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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 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Phytochromes A and B mediate red-light-induced positive phototropism in roots

The interaction of tropisms is important in determining the final growth form of the plant body. In roots, gravitropism is the predominant tropistic response, but phototropism also plays a role in the oriented growth of roots in flowering plants. In blue or white light, roots exhibit negative phototropism that is mediated by the phototropin family of photoreceptors. In contrast, red light induces a positive phototropism in Arabidopsis roots. Because this red-light-induced response is weak relative to both gravitropism and negative phototropism, we used a novel device to study phototropism without the complications of a counteracting gravitational stimulus. This device is based on a computer-controlled system using real-time image analysis of root growth and a feedback-regulated rotatable stage. Our data show that this system is useful to study root phototropism in response to red light, because in wild-type roots, the maximal curvature detected with this apparatus is 30 degrees to 40 degrees, compared with 5 degrees to 10 degrees without the feedback system. In positive root phototropism, sensing of red light occurs in the root itself and is not dependent on shoot-derived signals resulting from light perception. Phytochrome (Phy)A and phyB were severely impaired in red-light-induced phototropism, whereas the phyD and phyE mutants were normal in this response. Thus, PHYA and PHYB play a key role in mediating red-light-dependent positive phototropism in roots. Although phytochrome has been shown to mediate phototropism in some lower plant groups, this is one of the few reports indicating a phytochrome-dependent phototropism in flowering plants.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS2002

Interactions between gravitropism and phototropism in plants

To receive adequate light and nutrients for survival, plants orient stems and stem-like organs toward light and away from the gravity vector and, conversely, orient roots into the soil, away from light toward the direction of gravity. Therefore, both gravity and light can influence the differential growth of plant organs. To add to the complexity of the interactions between gravity and light, each stimulus can enhance or reduce the effectiveness of the other. On earth, the constant presence of gravity makes it difficult to determine whether plant growth and development is influenced by gravity or light alone or the combination of the two stimuli. In the past decade, our understanding of the gravity and light transduction pathways has advanced through the use of mutants in either gravitropic or phototropic responses and the use of innovative techniques that reduce the effects of one stimulus on the other. Thus, both unique and common elements in the transduction pathways of the gravitropic and phototropic responses have been isolated. This article is focused on the interactions between the light- and gravity-transduction pathways and describes methods used to separate the influences of these two environmental stimuli.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS1983

Analysis of optical imagery for Seyfert's Sextet and VV 172

Seyfert's Sextet and VV 172, 5-m photographs have been subjected to image processing to yield field-galaxy density analysis, redshift-scaled imagery, interaction morphology display and enhancement, color difference imagery,modeling of the VV 172 halo, and image texture analysis of the spiral galaxy components of Seyfert's Sextet. An effort is made to evaluate the evidence for physical association of the discordant redshift components of these groups. An especially noteworthy characteristic of the groups is their extended luminous halos. The halo of VV 172 cannot be explained by the overlapping envelopes of galaxies with normal luminosity profiles, and the high redshift spiral galaxy in the Sextet is found to have an asymmetric internal structure and associated filament which suggest gravitational perturbation by the other members of the group.

Sulentic, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Studies for Improved Gravitational Wave Sensitivity

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the possible accuracy of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) for studying gravitational waves at frequencies below the usually quoted frequency range of 100 microHz to 1 Hz. The extended frequency range of most interest is from 3 to 100 microHz. During this work, a new source of spurious accelerations of the test masses for LISA that had been overlooked previously was identified. It is one of the main noise contributors at 100 microHz, and rises as the inverse of the frequency to become probably the largest error source at 3 microHz. The new error source is fluctuations in the charge on the test mass due to cosmic ray charging interacting with the electric fields inside the housing that carries the capacitive electrodes for sensing relative motion of the test mass with respect to the housing. Even for zero charge on the test mass, there will be electrical fields acting on each face due to work function differences between the capacitive electrodes and the test mass.

