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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Cadmium, lead, and arsenic contamination in paddy soils of a mining area and their exposure effects on human HEPG2 and keratinocyte cell-lines

A mining district in south China shows significant metal(loid) contamination in paddy fields. In the soils, average Pb, Cd and As concentrations were 460.1, 11.7 and 35.1 mg kg{sup −1} respectively, which were higher than the environmental quality standard for agricultural soils in China (GB15618-1995) and UK Clea Soil Guideline Value. The average contents of Pb, Cd and As in rice were 5.24, 1.1 and 0.7 mg kg{sup −1} respectively, which were about 25, 4.5 or 2.5 times greater than the limit values of the maximum safe contaminant concentration standard in food of China (GB 2762-2012), and about 25, 10 or 1 times greater than the limit values of FAO/WHO standard. The elevated contents of Pb, Cd and As detected in soils around the factories, indicated that their spatial distribution was influenced by anthropogenic activity, while greater concentrations of Cd in rice appeared in the northwest region of the factories, indicating that the spatial distribution of heavy metals was also affected by natural factors. As human exposure around mining districts is mainly through oral intake of food and dermal contact, the effects of these metals on the viability and MT protein of HepG2 and KERTr cells were investigated. The cell viability decreased with increasing metal concentrations. Co-exposure to heavy metals (Pb+Cd) increased the metals (Pb or Cd)-mediated MT protein induction in both human HepG2 and KERTr cells. Increased levels of MT protein will lead to greater risk of carcinogenic manifestations, and it is likely that chronic exposure to metals may increase the risk to human health. Nevertheless, when co-exposure to two or more metals occur (such as As+Pb), they may have an antagonistic effect thus reducing the toxic effects of each other. Capsule: Metal contaminations in paddy soils and rice were influenced by anthropogenic activity; metal co-exposure induced MT protein in human cells. - Highlights: • Pb, Cd and As in paddy soils and rice were higher than national and FAO standards. • Pb, Cd and As spatial distribution was mainly influenced by anthropogenic activity. • The HepG2 and KERTr cell viability decreased with increasing metal concentrations. • Co-exposure to heavy metals increased MT protein induction in HepG2 and KERTr cells. • Co-exposure to some metals (As+Pb) may have an antagonistic effect.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Investigation of Process Emissions during Thermal Cutting of Clad Metals from the Nuclear Sector - 20183

Typically, reactor pressure vessels as well as steam generators comprising low alloyed steel with a cladding of stainless steel. Recently the permissible values for Cr (VI) in the air of the working areas have been reduced in Germany from 100 μg/m{sup 3} to 1 μg/m{sup 3} air. This results in the danger that even with low-alloy steel with claddings these limit values would be exceeded when using flame cutting technologies. In order to ensure compliance with the permissible limit values, exhaust gas systems with gas cleaning measures are provided. The process emission test shall replace the assumptions required for the design of these systems with measured values. NUKEM Technologies Engineering Services GmbH (NUKEM) has chosen autogenous flame cutting as an example of a thermal cutting system for process emission testing, as there are no proven values in the literature for the Cr (VI) and NiOx emissions produced. The autogenous flame cutting can be used for a variety of cutting tasks within decommissioning projects. In order to simulate the material to be cut, mock ups were generated and cut from information about the material specification for the reactor pressure vessel from existing nuclear power plants including possible claddings. The cutting length needed for analysis in the test will be maximum 100 mm. The airborne emissions from the thermal cutting process will be captured and analyzed as follows: - Dust emission: The generated particles will be collected by a hood equipped with strong suction device and suitable filter elements. The resulting filter is gravimetrically measured before and after the tests. - Particle Size Distribution: The airborne particle size distribution measurement will result in figures for the size and number of particles arising from the thermal cutting process. - Gas Analysis: The gas analysis enables the determination of e.g. CO{sub 2}, CO, O{sub 3}, NO, NO{sub 2}. - Cr (VI) and NiOx Analysis: For the Cr (VI) and NiOx analysis, samples of the filter residue will be taken. As a result Cr (VI) in relation to total Cr as well as the Ni content will be determined by ICP-optically emission spectroscopy and put in relation to the total dust amount. The process emissions test itself as well as the necessary gas analyses and spectroscopic analyses were carried out at the Institute of Materials Science (IW) of Leibniz Universitaet Hannover (LUH). The results of the process emission tests are used to confirm the design of the gas cleaning systems. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1985

