magnetic field structure of M83

Researchers recently reported Very Large Array (VLA) 20 cm continuum polarization observations of the bright, nearly face-on southern spiral galaxy M83 (NGC 5236) at a spatial resolution of 2 kpc (Sukumar and Allen 1989). The strongest linearly-polarized emission is found in two giant arcs, with typical lengths of about 30 kpc, which are situated roughly opposite each other in the dark outer regions of the galaxy at a radius of 12 kpc from the center. These regions of high polarized intensity (and hence highly-uniform magnetic field) do not coincide with any prominent spiral-arm tracers, in contrast to the expectations of simple models for the large-scale compression of magnetic field in density-wave shock fronts. From a comparison of the data with previous results at 6 cm, the authors concluded that the low polarization in the central regions of the galaxy is a result of disorder in the interstellar magnetic field. The most likely cause of this disorder is the greater star formation activity observed in the inner parts of the galaxy. The intrinsic direction of the magnetic field in the outer parts of the galaxy has also recently been determined on a length scale of 6.5 kpc from a comparison of the VLA 20 cm results with 6.3 cm observations obtained earlier with the Effelsberg telescope (Sukumar et al. 1989). There is very little Faraday rotation in the regions of the highly-polarized arcs of emission. The magnetic field in these polarized arcs is parallel to the general spiral arm structure seen in the usual optical tracers (dust, HII regions) in the bright inner parts of the galaxy disk. The maximum observed polarization at 2 kpc resolution is about 50 percent.

Allen, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Performance analysis of a large-grain dataflow scheduling paradigm

A paradigm for scheduling computations on a network of multiprocessors using large-grain data flow scheduling at run time is described and analyzed. The computations to be scheduled must follow a static flow graph, while the schedule itself will be dynamic (i.e., determined at run time). Many applications characterized by static flow exist, and they include real-time control and digital signal processing. With the advent of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools for capturing software designs in dataflow-like structures, macro-dataflow scheduling becomes increasingly attractive, if not necessary. For parallel implementations, using the macro-dataflow method allows the scheduling to be insulated from the application designer and enables the maximum utilization of available resources. Further, by allowing multitasking, processor utilizations can approach 100 percent while they maintain maximum speedup. Extensive simulation studies are performed on 4-, 8-, and 16-processor architectures that reflect the effects of communication delays, scheduling delays, algorithm class, and multitasking on performance and speedup gains.

Young, Steven D.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Design and Evaluation of "CAPTools"--A Computer Aided Parallelization Toolkit

Writing applications for high performance computers is a challenging task. Although writing code by hand still offers the best performance, it is extremely costly and often not very portable. The Computer Aided Parallelization Tools (CAPTools) are a toolkit designed to help automate the mapping of sequential FORTRAN scientific applications onto multiprocessors. CAPTools consists of the following major components: an inter-procedural dependence analysis module that incorporates user knowledge; a 'self-propagating' data partitioning module driven via user guidance; an execution control mask generation and optimization module for the user to fine tune parallel processing of individual partitions; a program transformation/restructuring facility for source code clean up and optimization; a set of browsers through which the user interacts with CAPTools at each stage of the parallelization process; and a code generator supporting multiple programming paradigms on various multiprocessors. Besides describing the rationale behind the architecture of CAPTools, the parallelization process is illustrated via case studies involving structured and unstructured meshes. The programming process and the performance of the generated parallel programs are compared against other programming alternatives based on the NAS Parallel Benchmarks, ARC3D and other scientific applications. Based on these results, a discussion on the feasibility of constructing architectural independent parallel applications is presented.