Bender, Peter L.↗
NASA NTRS2019

All-Sky Medium-Energy Gamma-Ray Observatory (AMEGO)

The gamma-ray energy range from a few hundred keV (kiloelectronvolts) to a few hundred MeV (megaelectronvolts) has remained largely unexplored since the pioneering but limited observations by COMPTEL (The Imaging Compton Telescope) on the CGRO (Compton Gamma Ray Observatory) (1991-2000). Fundamental astrophysics questions can be addressed by a mission in the MeV range, from astrophysical jets and extreme physics of compact objects to a large population of unidentified objects. Such a mission will also provide critical inputs for multimessenger astrophysics by identifying and exploring the astrophysical objects that produce gravitational waves and neutrinos. To address these questions, we are developing AMEGO: All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory, as a NASA probe-class mission, to investigate the energy range from 200 keV to greater than10 GeV with good energy (ranging from less than 1 percent at the low end to approximately 10 percent at the high end) and angular resolution (from 2 to 6 degrees depending on energy) and with sensitivity a factor of 20-50 better than previous instruments. Measurements at these energies are challenging, mainly due to the fact that two photon interaction processes, Compton scattering and pair production, compete. These interaction processes require different approaches in both detection and data analysis, and consequently in the instrument concept. AMEGO will be capable of measuring both Compton-scattering events at lower energies and pair-production events at higher energies. AMEGO will also have sensitivity to linear polarization of detected radiation at a level of 20 percent minimum detectable polarization from a source 1 percent of the Crab intensity, observed for 106 seconds. AMEGO will be operating mainly in scanning (discovery) mode with a field-of-view of 2.5 sr (Special Relativity) (20 percent of the sky observation any time), with the capability to be pointed to particular regions of interest..

Moiseev, Alexander↗
NASA NTRS2002

Particle Segregation in a Flowing Suspension Subject to High-Gradient Strong Electric Fields

The widespread use of electro-hydrodynamic devices and processes emphasizes a critical need for developing a comprehensive predictive theory capable of improving our fundamental understanding of the behavior of a suspension subject to an AC electric field and shear, and of facilitating the design and optimization of such devices. The currently favored approach to the qualitative interpretation of the AC field driven manipulation of suspensions is based on a model which considers only the force exerted on a single particle by an external field and neglects the field-induced and hydrodynamic interparticle interactions both being inversely proportional to the interparticle distance raised to the power three. On the other hand, the purpose of the field-induced separation is to concentrate particles in certain regions of a device. This clearly raises the fundamental question regarding the extent to which we can neglect these slow decaying electrical and hydrodynamic collective interactions and rely on the predictions of a single-particle model. Another important issue that still remains open is how to characterize the polarization of a particle exposed to a strong electric field. The presentation will address both these questions. Experiments were conducted in a parallel-plate channel in which a 10(exp -3) (v/v) suspension of heavy, positively polarized Al2O3 spheres was exposed to an AC field under conditions such that the field lines were arranged in the channel cross-section perpendicular to the streamlines of the main flow. To reduce the effects of the gravitational settling of the particles, the channel was slowly rotated (4 rpm) around a horizontal axis. Following the application of a high-gradient strong AC field (approx. kV/mm), the particles were found to move towards both the high-voltage (HV) and grounded (GR) electrodes and to form 'bristles' along their edges.

