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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 361 records · Page 20

Feasibility Assessment of Thermal Barrier Seals for Extreme Transient Temperatures

The assembly joints of modem solid rocket motor cases are generally sealed using conventional O-ring type seals. The 5500+ F combustion gases produced by rocket motors are kept a safe distance away from the seals by thick layers of phenolic insulation. Special compounds are used to fill insulation gaps leading up to the seals to prevent a direct flowpath to them. Design criteria require that the seals should not experience torching or charring during operation, or their sealing ability would be compromised. On limited occasions, NASA has observed charring of the primary O-rings of the Space Shuttle solid rocket nozzle assembly joints due to parasitic leakage paths opening up in the gap-fill compounds during rocket operation. NASA is investigating different approaches for preventing torching or charring of the primary O-rings. One approach is to implement a braided rope seal upstream of the primary O-ring to serve as a thermal barrier that prevents the hot gases from impinging on the O-ring seals. This paper presents flow, resiliency, and thermal resistance for several types of NASA rope seals braided out of carbon fibers. Burn tests were performed to determine the time to burn through each of the seals when exposed to the flame of an oxyacetylene torch (5500 F), representative of the 5500 F solid rocket motor combustion temperatures. Rope seals braided out of carbon fibers endured the flame for over six minutes, three times longer than solid rocket motor burn time. Room and high temperature flow tests are presented for the carbon seals for different amounts of linear compression. Room temperature compression tests were performed to assess seal resiliency and unit preloads as a function of compression. The thermal barrier seal was tested in a subscale "char" motor test in which the seal sealed an intentional defect in the gap insulation. Temperature measurements indicated that the seal blocked 2500 F combustion gases on the upstream side with very little temperature rise on the downstream side.

Steinetz, Bruce M.↗

Coronal Structure: Legacy of EUVE

Extreme ultraviolet spectra (lambda lambda 70-740) and light curves (lambda lambda 75-175) of the spectroscopic binary system lambda And (HD 222107), were obtained with the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer satellite (EUVE) in July and August 1997. Two flares were detected during the observations which spanned 15 days, or almost three-quarters of the orbital period of 20.5 days. The Emission Measure Distribution (EMD) of lambda And derived from a line-based analysis, shows an increasing slope with the temperature from 3.1x10(exp 6) K through 2.0x10(exp 7) K, as well as a remarkable 'bump' around T(sub e) approx. equals 10(exp 6.9) K. During the flares small changes were detected in both the general slope of the EMD and the height of the bump, but the bump remained very stable in its temperature. Electron densities of N(sub e) approx. equals 10(exp 12.7) cm(exp -3) are indicated at temperatures of 10(exp 7) K using Fe XXI and Fe XXII emission features.

Dupree, Andrea K.↗

Response of selected microoganisms to experimental planetary environments

A microbial population profile of mixed Cape Canaveral soil samples is presented. During this investigation a few organisms were isolated which exhibit the ability to grow at 3 C, 32 C, and 55 C. Growth curves are shown for three of these isolates, one of which grows extremely well at all three temperatures. Also included are studies dealing with growth of soil populations at zero and subzero temperatures. Results indicate growth at 0 C and -5 C, but not at 15 C or -65 C. The effect of storage temperature on dry soil is presented, and results show that psychrophilic populations decrease when soil is stored at room temperature, but do not decrease when soil is stored at -65 C. Results of an experiment with the simulated Martian environment are presented and indicate that nonsporeforming rods, sporeforming rods, and cocci can reproduce in the simulated environment when nutrients and moisture are supplied. The sporeforming rods are the predominant suvivors when dry soil is subjected to this environment.

Foster, T. L.↗

From Waste-Heat Recovery to Refrigeration: Compositional Tuning of Magnetocaloric Mn 1+ x Sb

Magnetic refrigeration, as well as waste-heat recovery, can be accomplished through the magnetocaloric effect, where temperature changes the magnetic state of a material or vice versa. Promising magnetocaloric materials display large changes in magnetic entropy (ΔS M ) upon application of a moderate magnetic field and are often associated with magnetic materials possessing some degree of magnetostructural coupling. In such compounds, the magnetic transition is coupled to some structural transition at the ordering temperature, and indicators for these are readily calculated by the magnetic deformation proxy Σ M . MnSb, with a Curie temperature T C = 577 K, has a calculated magnetic deformation of Σ M = 5.9% and is a promising candidate material for waste-heat recovery. The temperature dependence of structural, magnetic, and magnetocaloric properties of Mn 1+ x Sb, where $x$ is a tunable amount of interstitial Mn, is studied here. specifically, excess Mn is incorporated as an interstitial whose magnetic moment is antialigned with the stoichiometric Mn, and the excess Mn has the effect of lowering T C , such that the Curie temperature can be tuned from 577 K to nearly room temperature at 318 K for $x$ = 0.2. For $x$ = 0.0, 0.1, and 0.2, values of ΔS M under a maximum magnetic field $H$ = 5 T are found to be 3.65, 3.00, and 2.83 J K -1 kg -1 , respectively. While the maximum ΔS M decreases with $x$, the high refrigerant capacity a more holistic measure of performance-is retained in this highly tunable system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A scanning multichannel microwave radiometer for Nimbus-G and SeaSat-A

A scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) has been designed for the Nimbus-G spacecraft and incorporated also into the SeaSat-A payload for the primary purpose of determining sea surface temperatures and wind stress on a nearly all-weather basis. Observations of microwave polarization components will be made at wavelengths of 0.8, 1.4, 1.7, 2.8, and 4.6 cm over a swath 822 km wide below the Nimbus-G and 595 km wide below the SeaSat-A spacecraft. The smallest spatial resolution cell is about 20 km at a wavelength of 0.8 cm, and proportionately larger at the other wavelengths. Using algorithms based on a combination of experimental data and physical models for converting the observed brightness temperatures, the indicated accuracy of the results (excluding conditions of significant rainfall) are within 1 K for sea surface temperature and 2 m/s for surface wind speeds, over a range from 0-50 m/s.

Gloersen, P.↗

The Seasat-A Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer

A Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer has been designed for the Nimbus-G Spacecraft and incorporated also into the Seasat-A payload for the primary purpose of determining sea surface temperatures and wind stress on a nearly all-weather basis. Observations of microwave polarization components will be made at wavelengths of 0.8, 1.4, 1.7, 2.8, and 4.6 cm over a swath 577 km wide below the Seasat-A spacecraft. The smallest spatial resolution cell is 15 x 23 km at a wavelength of 0.8 cm, and proportionately larger at the other wavelengths. Using experimentally determined algorithms for converting the observed brightness temperatures, the indicated accuracies of the results (excluding conditions of significant rainfall) are within 1 K for sea surface temperature and 2 m/sec for surface wind speeds, over a range from 0-50 m/sec.

Gloersen, P.↗

The X-Ray Spectrum of the Supernova Remnant 1E 0102-72.3

In this letter we present the soft X-ray (5-35A) spectrum of the supernova remnant (SNR) IE 0102-72.3 in the Small Magellanic Cloud, acquired by the reflection grating spectrometer (RGS) aboard ESA's XMM-Newton Observatory. This extended-source X-ray spectrum of unprecedented spectral resolution (lambda/Delta(lambda) approx. 300) permits, for the first time, unabiguous identification and measurement of isolated emission lines and line complexes alike. The diagnostic power of performing spectroscopy using groups of emission lines from single ions is exemplified. In particular, the bright Lyman and helium series lines for light elements (C VI, O VII, O VIII, Ne IX, Ne X and possibly Mg XI & Mg XII) show peculiar ratios, where the values [1s - np] / [1s - (n + l)p] are systematically weaker than expected for electron impact excitation. These measured ratios resemble signatures of recombining or charge exchanging plasmas. We argue that charge exchange, given its large cross section and evidence for inhomogeneous media within the SNR, is a likely mechanism for the observed emission. Also. the well known temperature diagnostics G(T(sub e)) = (i + f)/r of helium- like triplets (O VII & Ne IX) indicate high temperatures, well above the maximum emission temperature T(sub m) for each ion, and consistent with a purely ionizing plasma. The density diagnostics R(n(sub e)) = f / i meanwhile, are consistent with the low density limit, as expected.

Rasmussen, Andrew P.↗

Contributions to the Surface Downwelling Longwave Irradiance during Arctic Winter at Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska

Intrusions of warm, moist air into the Arctic during winter have emerged as important contributors to Arctic surface warming. Previous studies indicate that temperature, moisture, and hydrometeor enhancements during intrusions all make contributions to surface warming via emission of radiation down to the surface. Here, datasets from instrumentation at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility in Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) for the six months from November through April for the six winter seasons of 2013/14–2018/19 were used to quantify the atmospheric state. These datasets subsequently served as inputs to compute surface downwelling longwave irradiances via radiative transfer computations at 1-min intervals with different combinations of constituents over the six winter seasons. The computed six winter average irradiance with all constituents included was 205.0 W m −2 , close to the average measured irradiance of 206.7 W m −2 , a difference of −0.8%. During this period, water vapor was the most important contributor to the irradiance. The computed average irradiance with dry gas was 71.9 W m −2 . Separately adding water vapor, liquid, or ice to the dry atmosphere led to average increases of 2.4, 1.8, and 1.6 times the dry atmosphere irradiance, respectively. During the analysis period, 15 episodes of warm, moist air intrusions were identified. During the intrusions, individual contributions from elevated temperature, water vapor, liquid water, and ice water were found to be comparable to each other. These findings indicate that all properties of the atmospheric state must be known in order to quantify the radiation coming down to the Arctic surface during winter.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Analysis, design, fabrication and testing of an optical tip clearance sensor

