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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 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1998

Extraterrestrial organic matter: a review

We review the nature of the widespread organic material present in the Milky Way Galaxy and in the Solar System. Attention is given to the links between these environments and between primitive Solar System objects and the early Earth, indicating the preservation of organic material as an interstellar cloud collapsed to form the Solar System and as the Earth accreted such material from asteroids, comets and interplanetary dust particles. In the interstellar medium of the Milky Way Galaxy more than 100 molecular species, the bulk of them organic, have been securely identified, primarily through spectroscopy at the highest radio frequencies. There is considerable evidence for significantly heavier organic molecules, particularly polycyclic aromatics, although precise identification of individual species has not yet been obtained. The so-called diffuse interstellar bands are probably important in this context. The low temperature kinetics in interstellar clouds leads to very large isotopic fractionation, particularly for hydrogen, and this signature is present in organic components preserved in carbonaceous chondritic meteorites. Outer belt asteroids are the probable parent bodies of the carbonaceous chondrites, which may contain as much as 5% organic material, including a rich variety of amino acids, purines, pyrimidines, and other species of potential prebiotic interest. Richer in volatiles and hence less thermally processed are the comets, whose organic matter is abundant and poorly characterized. Cometary volatiles, observed after sublimation into the coma, include many species also present in the interstellar medium. There is evidence that most of the Earth's volatiles may have been supplied by a 'late' bombardment of comets and carbonaceous meteorites, scattered into the inner Solar System following the formation of the giant planets. How much in the way of intact organic molecules of potential prebiotic interest survived delivery to the Earth has become an increasingly debated topic over the last several years. The principal source for such intact organics was probably accretion of interplanetary dust particles of cometary origin.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS2017

Constraints on Climate and Habitability for Earth-like Exoplanets Determined from a General Circulation Model

Conventional definitions of habitability require abundant liquid surface water to exist continuously over geologic timescales. Water in each of its thermodynamic phases interacts with solar and thermal radiation and is the cause for strong climatic feedbacks. Thus, assessments of the habitable zone require models to include a complete treatment of the hydrological cycle over geologic time. Here, we use the Community Atmosphere Model from the National Center for Atmospheric Research to study the evolution of climate for an Earth-like planet at constant CO2, under a wide range of stellar fluxes from F-, G-, and K-dwarf main sequence stars. Around each star we find four stable climate states defined by mutually exclusive global mean surface temperatures (Ts); snowball (Ts ≤ 235 K), waterbelt (235 K ≤ Ts ≤ 250 K), temperate (275 K ≤ Ts ≤ 315 K), and moist greenhouse (Ts ≥ 330 K). Each is separated by abrupt climatic transitions. Waterbelt, temperate, and cooler moist greenhouse climates can maintain open-ocean against both sea ice albedo and hydrogen escape processes respectively, and thus constitute habitable worlds. We consider the warmest possible habitable planet as having Ts ∼ 355 K, at which point diffusion limited water-loss could remove an Earth ocean in ∼1 Gyr. Without long timescale regulation of non-condensable greenhouse species at Earth-like temperatures and pressures, such as CO2, habitability can be maintained for an upper limit of ∼2.2, ∼2.4, and ∼4.7 Gyr around F-, G-, and K-dwarf stars respectively, due to main sequence brightening.

Eric T Wolf↗
NASA NTRS1991

Reaction engineering for materials processing in space: Reduction of ilmenite by hydrogen and carbon monoxide

Oxygen is a consumable material which needs to be produced continuously in most space missions. Its use for propulsion as well as life support makes oxygen one of the largest volume chemicals to be produced in space. Production of oxygen from lunar materials is of particular interest and is very attractive possibility. The kinetics and mechanism of reduction of ilmenite by carbon monoxide and hydrogen at 800 to 1100 C were investigated. The temporal profiles of conversion for carbon monoxide have a sigmoidal shape and indicate the presence of three different stages (induction, acceleration, and deceleration) during the reduction reaction. The apparent activation energy decreases from 18 kcal/mole at 10 percent conversion to 10 kcal/mole at 50 percent conversion. The reaction is first order with respect to carbon monoxide under the experimental conditions studied. Both SEM and EDX analysis show that the diffusion of Fe product away from the reaction front and through the TiO2 phase, followed by the nucleation and growth of a separate Fe phase are important steps affecting the process kinetics. The results from hydrogen reduction show that the mechanism of ilmenite reduction by hydrogen is similar to that by carbon monoxide. However, the titanium dioxide can be further reduced by hydrogen at 800 to 1000 C. The detailed comparison and theoretical modeling of both reduction processes is presented.