Yan, Jerry↗
NASA NTRS2004

Serial-Turbo-Trellis-Coded Modulation with Rate-1 Inner Code

Serially concatenated turbo codes have been proposed to satisfy requirements for low bit- and word-error rates and for low (in comparison with related previous codes) complexity of coding and decoding algorithms and thus low complexity of coding and decoding circuitry. These codes are applicable to such high-level modulations as octonary phase-shift keying (8PSK) and 16-state quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM); the signal product obtained by applying one of these codes to one of these modulations is denoted, generally, as serially concatenated trellis-coded modulation (SCTCM). These codes could be particularly beneficial for communication systems that must be designed and operated subject to limitations on bandwidth and power. Some background information is prerequisite to a meaningful summary of this development. Trellis-coded modulation (TCM) is now a well-established technique in digital communications. A turbo code combines binary component codes (which typically include trellis codes) with interleaving. A turbo code of the type that has been studied prior to this development is composed of parallel concatenated convolutional codes (PCCCs) implemented by two or more constituent systematic encoders joined through one or more interleavers. The input information bits feed the first encoder and, after having been scrambled by the interleaver, enter the second encoder. A code word of a parallel concatenated code consists of the input bits to the first encoder followed by the parity check bits of both encoders. The suboptimal iterative decoding structure for such a code is modular, and consists of a set of concatenated decoding modules one for each constituent code connected through an interleaver identical to the one in the encoder side. Each decoder performs weighted soft decoding of the input sequence. PCCCs yield very large coding gains at the cost of a reduction in the data rate and/or an increase in bandwidth.

Divsalar, Dariush↗
NASA NTRS2012

Observations of How Magnetofluid Turbulence Dissipates at Small Scales

The solar wind is a turbulent magneto fluid that can be studied intensively at multiple scales. Investigations using single spacecraft have revealed much about the properties of the solar wind throughout the heliosphere (from 0.3 AU to 100 AU). More recently, data from multiple spacecraft have provided further details of both the statistical properties of the turbulence and its small-scale structure. In particular, high time resolution magnetic field measurements from the four Cluster spacecrafl have led to the conclusion that at spatial scales of order the proton inertial length and smaller, the turbulence becomes strongly anisotropic and the power in fluctuations that are perpendicular to the (local) magnetic field is measured to be much larger than that in fluctuations that are parallel to the magnetic field. As the spatial scales approach the electron inertial length, the power is almost completely dissipated. Various analysis techniques and theoretical ideas have been put forward to account for the properties of those measurements. The talk will describe the current state of observations, theory and simulations.

Goldstein, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Magnetic pulsations from 0.1 to 4.0 Hz and associated plasma properties in the earth's subsolar magnetosheath and plasma depletion layer

AMPTE CCE magnetic field data acquired during periods of magnetospheric compressions when the spacecraft sampled the magnetosheath are analyzed on the basis of a dynamic spectral analysis covering frequencies 0.1 to 4.0 Hz. Ion and electron data are used to identify regions, to monitor the upstream shock geometry, and to evaluate moments of the proton distribution. Fourteen encounters representing 46 hr of observations are analyzed. A compilation of the temporal sequence of spectral structures shows that electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves occur next to the magnetopause, while mirror waves occur outside the region of EMIC waves. It is concluded that there is a close relationship between EMIC waves in the sheath and the plasma depletion layer. For quasi-parallel upstream conditions, the magnetic field power spectra often exhibit no band limited structures but only broadband noise.

Anderson, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Towards the Structure Determination of a Modulated Protein Crystal: The Semicrystalline State of Profilin:Actin

One of the remaining challenges to structural biology is the solution of modulated structures. While small molecule crystallographers have championed this type of structure, to date, no modulated macromolecular structures have been determined. Modulation of the molecular structures within the crystal can produce satellite reflections or a superlattice of reflections in reciprocal space. We have developed the data collection methods and strategies that are needed to collect and analyze these data. If the macromolecule's crystal lattice is composed of physiologically relevant packing contacts, structural changes induced under physiological conditions can cause distortion relevant to the function and biophysical processes of the molecule making up the crystal. By careful measurement of the distortion, and the corresponding three-dimensional structure of the distorted molecule, we will visualize the motion and mechanism of the biological macromolecule(s). We have measured the modulated diffraction pattern produced by the semicrystalline state of profilin:actin crystals using highly parallel and highly monochromatic synchrotron radiation coupled with fine phi slicing (0.001-0.010 degrees) for structure determination. These crystals present these crystals present a unique opportunity to address an important question in structural biology. The modulation is believed to be due to the formation of actin helical filaments from the actin beta ribbon upon the pH-induced dissociation of profilin. To date, the filamentous state of actin has resisted crystallization and no detailed structures are available. The semicrystalline state profilin:actin crystals provides a unique opportunity to understand the many conformational states of actin. This knowledge is essential for understanding the dynamics underlying shape changes and motility of eukaryotic cells. Many essential processes, such as cytokinesis, phagocytosis, and cellular migration depend upon the capacity of the actin microfilament system to be restructured in a controlled manner via polymerization, depolymerization, severing, cross-linking, and anchorage. The structure the semicrystalline state of profilin:actin will challenge and validate current models of muscle contraction and cell motility. The methodology and theory under development will be easily extendable to other systems.

