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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1950

Investigation of Aerodynamic and Icing Characteristics of Water-Inertia-Separation Inlets for Turbojet Engines

The results of an investigation of several internal water-inertia-separation inlets consisting of a main duct and an alternate duct designed to prevent automatically the entrance of large quantities of water into a turbojet engine in icing conditions are presented. Total-pressure losses and icing characteristics for a direct-ram inlet and the inertia-separation inlets are compared at similar aerodynamic and simulated icing conditions. Complete ice protection for inlet guide vanes could not be achieved with the inertia-separation inlets investigated. Approximately 8 percent of the volume of water entering the nacelles remained. In the air passing into the compressor inlet. Heavy alternate-duct-elbow ice formations caused by secondary inertia separation resulted in rapid total-pressure losses and decreases in mass flow. The duration in an icing condition for an inertia-separation- inlet, without local surface heating, was increased approximately four times above that for a direct-ram inlet with a compressor-inlet screen. For normal nonicing operation, the inertia-separation- inlet total-pressure losses were comparable to a direct-ram installation. The pressure losses and the circumferential uniformity of the mass flow in all the inlets were relatively independent of angle of attack. Use of an inertia-separation inlet would in most cases require a larger diameter nacelle than a direct-ram inlet in order to obtain an alternate duct sufficiently large to pass the required engine air flow at duct Mach numbers below 1.0 at the minimum area.

VonGlahn, Uwe↗
NASA NTRS1983

Modeling of single-event upset in bipolar integrated circuits

The results of work done on the quantitative characterization of single-event upset (SEU) in bipolar random-access memories (RAMs) have been obtained through computer simulation of SEU in RAM cells that contain circuit models for bipolar transistors. The models include current generators that emulate the charge collected from ion tracks. The computer simulation results are compared with test data obtained from a RAM in a bipolar microprocessor chip. This methodology is applicable to other bipolar integrated circuit constructions in addition to RAM cells.

Zoutendyk, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Space station electrical power system availability study

ARINC Research Corporation performed a preliminary reliability, and maintainability (RAM) anlaysis of the NASA space station Electric Power Station (EPS). The analysis was performed using the ARINC Research developed UNIRAM RAM assessment methodology and software program. The analysis was performed in two phases: EPS modeling and EPS RAM assessment. The EPS was modeled in four parts: the insolar power generation system, the eclipse power generation system, the power management and distribution system (both ring and radial power distribution control unit (PDCU) architectures), and the power distribution to the inner keel PDCUs. The EPS RAM assessment was conducted in five steps: the use of UNIRAM to perform baseline EPS model analyses and to determine the orbital replacement unit (ORU) criticalities; the determination of EPS sensitivity to on-orbit spared of ORUs and the provision of an indication of which ORUs may need to be spared on-orbit; the determination of EPS sensitivity to changes in ORU reliability; the determination of the expected annual number of ORU failures; and the integration of the power generator system model results with the distribution system model results to assess the full EPS. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made.

Turnquist, Scott R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Structural control sensors for CASES

The Remote Attitude Measurement Sensor (RAMS) is currently baselined to meet two important sensor needs for CASES (Control, Astrophysics and Structures Experiment in Space). First, as a tip displacement sensor, RAMS is designed to provide accurate knowledge of the position and orientation of the boom tip assembly. Secondly, as a boom motion tracker, it is designed to monitor 43 reflective targets which are distributed along the length of the boom and provide displacment information for post facto processing. The design and operation of RAMS as these two types of sesnors are described, and attention is given to how RAMS interfaces with the CASES closed-loop control system and how systems identification is accommodated.

Davis, Hugh W.↗
NASA NTRS1958

Preliminary survey of propulsion using chemical energy stored in the upper atmosphere

Ram-jet cycles that use the chemical energy of dissociated oxygen for propulsion in the ionosphere are presented. After a review of the properties and compositions of the upper atmosphere, the external drag, recombination kinetics, and aerodynamic-heating problems of an orbiting ram jet are analyzed. The study indicates that the recombination ram jet might be useful for sustaining a satellite at an altitude of about 60 miles. Atmospheric composition and recombination-rate coefficients were too uncertain for more definite conclusions. The ram jet is a marginal device even in the optimistic view.