Zhao, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Rocket and spacecraft studies of ultraviolet emissions from astrophysical targets

Rocket and spacecraft far-UV spectral measurements of several astrophysical targets are reviewed. These include observations of Ly-alpha emissions from Arcturus, Apollo-17 far-UV spectrometry of eta UMa and five other stars, Apollo-17 observations of the lunar atmosphere and the diffuse UV background, and far-UV spectral studies of Venus, Jupiter, and Comet Kohoutek. The Arcturus observations indicated a chromosphere with neutral atomic-hydrogen and atomic-oxygen emissions as well as a very weak atomic-carbon line. The planetary studies revealed O I and C I emissions in the Venusian spectrum as well as large Ly-alpha emissions and possible molecular-hydrogen emissions in that of Jupiter. The lunar observations demonstrated that solar protons do not produce an atomic-hydrogen atmosphere on the moon.

Fastie, W. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Interstellar abundances and depletions inferred from observations of neutral atoms

Data on neutral atomic species are analyzed for the purpose of inferring relative elemental abundances and depletions in diffuse cloud cores, where it is assumed that densities are enhanced in comparison with mean densities over integrated lines of sight. Column densities of neutral atoms are compared to yield relative column densities of singly ionized species, which are assumed dominant in cloud cores. This paper incorporates a survey of literature data on neutral atomic abundances with the result that no systematic enhancement in the depletions of calcium or iron in cloud cores is found, except for zeta Ophiuchi. This may imply that depletions are not influenced by density, but other data argue against this interpretation. It is concluded either that in general all elements are depleted together in dense regions so that their relative abundances remain constant, or that typical diffuse clouds do not have significant cores, but instead are reasonably homogeneous. The data show a probable correlation between cloud-core depletion and hydrogen-molecular fraction, supporting the assumption that overall depletions are a function of density.

Snow, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Laminar Soot Processes (LSP)

This is the final report of a research program considering the structure and the soot surface reaction properties of laminar nonpremixed (diffusion) flames. The study was limited to ground-based measurements of buoyant laminar jet diffusion flames at pressures of 0.1-1.0 atm. The motivation for the research is that soot formation in flames is a major unresolved problem of combustion science that influences the pollutant emissions, durability and performance of power and propulsion systems, as well as the potential for developing computational combustion. The investigation was divided into two phases considering the structure of laminar soot-containing diffusion flames and the soot surface reaction properties (soot surface growth and oxidation) of these flames, in turn. The first phase of the research addressed flame and soot structure properties of buoyant laminar jet diffusion flames at various pressures. The measurements showed that H, OH and O radical concentrations were generally in superequilibrium concentrations at atmospheric pressure but tended toward subequilibrium concentrations as pressures decreased. The measurements indicated that the original fuel decomposed into more robust compounds at elevated temperatures, such as acetylene (unless the original fuel was acetylene) and H, which are the major reactants for soot surface growth, and that the main effect of the parent fuel on soot surface growth involved its yield of acetylene and H for present test conditions. The second phase of the research addressed soot surface reaction properties, e.g., soot surface growth and surface oxidation. It was found that soot surface growth rates in both laminar premixed and diffusion flames were in good agreement, that these rates were relatively independent of fuel type, and that these rates could be correlated by the Hydrogen-Abstraction/Carbon-Addition (HACA) mechanisms of Colket and Hall (1994), Frenklach et al. (1990,1994), and Kazakov et al. (1995). It was also found that soot surface oxidation rates were relatively independent of fuel type, were not correlated with O2, CO2, H2O and O collision rates but were correlated with the collision rates of OH with a collision efficiency of 0.14, in agreement with the early measurements in premixed flames of Neoh et al. (1980), after allowing for oxidation by O2 via the classical rate expression of Nagle and Strickland-Constable (1962).