Borgstahl, G.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Emissivities of strong ultraviolet lines

Using atomic data published during the last few years for Li to Mg sequence ions, we have carried out multilevel calculations over a range of electron pressures to obtain absolute intensities for spectral lines in the UV and EUV regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Both the pressure dependence of the ionization balance and the dependence of line emissivities on the populations of metastable levels are taken into account. These line emissivities may be used to obtain plane-parallel model atmospheres for different solar transition region structures, and in general for other late-type stars which have observable lines over a wide range of excitation potentials.

Raymond, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

An example of the association of X-ray and UV emission with H-alpha surges

From H-alpha UV, and X-ray data, the nature of a well-observed surge on November 12, 1980 has been studied to try to understand the relationships between the mechanical motions and the high-temperature emissions. The cool (H-alpha) and the hot (O v) parts of the surge plasma both show velocities in the range of 100-120 km/s. The kinetic and potential energies of the surge are two orders of magnitude higher than the radiative energy. The observations suggest that the surge occurs in open structures parallel to one leg of a large scale coronal magnetic loop. The energy is released principally in the open structure (surge) and only a small amount heats the coronal loop (X-ray signature). This energy division should probably not be treated as a general characteristic of surge events. Different events are expected to exhibit a different energy balance, and this can account for the lack of a consensus in the previous literature regarding surge/X-ray associations.

Schmieder, B.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A high heat flux experiment for verification of thermostructural analysis

A major concern in advancing the state of the art technologies for hypersonic vehicles is the development of an aeropropulsion system capable of handling the high heat fluxes during flight. The leading edges of such systems must not only tolerate the maximum heating rates, but must also minimize distortions to the flow field due to excessive blunting and/or thermal warping of the compression surface to achieve the high inlet performance required. A combined analytical and experimental effort to study the aerothermodynamic loads on actively cooled structures for hypersonic applications was established. A hydrogen/oxygen rocket engine was modified to establish a high enthalpy high heat flux environment. The facility provides heat flux levels from about 200 up to 10000 Btu/sq ft/sec. Cross flow and parallel flow regeneratively cooled model can be tested and analyzed by using cooling fluids of water and hydrogen. Results are presented of the experiment and the characteristics of the Hot Gas Test Facility. The predicted temperature results of the cross flow model are compared with the experimental data on the first monolithic specimens and are found to be in good agreement. Thermal stress analysis results are also presented.

Gladden, Herbert J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A high heat flux experiment for verification of thermostructural analysis

A major concern in advancing the state of the art technologies for hypersonic vehicles is the development of an aeropropulsion system capable of handling the high heat fluxes during flight. The leading edges of such systems must not only tolerate the maximum heating rates, but must also minimize distortions to the flow field due to excessive blunting and/or thermal warping of the conmpression surface to achieve the high inlet performance required. A combined analytical and experimental effort to study the aerothermodynamic loads on actively cooled structures for hypersonic applications was established. A hydrogen/oxygen rocket engine was modified to establish a high enthalpy high heat flux environment. The facility provides heat flux levels from about 200 up to 10000 Btu/sq ft/sec. Cross flow and parallel flow regeneratively cooled model can be tested and analyzed by using cooling fluids of water and hydrogen. Results are presented of the experiment and the characteristics of the Hot Gas Test Facility. The predicted temperature results of the cross flow model are compared with the experimental data on the first monolithic specimens and are found to be in good agreement. Thermal stress analysis results are also presented.

