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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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NASA NTRS2010

Micrometeoroid Impacts and Optical Surface Scatter in Space Environment

This presentation will discuss the results of an attempt to use laboratory test data and empirically derived models to quantify the degree of surface damage and associated light scattering that might be expected from hypervelocity particle impacts in space environment. Micrometeoroid sizes are predicted to be predominantly in the mass range 10(exp -5) g or less, with most having diameters near 1 micrometer, but some larger than 120 micrometers, with velocities near 20 km/s. In a laboratory test, latex (p = 1.1 g/cu cm) and iron (7.9 g/cu cm) particles with sizes ranging from 0.75 micrometer to 1.60 micrometer and with velocities ranging from 2.0 km/s to 18.5 km/s, were shot at a dielectric coated gold mirror. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopy were used to measure crater dimensions that were then associated with particle impact energies. These data were then fitted to empirical models derived from solar cell and other spacecraft surface components returned from orbit, as well as studies of impact craters studied on glassy materials returned from the lunar surface, to establish a link between particle energy and impact crater dimension. Published estimates of the Martian and Saturnian meteoroid environments were used as the sources of particle flux estimates. From these data, an estimate of total expected damaged area was computed and this result produced an estimate of expected surface scatter from the modeled environment.

Heaney, James B.↗
NASA NTRS1989

A numerically exact full wave packet approach to molecule-surface scattering

A numerically exact spectral method for solving the time-dependent Schroedinger equation in spherical coordinates is described. The angular dependence of the wave function is represented on a two-dimensional grid of evenly spaced points. The fast Fourier transform algorithm is used to transform between the angle space representation of the wave function and its conjugate representation in momentum space. The time propagation of the wave function is evaluated using an expansion of the time evolution operator as a series of Chebyshev polynomials. Calculations performed for a model system representing H2 scattering from a rectangular corrugated surface yield transition probabilities that are in excellent agreement with those obtained using the close-coupling wave packet (CCWP) method. However, the new method is found to require substantially more computation time than the CCWP method because of the large number of grid points needed to represent the angular dependence of the wave function and the variation in the number of terms required in the Chebyshev representation of the time evolution operator.

Mowrey, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Radar altimeter mean return wave forms from near-normal-incidence ocean surface scattering

For a nearly Gaussian transmitted pulse shape scattered from a nearly Gaussian distributed sea surface, a small argument series expansion of one term lead to a several term power series expression for the mean return waveform. Specific expressions are given for the first four terms. These results, which require less computer time than numerical convolution, are useful for data analysis from current or past radar altimeters and for design studies of future systems. Several representative results are presented for an idealized Seasat-1 radar altimeter.

Hayne, G. S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Surface scattering properties estimated from modeling ASAS multiple emission angle reflectance data over the lunar crater volcanic field, Nevada

ASAS multispectral data were acquired over Lunar Lake playa at 12 different lighting and viewing geometries. Atmospheric models and field-based data demonstrate that atmospheric contributions to ASAS data were relatively small and were thus ignored in analyses of surface photometric properties. ASAS data of an artificially roughened playa and cobble-strewn surfaces exhibit trends of increasing reflectance as phase angle decreases. The reflectance of a natural playa surface exhibits Lambertian scattering properties that cannot be replicated with the Hapke (1986) photometric function. The Hapke model does fit the rough and cobble-strewn playa data with single-scattering albedo, asymmetry factor, and roughness terms consistent with known properties of these surfaces. No published photometric model explains the reflectance variations of all three surfaces.

Guinness, Edward A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A laboratory study of the electromagnetic bias of rough surface scattering by water waves

The design, development, and use of a focused-beam radar to measure the electromagnetic bias introduced by the scattering of radar waves by a roughened water surface are discussed. The bias measurements were made over wide ranges of environmental conditions in a wavetank laboratory. Wave-elevation data were provided by standard laboratory capacitance probes. Backscattered radar power measurements coincident in time and space with the elevation data were produced by the radar. The two data sets are histogrammed to produce probability density functions for elevation and radar reflectivity, from which the electromagnetic bias is computed. The experimental results demonstrate that the electromagnetic bias is quite variable over the wide range of environmental conditions that can be produced in the laboratory. The data suggest that the bias is dependent upon the local wind field and on the amplitude and frequency of any background wave field that is present.

