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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
NASA NTRS1979

Geophysical observations pertaining to solid-state convection in the terrestrial planets

Observational evidence for solid-state convection in the interiors of the terrestrial planets is reviewed. For the earth, the motion of the lithospheric plates constitutes clear evidence of large-scale convection in the mantle. Although Mars has been found to lack evidence of plate tectonics, the morphology of the Tharsis uplift and the elevation dichotomy between the northern and southern hemispheres may be evidence of mantle convection at one time. Measurements of lunar heat flow and seismic Q imply a convective mechanism limited to the lower mantle. Evidence for internal convection on Mercury consists of its dipole magnetic field and the 3/2 resonance between its rotational motion and its orbital motion, both of which can also be explained by other processes. The limited radar imagery of Venus has not yet provided conclusive evidence of either the presence or absence of convection features. It is concluded that although interior convection in terrestrial planets is implied by rheological, energy and momentum considerations, only on earth is the lithosphere thin enough to provide conclusive evidence of convection.

Phillips, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Transient magmatic convection prolonged by solidification

Fluid dynamic experiments have been conducted on the solidification of a paraffin layer, in order to elucidate the transient stage of convection created in cooling magma by the fact that strong changes in viscosity with crystallization lock up within an inwardly propagating crust much buoyancy that would otherwise be available to drive convection. The interior of the magma remains isothermal, and the temperature decreases uniformly until it is locked at the convective liquidus; the crystals are fine hairlike dendrites without major compositional differentiations. Measurements over time are presented of crust thickness, convective velocity, and heat transfer.

Brandeis, Genevieve↗
NASA NTRS1986

Brown dwarfs and Jovian planets: A comparison

The recent detection of a subluminous companion to the M dwarf star VB8 has renewed interest in the characteristics of objects spanning the mass range from Jupiter to hydrogen burning stars. Atmospheric and interior models were constructed for objects in this mass regime, up to 30 Jupiter masses, with emphasis on understanding the relationship of brown dwarfs such as the VB8 companion to the better-studied Jovian planets. The atmospheric model solves the equation of radiative transfer assuming frequency dependent molecular opacity sources H2, He, H2O, CO, and CH4 which are important by virtue of the high cosmic abundance of their constituent atoms. Condensation of cosmochemically important materials, iron and silicates, in the atmosphere is possible, and the effect of such grains as opacity sources is assessed. The luminosity of the object is presumed due to degenerate cooling following a collapse phase and possibly deuterium burning and an interior model is constructed using as an outer boundary condition the temperature and pressure level at which the atmosphere becomes convective. The interior model is analogous to Jupiter, with a large liquid metallic-hydrogen core and a thinner molecular-hydrogen envelope. The oxidation state of carbon in the outer envelope of a brown dwarf of similar age to Jupiter is a function of the object's mass. This makes the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric opacity sensitive to the carbon to oxygen ratio, since the abundance of the primary source of molecular opacity, H2O, decreases as more oxygen is tied up as CO.

Lunine, J. I.↗
NASA NTRS1995

VIRGO: Experiment for helioseismology and solar irradiance monitoring

The scientific objectives of the variability of solar irradiance and gravity oscillations (VIRGO) experiment are as follows: to determine the characteristics of pressure and internal gravity oscillations by observing irradiance and radiance variations; to measure the solar total and spectral irradiance, and to quantify their variability. Helioseismological methods can be applied to these data in order to probe the solar interior. Certain convection characteristics and their interaction with magnetic fields will be studied from the results of the irradiance monitoring and from the comparison of the amplitudes and phases of the oscillations as observed from the brightness by VIRGO and from velocity by the global oscillations at low frequency (GOLF) experiment. The VIRGO experiment contains two active-cavity radiometers that monitor the solar constant, two three-channel sunphotometers that measure the spectral irradiance, and a low resolution imager with 12 pixels that measures the radiance distribution over the solar disk at 500 nm. The scientific objectives of VIRGO are presented, the instruments and the data acquisition and control system are described, and their measured performances are given.