Gladden, H. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

FAST Observations of Acceleration Processes in the Cusp--Evidence for Parallel Electric Fields

The existence of precipitating keV ions in the Earth's cusp originating at the magnetosheath provide unique means to test our understanding of particle acceleration and parallel electric fields in the lower altitude acceleration region. On numerous occasions, the FAST (The Fast Auroral Snapshot) spacecraft has encountered the Earth's cusp regions near its apogee of 4175 km which are characterized by their signatures of dispersed keV ion injections. The FAST instruments also reveal a complex microphysics inherent to many, but not all, of the cusp regions encountered by the spacecraft, that include upgoing ion beams and conics, inverted-V electrons, upgoing electron beams, and spikey DC-coupled electric fields and plasma waves. Detailed inspection of the FAST data often show clear modulation of the precipitating magnetosheath ions that indicate that they are affected by local electric potentials. For example, the magnetosheath ion precipitation is sometimes abruptly shut off precisely in regions where downgoing localized inverted-V electrons are observed. Such observations support the existence of a localized process, such as parallel electric fields, above the spacecraft which accelerate the electrons downward and consequently impede the precipitating ion precipitation. Other acceleration events in the cusp are sometimes organized with an apparent cellular structure that suggests Alfven waves or other large-scale phenomena are controlling the localized potentials. We examine several cusp encounters by the FAST satellite where the modulation of energetic session on acceleration particle populations reveals evidence of localized acceleration, most likely by parallel electric fields.

Pfaff, R. F.. Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Alignment of velocity and field changes across tangential discontinuities in the solar wind

Three-dimensional IMP 8 and Voyager 2 plasma and field data are used to investigate the relative changes in direction of the velocity and magnetic field vectors across tangential discontinuities in the solar wind. It is found that Delta-v and Delta-B/rho exp 1/2 are closely aligned either parallel or antiparallel to each other in the sense associated with the propagation of Alfven waves or rotational discontinuities outward from the sun. This alignment is observed at all solar distances betwen 1 and 2.2 AU and is independent of the solar wind stream structure. Several possible causes of the effect are briefly discussed, including interplanetary turbulence, the propagation of large-amplitude Alfvenic fluctuations traveling independently through the solar wind on both sides of the discontinuities, and the propagation of surface waves on tangential discontinuities.

Neugebauer, M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Government-to-government cooperation in space station development

A memoranda of understanding was recently signed between the United States (NASA) and three international Space Station partners - Canada, European Space Agency (ESA), and Japan. The international partners are performing parallel Phase B preliminary design studies, concurrent with the U.S., on their proposed elements/systems for possible integration and operation with the U.S. Space Station System complex. During the 21-month Space Station Phase B study, a large amount of technical interface data will have to be transferred between the U.S. and the international partners. Scheduled bilateral technical coordination meetings will also be held. The coordination and large number of interfaces required to integrate the international requirements into the Space Station require a clean interface management organizational structure and operation procedures to accomplish the integration task. The international coordination management organizational structure, management tools, and communications network are discussed including the proposed international elements/systems being studied by the international partners.

Nassiff, S. H.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Buoyancy Effects on Flow Structure and Instability of Low-Density Gas Jets

