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NASA NTRS2020

Observation of Hydrogen Isotope Diffusion Through Thin Palladium-Silver Samples

Observations from several experimental scenarios by various research groups found that releasing deuterium gas from hydrided palladium (Pd) metal can result in unexplained temperature increases. This heating is possible evidence of heat generation in what is ostensibly an endothermic process. Creating a method for identifying and repeating this unusual scenario is beneficial for understanding the occurrence of such temperature increases. It is suspected that x-ray radiation and significant deuterium concentrations may contribute to such reactions. The work, described here, attempted to determine if x-ray stimulation, combined with diffusion of hydrogen or deuterium gas, can cause anomalous nuclear behavior in thin Pd-silver (Ag) and titanium (Ti)-carbide coated Pd-Ag sample disks.

hydrogen↗

NASA NTRS2017

Kepler Planet Detection Metrics: Per-Target Flux-Level Transit Injection Tests of TPS for Data Release 25

Quantifying the ability of a transiting planet survey to recover transit signals has commonly been accomplished through Monte-Carlo injection of transit signals into the observed data and subsequent running of the signal search algorithm (Gilliland et al., 2000; Weldrake et al., 2005; Burke et al., 2006). In order to characterize the performance of the Kepler pipeline (Twicken et al., 2016; Jenkins et al., 2017) on a sample of over 200,000 stars, two complementary injection and recovery tests are utilized:1. Injection of a single transit signal per target into the image or pixel-level data, hereafter referred to as pixel-level transit injection (PLTI), with subsequent processing through the Photometric Analysis (PA), Presearch Data Conditioning (PDC), Transiting Planet Search (TPS), and Data Validation (DV) modules of the Kepler pipeline. The PLTI quantification of the Kepler pipeline's completeness has been described previously by Christiansen et al. (2015, 2016); the completeness of the final SOC 9.3 Kepler pipeline acting on the Data Release 25 (DR25) light curves is described by Christiansen (2017).2. Injection of multiple transit signals per target into the normalized flux time series data with a subsequent transit search using a stream-lined version of the Transiting Planet Search (TPS) module. This test, hereafter referred to as flux-level transit injection (FLTI), is the subject of this document. By running a heavily modified version of TPS, FLTI is able to perform many injections on selected targets and determine in some detail which injected signals are recoverable. Significant numerical efficiency gains are enabled by precomputing the data conditioning steps at the onset of TPS and limiting the search parameter space (i.e., orbital period, transit duration, and ephemeris zero-point) to a small region around each injected transit signal.The PLTI test has the advantage that it follows transit signals through all processing steps of the Kepler pipeline, and the recovered signals can be further classified as planet candidates or false positives in the exact same manner as detections from the nominal (i.e., observed) pipeline run (Twicken et al., 2016, Thompson et al., in preparation). To date, the PLTI test has been the standard means of measuring pipeline completeness averaged over large samples of targets (Christiansen et al., 2015, 2016; Christiansen, 2017). However, since the PLTI test uses only one injection per target, it does not elucidate individual-target variations in pipeline completeness due to differences in stellar properties or astrophysical variability. Thus, we developed the FLTI test to provide a numerically efficient way to fully map individual targets and explore the performance of the pipeline in greater detail. The FLTI tests thereby allow a thorough validation of the pipeline completeness models (such as window function (Burke and Catanzarite, 2017a), detection efficiency (Burke Catanzarite, 2017b), etc.) across the spectrum of Kepler targets (i.e., various astrophysical phenomena and differences in instrumental noise). Tests during development of the FLTI capability revealed that there are significant target-to-target variations in the detection efficiency.

DR25↗

NASA NTRS1980

Assessment of analytic methods for the prediction of aerodynamic characteristics of arbitrary bodies at supersonic speeds

Trends toward the automation of the design process for airplanes and missiles accentuate the need for analytic techniques for the prediction of aerodynamic characteristics. A number of computer codes have been developed or are under development which show promise of significantly improving the estimation of aerodynamic characteristics for arbitrarily-shaped bodies at supersonic speeds. The programs considered range in complexity from a simple linearized solution employing slender body theory to an exact finite difference solution of the Euler equations. The results from five computer codes are compared with experimental data to determine the accuracy, range of applicability, ease of use, and computer time and cost of the programs. The results provide a useful guide for selecting the appropriate method for treating bodies at the various levels of an automated design process.