Acrivos, Andreas↗
NASA NTRS2019

Search for Subsolar Mass Ultracompact Binaries in Advanced LIGO’s Second Observing Run

We present a search for subsolar mass ultracompact objects in data obtained during Advanced LIGO’s second observing run. In contrast to a previous search of Advanced LIGO data from the first observing run, this search includes the effects of component spin on the gravitational waveform. We identify no viable gravitational-wave candidates consistent with subsolar mass ultracompact binaries with at least one component between 0.2 𝑀 ⊙ –1.0 𝑀 ⊙ . We use the null result to constrain the binary merger rate of (0.2 𝑀 ⊙ , 0.2 𝑀 ⊙ ) binaries to be less than 3.7×10 5 Gpc −3 yr −1 and the binary merger rate of (1.0 𝑀 ⊙ , 1.0 𝑀 ⊙ ) binaries to be less than 5.2×10 3 Gpc −3 yr −1 . Subsolar mass ultracompact objects are not expected to form via known stellar evolution channels, though it has been suggested that primordial density fluctuations or particle dark matter with cooling mechanisms and/or nuclear interactions could form black holes with subsolar masses. Assuming a particular primordial black hole (PBH) formation model, we constrain a population of merging 0.2 𝑀 ⊙ black holes to account for less than 16% of the dark matter density and a population of merging 1.0 𝑀 ⊙ black holes to account for less than 2% of the dark matter density. We discuss how constraints on the merger rate and dark matter fraction may be extended to arbitrary black hole population models that predict subsolar mass binaries.

B. P. Abbott↗
NASA NTRS1999

Phoretic Force Measurement for Microparticles Under Microgravity Conditions

This theoretical and experimental investigation of the collisional interactions between gas molecules and solid and liquid surfaces of microparticles involves fundamental studies of the transfer of energy, mass and momentum between gas molecules and surfaces. The numerous applications include particle deposition on semiconductor surfaces and on surfaces in combustion processes, containerless processing, the production of nanophase materials, pigments and ceramic precursors, and pollution abatement technologies such as desulfurization of gaseous effluents from combustion processes. Of particular emphasis are the forces exerted on microparticles present in a nonuniform gas, that is, in gaseous surroundings involving temperature and concentration gradients. These so-called phoretic forces become the dominant forces when the gravitational force is diminished, and they are strongly dependent on the momentum transfer between gas molecules and the surface. The momentum transfer, in turn, depends on the gas and particle properties and the mean free path and kinetic energy of the gas molecules. The experimental program involves the particle levitation system shown. A micrometer size particle is held between two heat exchangers enclosed in a vacuum chamber by means of ac and dc electric fields. The ac field keeps the particle centered on the vertical axis of the chamber, and the dc field balances the gravitational force and the thermophoretic force. Some measurements of the thermophoretic force are presented in this paper.

Davis, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Consumption, supply and transport: self-organization without direct communication

Swimming bacteria of the species Bacillus subtilis require and consume oxygen. In static liquid cultures the cells' swimming behaviour leads them to accumulate up oxygen concentration gradients generated by consumption and supply. Since the density of bacterial cells exceeds that of the fluid in which they live, fluid regions where cells have accumulated are denser than depleted regions. These density variations cause convection. The fluid motion is dynamically maintained by the swimming of the cells toward regions of attraction: the air-fluid interface and the fluctuating advecting attractors, gradients of oxygen concentration that are embedded in the convecting fluid. Because of the fluid dynamical conservation laws, these complex physical and biological factors generate patterns ordered over distances > 10000 bacterial cell diameters. The convection enhances long-range transport and mixing of oxygen, cells and extracellular products by orders of magnitude. Thus, through the interplay of physical and biological factors, a population of undifferentiated selfish cells creates functional dynamic patterns. Populations of bacteria that have organised themselves into regularly patterned regions of vigorous convection and varying cell concentration interact with their environment as if they were one purposeful, coherent multicellular individual. The mathematical and experimental ingredients of these remarkable phenomena are presented here.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2001

Probing the Early Universe with the SZ Effect

The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) which we observe today is relic radiation which last interacted with matter more than 10 billion years ago, when the expanding universe cooled to the point that free electrons and ionized nuclei recombined to form atoms. Prior to recombination, scattering between photons and free electrons was a very frequent occurrence, and the distance light could penetrate was small; afterwards, with free electrons out of circulation, the universe became largely transparent to light. Thus, the CMBR photons we observe today give us a clear view of the state of the early universe. Measured deviations in the intensity of the CMBR trace the small perturbations in the primordial matter density, which have been amplified by gravitational forces to form the magnificent, complex structures which comprise the present-day universe.