Analyses and the design, fabrication, and testing of an optical tip clearance sensor with intended application in aircraft propulsion control systems are reported. The design of a sensor test rig, evaluation of optical sensor components at elevated temperatures, sensor design principles, sensor test results at room temperature, and estimations of sensor accuracy at temperatures of an aircraft engine environment are discussed. Room temperature testing indicated possible measurement accuracies of less than 12.7 microns (0.5 mils). Ways to improve performance at engine operating temperatures are recommended. The potential of this tip clearance sensor is assessed.

Poppel, G. L.↗

Review of the NASA Voyager spacecraft polycarbonate capacitor failure incident

The premission failure of a Voyager spacecraft capacitor has prompted an investigation into the use of polycarbonate capacitors in high impedance circuits, during which capacitor failures were induced by thermal cycling together with extended periods at high temperature. Measurement of leakage path temperature coefficients indicates that there are two distinct leakage types whose mechanisms are complicated by movement within the capacitor during temperature changes. A novel system for pulse detection during capacitor burn-in and ramp testing has proven to be beneficial.

Ott, F. M.↗

Relations between VAS physical retrievals and their first guess input

The Smith (1983) physical retrieval algorithm, which is designed to yield mesoscale soundings through a blending of first-guess limited fine mesh-derived profiles with VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) detected radiance data by means of an inversion of the radiative transfer equation, yields retrievals that may be better related to ground truth data than the guess profiles at some levels. At other levels, the first-guess profiles were slightly superior to the retrievals. Correlation functions related to the window and midtropospheric temperature channels indicate that magnitudes and orientations of retrieval gradients were intermediate to those of the guess data and brightness temperatures.

Beven, John L.↗

Analysis of Coolant-flow Requirements for an Improved, Internal-strut-supported, Air-cooled Turbine-rotor Blade

An analytical evaluation of a new typ An analytical evaluation of a new type of air-cooled turbine-rotor-blade design, based on the principle of submerging the load-carrying element in cooling air within a thin high-temperature sheel, indicates that this principle of blade design permits the load carrying element to be operated at considerably lower temperature than that of the enveloping shell. Comparison with an air-cooled shell-supported air-cooled blade has greater potentiality to withstand increased stresses that can be anticipated in future engines.

Schramm, Wilson B↗

Program to develop a performance and heat load prediction system for multistage turbines

Flows in low-aspect ratio turbines, such as the SSME fuel turbine, are three dimensional and highly unsteady due to the relative motion of adjacent airfoil rows and the circumferential and spanwise gradients in total pressure and temperature, The systems used to design these machines, however, are based on the assumption that the flow is steady. The codes utilized in these design systems are calibrated against turbine rig and engine data through the use of empirical correlations and experience factors. For high aspect ratio turbines, these codes yield reasonably accurate estimates of flow and temperature distributions. However, future design trends will see lower aspect ratio (reduced number of parts) and higher inlet temperature which will result in increased three dimensionality and flow unsteadiness in turbines. Analysis of recently acquired data indicate that temperature streaks and secondary flows generated in combustors and up-stream airfoils can have a large impact on the time-averaged temperature and angle distributions in downstream airfoil rows.

Sharma, OM↗

Twentieth Century Redistribution in Climatic Drivers of Global Tree Growth

Energy and water limitations of tree growth remain insufficiently understood at large spatiotemporal scales, hindering model representation of interannual or longer-term ecosystem processes. By assessing and statistically scaling the climatic drivers from 2710 tree-ring sites, we identified the boreal and temperate land areas where tree growth during 1930–1960 CE responded positively to temperature (20.8 ± 3.7 Mio km2; 25.9 ± 4.6%), precipitation (77.5 ± 3.3 Mio km2; 96.4 ± 4.1%), and other parameters. The spatial manifestation of this climate response is determined by latitudinal and altitudinal temperature gradients, indicating that warming leads to geographic shifts in growth limitations. We observed a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in temperature response at cold-dry sites between 1930–1960 and 1960–1990 CE, and the total temperature-limited area shrunk by −8.7 ± 0.6 Mio km2. Simultaneously, trees became more limited by atmospheric water demand almost worldwide. These changes occurred under mild warming, and we expect that continued climate change will trigger a major redistribution in growth responses to climate.