Landrum, E. J.↗

NASA NTRS1998

On the Lower Limit of Chondrule Cooling Rates: The Significance of Iron Loss in Dynamic Crystallization Experiments

It is unlikely that the presence of chondrules, and thus their formation, within the protoplanetary nebula would be predicted if it were not for their ubiquitous presence in most chondritic meteorites. The study of these enigmatic, igneous objects has a direct influence on how meteoritic and solar system researchers model the processes operating and the materials present within our protoplanetary nebula. Key to understanding chondrule formation is a determination of constraints on their thermal histories. The three important variables in this history are their peak melting temperatures, the duration of their melting at peak temperatures, and the rate at which these object cool. Although these three variables are interdependent, it is cooling rate that provides the most powerful constraint. Cooling rate has a direct affect on the development of both crystal morphology and the elemental distributions within these grains. To date, experiments have indicated that chondrule cooling rates are in the range of 10's to 100's of degrees per hour for porphyritic chondrules (the most abundant type). The cooling rate for radial and barred chondrules is thought to be more rapid. To generate these cooling rates (rapid relative to the cooling of the nebula as a whole, but slow compared to simple black body radiation) the environment of chondrule formation must have been localized, and the abundance of solid materials must have been greatly enhanced above a gas of solar composition. Thus accurate determinations of chondrule cooling rates is critical in understanding both their formation and the nebular environment in which they formed. In a quest to more accurately determine the lower limit on cooling rates and to determine in more detail the effects of Fe loss from a molten sample to Pt wire loops, Weinbruch et al. have explored this issue experimentally and reevaluated the findings of Radomsky and Hewins in light of their new results. The basic conclusions of their paper are an important contribution to our understanding of how experimental techniques can affect established constraints on chondrule formation and are thus of interest to a wide audience. We do believe, however, that their methodology produces results that provide inappropriate impressions of the applicability of their study to chondrule formation and nebular processes. Furthermore, the extensive body of previous experimental work on chondrule bulk compositions cannot be invalidated, as they suggest, by the results of Weinbruch et al. It is for these reasons that within this comment we address to applicability of the results presented by Weinbruch et al. to previous studies, and illustrate how the experimental conditions chosen for their series of experiments introduced a significant bias in their results.

Paque, Julie M.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Dehydrogenation vs Apparent Hydrogenation: Unraveling the Mechanisms of He and O 2 Plasma Etching on Colloidal Nanocrystal Films

Removing organic ligands from colloidal nanoparticles is critical for fabricating solid-state devices, yet accurately quantifying this removal remains a significant analytical challenge. Here, we establish a robust and accessible method for this quantification by calibrating Raman spectroscopy against precise ion beam analysis (IBA) for nanoparticle assemblies (CNAs) processed by helium (He) and oxygen (O 2 ) plasmas. We demonstrate that the calibration curves are remarkably independent of plasma power and pressure, depending critically only on the choice of feed gas. He plasma induces rapid dehydrogenation and cross-linking, evidenced by a much faster decrease in the C–H Raman signal relative to the actual carbon loss. Conversely, O 2 plasma leads to a surprising “apparent hydrogenation”, where the carbon backbone is removed significantly faster than the C–H signal diminishes. This counterintuitive effect is explained by a serial mechanism of oxidative fragmentation; β-scission cleaves the alkyl chains, and subsequent stabilization steps enrich the remaining film with hydrogen-rich methyl-terminated fragments, while carbon is efficiently removed as volatile CO. This work provides calibrated functions that enable the rapid determination of absolute carbon content in processed CNAs using simple Raman spectroscopy with uncertainties of ∼8% for O 2 and ∼12% for He plasma, offering a vital tool for both process diagnostics and fundamental studies of plasma–matter interactions in colloidal nanocrystal films.

Animal feed↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris Analysis Process for Mars Sample Return Earth Entry System