Parsons, Chester L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Simulation experiments for gamma-ray mapping of planetary surfaces: Scattering of high-energy neutrons

The concentration and distribution of certain elements in surface layers of planetary objects specify constraints on models of their origin and evolution. This information can be obtained by means of remote sensing gamma-ray spectroscopy, as planned for a number of future space missions, i.e., Mars, Moon, asteroids, and comets. To investigate the gamma-rays made by interactions of neutrons with matter, thin targets of different composition were placed between a neutron-source and a high-resolution germanium spectrometer. Gamma-rays in the range of 0.1 to 8 MeV were accumulated. In one set of experiments a 14-MeV neutron generator using the T(d,n) reaction as neutron-source was placed in a small room. Scattering in surrounding walls produced a spectrum of neutron energies from 14 MeV down to thermal. This complex neutron-source induced mainly neutron-capture lines and only a few scattering lines. As a result of the set-up, there was a considerable background of discrete lines from surrounding materials. A similar situation exists under planetary exploration conditions: gamma-rays are induced in the planetary surface as well as in the spacecraft. To investigate the contribution of neutrons with higher energies, an experiment for the measurement of prompt gamma radiation was set up at the end of a beam-line of an isochronous cyclotron.

Brueckner, J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Microwave remote sensing: Active and passive. Volume 2 - Radar remote sensing and surface scattering and emission theory

The fundamental principles of radar backscattering measurements are presented, including measurement statistics, Doppler and pulse discrimination techniques, and associated ambiguity functions. The operation of real and synthetic aperture sidelooking airborne radar systems is described, along with the internal and external calibration techniques employed in scattering measurements. Attention is given to the physical mechanisms responsible for the scattering emission behavior of homogeneous and inhomogeneous media, through a discussion of surface roughness, dielectric properties and inhomogeneity, and penetration depth. Simple semiempirical models are presented. Theoretical models involving greater mathematical sophistication are also given for extended ocean and bare soil surfaces, and the more general case of a vegetation canopy over a rough surface.

Ulaby, F. T.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Surface scattering properties estimated from modeling airborne multiple emission angle reflectance data

Here, researchers apply the Hapke function to airborne bidirectional reflectance data collected over three terrestrial surfaces. The objectives of the study were to test the range of natural surfaces that the Hapke model fits and to evaluate model parameters in terms of known surface properties. The data used are multispectral and multiple emission angle data collected during the Geologic Remote Sensing Field Experiment (GRSFE) over a mud-cracked playa, an artificially roughened playa, and a basalt cobble strewn playa at Lunar Lake Playa in Nevada. Airborne remote sensing data and associated field measurements were acquired at the same time. The airborne data were acquired by the Advanced Solid State Array Spectroradiometer (ASAS) instrument, a 29-spectral band imaging system. ASAS reflectance data for a cobble-strewn surface and an artificially rough playa surface on Lunar Lake Playa can be explained with the Hanke model. The cobble and rough playa sites are distinguishable by a single scattering albedo, which is controlled by material composition; by the roughness parameter, which appears to be controlled by the surface texture and particle size; and the symmetry factor of the single particle phase function, which is controlled by particle size and shape. A smooth playa surface consisting of compacted, fine-grained particles has reflectance variations that are also distinct from either the cobble site or rough playa site. The smooth playa appears to behave more like a Lambertian surface that cannot be modeled with the Hapke function.

Guinness, Edward A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Diffraction from sharply peaked waves as an ocean surface scattering mechanism

The role of sharply peaked waves as a major ocean scattering mechanism for radar is investigated. A prototype three-dimensional wedgelike wave shape was constructed, and its scattering properties were analyzed. Using results from the theory of the statistical geometry of the ocean surface, it is estimated how many such wedges there are per unit area, as a function of sea conditions. Taking into account a directional distribution of the wedges, the total radar cross section due to wedge diffraction effects is estimated. At large incidence angles, wedge diffraction appears to account for a significant amount of the radar cross section on the ocean surface. The wedgelike wave shape used is a more realistic representation of sharplypeaked waves. The scale-size and spatial density of the wedgelike waves are computed directly from the wave-height spectrum.