Joy, M. K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Statistical Wind-Tunnel Experimentation Advancements for eVTOL Aircraft Aero-Propulsive Model Development

Compared to many conventional aircraft, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle designs present greater aero-propulsive complexity and many interacting factors requiring development of novel testing and model development strategies. This paper describes several advances in statistically-rigorous experiment design methods for wind-tunnel testing of eVTOL aircraft enabling accurate aero-propulsive model development. The techniques are applied to a subscale tilt-rotor eVTOL aircraft configuration built at NASA Langley Research Center that has 24 independent control effectors. The general testing approach, leveraging design of experiments and response surface methodology, is outlined and followed by a detailed description of the experiment design and modeling approach employed for different phases of the wind-tunnel testing. A new approach for gravitational tare modeling is developed and validated, which reduces the required wind-tunnel test time by nearly 50%. A mostly automated trim envelope determination approach is formulated to rapidly determine the aircraft flight envelope to inform transition testing for aero-propulsive model development. Efficient powered-airframe characterization tests are conducted using a nested I-optimal design approach formulated in previous simulation-based testing. The collective wind-tunnel testing approach facilitates rapid characterization of eVTOL aircraft configurations and produces accurate aero-propulsive models that can be used in flight dynamics simulations.

design of experiments↗
NASA NTRS1994

The Disruption and Demise of Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

The impact of the fragmented comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) into Jupiter this July promises to change our understanding of the outer solar system. More than twenty mountain-sized conglomerates of ice and rock will hit the atmosphere at approx. 50 km/s over the course of a week beginning July 16, releasing approx. 10(exp 4) to 10(exp8) megatons of energy per burst, and providing unique and perhaps pivotal clues to the properties of comets and the physics of massive atmospheres. Because the fragments will strike the far side of Jupiter, data acquisition, analysis and interpretation will be quite sensitive to the actual size and energy of the fragments. We therefore examine an event which took place two summers ago, unnoticed and unobserved: the disruption of SL9 into a "string of pearls' as it passed within the Roche limit at perijove. We first demonstrate, on the basis of timescales of tidal interaction, that the comet could not have broken into 20+ fragments through a hierarchy of brittle fracture events. Next, noting that the tidal stress was too weak to have even fragmented an uncompressed mass of freshly fallen snow, we run models for a strengthless comet held together only by self-gravity. We explore the initial size, density, and rotation. We conclude that a 4 km diameter comet (smaller if a prograde rotator) of density approx. 0.5 g/cu cm disrupts and disperses into a chain of fragments similar to Shoemaker-Levy 9, whether we begin with 21, 85, 169, 700 or 2000 sub-grains. Gravitational reaccumulation is evidently the answer, and there is no need to invoke the presence of 21 "cometesimals" as the subscale of the comet. To explain how a comet can be weaker than uncompacted snow, we show that the ring-plane crossing prior to perijove could have caused total damage. Finally, we compute the tidal stress on impactors as they approach Jupiter this July. Objects of various density are moderately distorted but not disrupted by the time they strike the planet.

Asphaug, Erik↗
NASA NTRS2003

A Conceptual Wing Flutter Analysis Tool for Systems Analysis and Parametric Design Study

An interactive computer program was developed for wing flutter analysis in the conceptual design stage. The objective was to estimate flutt er instability boundaries of a typical wing, when detailed structural and aerodynamic data are not available. Effects of change in key flu tter parameters can also be estimated in order to guide the conceptual design. This userfriendly software was developed using MathCad and M atlab codes. The analysis method was based on non-dimensional paramet ric plots of two primary flutter parameters, namely Regier number and Flutter number, with normalization factors based on wing torsion stiffness, sweep, mass ratio, taper ratio, aspect ratio, center of gravit y location and pitch-inertia radius of gyration. These parametric plo ts were compiled in a Chance-Vought Corporation report from database of past experiments and wind tunnel test results. An example was prese nted for conceptual flutter analysis of outer-wing of a Blended-Wing- Body aircraft.