Introduction: Micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) risk analyses for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Earth Entry System (EES) have been significantly more rigorous than previously flown missions because of its categorization as a Class V restricted return mission. This means the returned samples present significant concern for biogenic contamination. These analyses seek to determine if a micrometeoroid or orbital debris strike would result in loss of containment assurance and are summarized in the flowchart in Fig. 1. Methodology: The mission is considered in two MMOD phases: a pre-release phase where the EES is protected by a Micrometeoroid Protection System (MMPS) and a post-release phase called “free-flight” where the EES is exposed directly to the MMOD environment. These phases correspond to interplanetary cruise and imminent re-entry, respectively. To inform the MMPS design, a 30-shot high velocity impact testing (HVIT) series on candidate configurations at NASA White Sands Test Facility was completed in the summer of 2022. Sample post-shot images are shown in Fig 2 [1]. These data are used to baseline the MMPS design and to tune the hydrocode simulations. ALE3D, CTH, and SPHC are the hydrocodes that simulate physics of high-speed impacts [2]. Results generated with these populate a penetration depth versus energy space beyond the testable velocity regime of HVIT (~7 km/s). The penetration depth versus energy space data are used to define a critical projectile diameter function called a Ballistic Limit Equation (BLE), where the projectile “criticality” is determined by zone dependent failure criteria defined a-priori [3]. For example, the nose of the heatshield has a failure criterion of 50% TPS penetration, assigned because the landing loads are concentrated on that region and no substructure damage is permitted. The BLEs for each vehicle material zone are input into the BUMPER 3 code, along with the vehicle surface mesh and the corresponding space environment model, to calculate a probability of penetration or number of penetrations. The environment models, MEM3 for MM and ORDEM 3.2 for OD, simulate the meteoroid environment from 0.2 to 2 au based on the Grün flux equation, and the debris environment up to 40,000 km altitude from Earth surface, respectively [4,5]. Presentation Focus: The presentation or poster will present the results to-date focusing on the full risk analysis process flow seen in Fig. 1. Details on the derivation of the failure criteria will be discussed, along with HVIT results and how these influenced the MMPS configuration baseline decision. Further, results of hydrocode simulations will be presented and the tuning to HVIT outputs will be described. Finally, the strategies that direct the BLE formulation will be reviewed, specifically, for the EES elements that are most exposed to the MMOD environment.

mmod↗

DOE OSTI2024

Search for e + e − → η ′ ψ ( 2 S ) at center-of-mass energies from 4.66 to 4.95 GeV

Using data samples with an integrated luminosity of 4.67 fb − 1 collected by the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII Collider, we search for the process e + e − → η ′ ψ ( 2 S ) at center-of-mass energies from 4.66 to 4.95 GeV. No significant signal is observed, and upper limits for the Born cross sections σ B ( e + e − → η ′ ψ ( 2 S ) ) at the 90% confidence level are determined. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

NASA NTRS1973

Application of ERTS-1 data to the protection and management of New Jersey's coastal environment

The author has identified the following significant results. Analysis of ERTS-1 imagery and complementary aircraft overflights has led to the development of seventeen information products that are being utilized within the Department of Environmental Protection as new sources of information for coastal zone management. Problem areas of significance to the State, and in which product development has contributed to date, have been identified as: the environmental effects of offshore waste disposal, the placement of ocean outfalls, the better understanding of littoral processes for shore protection, the delineation of the coastal ecozones, and determination of the flushing characteristics of the State's estuaries. Of equal importance has been the development of a capability within the State to use and understand remote sensor-derived information.

Yunghans, R. S.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Calibration effects on orbit determination

The effects of charged particle and tropospheric calibrations on the orbit determination (OD) process are analyzed. The calibration process consisted of correcting the Doppler observables for the media effects. Calibrated and uncalibrated Doppler data sets were used to obtain OD results for past missions as well as Mariner Mars 1971. Comparisons of these Doppler reductions show the significance of the calibrations. For the MM'71 mission, the media calibrations proved themselves effective in diminishing the overall B-plane error and reducing the Doppler residual signatures.

Madrid, G. A.↗

NASA NTRS1994

An adaptive technique to maximize lossless image data compression of satellite images

Data compression will pay an increasingly important role in the storage and transmission of image data within NASA science programs as the Earth Observing System comes into operation. It is important that the science data be preserved at the fidelity the instrument and the satellite communication systems were designed to produce. Lossless compression must therefore be applied, at least, to archive the processed instrument data. In this paper, we present an analysis of the performance of lossless compression techniques and develop an adaptive approach which applied image remapping, feature-based image segmentation to determine regions of similar entropy and high-order arithmetic coding to obtain significant improvements over the use of conventional compression techniques alone. Image remapping is used to transform the original image into a lower entropy state. Several techniques were tested on satellite images including differential pulse code modulation, bi-linear interpolation, and block-based linear predictive coding. The results of these experiments are discussed and trade-offs between computation requirements and entropy reductions are used to identify the optimum approach for a variety of satellite images. Further entropy reduction can be achieved by segmenting the image based on local entropy properties then applying a coding technique which maximizes compression for the region. Experimental results are presented showing the effect of different coding techniques for regions of different entropy. A rule-base is developed through which the technique giving the best compression is selected. The paper concludes that maximum compression can be achieved cost effectively and at acceptable performance rates with a combination of techniques which are selected based on image contextual information.