Froehlich, Claus↗
NASA NTRS1974

Convection in the moon - Effect of variable viscosity

This work determines criteria for stability of the lunar interior to thermal convection in the case of variable viscosity. The conditions necessary for solid convection to play an important role in the moon's revolution are determined by application of the calculated stability criteria to a variety of thermal history models. Most thermal history temperature profiles would be unstable to solid convection at the present time, if currently used estimates of the viscosity function are applicable. A possible explanation of lunar seismic data is that temperatures near the melting point of silicates exist at depths greater than 800 km. If this is the case, either the lunar interior is stable, or solid convection is occurring at a rate insufficient to cool the lunar interior substantially. If the former is true, the viscosity of lunar material is higher than that usually assumed.

Cassen, P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Mantle convection and the state of the Earth's interior

During 1983 to 1986 emphasis in the study of mantle convection shifted away from fluid mechanical analysis of simple systems with uniform material properties and simple geometries, toward analysis of the effects of more complicated, presumably more realistic models. The important processes related to mantle convection are considered. The developments in seismology are discussed.

Hager, Bradford H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Mantle convection and the state of the earth's interior

During 1983 to 1986 emphasis in the study of mantle convection shifted away from fluid mechanical analysis of simple systems with uniform material properties and simple geometries, toward analysis of the effects of more complicated, presumably more realistic models. The important processes related to mantle convection are considered. The developments in seismology are discussed.

Hager, Bradford H.↗
NASA NTRS2019

3D Radiative Hydrodynamics Modeling of Convection of Stars to Probe Their Interiors and Photospheric Properties

The dramatic flow of data from the Kepler and K2 missions opens the opportunity to significantly improve our knowledge of stellar interiors, surface dynamics, and structure. However, interpretation of these observations is a challenging task because it depends on tiny effects that can be studied only with advanced first-principles modeling. We present results of 3D time-dependent radiative hydrodynamic simulations of stellar outer convection zones and atmospheres taking into account chemical composition, radiative transfer, turbulence effects, and a realistic equation of state for main sequence stars. We will discuss properties of convective structure and dynamics, convective overshoot, effects of magnetic fields and rotation, as well as the potential influence of turbulent surface dynamics on high-precision RV measurements.

Photospheric↗
NASA NTRS1991

The Uranian system - An overview

Results of many years of observations from the ground and from the Voyager encounter with Venus are presented which clarify a number of issues that were subjects of speculation or partial information. The new issues that the encounter brought to light are outlined. The encounter revealed additional rings, extensive dust associated with them, and complexities, including azimuthal asymmetries. Uranus possesses a strong (about 1 gauss) magnetic field with a bizarre geometry that can be described as a dipole offset 0.3 RU from the center of the planet and tilted approximately 60 deg with respect to the axis of rotation. It is argued that it is produced by a magnetohydrodynamic dynamo at about 0.4 RU from the planet's center. It is inferred from this that at least part of the interior is a convective fluid, indicating an adiabatic temperature profile and a warm interior. The magnetic field produces a magnetosphere with some peculiar characteristics, owing to the unique orientation of the dipole axis with respect to the direction of the solar wind flow.

Bergstralh, Jay T.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Modes of mantle convection and the removal of heat from the earth's interior

Thermal histories for two-layer and whole-mantle convection models are calculated and presented, based on a parameterization of convective heat transport. The model is composed of two concentric spherical shells surrounding a spherical core. The models were constrained to yield the observed present-day surface heat flow and mantle viscosity, in order to determine parameters. These parameters were varied to determine their effects on the results. Studies show that whole-mantle convection removes three times more primordial heat from the earth interior and six times more from the core than does two-layer convection (in 4.5 billion years). Mantle volumetric heat generation rates for both models are comparable to that of a potassium-depleted chondrite, and thus surface heat-flux balance does not require potassium in the core. Whole and two-layer mantle convection differences are primarily due to lower mantle thermal insulation and the lower heat removal efficiency of the upper mantle as compared with that of the whole mantle.

Spohn, T.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Solid Convection in the Terrestrial Planets; Workshop, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., December 12, 13, 1977, Review Papers and Contributions

Review papers and specific contributions on the subject of convection in the solid interiors of the terrestrial planets and planetary evolution are presented. Geophysical observations of solid-state convection in the terrestrial planets are reviewed, along with the theory of convection in a layer with a high Prandtl number and numerical approaches to the calculation of convection in planetary interiors. Other papers treat the formation, history and energetics of terrestrial planet cores, the effects of convection on lunar thermal history and the relation between the height of mountains on Venus and the creep properties of Venusian rocks.