Baldwin, Lionel V↗
NASA NTRS1995

An LDEF follow-on spacecraft concept

The successful flight, retrieval, and analyses of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) experiments demonstrated the value of long duration space exposure for a broad spectrum of science and engineering investigations. The original LDEF was an excellent gravity gradient spacecraft, but because of its 9 m length and 9,700 kg mass it was difficult to manifest on the Shuttle, for either launch or retrieval, in conjunction with other payloads. This paper discusses an LDEF follow-on spacecraft concept whose short stowed length (approximately 3 m) greatly improves Shuttle manifesting opportunities while still providing very large surface area exposure for experiments. Deployable 'wings' on each end of the short, 'cylindrical' main body of this new spacecraft provide the means for gravity gradient stabilization while greatly increasing the spacecraft surface area. The center section of the spacecraft is oriented with the end faces of the twelve sided, 4.2 m diameter 'cylinder' perpendicular to the velocity vector thus providing large areas for experiments in both the ram and anti-ram directions as well as additional exposure area around the periphery of the cylinder. When deployed and properly oriented with the Shuttle's Remote Manipulator System (RMS), both wings of the spacecraft are oriented edge on to the direction of motion and lie in the plane which contains the local gravity vector. The relatively thin wings readily accommodate dual side exposure of glass plate stacks for cosmic ray detection. Flat surfaces mounted normal to and on the periphery of the wings provide additional areas in both the ram and anti-ram directions for cosmic dust, micrometeoroid, and orbital debris collection free of contamination from 'splatter' off secondary surfaces. The baseline concept provides enhancements not available on the original LDEF such as solar array generated electrical power and data telemetry. Status of the efforts to promote support for and ultimately space flight of this concept will be presented. Suggestions for improvements in the spacecraft design and proposed utilization are solicited.

Keller, Vernon↗
NASA NTRS1999

Large Eddy Simulation of Cirrus Clouds

The Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) with mesoscale interactive nested-grids and a Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) version of RAMS, coupled to two-moment microphysics and a new two-stream radiative code were used to investigate the dynamic, microphysical, and radiative aspects of the November 26, 1991 cirrus event. Wu (1998) describes the results of that research in full detail and is enclosed as Appendix 1. The mesoscale nested grid simulation successfully reproduced the large scale circulation as compared to the Mesoscale Analysis and Prediction System's (MAPS) analyses and other observations. Three cloud bands which match nicely to the three cloud lines identified in an observational study (Mace et al., 1995) are predicted on Grid #2 of the nested grids, even though the mesoscale simulation predicts a larger west-east cloud width than what was observed. Large-eddy simulations (LES) were performed to study the dynamical, microphysical, and radiative processes in the 26 November 1991 FIRE 11 cirrus event. The LES model is based on the RAMS version 3b developed at Colorado State University. It includes a new radiation scheme developed by Harrington (1997) and a new subgrid scale model developed by Kosovic (1996). The LES model simulated a single cloud layer for Case 1 and a two-layer cloud structure for Case 2. The simulations demonstrated that latent heat release can play a significant role in the formation and development of cirrus clouds. For the thin cirrus in Case 1, the latent heat release was insufficient for the cirrus clouds to become positively buoyant. However, in some special cases such as Case 2, positively buoyant cells can be embedded within the cirrus layers. These cells were so active that the rising updraft induced its own pressure perturbations that affected the cloud evolution. Vertical profiles of the total radiative and latent heating rates indicated that for well developed, deep, and active cirrus clouds, radiative cooling and latent heating could be comparable in magnitude in the cloudy layer. This implies that latent heating cannot be neglected in the construction of a cirrus cloud model. The probability density function (PDF) of w was analyzed to assist in the parameterization of cloud-scale velocities in large-scale models. For the more radiatively-driven, thin cirrus case, the PDFs are approximately Gaussian. However, in the interior of the deep, convectively unstable case, the PDFs of w are multi-modal and very broad, indicating that parameterizing cloud-scale motions for such clouds can be very challenging. The results of this research are described in detail in a paper submitted to the Journal of Atmospheric Science (Wu and Cotton, 1999), which is enclosed as Appendix 2. Using soundings extracted from a mesoscale simulation of the November 26, 1991 cirrus event, the radiative effects on vapor deposition/sublimation of ice crystals was studied using a two-dimensional cloud-resolving model (CRM) version of RAMS, coupled to an explicit bin-resolving microphysics. The CRM simulations of the November 26, 1991 cirrus event demonstrate that the radiative impact on the diffusional growth (or sublimation) of ice crystals is significant. In this case, the ice particles experienced radiative warming. Model results show that radiative feedbacks in the diffusional growth of ice particles can be very complex. Radiative warming of an ice particle will restrict the particle's diffusional growth. In the case of radiative warming, ice particles larger than a certain size will experience so much radiative warming that surface ice saturation vapor pressures become large enough to cause sublimation of the larger crystals, while smaller crystals are growing by vapor deposition. However, ice mass production can be enhanced in the case of radiative cooling of an ice particle. For the November 26, 1991 cirrus event, radiative feedback results in significant reduction in the total ice mass, especially in the production of large ice crystals, and consequently, both radiative and dynamic properties of the cirrus cloud are significantly affected. A complete description of this research has been submitted as a paper to the Journal of Atmospheric Science (Wu et al., 1999), and included as Appendix 3.