Stewart, Robert J.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Mechanistic Studies Of Combustion And Structure Formation During Combustion Synthesis Of Advanced Materials: Phase Separation Mechanism For Bio-Alloys

Among all implant materials, Co-Cr-Mo alloys demonstrate perhaps the most useful balance of resistance to corrosion, fatigue and wear, along with strength and biocompatibility [1]. Currently, these widely used alloys are produced by conventional furnace technology. Owing to high melting points of the main alloy elements (e.g. Tm.p.(Co) ~1768 K), high-temperature furnaces and long process times (several hours) are required. Therefore, attempts to develop more efficient and flexible methods for production of such alloys with superior properties are of great interest. The synthesis of materials using combustion phenomena is an advanced approach in powder metallurgy [2]. The process is characterized by unique conditions involving extremely fast heating rates (up to 10(exp 6 K/s), high temperatures (up to 3500 K), and short reaction times (on the order of seconds). As a result, combustion synthesis (CS) offers several attractive advantages over conventional metallurgical processing and alloy development technologies. The foremost is that solely the heat of chemical reaction (instead of an external source) supplies the energy for the synthesis. Also, simple equipment, rather than energy-intensive high-temperature furnaces, is sufficient. This work was devoted to experiments on CS of Co-based alloys by utilizing thermite (metal oxide-reducing metal) reactions, where phase separation subsequently produces materials with tailored compositions and properties. Owing to high reaction exothermicity, the CS process results in a significant increase of temperature (up to 3000 C), which is higher than melting points of all products. Since the products differ in density, phase separation may be a gravitydriven process: the heavy (metallic phase) settles while the light (slag) phase floats. The goal was to determine if buoyancy is indeed the major mechanism that controls phase segregation.

Varma, A.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Laser Tracker Utilization Methodology in Measuring Truth Trajectories for INS Testing on 6 Degree of Freedom Table at the Marshall Space Flight Center's Contact Dynamics Simulation Laboratory with Lessons Learned

When performing Inertial Navigation System (INS) testing at the Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Contact Dynamics Simulation Laboratory (CDSL) early in 2017, a Leica Geosystems AT901 Laser Tracker system (LLT) measured the twist & sway trajectories as generated by the 6 Degree Of Freedom (6DOF) Table in the CDSL. These LLT measured trajectories were used in the INS software model validation effort. Several challenges were identified and overcome during the preparation for the INS testing, as well as numerous lessons learned. These challenges included determining the position and attitude of the LLT with respect to an INS-shared coordinate frame using surveyed monument locations in the CDSL and the accompanying mathematical transformation, accurately measuring the spatial relationship between the INS and a 6DOF tracking probe due to lack of INS visibility from the LLT location, obtaining the data from the LLT during a test, determining how to process the results for comparison with INS data in time and frequency domains, and using a sensitivity analysis of the results to verify the quality of the results. While many of these challenges were identified and overcome before or during testing, a significant lesson on test set-up was not learned until later in the data analysis process. It was found that a combination of trajectory-dependent gimbal locking and environmental noise introduced non-negligible noise in the angular measurements of the LLT that spanned the evaluated frequency spectrum. The lessons learned in this experiment may be useful for others performing INS testing in similar testing facilities.

Leggett, Jared O.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Cassini In-Flight Navigation Adaptations

In the nearly two decades of Cassini flight, adaptations to navigation processes were applied as characteristics unique to Cassini were identified and spacecraft configuration changes were implemented. Additionally, operational experience was leveraged into more efficient processes, better modeling, and more robust contingency strategies. Trajectory adjustments were implemented to allow further investigation of surprising science discoveries meriting more attention. Unique analyses were performed to determine how to best accomplish atypical science observations while maintaining acceptable risk levels. Descriptions of the most significant adaptations are organized according to the affected navigation subsystems: trajectory design, orbit determination, optical navigation, and maneuver design.

Wagner, Sean↗

NASA NTRS2003

An algorithm for neurite outgrowth reconstruction

We present a numerical method which provides the ability to analyze digitized microscope images of retinal explants and quantify neurite outgrowth. Few parameters are required as input and limited user interaction is necessary to process an entire experiment of images. This eliminates fatigue related errors and user-related bias common to manual analysis. The method does not rely on stained images and handles images of variable quality. The algorithm is used to determine time and dose dependent, in vitro, neurotoxic effects of 1 GeV per nucleon iron particles in retinal explants. No neurotoxic effects are detected until 72 h after exposure; at 72 h, significant reductions of neurite outgrowth occurred at doses higher than 10 cGy.