Cassen, P.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Simulations of Convection Zone Flows and Measurements from Multiple Viewing Angles

A deep-focusing time-distance measurement technique has been applied to linear acoustic simulations of a solar interior perturbed by convective flows. The simulations are for the full sphere for r/R greater than 0.2. From these it is straightforward to simulate the observations from different viewing angles and to test how multiple viewing angles enhance detectibility. Some initial results will be presented.

Duvall, Thomas L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The role of a pressure-dependent rheology in the dynamics of mantle circulation

A thermomechanical model for upper mantle convection was constructed such that the thickness and the structure of the lithosphere are determined self consistently by the heat transported by convection. In this study of the interaction between the lithosphere and upper mantle, strongly temperature and pressure dependent rheologies for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian creep mechanisms are employed. For a strictly temperature dependent rheology an insignificant amount of heat, less than 12.5 mW/sq m, can be transported convectively for an interior viscosity, 0(10 sup 21 Pas), compatible with post glacial rebound. On the other hand, for similar values of the interior viscosity, steady heat fluxes between 20 and 40 mW/sq m are produced by introducing pressure dependence into the rheology. For the temperature and pressure dependent flow law the horizontally averaged interior temperature displays very little variation with the amount of heat evacuated, once all of the rheological parameters are fixed. This finding may have important ramifications for parameterized convection.

Yuen, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Time-Distance Analysis of Deep Solar Convection

Recently it was shown by Hanasoge, Duvall, and DeRosa (2010) that the upper limit to convective flows for spherical harmonic degrees l<? is considerably smaller than the flows predicted by the ASH simulations (Miesch et a7. ref) at the depth r/R=0.95 ' The deep-focusing Lime-distance technique used to develop the upper limit was applied to linear acoustic simulations of a solar interior perturbed by convective flows in order to calibrate the technique. This technique has been applied to other depths in the convection zone and the results will be presented. The deep-focusing technique has considerable sensitivity to the flow ' signals at the desired subsurface location ' However, as shown by Birch {ref}, there is remaining much sensitivity to near-surface signals. Modifications to the technique using multiple bounce signals have been examined in a search for a more refined sensitivity, or kernel function. Initial results are encouraging and results will be presented'

Duvall, T. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Observational and theoretical investigations in solar seismology

This is the final report on a project to develop a theoretical basis for interpreting solar oscillation data in terms of the interior dynamics and structure of the Sun. The topics covered include the following: (1) studies of the helioseismic signatures of differential rotation and convection in the solar interior; (2) wave generation by turbulent convection; and (3) the study of antipodal sunspot imaging of an active region tomography.

Noyes, Robert W.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Is Europa surface cracking due to thermal evolution

It is proposed that some of the surface features of Europa may be due to processes occurring within a planet in which hydrated silicates are stable. Based on considerations of the mechanical properties of hydrated silicates and ice and the likely thickness of the ice crust (less than 24 km), models are developed for the long, relatively dark lineaments that lie on great and small circles and frequently possess bright medial stripes, and for the complex network of fractures surrounded by cuspate ridges in the antijovian region. The global-scale lineaments are explained in terms of planetary expansion brought about by positive volume changes resulting from the dehydration of the hydrated silicates. The apparently tensile features in the antijovian region are attributed to a region of upwelling in the convecting anhydrous silicate interior surrounded by a region of return flow beneath the hydrated silicate mantle.

Finnerty, A. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Liquid water and active resurfacing on Europa

Arguments for recent resurfacing of Europa by H2O from a liquid layer are presented, based on new interpretations of recent spacecraft and earth-based observations and revised theoretical calculations. The heat flow in the core and shell due to tidal forces is discussed, and considerations of viscosity and convection in the interior are found to imply water retention in the outer 60 km or so of the silicates, forming a layer of water/ice many tens of km thick. The outer ice crust is considered to be too thin to support heat transport rates sufficient to freeze the underlying water. Observational evidence for the calculations would consist of an insulating layer of frosts derived from water boiling up between cracks in the surface crust. Evidence for the existence of such a frost layer, including the photometric function of Europa and the deposits of sulfur on the trailing hemisphere, is discussed.

Squyres, S. W.↗