Wu, Ting↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Interaction of the Galilean Satellites with Jupiter's Magnetosphere

The Galileo orbiter has provided radio occultation measurements of the electron density profiles of the plasma surrounding lo and Europa. There have been six occultations of Io, providing twelve electron density profiles at various locations relative to the ram direction of the impinging particles of the Jupiter magnetosphere on Io, and eight profiles on Europa. The two satellites were found to have very different plasma environments, with Io having a proper ionosphere produced on top of an endogenous SO2 atmosphere by magnetospheric particle precipitation and solar EUV, while Europa has a tenuous plasma environment produced by the same mechanisms from an oxygen atmosphere itself also produced by sputtering of water ice from its surface by impinging magnetospheric particles. In both cases the observed electron density profiles are highly asymmetrical, with a compressed profile on the ram side, and an extended one on the wake side. The presence of several measurements for each satellite at different ram-to-wake directions provided data for estimating an approximate distribution of ionization from the ram direction to the wake direction.

Kliore, Arvydas J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Interaction of Io and Europa With Jupiter's Magnetosphere

The Galileo orbiter has provided radio occultation measurements of the electron density profiles of the plasma surrounding Io and Europa. There have been six occultations of Io, providing twelve electron density profiles at various locations relative to the ram direction of the impinging particles of the Jupiter magnetosphere on Io, and eight profiles on Europa. The two satellites were found to have very different plasma environments, with Io having a proper ionosphere produced on top of an endogenous SO2 atmosphere by magnetospheric particle precipitation and solar EUV, while Europa has a tenuous plasma environment produced by the same mechanisms from an oxygen atmosphere itself also produced by sputtering of water ice from its surface by impinging magnetospheric particles. In both cases the observed electron density profiles are highly asymmetrical, with a compressed profile on the ram side, and an extended one on the wake side. The presence of several measurements for each satellite at different ram-to-wake directions provided data for estimating an approximate distribution of ionization from the ram direction to the wake direction, which were compared with the results of MHD simulations.

Kliore, Arvydas J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Comparison of ScaRaB, GOES 8, Aircraft, and Surface Observations of the Absorption of Solar Radiation by Clouds

Data obtained by the Scanner for Radiation Budget (ScaRaB) instrument on the Meteor 3 satellite have been analyzed and compared to satellite (GOES 8), aircraft (Radiation Measurement System, RAMS), and surface (Baseline Solar Radiation Network (BSRN), Solar and Infrared Observations System (SIROS), and RAMS) measurements of irradiance obtained during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements Enhanced Shortwave Experiment (ARESE). It is found that the ScaRaB data covering the period from March 1994 to February 1995 (the instrument's operational lifetime) indicate excess absorption of solar radiation by the cloudy atmosphere in agreement with previous aircraft, surface, and GOES 8 results. The full ScaRaB data set combined with BSRN and SIROS surface observations gives an average all-sky absorptance of 0.28. The GOES 8 data set combined with RAMS surface observations gives an average all-sky absorptance of 0.26. The aircraft data set (RAMS) gives a mean all-sky absorptance of 0.24 (for the column between 0.5 and 13 km).

Pope, Shelly K.↗
NASA NTRS2003

A New Objective Technique for Verifying Mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction Models