NASA Program Biomedical Research and Countermeasur↗

NASA NTRS2001

Lyapunov-Based Sensor Failure Detection And Recovery For The Reverse Water Gas Shift Process

Livingstone, a model-based AI software system, is planned for use in the autonomous fault diagnosis, reconfiguration, and control of the oxygen-producing reverse water gas shift (RWGS) process test-bed located in the Applied Chemistry Laboratory at KSC. In this report the RWGS process is first briefly described and an overview of Livingstone is given. Next, a Lyapunov-based approach for detecting and recovering from sensor failures, differing significantly from that used by Livingstone, is presented. In this new method, models used are in terms of the defining differential equations of system components, thus differing from the qualitative, static models used by Livingstone. An easily computed scalar inequality constraint, expressed in terms of sensed system variables, is used to determine the existence of sensor failures. In the event of sensor failure, an observer/estimator is used for determining which sensors have failed. The theory underlying the new approach is developed. Finally, a recommendation is made to use the Lyapunov-based approach to complement the capability of Livingstone and to use this combination in the RWGS process.

Haralambous, Michael G.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Data-Efficient Strategies for Probabilistic Voltage Envelopes under Network Contingencies

This work presents an efficient data-driven method to construct probabilistic voltage envelopes (PVE) using power flow learning in grids with network contingencies. First, a network-aware Gaussian process (GP) termed Vertex-Degree Kernel (VDK-GP), developed in prior work, is used to estimate voltage–power functions for a few network configurations. The paper introduces a novel multi-task vertex degree kernel (MT-VDK) that amalgamates the learned VDK-GPs to determine power flows for unseen networks, with a significant reduction in the computational complexity and hyperparameter requirements compared to alternate approaches. Simulations on the IEEE 30-Bus network demonstrate the retention and transfer of power flow knowledge in both N-1 and N-2 contingency scenarios. The MT-VDK-GP approach achieves over 50 % reduction in mean prediction error for novel N-1 contingency network configurations in low training data regimes (50–250 samples) over VDK-GP. Additionally, MT-VDK-GP outperforms a hyper-parameter based transfer learning approach in over 75 % of N-2 contingency network structures, even without historical N-2 outage data. Furthermore, the proposed method demonstrates the ability to achieve PVEs using sixteen times fewer power flow solutions compared to Monte-Carlo sampling-based methods.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2024

Preliminary Results on Process Modeling Tools for Determining Variability in Additively Manufactured Stainless Steel 316 Parts

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies program aims to accelerate the development, qualification, demonstration, and deployment of advanced materials and manufacturing technologies to enable reliable and economical nuclear energy. However, the distinct characteristics of additive manufacturing (AM) materials, stemming from their unique processing history, microstructure, and properties, pose significant challenges for the qualification and certification of nuclear components. These challenges primarily arise from component-scale variations in microstructure and properties influenced by local process conditions and geometry, which affect thermal history, melt pool dynamics, and microstructure evolution. Computational modeling tools can play a crucial role in predicting and controlling this variability. This report presents preliminary results on process modeling tools designed to predict microstructure variability in additively manufactured stainless steel 316 parts. It details the software packages and physical modeling approaches employed to simulate an AM component within an automated process modeling workflow. Initial results are demonstrated through comparisons between predicted microstructures and experimental measurements across various representative processing conditions. The report concludes by discussing the challenges inherent in process modeling of AM components and outlines a plan for future development needs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1991

Plants for water recycling, oxygen regeneration and food production

During long-duration space missions that require recycling and regeneration of life support materials the major human wastes to be converted to usable forms are CO2, hygiene water, urine and feces. A Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) relies on the air revitalization, water purification and food production capabilities of higher plants to rejuvenate human wastes and replenish the life support materials. The key processes in such a system are photosynthesis, whereby green plants utilize light energy to produce food and oxygen while removing CO2 from the atmosphere, and transpiration, the evaporation of water from the plant. CELSS research has emphasized the food production capacity and efforts to minimize the area/volume of higher plants required to satisfy all human life support needs. Plants are a dynamic system capable of being manipulated to favour the supply of individual products as desired. The size and energy required for a CELSS that provides virtually all human needs are determined by the food production capacity. Growing conditions maximizing food production do not maximize transpiration of water; conditions favoring transpiration and scaling to recycle only water significantly reduces the area, volume, and energy inputs per person. Likewise, system size can be adjusted to satisfy the air regeneration needs. Requirements of a waste management system supplying inputs to maintain maximum plant productivity are clear. The ability of plants to play an active role in waste processing and the consequence in terms of degraded plant performance are not well characterized. Plant-based life support systems represent the only potential for self sufficiency and food production in an extra-terrestrial habitat.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