Jensen, Glenn A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A unified perturbation expansion for surface scattering

Starting with the extinction theorem, a perturbation expansion which, to first and second orders, converges over a wider domain than the small perturbation expansion and the momentum transfer expansion is presented. It is shown that, in the appropriate limits, both of these theories, as well as the two-scale expansion, are recovered. There is no adjustable parameter, such as a spectral split, in the theory. This theory is applied to random rough surfaces and derive analytic expressions for the coherent field and the bistatic cross section. Finally, a numerical test of the theory against method of moments results for Gaussian random rough surfaces with a power law spectrum is given. These results show that the expansion is ramarkably accurate over a large range of surface heights and slopes for both horizontal and vertical polarization.

Rodriguez, Ernesto↗
NASA NTRS1972

Monte Carlo analysis of lobular gas-surface scattering in tubes applied to thermal transpiration

A model of rarefied gas flow in tubes was developed which combines a lobular distribution with diffuse reflection at the wall. The model with Monte Carlo techniques was used to explain previously observed deviations in the free molecular thermal transpiration ratio which suggest molecules can have a greater tube transmission probability in a hot-to-cold direction than in a cold-to-hot direction. The model yields correct magnitudes of transmission probability ratios for helium in Pyrex tubing (1.09 to 1.14), and some effects of wall-temperature distribution, tube surface roughness, tube dimensions, gas temperature, and gas molecular mass.

Smith, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Rough surface scattering based on facet model

A model for the radar return from bare ground was developed to calculate the radar cross section of bare ground and the effect of the frequency averaging on the reduction of the variance of the return. It is shown that, by assuming that the distribution of the slope to be Gaussian and that the distribution of the length of the facet to be in the form of the positive side of a Gaussian distribution, the results are in good agreement with experimental data collected by an 8- to 18-GHz radar spectrometer system. It is also shown that information on the exact correlation length of the small structure on the ground is not necessary; an effective correlation length may be calculated based on the facet model and the wavelength of the incident wave.

Khamsi, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Photopolarimetry of scattering surfaces and their interpretation by computer model

Wolff's computer model of a rough planetary surface was simplified and revised. Close adherence to the actual geometry of a pitted surface and the inclusion of a function for diffuse light resulted in a quantitative model comparable to observations by planetary satellites and asteroids. A function is also derived to describe diffuse light emitted from a particulate surface. The function is in terms of the indices of refraction of the surface material, particle size, and viewing angles. Computer-generated plots describe the observable and theoretical light components for the Moon, Mercury, Mars and a spectrum of asteroids. Other plots describe the effects of changing surface material properties. Mathematical results are generated to relate the parameters of the negative polarization branch to the properties of surface pitting. An explanation is offered for the polarization of the rings of Saturn, and the average diameter of ring objects is found to be 30 to 40 centimeters.

Wolff, M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Polarimetric microwave scattering from known randomly rough surfaces

Scattering from rough surfaces is reviewed, and artificial randomly rough surfaces are described. Measurements were made from 4 to 18 GHz for the 4 linear polarization states. The target consists of a metalized randomly rough surface constructed from known surface statistical information. The surface was generated using surface generation routines on the computer, and then the data was converted for the machining of the surface on a computer controlled mill. Bistatic and monostatic measurements were acquired at incident angles from 25 to 60 deg. At the 13.5 to 18 GHz frequencies, the effects of backscatter enhancement and depolarization effects can be studied in a regime which does not satisfy Kirchoff or small perturbation assumptions. This allows scattering mechanisms to be introduced into models, which may show missing elements in the more standard formulations. At lower frequency bands such as 4 to 8.5 GHz the scattering behavior was also examined to see the behavior as assumptions of other formulations are satisfied.

Nance, C. E.↗