Dai, Z.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The cloudy state of interstellar matter

The expression 'cloudy state' is used to describe the state of the diffuse interstellar matter, with emphasis on its denser and more opaque regions. Questions of morphology with respect to the Galaxy are examined, taking into account neutral hydrogen, molecular regions, H II regions, infrared sources and masers, coronal gas in the Galaxy, and the major components of the interstellar medium. Aspects of dynamics are also considered, giving attention to the two-phase interstellar medium, the three-phase interstellar medium, the density-wave compression of clouds, and problems related to the concept of collapsing clouds. Developments concerning chemistry are explored. Radioactive chronologies are discussed along with isotopic anomalies and aspects of interstellar chemistry.

Clayton, D. D.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Velocity dispersions of knots in the Cygnus Loop and IC 443

Very high resolution spectroscopy of optical emission lines indicates that the velocity dispersions of knots in Cygnus Loop and IC 443 filaments result primarily from turbulence within the emitting regions. Line-of-sight velocity dispersions (half-widths at half-maximum) for the observed knots are on the order of 10-30 km/s, including associated thermal velocity dispersions of roughly 15 km/s for hydrogen, 6 km/s for oxygen, and 4 km/s for nitrogen. The knots themselves move randomly relative to each other with speeds of 10-30 km/s. Occasionally, diffuse components of the filaments are observed. These diffuse components have velocity dispersions between 60 and 85 km/s, but the relative contributions of turbulent and thermal motion to the dispersions are unkown.

Shull, P., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Development of high-efficiency solar cells on silicon web

Achievement of higher efficiency cells by directing efforts toward identifying carrier loss mechanisms; design of cell structures; and development of processing techniques are described. Use of techniques such as deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), laser-beam-induced current (LBIC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that dislocations in web material rather than twin planes were primarily responsible for limiting diffusion lengths in the web. Lifetimes and cell efficiencies can be improved from 19 to 120 microns, and 8 to 10.3% (no AR), respectively, by implanting hydrogen at 1500 eV and a beam current density of 2.0 mA/sq cm. Some of the processing improvements included use of a double-layer AR coating (ZnS and MgF2) and an addition of an aluminum back surface reflectors. Cells of more than 16% efficiency were achieved.

Meier, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The modeling of gas phase permeation through iron and nickel membranes

The gas phase permeation of hydrogen through metal membranes encompasses many kinetic processes. This paper reviews a permeation model which incorporates second order gas-surface reaction kinetics with simple bulk diffusion. The model is used to investigate the effect of this particular surface reaction of steady-state permeation. The dependence of the steady-state permeation flux on temperature, pressure, and thickness of the membrane has been calculated. The model predicts that the bulk controlled steady-state flux will change to a surface limited steady-state flux as either the temperature or thickness of the membrane is reduced. Finally, using independently derived parameters, the model is compared with permeation measurements on iron and nickel membranes.

Kuhn, David K.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Variable Property Flow in Rectangular Ducts with Repeated Rectangular Rib Roughness

PHOENICS was used to simulate turbulent flow of supercritical hydrogen through asymmetrically heated rectangular ducts with one side rib-roughened, in order to provide design data for active cooling systems of hypersonic aircraft where the hydrogen fuel is used as coolant. Variable property and conjugate heat transfer effects were considered. The computations using PHOENICS required provision of property sub-routines for supercritical hydrogen, a low-Reynolds number form of the k-epsilon turbulence model, a rough-wall wall function and a procedure for calculating proper diffusion coefficients at the fluid-solid interface. The effect of each design variable such as width and height of duct and wall thickness, on pressure drop and maximum wall temperature was investigated. PHOENICS version 1.4 was used on an IBM 3090 computer.

Youn, B.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Updated Computational Model of Cosmic Rays Near Earth

An updated computational model of the galactic-cosmic-ray (GCR) environment in the vicinity of the Earth, Earth s Moon, and Mars has been developed, and updated software has been developed to implement the updated model. This model accounts for solar modulation of the cosmic-ray contribution for each element from hydrogen through iron by computationally propagating the local interplanetary spectrum of each element through the heliosphere. The propagation is effected by solving the Fokker-Planck diffusion, convection, energy-loss boundary-value problem. The Advanced Composition Explorer NASA satellite has provided new data on GCR energy spectra. These new data were used to update the original model and greatly improve the accuracy of prediction of interplanetary GCR.