Mukhopadhyay, Vivek↗
NASA NTRS1988

Primary sedimentary structures and the internal architecture of a Martian sand body in search of evidence for sand transport and deposition

Lunar experiences show that unmanned sample return missions, despite limitations on sample size, can produce invaluable data to infer crustal processes, regolith processes, regolith-atmosphere/ionosphere interaction processes, etc. Drill cores provide a record of regolith evolution as well as a more complete sample of the regolith than small scoops and/or rakes. It is proposed that: (1) a hole be drilled in a sand body to obtain continuous oriented cores; a depth of about 10 m would be compatible with what we know of bed form hierarchy of terrestrial stream deposits; (2) two trenches, at right angles to each other and close to the drill-hole, be dug and the walls scraped lightly such that primary/internal sedimentary structures of the sand body become visible; (3) the walls of the trenches be made gravitationally stable by impregnation techniques; (4) acetate or other peels of a strip on each wall be taken; and (5) appropriately scaled photographs of the walls be taken at different sun-angles to ensure maximum ease of interpretation of sedimentary structures; and, to correlate these structural features with those in the core at different depth levels of the core.

Basu, Abhijit↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Multiwavelength Study of the Starburst Galaxy NGC 7771

We present a multiwavelength study of the interacting starburst galaxy NGC 7771, including new optical and ultra-violet spectra and a previously unpublished soft X-ray ROSAT image and spectrum. The far-infrared, radio, and X-ray fluxes suggest that a massive burst of star-formation is currently in progress but the small equivalent width of the Balmer emission lines (equivalent width H(alpha approximately equals 100 A), the weak UV flux, the low abundance of ionised oxygen, and the shape of the optical spectrum lead us to conclude that there are few 0 stars. This might normally suggest that star-formation has ceased but the galaxy's barred gravitational potential and large gas reserves imply that this should not be so, and we therefore consider other explanations. We argue that the observations cannot be due to effects of geometry, density bounded nebulae, or dust within the nebulae, and conclude that a truncated IMF is required. The dwarf galaxy NGC 7770 appears to be in the initial stages of a merger with NGC 7771, and the resulting tidal perturbations may have induced the apparent two-armed spiral pattern, and driven a substantial fraction of the disk gas inwards. The presence of a bulge in NGC 7771 may be moderating the starburst so that, while still occuring on a large scale with a supernova rate of 0.8-1/yr, it is less violent and the IMF has a relatively low upper mass limit. We find that there is a cluster of stars obscuring part of the starburst region, and we offer an explanation of its origin.

Davies, Richard I.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Microgravity-Induced Physiological Fluid Redistribution: Computational Analysis to Assess Influence of Physiological Parameters

Space flight impacts human physiology in many ways, the most immediate being the marked cephalad (headward) shift of fluid upon introduction into the microgravity environment. This physiological response to microgravity points to the redistribution of blood and interstitial fluid as a major factor in the loss of venous tone and reduction in heart muscle efficiency which impact astronaut performance. In addition, researchers have hypothesized that a reduction in astronaut visual acuity, part of the Visual Impairment and Intracranial Pressure (VIIP) syndrome, is associated with this redistribution of fluid. VIIP arises within several months of beginning space flight and includes a variety of ophthalmic changes including posterior globe flattening, distension of the optic nerve sheath, and kinking of the optic nerve. We utilize a suite of lumped parameter models to simulate microgravity-induced fluid redistribution in the cardiovascular, central nervous and ocular systems to provide initial and boundary data to a 3D finite element simulation of ocular biomechanics in VIIP. Specifically, the lumped parameter cardiovascular model acts as the primary means of establishing how microgravity, and the associated lack of hydrostatic gradient, impacts fluid redistribution. The cardiovascular model consists of 16 compartments, including three cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartments, three cranial blood compartments, and 10 thoracic and lower limb blood compartments. To assess the models capability to address variations in physiological parameters, we completed a formal uncertainty and sensitivity analysis that evaluated the relative importance of 42 input parameters required in the model on relative compartment flows and compartment pressures. Utilizing the model in a pulsatile flow configuration, the sensitivity analysis identified the ten parameters that most influenced each compartment pressure. Generally, each compartment responded appropriately to parameter variations associated with itself and adjacent compartments. However, several unexpected interactions between components, such as between the choroid plexus and the lower capillaries, were found, and are due to simplifications in the formulation of the model. The analysis illustrates that highly influential parameters and those that have unique influences within the model formulation must be tightly controlled for successful model application.