Babst, Flurin↗

Jovian probe wake flowfield

The base heating problem in the Jovian probe was examined. The entire wake flowfield is defined to calculate the radiative heating to the base region of the Jovian probe. Engineering tools for calculating the probe's wake flowfield are developed. The near and far viscous and inviscid flowfields for three entry conditions are calculated. The flowfields include pressure, temperature, and species concentration for radiation analysis. A mathematical model used in the calculations is described. The results obtained indicate that temperatures in the Jovian probe range from 4,000 to 10,00 K and pressures range from 10 to 1,000 times the free stream value.

Engel, C. D.↗

Health Sensing Functions in Thermal Barrier Coatings Incorporating Rare-Earth-Doped Luminescent Sublayers

Great effort has been directed towards developing techniques to monitor the health of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) that would detect the approach of safety-threatening conditions. An unconventional approach is presented here where health sensing functionality is integrated into the TBC itself by the incorporation of rare-earth-doped luminescent sublayers to monitor erosion as well as whether the TBC is maintaining the underlying substrate at a sufficiently low temperature. Erosion indication is demonstrated in electron-beam physical vapor deposited (EB-PVD) TBCs consisting of 7wt% yttria-stabilized zirconia (7YSZ) with europium-doped and terbium-doped sublayers. Multiple ingot deposition produced sharp boundaries between the doped sublayers without interrupting the columnar growth of the TBC. The TBC-coated specimens were subjected to alumina particle jet erosion, and the erosion depth was then indicated under ultraviolet illumination that excited easily visible luminescence characteristic of sublayer that was exposed by erosion. In addition, temperature measurements from a bottom-lying europium-doped sublayer in a TBC produced by multiple ingot EB-PVD were accomplished by measuring the temperature-dependent decay time from the 606 nm wavelength emission excited in that sublayer with a 532 nm wavelength laser that was selected for its close match to one of the europium excitation wavelengths as well as being at a wavelength where the TBC is relatively transparent. It is proposed the low dopant levels and absence of interruption of the TBC columnar growth allow the addition of the erosion and temperature sensing functions with minimal effects on TBC performance.

Eldridge, J. I.↗

Observations of Pronounced Greenland Ice Sheet Firn Warming and Implications for Runoff Production

Field measurements of shallow borehole temperatures in firn across the northern Greenland ice sheet are collected during May 2013. Sites first measured in 19521955 are revisited, showing long-term trends in firn temperature. Results indicate a pattern of substantial firn warming (up to +5.7C) at midlevel elevations (1400-2500 m) and little temperature change at high elevations (2500 m). We find that latent heat transport into the firn due to meltwater percolation drives the observed warming. Modeling shows that heat is stored at depth for several years, and energy delivered from consecutive melt events accumulates in the firn. The observed warming is likely not yet in equilibrium with recent melt production rates but captures the progression of sites in the percolation facies toward net runoff production.

ice sheet↗

First Stage Solid Propellant Multi Debris Thermal Analysis

The crew launch vehicle considered for the Constellation (Cx) Program utilizes a first stage solid rocket motor. If an abort is initiated in first stage flight the Crew Module (CM) will separate and be pulled away from the launch vehicle via a Launch Abort System (LAS) in order to safely and quickly carry the crew away from the malfunction launch vehicle. Having aborted the mission, the launch vehicle will likely be destroyed via a Flight Termination System (FTS) in order to prevent it from errantly traversing back over land and posing a risk to the public. The resulting launch vehicle debris field, composed primarily of first stage solid propellant, poses a threat to the CM. The harsh radiative thermal environment induced by surrounding burning propellant debris may lead to CM parachute failure. A methodology, detailed herein, has been developed to address this concern and quantify the risk of first stage propellant debris leading to radiative thermal demise of the CM parachutes. Utilizing basic thermal radiation principles, a software program was developed to calculate parachute temperature as a function of time for a given abort trajectory and debris piece trajectory set. Two test cases, considered worst-case aborts with regard to launch vehicle debris environments, were analyzed using the simulation: an abort declared at Mach 1 and an abort declared at maximum dynamic pressure (Max Q). For both cases, the resulting temperature profiles indicated that thermal limits for the parachutes were not exceeded. However, short duration close encounters by single debris pieces did have a significant effect on parachute temperature, with magnitudes on the order of 10 s of degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore while these two test cases did not indicate exceedance of thermal limits, in order to quantify the risk of parachute failure due to radiative effects from the abort environment, a more thorough probability-based analysis using the methodology demonstrated herein must be performed.

Toleman, Benjamin M.↗