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At least 451 records · Page 25

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NASA NTRS1986

Spectral flux from low-density photospheres - Approximate results

Radiative transfer through sharp, quasi-static atmospheres containing mostly hydrogen is considered at densities low enough that scattering dominates absorption and collisional excitations are negligible. It is found that the balance between photoionization and radiative recombination which governs the atomic level populations greatly reduces the effective absorptive opacity. Approximate results for the emergent continuum spectral flux are obtained, significantly different than if local thermodynamic equilibrium level populations were assumed. The flux jumps at the photoionization thresholds are relatively small for the photospheric temperatures T sub p(v) greater than or about 6000 K considered, and T sub p increases toward the far-ultraviolet. It appears that the lack of a Balmer jump in spectra of Type II supernovae implies that the flux is diluted below that of a blackbody at the same color temperature, which increases the value of the Hubble constant obtained by the Baade (1926) method.

Hershkowitz, S.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Radiative processes

Solar radiation and the processes that control its deposition in the Earth atmosphere are considered. The published data obtained since 1978 define a reference solar spectral irradiance for use in atmospheric chemical and dynamical studies, while long term satellite measurements are now providing information on variations in the output of the Sun over a range of time scales. As concerns absorption of solar radiation in the atmosphere, new cross section data for molecular oxygen and ozone are now available. Line-by-line calculations used to predict infrared flux divergences, both as regards assumptions made in radiative transfer calculations and in the spectroscopic parameters used as inputs are examined. Also examined are the influence of radiative processes on planetary scale wave activity, photochemical acceleration of radiative damping, and the breakdown of local thermodynamic equilibrium at mesospheric altitudes.

Frederick, J. E.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Pervasive small-scale structure in molecular clouds

An unbiased CO survey of molecular cloud cores was completed, and the profiles were analyzed within the context of a model for emission from clumpy clouds. It was found that all sources observed contain a significant amount of structure that is not resolved with our 2.3-arcmin beam, and that the parameters which describe the degree of clumping span a remarkably narrow range of the possible values. We studied two separate samples of cloud cores: a large sample of warm cores from the Massachusetts-Stony Brook 12CO survey of the first galactic quadrant, and a sample of cool cores in the Taurus dark clouds chosen primarily on the basis of H2CO emission. We observed all sources in the 1-0 transition of 12CO and 13CO with the 5-m telescope of the Millimeter Wave Observatory. The 12CO/13CO ratios can be explained if there is unresolved structure giving rise to significant variations of opacity across the beam. Our model cloud consists of a large number of identical clumps distributed randomly in the beam. These clumps have velocity widths v small compared to the width of the observed profile, which is determined by the relative motion of the clumps. The entire cloud is isothermal and in local thermodynamic equilibrium. With these assumptions the intensity and linewidth ratios depend on three parameters: the abundance ratio; the peak 13CO opacity through a single clump, tau(0); and the average number of clumps on a line of sight N. Small tau(0) and large N correspond to the microturbulent limit, which is indistinguishable from a uniform gas distribution. In the other extreme, large tau(0) and snall N, at a given velocity at most one clump contributes to the profile on each line of sight. A figure is presented which shows the model parameters which reproduce the measured intensity and linewidth ratios for the sample of warm cores, assuming an abundance ratio of 75.

Martin, B.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Non-LTE hydrogen-line formation in moving prominences

The behavior of hydrogen-line brightness variations, depending on the prominence-velocity changes were investigated. By solving the NON-Local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) problem for hydrogen researchers determine quantitatively the effect of Doppler brightening and/or Doppler dimming (DBE, DDE) in the lines of Lyman and Balmer series. It is demonstrated that in low-density prominence plasmas, DBE in H alpha and H beta lines can reach a factor of three for velocities around 160 km/sec, while the L alpha line exhibits typical DDE. L beta brightness variations follow from a combined DBE in the H alpha and DDE in L alpha and L beta itself, providing that all relevant multilevel interlocking processes are taken into account.

Heinzel, P.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A theoretical investigation of laser-sustained plasma thruster

A numerical code has been successfully developed for the investigation of thruster performance using a laser-sustained hydrogen plasma as the propellant. The plasma was sustained using a 10.6-micron CO2 laser beam focused at different positions within the thruster. The physical model assumed that plasma is in thermodynamical equilibrium (LTE), and geometric ray tracing was adopted to describe the laser beam. The steady-state, axisymmetric, Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the laser power absorption process have been solved numerically. A pressure based Navier-Stokes numerical solver using body-fitted coordinates was used to calculate the laser-supported rocket flow which includes both subsonic and supersonic flow regions. From the limited parametric study, which did not try to optimize the rocket performance, it was found that better performance was obtained when the laser beam was focused closer to the rocket throat.