gravitational physiology↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Detectability of Exo-Earths and Super-Earths via Resonant Signatures in Exozodiacal Clouds

Directly imaging extrasolar terrestrial planets necessarily means contending with the astrophysical noise of exozodiacal dust and the resonant structures created by these planets in exozodiacal clouds. Using a custom tailored hybrid symplectic integrator we have constructed 120 models of resonant structures created by exo-Earths and super-Earths on circular orbits interacting with collisionless steady-state dust clouds around a Sun-like star. Our models include enough particles to overcome the limitations of previous simulations that were often dominated by a handful of long-lived particles, allowing us to quantitatively study the contrast of the resulting ring structures. We found that in the case of a planet on a circular orbit, for a given star and dust source distribution, the morphology and contrast of the resonant structures depend on only two parameters: planet mass and (square root)ap/Beta, where ap is the planet's semi-major axis and Beta is the ratio of radiation pressure force to gravitational force on a grain. We constructed multiple-grain-size models of 25,000 particles each and showed that in a collisionless cloud, a Dohnanyi crushing law yields a resonant ring whose optical depth is dominated by the largest grains in the distribution, not the smallest. We used these models to estimate the mass of the lowest-mass planet that can be detected through observations of a resonant ring for a variety of assumptions about the dust cloud and the planet's orbit. Our simulations suggest that planets with mass as small as a few times Mars' mass may produce detectable signatures in debris disks at ap greater than or approximately equal to 10 AU.

Stark, Christopher C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Numerical Models of Human Circulatory System under Altered Gravity: Brain Circulation

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach is presented to model the blood flow through the human circulatory system under altered gravity conditions. Models required for CFD simulation relevant to major hemodynamic issues are introduced such as non-Newtonian flow models governed by red blood cells, a model for arterial wall motion due to fluid-wall interactions, a vascular bed model for outflow boundary conditions, and a model for auto-regulation mechanism. The three-dimensional unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations coupled with these models are solved iteratively using the pseudocompressibility method and dual time stepping. Moving wall boundary conditions from the first-order fluid-wall interaction model are used to study the influence of arterial wall distensibility on flow patterns and wall shear stresses during the heart pulse. A vascular bed modeling utilizing the analogy with electric circuits is coupled with an auto-regulation algorithm for multiple outflow boundaries. For the treatment of complex geometry, a chimera overset grid technique is adopted to obtain connectivity between arterial branches. For code validation, computed results are compared with experimental data for steady and unsteady non-Newtonian flows. Good agreement is obtained for both cases. In sin-type Gravity Benchmark Problems, gravity source terms are added to the Navier-Stokes equations to study the effect of gravitational variation on the human circulatory system. This computational approach is then applied to localized blood flows through a realistic carotid bifurcation and two Circle of Willis models, one using an idealized geometry and the other model using an anatomical data set. A three- dimensional anatomical Circle of Willis configuration is reconstructed from human-specific magnetic resonance images using an image segmentation method. The blood flow through these Circle of Willis models is simulated to provide means for studying gravitational effects on the brain circulation under auto-regulation.

Kim, Chang Sung↗