A low-density gas jet injected into a high-density ambient gas is known to exhibit self-excited global oscillations accompanied by large vortical structures interacting with the flow field. The primary objective of the proposed research is to study buoyancy effects on the origin and nature of the flow instability and structure in the near-field of low-density gas jets. Quantitative rainbow schlieren deflectometry, Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and Linear stability analysis were the techniques employed to scale the buoyancy effects. The formation and evolution of vortices and scalar structure of the flow field are investigated in buoyant helium jets discharged from a vertical tube into quiescent air. Oscillations at identical frequency were observed throughout the flow field. The evolving flow structure is described by helium mole percentage contours during an oscillation cycle. Instantaneous, mean, and RMS concentration profiles are presented to describe interactions of the vortex with the jet flow. Oscillations in a narrow wake region near the jet exit are shown to spread through the jet core near the downstream location of the vortex formation. The effects of jet Richardson number on characteristics of vortex and flow field are investigated and discussed. The laminar, axisymmetric, unsteady jet flow of helium injected into air was simulated using CFD. Global oscillations were observed in the flow field. The computed oscillation frequency agreed qualitatively with the experimentally measured frequency. Contours of helium concentration, vorticity and velocity provided information about the evolution and propagation of vortices in the oscillating flow field. Buoyancy effects on the instability mode were evaluated by rainbow schlieren flow visualization and concentration measurements in the near-field of self-excited helium jets undergoing gravitational change in the microgravity environment of 2.2s drop tower at NASA John H. Glenn Research Center. The jet Reynolds number was varied from 200 to 1500 and jet Richardson number was varied from 0.72 to 0.002. Power spectra plots generated from Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis of angular deflection data acquired at a temporal resolution of 1000Hz reveal substantial damping of the oscillation amplitude in microgravity at low Richardson numbers (~0.002). Quantitative concentration data in the form of spatial and temporal evolutions of the instability data in Earth gravity and microgravity reveal significant variations in the jet flow structure upon removal of buoyancy forces. Radial variation of the frequency spectra and time traces of helium concentration revealed the importance of gravitational effects in the jet shear layer region. Linear temporal and spatio-temporal stability analyses of a low-density round gas jet injected into a high-density ambient gas were performed by assuming hyper-tan mean velocity and density profiles. The flow was assumed to be non parallel. Viscous and diffusive effects were ignored. The mean flow parameters were represented as the sum of the mean value and a small normal-mode fluctuation. A second order differential equation governing the pressure disturbance amplitude was derived from the basic conservation equations. The effects of the inhomogeneous shear layer and the Froude number (signifying the effects of gravity) on the temporal and spatio-temporal results were delineated. A decrease in the density ratio (ratio of the density of the jet to the density of the ambient gas) resulted in an increase in the temporal amplification rate of the disturbances. The temporal growth rate of the disturbances increased as the Froude number was reduced. The spatio-temporal analysis performed to determine the absolute instability characteristics of the jet yield positive absolute temporal growth rates at all Fr and different axial locations. As buoyancy was removed (Fr . 8), the previously existing absolute instability disappeared at all locations establhing buoyancy as the primary instability mechanism in self-excited low-density jets.

Pasumarthi, Kasyap Sriramachandra↗
NASA NTRS1994

Electron time dispersion

Observations of electrons during a sounding rocket flight from Sondrestromfjord, Greenland, in 1985 showed numerous instances of electron time-of-flight dispersion, that is, a coherent structure in which fast electrons arrived before slow electrons. The instrumentation measured many pitch angles simultaneously with high time resolution, providing a detailed view of the temporal evolution of the electron signature at rocket altitudes which was indicative of an impulsive injection of electrons over a range of energies. A model utilizing an extended, quasi-static (static on a timescale of 1 s), parallel electric field was developed to investigate a possible mechanism for the injection of these electrons. The model is found to fit the data well only when a background is added which cannot be self-consistently generated by the model, although other parameters used in the model are in general agreement with previous reports. This leads to the conclusion that electron dispersion is more probably generated by a wave acceleration mechanism.

Kletzing, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Tertiary basin development and tectonic implications, Whipple detachment system, Colorado River extensional corridor, California and Arizona

This paper reports on geologic mapping, stratigraphic and structural observations, and radiometric dating of Miocene deposits of the Whipple detachment system, Colorado River extensional corridor of California and Arizona. From these data, four regions are distinguished in the study area that correspond to four Miocene depositional basins. It is shown that these basins developed in about the same positions, relative to each other and to volcanic sources, as they occupy at present. They formed in the early Miocene from a segmentation of the upper crust into blocks bounded by high-angle faults that trended both parallel and perpendicular to the direction of extension and which were terminated at middle crustal depths by a low-angle detachment fault.

Nielson, J. E.↗