Dendritic solidification. III - Some further refinements to the model for dendritic growth under an imposed thermal gradient

Some further refinements to a simple model for dendritic solidification in a binary alloy melt under an imposed positive thermal gradient are presented. Two new expressions for the dendrite tip undercooling have been obtained and shown to yield a limiting value of Delta T sub 0 and very small growth rates. Here Delta T sub 0 is the equilibrium solidification range of the alloy. At very large growth rates, all three tip undercooling expressions reach the same limiting value depending on the value of a dimensionless parameter lambda which is related to the effective diffusion distance ahead of the dendrite tip. The predicted tip undercoolings are, however, somewhat lower at intermediate growth rates. An improved calculation for the solute buildup at the dendrite tip due to curvature effects is also included.

Laxmanan, V.↗
DOE OSTI2017

2005 ACGIH Lifting TLV: Employee-Friendly Presentation and Guidance for Professional Judgment

The American Council of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Lifting Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) provide a tool to reduce incidence of low back and shoulder injuries. However, application of the TLV is too complicated for floor-level workers and relies on professional judgment to assess commonly encountered tasks. This paper presents an Employee-Friendly Simplified Format of the TLV that has been adapted from Table 1 of the Lifting TLV presented in the 2005 TLVs and BEIs Based on the Documentation of the Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical Agents & Biological Exposure Indices. This simplified format can be employed by floor-level workers to self-assess lifting tasks. The Ergonomics Project Team also provides research-based guidance for applying professional judgment consistent with standard industry practice: Extended Work Shifts – Reduce weight by 20% for shifts lasting 8 to 12 hours; Constrained Lower Body Posture – Reduce weight by 25% when lifting in such postures; Infrequently Performed Lifts – Lift up to 15 lbs. ≤3 lifts per hour within the zones marked “No safe limit for repetitive lifting” in the TLVs Table 1; Asymmetry beyond 30° – Reduce weight by 10 lbs. for lifts with up to 60° asymmetry from sagittal plane.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2004

GPS FOM Chimney Analysis using Generalized Extreme Value Distribution

Many a time an objective of a statistical analysis is to estimate a limit value like 3-sigma 95% confidence upper limit from a data sample. The generalized Extreme Value Distribution method can be profitably employed in many situations for such an estimate. . .. It is well known that according to the Central Limit theorem the mean value of a large data set is normally distributed irrespective of the distribution of the data from which the mean value is derived. In a somewhat similar fashion it is observed that many times the extreme value of a data set has a distribution that can be formulated with a Generalized Distribution. In space shuttle entry with 3-string GPS navigation the Figure Of Merit (FOM) value gives a measure of GPS navigated state accuracy. A GPS navigated state with FOM of 6 or higher is deemed unacceptable and is said to form a FOM 6 or higher chimney. A FOM chimney is a period of time during which the FOM value stays higher than 5. A longer period of FOM of value 6 or higher causes navigated state to accumulate more error for a lack of state update. For an acceptable landing it is imperative that the state error remains low and hence at low altitude during entry GPS data of FOM greater than 5 must not last more than 138 seconds. I To test the GPS performAnce many entry test cases were simulated at the Avionics Development Laboratory. Only high value FoM chimneys are consequential. The extreme value statistical technique is applied to analyze high value FOM chimneys. The Maximum likelihood method is used to determine parameters that characterize the GEV distribution, and then the limit value statistics are estimated.