Jeng, San-Mou↗

NASA NTRS1986

Solar chromospheric modeling based on submillimeter limb brightness profile

A method of modeling the solar chromosphere is developed, based on submillimeter continuum observations of the solar limb. Submillimeter radiation from the solar limb emanates from the chromosphere in local thermodynamic equilibrium, making it an important chromospheric diagnostic. Also, the use of high-resolution limb profiles allows for atmospheric modeling independent of gravitational hydrostatic equilibrium. The chromospheric model is constructed to match high-resolution solar limb profiles at 30, 50, 100, and 200 microns, determined by an occultation of the solar limb observed from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory during the total solar eclipse of July 31, 1981. This matching is achieved by 'stretching' the solar model atmosphere of Vernazza, Avrett, and Loesser (1981) vertically out of hydrostatic equilibrium, while maintainingn its vertical temperature-optical depth profile.

Hermans, L. M.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Directional solidification in an imperfect furnace

The upward directional solidification of a binary alloy in which the rejected solute is more dense than the solvent is considered. The system is stably stratified both thermally and solutally. If heat is lost through the sidewalls, horizontal thermal gradients drive a steady double-diffusive convection. Solidification cells with small aspect ratios (width/length) A are considered, and asymptotic solutions to the steady double-diffusive system are obtained as A tends to 0 under the assumption heat losses are also small. When the thermal Grashof number is large, buoyancy boundary layers are at the sidewalls. The shape of the crystal-melt interface is determined by the coupled effects of local thermodynamic equilibrium, diffusion and convection.

Brattkus, K.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Combined conduction and radiation heat transfer in concentric cylindrical media

The exact radiative transfer expressions for gray and nongray gases which are absorbing, emitting and nonscattering, contained between infinitely long concentric cylinders with black surfaces, are given in local thermodynamic equilibrium. Resulting energy equations due to the combination of conduction and radiation modes of heat transfer, under steady state conditions for gray and nongray media, are solved numerically using the undetermined parameters method. A single 4.3-micron band of CO2 is considered for the nongray problems. The present solutions for gray and nongray gases obtained in the plane-parallel limit (radius ratio approaches to one) are compared with the plane-parallel results reported in the literature.

Pandey, D. K.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A theoretical evaluation of laser-sustained plasma thruster performance

An extensive numerical experiment has been conducted to evaluate rocket thruster performance using a laser-sustained hydrogen plasma as the propellant. The plasma was sustained using a 30 kW CO2 laser beam operated at 10.6 microns focused inside the thruster. The steady-state Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the laser power absorption process have been solved numerically. A pressure based Navier-Stokes solver using body-fitted coordinate was used to calculate the laser-supported rocket flow which included both recirculating and transonic flow regions. The local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) assumption was used for the plasma thermophysical and optical properties. Geometric ray tracing was adopted to describe the laser beam. Several different throat size thrusters operated at 150 and 300 kPa chamber stagnation pressure were studied. It was found that the thruster performance (vacuum specific impulse) was highly dependent on the operating conditions, and a properly designed laser supported thruster can attain a specific impulse around 1500 secs. The heat loading on the thruster wall was also estimated and was in the range of that for a conventional chemical rocket.

Jeng, San-Mou↗

NASA NTRS1987

Quasi-thermal models

Non-local thermodynamics equilibrium (LTE) effects in the photosphere; recent research on the chromosphere of the M and C stars; and elementary shock-waves and pulsation theories and their applications to Mira long-period variables are discussed.

Delareza, Ramiro↗

NASA NTRS1987

Review of nucleation and incipient boiling under pool and forced convection conditions

An overview of liquid-vapor nucleation is given. The result of thermodynamic equilibrium across curved liquid-vapor interfaces is presented. The extension of this to include the interaction with idealizations of surface cavities is made to demonstrate how superheat requirements for nucleation will be affected by surface roughness, flow velocity and buoyancy. Experimental measurements of high liquid superheats and nucleation delay times are presented as examples of homogeneous nucleation. Examples of nucleation and boiling on smooth glass substrates and on metal surfaces with various surface roughnesses are presented.

Merte, Herman, Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1988

A decade of computer simulations for space shuttle aerodynamics

Ten years ago computer simulations of the flow field around the Space Shuttle Orbiter were limited to inviscid calculations for the windward side of the forebody and viscous calculations for selected 2-D problems. Advances in computer hardware and numerical methods during the past ten years made it possible to calculate viscous flow over the complete orbiter configuration at angle of attack. The equations solved are the Reynolds-averaged, Navier-Stokes equation, simplified by either the thin-layer or parabolized approximation. An algebraic eddy viscosity model is used for turbulent flow. The free stream is assumed to be a perfect gas for wind tunnel conditions and a real gas in thermodynamic equilibrium for flight conditions. Four examples of recent computer simulations are presented. Flow field results include oil flow patterns on the surface and Mach number contours, isobars, and cross-flow velocity vectors in the shock layer.