This report presents a new objective technique to verify predictions of the sea-breeze phenomenon over east-central Florida by the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. The Contour Error Map (CEM) technique identifies sea-breeze transition times in objectively-analyzed grids of observed and forecast wind, verifies the forecast sea-breeze transition times against the observed times, and computes the mean post-sea breeze wind direction and speed to compare the observed and forecast winds behind the sea-breeze front. The CEM technique is superior to traditional objective verification techniques and previously-used subjective verification methodologies because: It is automated, requiring little manual intervention, It accounts for both spatial and temporal scales and variations, It accurately identifies and verifies the sea-breeze transition times, and It provides verification contour maps and simple statistical parameters for easy interpretation. The CEM uses a parallel lowpass boxcar filter and a high-order bandpass filter to identify the sea-breeze transition times in the observed and model grid points. Once the transition times are identified, CEM fits a Gaussian histogram function to the actual histogram of transition time differences between the model and observations. The fitted parameters of the Gaussian function subsequently explain the timing bias and variance of the timing differences across the valid comparison domain. Once the transition times are all identified at each grid point, the CEM computes the mean wind direction and speed during the remainder of the day for all times and grid points after the sea-breeze transition time. The CEM technique performed quite well when compared to independent meteorological assessments of the sea-breeze transition times and results from a previously published subjective evaluation. The algorithm correctly identified a forecast or observed sea-breeze occurrence or absence 93% of the time during the two- month evaluation period from July and August 2000. Nearly all failures in CEM were the result of complex precipitation features (observed or forecast) that contaminated the wind field, resulting in a false identification of a sea-breeze transition. A qualitative comparison between the CEM timing errors and the subjectively determined observed and forecast transition times indicate that the algorithm performed very well overall. Most discrepancies between the CEM results and the subjective analysis were again caused by observed or forecast areas of precipitation that led to complex wind patterns. The CEM also failed on a day when the observed sea- breeze transition affected only a very small portion of the verification domain. Based on the results of CEM, the RAMS tended to predict the onset and movement of the sea-breeze transition too early and/or quickly. The domain-wide timing biases provided by CEM indicated an early bias on 30 out of 37 days when both an observed and forecast sea breeze occurred over the same portions of the analysis domain. These results are consistent with previous subjective verifications of the RAMS sea breeze predictions. A comparison of the mean post-sea breeze winds indicate that RAMS has a positive wind-speed bias for .all days, which is also consistent with the early bias in the sea-breeze transition time since the higher wind speeds resulted in a faster inland penetration of the sea breeze compared to reality.

Case, Jonathan L.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Analog Nonvolatile Computer Memory Circuits

In nonvolatile random-access memory (RAM) circuits of a proposed type, digital data would be stored in analog form in ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FFETs). This type of memory circuit would offer advantages over prior volatile and nonvolatile types: In a conventional complementary metal oxide/semiconductor static RAM, six transistors must be used to store one bit, and storage is volatile in that data are lost when power is turned off. In a conventional dynamic RAM, three transistors must be used to store one bit, and the stored bit must be refreshed every few milliseconds. In contrast, in a RAM according to the proposal, data would be retained when power was turned off, each memory cell would contain only two FFETs, and the cell could store multiple bits (the exact number of bits depending on the specific design). Conventional flash memory circuits afford nonvolatile storage, but they operate at reading and writing times of the order of thousands of conventional computer memory reading and writing times and, hence, are suitable for use only as off-line storage devices. In addition, flash memories cease to function after limited numbers of writing cycles. The proposed memory circuits would not be subject to either of these limitations. Prior developmental nonvolatile ferroelectric memories are limited to one bit per cell, whereas, as stated above, the proposed memories would not be so limited. The design of a memory circuit according to the proposal must reflect the fact that FFET storage is only partly nonvolatile, in that the signal stored in an FFET decays gradually over time. (Retention times of some advanced FFETs exceed ten years.) Instead of storing a single bit of data as either a positively or negatively saturated state in a ferroelectric device, each memory cell according to the proposal would store two values. The two FFETs in each cell would be denoted the storage FFET and the control FFET. The storage FFET would store an analog signal value, between the positive and negative FFET saturation values. This signal value would represent a numerical value of interest corresponding to multiple bits: for example, if the memory circuit were designed to distinguish among 16 different analog values, then each cell could store 4 bits. Simultaneously with writing the signal value in the storage FFET, a negative saturation signal value would be stored in the control FFET. The decay of this control-FFET signal from the saturation value would serve as a model of the decay, for use in regenerating the numerical value of interest from its decaying analog signal value. The memory circuit would include addressing, reading, and writing circuitry that would have features in common with the corresponding parts of other memory circuits, but would also have several distinctive features. The writing circuitry would include a digital-to-analog converter (DAC); the reading circuitry would include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). For writing a numerical value of interest in a given cell, that cell would be addressed, the saturation value would be written in the control FFET in that cell, and the non-saturation analog value representing the numerical value of interest would be generated by use of the DAC and stored in the storage FFET in that cell. For reading the numerical value of interest stored in a given cell, the cell would be addressed, the ADC would convert the decaying control and storage analog signal values to digital values, and an associated fast digital processing circuit would regenerate the numerical value from digital values.