Ott, Rick↗
NASA NTRS1992

Clinostats and Centrifuges: Their Use, Value, and Limitations in Gravitational Biological Research

The present volume addresses physical phenomena and effects associated with clinostat and centrifuge operations as well as their physiological effects. Particular attention is given to the simulation of the gravity conditions on the ground, the internal dynamics of slowly rotating biological systems, and qualitative and quantitative aspects of the fast-rotating clinostat as a research tool. Also discussed are the development and use of centrifuges in gravitational biology, the use of centrifuges in plant gravitational biology and a comparison of ground-based and flight experiment results, the ability of clinostat to mimic the effect of microgravity on plant cells and organs, and the impact of altered gravity conditions on early EGF-induced signal transduction in human epidermal A431 cells.

Halstead, Thora W.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Toward a Turbulence Constitutive Relation for Rotating Flows

In rapidly rotating turbulent flows the largest scales of the motion are in approximate geostrophic balance. Single-point turbulence closures, in general, cannot attain a geostrophic balance. This article addresses and resolves the possibility of constitutive relation procedures for single-point second order closures for a specific class of rotating or stratified flows. Physical situations in which the geostrophic balance is attained are described. Closely related issues of frame-indifference, horizontal nondivergence, Taylor-Proudman theorem and two-dimensionality are, in the context of both the instantaneous and averaged equations, discussed. It is shown, in the absence of vortex stretching along the axis of rotation, that turbulence is frame-indifferent. A derivation and discussion of a geostrophic constraint which the prognostic equations for second-order statistics must satisfy for turbulence approaching a frame-indifferent limit is given. These flow situations, which include rotating and nonrotating stratified flows, are slowly evolving flows in which the constitutive relation procedures are useful. A nonlinear non-constant coefficient representation for the rapid-pressure strain covariance appearing in the Reynolds stress and heat flux equations consistent with the geostrophic balance is described. The rapid-pressure strain model coefficients are not constants determined by numerical optimization but are functions of the state of the turbulence as parameterized by the Reynolds stresses and the turbulent heat fluxes. The functions are valid for all states of the turbulence attaining their limiting values only when a limit state is achieved. These issues are relevant to strongly vortical flows as well as flows such as the planetary boundary layers, in which there is a transition from a three-dimensional shear driven turbulence to a geostrophic or horizontal turbulence.

Ristorcelli, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Factors which Limit the Value of Additional Redundancy in Human Rated Launch Vehicle Systems

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has embarked on an ambitious program to return humans to the moon and beyond. As NASA moves forward in the development and design of new launch vehicles for future space exploration, it must fully consider the implications that rule-based requirements of redundancy or fault tolerance have on system reliability/risk. These considerations include common cause failure, increased system complexity, combined serial and parallel configurations, and the impact of design features implemented to control premature activation. These factors and others must be considered in trade studies to support design decisions that balance safety, reliability, performance and system complexity to achieve a relatively simple, operable system that provides the safest and most reliable system within the specified performance requirements. This paper describes conditions under which additional functional redundancy can impede improved system reliability. Examples from current NASA programs including the Ares I Upper Stage will be shown.

Anderson, Joel M.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Not even 6 dB: Gaussian quantum illumination in thermal background

Abstract In analyses of target detection with Gaussian state transmitters in a thermal background, the thermal occupation is taken to depend on the target reflectivity in a way which simplifies the analysis of the symmetric quantum hypothesis testing problem. However, this assumption precludes comparison of target detection performance between an arbitrary transmitter and a vacuum state transmitter, i.e. ‘detection without illumination’, which is relevant in a bright thermal background because a target can be detected by its optical shadow or some other perturbation of the background. Using a target-agnostic thermal environment leads to the result that the oft-claimed 6 dB possible reduction in the quantum Chernoff exponent for a two-mode squeezed vacuum transmitter over a coherent state transmitter in high-occupation thermal background is an unachievable limiting value, only occurring in a limit in which the target detection problem is ill-posed. Further analyzing quantum illumination in a target-agnostic thermal environment shows that a weak single-mode squeezed transmitter performs worse than ‘no illumination’, which is explained by the noise-increasing property of reflected low-intensity squeezed light.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1980