Inouye, Mamoru↗

NASA NTRS1987

Vertical temperature gradients on Uranus - Implications for layered convection

Analyses of Voyager IR spectroscopy and radio occultation measurements confirm ground-based observations that the deep lapse rate of Uranus exceeds that for an adiabat of H2 in thermodynamic equilibrium. However, in approximately the same region of the atmosphere, Voyager IR and ground-based observations also indicate that the ratio of ortho to para hydrogen is near the equilibrium value. These two sets of observations can be reconciled by postulating the existence of rapid convective overturning within layers which are thin in comparison to a pressure scale height. Two forms of layered convection are examined. In one case, deposition of kinetic energy results in thin, rapidly overturning layers. Possible kinetic energy sources include braking waves and local instabilities. In the second case considered, molecular-weight discontinuities due to CH4 stratification stabilize the interfaces of thin layers. It is argued that both forms may be important in the convective portion of the Uranus atmosphere.

Gierasch, Peter J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

H2 spectroscopy and a diurnally changing cloud on Jupiter

Spectroscopic observations of H2 in specific longitude regions of Jupiter as they rotate from limb to limb are reported. Data obtained in the 3-0 S(0) and S(1) lines using a CCD detector and a spectrograph with either echelle or plane gratings at the Cassegrain focus of the 24-inch telescope at Whipple Observatory during April-June 1983 are presented in extensive tables and graphs and analyzed in detail, modeling spatial and temporal variations at seven latitudes. An east-to-west increase in the equivalent line widths is attributed to the combined action of internal and solar heating of a convective layer, resulting in diurnal changes in the vertical cloud structure. It is inferred that the hydrogen observed is mainly in an equilibrium thermodynamic state, with small amounts of nonequilibrium hydrogen at high altitudes.

Cunningham, Cindy C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Computational design of an experimental laser-powered thruster

An extensive numerical experiment, using the developed computer code, was conducted to design an optimized laser-sustained hydrogen plasma thruster. The plasma was sustained using a 30 kW CO2 laser beam operated at 10.6 micrometers focused inside the thruster. The adopted physical model considers two-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the laser power absorption process, geometric ray tracing for the laser beam, and the thermodynamically equilibrium (LTE) assumption for the plasma thermophysical and optical properties. A pressure based Navier-Stokes solver using body-fitted coordinate was used to calculate the laser-supported rocket flow which consists of both recirculating and transonic flow regions. The computer code was used to study the behavior of laser-sustained plasmas within a pipe over a wide range of forced convection and optical arrangements before it was applied to the thruster design, and these theoretical calculations agree well with existing experimental results. Several different throat size thrusters operated at 150 and 300 kPa chamber pressure were evaluated in the numerical experiment. It is found that the thruster performance (vacuum specific impulse) is highly dependent on the operating conditions, and that an adequately designed laser-supported thruster can have a specific impulse around 1500 sec. The heat loading on the wall of the calculated thrusters were also estimated, and it is comparable to heat loading on the conventional chemical rocket. It was also found that the specific impulse of the calculated thrusters can be reduced by 200 secs due to the finite chemical reaction rate.

Jeng, San-Mou↗

NASA NTRS1989

A search for biogenic trace gases in the atmosphere of Mars

The detection of certain trace gases in the atmosphere of Mars may serve as a possible indicator of microbial life on the surface of Mars. Candidate biogenic gases include methane CH4, ammonia NH3, nitrous oxide N2O, and several reduced sulfur species. Chemical thermodynamic equilibrium and photochemical calculations preclude the presence of these gases in any measurable concentrations in the atmosphere of Mars in the absence of biogenic production. A search for these gases utilizing either high resolution (spectral and spatial) spectroscopy from a Mars orbiter, such as the Observer, and or in situ measurements from a Mars lander or rover, is proposed.

Levine, Joel S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS)

The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment is a space-borne investigation designed to obtain fundamental information related to the chemistry and physics of the earth's upper atmosphere (20 to 120 km altitude). The instrument, a high resolution (0.01/cm) interferometric spectrometer, measures the atmospheric absorption of solar radiation over the wavelength range from 2 to 16 micrometers, a spectral band which encompasses active transitions of all of the molecular species of current importance in upper atmospheric studies. There are two major aspects to the experiment: (1) the determination of the detailed compositional structure of the stratosphere and mesosphere, and its global, seasonal, and long-term variability; and (2) the study of the partitioning of absorbed solar energy at levels in the atmosphere characterized by dissociation of many of the constituents and by the breakdown of thermodynamic equilibrium. Characteristics of ATMOS are given. This experiment will be part of the atmospheric science research payload flown on the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS 1) NASA mission planned for late 1990.

Farmer, C. B.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Directional solidification with heat losses

The upward directional solidification of a dilute binary alloy in a tall, thin, two-dimensional slot is considered. Heat losses from the sidewalls produce curved isotherms, interface deformations, and melt convection. An asymptotic approach is used which relates the small heat loss to the thinness of the solidification cell, and solutions are obtained for the resulting melt convection, interface deflection, and the distribution of heat and solute. The model is compared to the numerical results of Chang and Brown (1983) which exclude the effects of solute buoyancy and thermodynamic equilibrium at the interface. The radial segregation at the interface (consistent with both interface shapes and temperature fields) is computed, and it is found that the radial segregation is independent of interfacial shapes; the radial segregation cannot be calculated from only a knowledge of the interface shape.

Brattkus, K.↗