MacLeod, Todd↗
NASA NTRS2007

Web-Based Real-Time Emergency Monitoring

The Web-based Real-Time Asset Monitoring (RAM) module for emergency operations and facility management enables emergency personnel in federal agencies and local and state governments to monitor and analyze data in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis that threatens a large number of people and property. The software can manage many disparate sources of data within a facility, city, or county. It was developed on industry-standard Geo- Spatial software and is compliant with open GIS standards. RAM View can function as a standalone system, or as an integrated plugin module to Emergency Operations Center (EOC) software suites such as REACT (Real-time Emergency Action Coordination Tool), thus ensuring the widest possible distribution among potential users. RAM has the ability to monitor various data sources, including streaming data. Many disparate systems are included in the initial suite of supported hardware systems, such as mobile GPS units, ambient measurements of temperature, moisture and chemical agents, flow meters, air quality, asset location, and meteorological conditions. RAM View displays real-time data streams such as gauge heights from the U.S. Geological Survey gauging stations, flood crests from the National Weather Service, and meteorological data from numerous sources. Data points are clearly visible on the map interface, and attributes as specified in the user requirements can be viewed and queried.

Harvey, Craig A.↗
NASA NTRS1944

Flight Tests of the Effect of Several Modifications on the Maximum Speed of the P-63A Airplane

Presented herein are the results of flight tests conducted to obtain the effect on maximum speed of several modifications to the P-63A airplane. These modifications made to the P-63A airplane as a result of previous flight and full-scale-tunnel tests increased the maximum speed of the airplane by 6 miles per hour. About one-half the increase is attributed to a reduction in drag and the remainder to increased ram at the carburetor entrance. The increase in ram of approximately 0.24 qc was obtained through modifications to the carburetor-scoop entrance and duct. The auxiliary supercharger is hydraulically coupled to the engine in such a way that the speed of the supercharger is regulated by absolute carburetor total pressure. This regulation is set so that full coupling is not reached until the airplane is well above full-throttle altitude. The action of the increased ram in reducing the speed of the auxiliary supercharger in the altitude range just above full-throttle altitude prevented a further speed increase of approximately 2 miles per hour from accompanying the increase in ram. Also, if the· auxiliary supercharger control could be rearranged to permit the maximum supercharger pressure ratio to be obtained at the full-throttle altitude, the speed in either the original or the modified configuration would be increased 5 miles per hour above that actually measured. The pressure recovery on the face of the prestone and oil radiators in the high-speed flight conditions was increased by an average of 14 percent of free-stream impact pressure as a result of the modifications made to the wing duct inlets.

Thomas J Voglewede↗
NASA NTRS2016

Erosion Data from the MISSE 8 Polymers Experiment After 2 Years of Space Exposure on the International Space Station

The Polymers Experiment was exposed to the low Earth orbit (LEO) space environment for 2.14 and 2.0 years as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 8 (MISSE 8) and the Optical Reflector Materials Experiment-III (ORMatE-III), respectively. The experiment contained 42 samples, which were flown in either ram, wake, or zenith orientations. The primary objective was to determine the effect of solar exposure on the atomic oxygen erosion yield (Ey) of fluoropolymers. This paper provides an overview of the experiment with details on the polymers flown, the characterization techniques used, the atomic oxygen fluence for each exposure orientation, and the LEO Ey results. The Ey values for the fluoropolymers range from 1.45 x 10(exp -25) cm(exp 3)/atom for white Tedlar Registered Trademark (polyvinyl fluoride with white titanium dioxide pigment) flown in the ram orientation to 6.32 x 10(exp -24) cm(exp 3)/atom for aluminized-Teflon Registered Trademark fluorinated ethylene propylene (Al-FEP) flown in the zenith orientation. Erosion yield data for FEP flown in ram, wake and zenith orientations are compared, and the Ey was found to be highly dependent on orientation, hence environmental exposure. Teflon FEP had an order of magnitude higher Ey when flown in the zenith direction (6.32 x10(exp -24) cm(exp3)/atom) as compared to the ram direction (2.37 x 10(exp -25) cm(exp 3)/atom). The Ey of FEP was found to increase with a direct correlation to the solar exposure/AO fluence ratio showing the effect of solar radiation and/or heating due to solar exposure on FEP erosion. In addition, back-surface carbon painted FEP (C-FEP) flown in the zenith orientation had a significantly higher Ey than clear FEP or Al-FEP further indicating that heating has a significant impact on the erosion of FEP, particularly in the zenith orientation.