A numerical study of the effects of heat diffusion through the base of the mixed layer

In the present paper, a simple numerical model is used to study the warming of the mixed layer during the early summer. It is shown that the springtime temperature increase in the layer below the mixed layer (for example, in the cold pool on a continental shelf) has a maximum value which occurs for a limiting value of the surface heat flux. This is a result of the positive feedback at large Richardson numbers between stability and vertical diffusion of heat. The springtime temperature increase in the mixed layer increases nonlinearly with surface heat flux, because of the same positive feedback. The effects of interseasonal fluctuations of the surface heat flux on the spring and summer mixed layer and deeper temperature increases can be as great as the effect of interseasonal fluctuations of the average heat flux.

Posmentier, E. S.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Dependence of the maximal superconducting current on the resonance frequency in a shunted Josephson junction

We have analyzed the phase dynamics and current–voltage characteristics of a Josephson junction shunted by an LC circuit. When the Josephson frequency ω{sub J} becomes equal to the natural frequency ω{sub rc} of the formed resonance circuit, the I–V curve acquires additional branches. We have studied the features of the rc branch and the superconducting circuit for different values of the resonance frequency. It is shown that the maximal superconducting current through the Josephson junction on the rc-branch depends on the resonance frequency and is determined by the closeness of the end point of the rc branch to the critical current. We have determined the dependence of the maximal superconducting current on the resonance frequency for different values of the dissipation parameters. The limiting value of the maximal superconducting current is independent (to within 1%) of the parameters of the system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Transfer functions for Q A /Q B international regulatory limits for the safe transport of radioactive materials

This paper presents a proposed revision of the International Atomic Energy Agency transport regulations, related to the A 1 and A 2 limit values used to determine the radioactive transport classification. Based on the 'Q system', a novel methodology was introduced to derive Q A and Q B values related to scenarios involving external exposure from a distant source. These values are key parameters that respectively represent the total effective dose and total equivalent dose to the skin, from all primary and secondary particles contributing to radiation exposure. The International Working Group (WG A 1 /A 2 ) is established and associated with the TRANSSC Technical Expert Group on Radiation Protection. A review of the A 1 and A 2 values is performed in response to identified limitations within the existing Q system. The followed approach is based on Monte Carlo simulations that enabled the development of transfer functions aimed at reducing computational time and increasing the flexibility of dose evaluations for any radionuclide with known particle emission spectra. This method allows updating the Q A and Q B values to account for future data evolutions (decay data, fluence-to-dose conversion coefficients) and standardizing the calculation of regulation limits across all referenced radionuclides and scenarios related to external exposure. The transfer functions are established using three Monte Carlo simulation codes—FLUKA, Geant4, and MCNP—and address the previous limitations of the 'Q system', reflecting the latest International Commission for Radiation Protection recommendations and improvements in calculation techniques. The results of the WG show consistent agreement across the codes, with minor discrepancies observed at low primary energies due to statistical uncertainties and different handling of stopping power for electrons/positrons in the codes. This revised approach aligns with current standards and recommendations, ensuring that the radiological consequences of transport accidents are acceptable for the new A 1 and A 2 limits from a radiological protection perspective.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2019

High Strain Rate Response of Cenosphere-Filled Aluminum Alloy Syntactic Foam

Deformation of metal foams under high rate of loading is a complex phenomenon due to the effects of various parameters involved therein. In the present investigation, cenosphere-filled aluminum alloy syntactic foam is studied under high rate of loading in comparison with their quasi-static behavior. The experiments, for high strain rates, are carried out using split Hopkinson pressure bar and full stress–strain curves of foam are developed under such rate of loadings. Foams with three different cenosphere sizes at three different high rates of loadings are investigated for their mechanical behavior. Compressive behavior and energy absorption capacity are reported considering the effect of high loading rates and cenosphere sizes. It is observed that, increase in loading rate results in higher strength of foams by an amount of 16-32%. Further, it is observed that energy absorption is improved with the increase in strain rates and cenosphere sizes and this improvement is observed in the range of 80-182%. Based on deformation modes and failure damage study, using SEM microstructure, deformation mechanism is observed to be almost independent of strain rate increment particularly at higher strain rates considered in this investigation. Moreover, there exists a limiting value of strain rate beyond which there is an insignificant increase in compressive strength of foams considered in the present investigation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Theory of the phonon side-jump contribution in anomalous Hall effect