Solar radiation↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

What’s Next in Regional (Air) Mobility? Finding the next possible big ideas in selected problems

This presentation summarizes studies ongoing under the "What's Next in Regional (Air) Mobility" umbrella within the Intercenter Systems Analysis Team. It includes a look at the Regional Air Mobility (RAM) market potential, simulation of a RAM passenger network to gather statistics, and scrutinizes airport energy needs to support RAM operations. It also references a companion presentation provided by the DOT Volpe Center presented by Jacob Wishart related to RAM market and demand estimates.

Advanced Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRS2025

Erosion Results of the MISSE 9-15 Polymers and Composites Experiment 1-4 (PCE 1-4)

Polymers and other oxidizable materials on the exterior of spacecraft in the low Earth orbit (LEO) space environment can be eroded from reaction with atomic oxygen (AO). Therefore, in order to design durable spacecraft it is important to know the extent of erosion that will occur during a mission. This can be determined by knowing the LEO AO erosion yield, E y (volume loss per incident oxygen atom), of materials susceptible to AO reaction. In addition, recent flight experiments have shown that the AO E y can vary with the AO fluence and/or solar exposure. Therefore, obtaining AO E y data for materials flown on various spaceflight missions is important. NASA Glenn Research Center has flown numerous experiments as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) missions on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) to characterize the LEO E y of polymers, composites, protective coatings, and other spacecraft materials. Recently, four Glenn experiments with 365 flight (F) samples were flown on ISS’s MISSE-Flight Facility (MISSE-FF). These experiments are the Polymers and Composites Experiment-1 (PCE-1) flown as part of the MISSE-9 mission, the PCE-2 flown as part of the MISSE-10 mission, the PCE-3 flown as part of the MISSE-12 and MISSE-15 missions, and the PCE-4 flown as part of the MISSE-13 mission. Although each experiment had numerous sample objectives, the primary objective was to determine the LEO AO E y of various spacecraft materials as a function of solar irradiation and AO fluence. This paper provides a summary of the erosion data for the PCE 1-4 AO E y samples. The AO E y for 150 samples flown in either the LEO ram, wake, zenith or nadir directions are provided. The AO ram fluence varied from 2.97×10 20 atoms/cm 2 after 0.89 years of direct space exposure (with relatively high levels of Si contamination) on MISSE 12 to 3.93×10 20 atoms/cm 2 after 1.17 years of direct space exposure on MISSE-10. The ram AO E y values for uncoated polymers range from 3.81×10 –25 cm 3 /atom for polytetrafluoroethylene (M9R-C20 F) exposed to an AO fluence of 3.44×10 20 atoms/cm 2 on MISSE-9 to 4.43×10 –23 cm 3 /atom for AO etched low density polyimide aerogel (M12R-C21 F) exposed to an AO fluence of 2.97×10 21 atoms/cm 2 on MISSE-12. Because of the low AO fluence and relatively high Si contamination, a number of PCE-3 wake samples experienced mass gain. Thus, AO E y values are not provided for these samples. Although there are calculated AO E y values for the zenith, wake and nadir samples, the ram AO E y for a particular material is a more reliable value in terms of AO exposure because the zenith, wake and nadir directions were exposed to either no or very little AO fluence and thus other space environmental factors (i.e. vacuum, thermal extremes and thermal cycling, and/or various types of radiation) are responsible for the mass loss.

Erosion yield↗
NASA NTRS1972

Experimental plasma studies

The rate coefficients for the reactions C(+) + e(-) + e(-) yields C + e(-) and CO(+) + e(-) yields C + O were measured over the electron temperature range of approximately 1500 deg K to 7000 deg K. The measurements were performed in CO that had expanded from equilibrium reservoir conditions of 7060 deg K at 17.3 atm pressure and from 6260 deg K at 10.0 atm pressure. Two RAM flight probes were used to measure electron density and electron temperature in the expanding flow of a shock tunnel. Experiments were performed in the inviscid flow with both probes and in the nozzle-wall boundary layer with the constant bias-voltage probe. The distributions of electron density and electron temperature were independently measured using voltage-swept thin-wire probes. Thin-wire Langmuir probes were also used to measure the electron-density and electron-temperature distributions in the boundary layer of a sharp flat plate located on the nozzle centerline. Admittance measurements were performed with the RAM C and RAM C-C S-band antennas in the presence of an ionized boundary layer.

Dunn, M. G.↗