The role of electron-phonon scattering in finite-temperature anomalous Hall effect is still poorly understood. In this work we present a Boltzmann theory for the side-jump contribution from electron-phonon scattering, which is derived from the microscopic quantum mechanical theory. Furthermore, we show that the resulting phonon side-jump conductivity generally approaches different limiting values in the high and low temperature limits, and hence can exhibit strong temperature dependence in the intermediate temperature regime. Our theory is amenable to ab initio treatment, which makes quantitative comparison between theoretical and experimental results possible.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Interpreting Mobile and Handheld Air Sensor Readings in Relation to Air Quality Standards and Health Effect Reference Values: Tackling the Challenges

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies face a number of challenges in interpreting and reconciling short-duration (seconds to minutes) readings from mobile and handheld air sensors with the longer duration averages (hours to days) associated with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the criteria pollutants-particulate matter (PM), ozone, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides. Similar issues are equally relevant to the hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) where chemical-specific health effect reference values are the best indicators of exposure limits; values which are often based on a lifetime of continuous exposure. A multi-agency, staff-level Air Sensors Health Group (ASHG) was convened in 2013. ASHG represents a multi-institutional collaboration of Federal agencies devoted to discovery and discussion of sensor technologies, interpretation of sensor data, defining the state of sensor-related science across each institution, and provides consultation on how sensors might effectively be used to meet a wide range of research and decision support needs. ASHG focuses on several fronts: improving the understanding of what hand-held sensor technologies may be able to deliver; communicating what hand-held sensor readings can provide to a number of audiences; the challenges of how to integrate data generated by multiple entities using new and unproven technologies; and defining best practices in communicating health-related messages to various audiences. This review summarizes the challenges, successes, and promising tools of those initial ASHG efforts and Federal agency progress on crafting similar products for use with other NAAQS pollutants and the HAPs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Microwave Heating of a Liquid Stably Flowing in a Circular Channel Under the Conditions of Nonstationary Radiative-Convective Heat Transfer

A class of nonlinear problems of nonstationary radiative-convective heat transfer under the microwave action with a small penetration depth is considered in a stabilized coolant flow in a circular channel. The solutions to these problems are obtained, using asymptotic procedures at the stages of nonstationary and stationary convective heat transfer on the heat-radiating channel surface. The nonstationary and stationary stages of the solution are matched, using the 'longitudinal coordinate–time' characteristic. The approximate solutions constructed on such principles correlate reliably with the exact ones at the limiting values of the operation parameters, as well as with numerical and experimental data of other researchers. An important advantage of these solutions is that they allow the determination of the main regularities of the microwave and thermal radiation influence on convective heat transfer in a channel even before performing cumbersome calculations. It is shown that, irrespective of the heat exchange regime (nonstationary or stationary), the Nusselt number decreases and the rate of the surface temperature change increases with increase in the intensity of thermal action.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1983

Lubricant jet flow phenomena in spur and helical gears with modified center distances and/or addendums for out-of-mesh conditions

Out-of-mesh jet lubrication of gears was examined. The pinion impingement cycle was described briefly. An analysis was developed for the lubricant jet flow in the out-of-mesh condition. The analysis provides for the inclusion of modified center distances and modified addendums. Equations were generated for the limit values of variables necessary to remove the severe limitations to facilitate computer analysis. A computer program was designed using these limit formulas to prevent negative impingement (missing) on the pinion.

Akin, L. S.↗