ONeill, Patrick M.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Constraints on Climate and Habitability for Earth-like Exoplanets Determined from a General Circulation Model

Conventional definitions of habitability require abundant liquid surface water to exist continuously over geologic timescales. Water in each of its thermodynamic phases interacts with solar and thermal radiation and is the cause for strong climatic feedbacks. Thus, assessments of the habitable zone require models to include a complete treatment of the hydrological cycle over geologic time. Here, we use the Community Atmosphere Model from the National Center for Atmospheric Research to study the evolution of climate for an Earth-like planet at constant CO2, under a wide range of stellar fluxes from F-, G-, and K-dwarf main sequence stars. Around each star we find four stable climate states defined by mutually exclusive global mean surface temperatures (T(sub s)); snowball (T(sub s) ≼ 235 K), waterbelt (235 K ≼ T(sub s) ≼ 250 K), temperate (275 K ≼ T(sub s) ≼ 315 K), and moist greenhouse (T(sub s) ≽ 330 K). Each is separated by abrupt climatic transitions. Waterbelt, temperate, and cooler moist greenhouse climates can maintain open-ocean against both sea ice albedo and hydrogen escape processes respectively, and thus constitute habitable worlds. We consider the warmest possible habitable planet as having T(sub s) ∼ 355 K, at which point diffusion limited water-loss could remove an Earth ocean in ∼1 Gyr. Without long timescale regulation of non-condensable greenhouse species at Earth-like temperatures and pressures, such as CO2, habitability can be maintained for an upper limit of ∼2.2, ∼2.4, and ∼4.7 Gyr around F-, G-, and K-dwarf stars respectively, due to main sequence brightening.

Astrobiology↗
NASA NTRS2024

Simplified Structure Models for Premixed n-Alkane Cool Flames

The chemical kinetics of cool flames in mixtures of normal alkanes, oxygen, and nitrogen recently have been reduced to obtain simplified asymptotic flame-structure models that can be used to compare theoretical predictions with experimental measurements. A key step that affects flame structures strongly, namely the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the alkyl radical by an oxygen molecule, had not been taken into account in those models. This deficiency has now been remedied for diffusion flames. The present contribution reports the corresponding remedy for premixed-flame analyses. In the new model, non-zero chemical reaction rates are restricted to narrow regions in the vicinity of the maximum temperature, whereas previously they extended throughout the preheat zone. Comparisons of the new predictions with experimental burning-velocity measurements seem favorable.

premixed cool flames↗
NASA NTRS1987

The large scale gas and dust distribution in the galaxy: Implications for star formation

Infrared Astronomy Observations are presented for the diffuse infrared (IR) emissions from the galactic plane at wavelengths of 60 and 100 microns and the total far infrared intensity and its longitudinal variations in the disk were derived. Using available CO, 5 GHz radio-continuum, and HI data, the IR luminosity per hydrogen mass and the ingrared excess (IRE) ratio in the Galaxy were derived. The longitudinal profiles of the 60 and 100 micron emission were linearly decomposed into three components that are associated with molecular (H2), neutral (HI), and ionized (HII) phases in the interstellar medium (ISM), and the relevant dust properties were derived in each phase. Implications of the findings for various models of the diffuse IR emisison and for star formation in the galactic disk are discussed.

Sodroski, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Assessment of Remote Sensing Technologies for Location of Hydrogen and Helium Leaks

In Phase 1 of this project, a hierarchy of techniques for H2 and He leak location was developed. A total of twelve specific remote sensing techniques were evaluated; the results are summarized. A basic diffusion model was also developed to predict the concentration and distribution of H2 or He resulting from a leak. The objectives of Phase 2 of the project consisted of the following four tasks: Advance Rayleigh Doppler technique from TRL 1 to TRL 2; Plan to advance Rayleigh Doppler technique from TRL 2 to TRL 3; Advance researchers and resources for further advancement; Extend diffusion model.

Sellar, R. Glenn↗
NASA NTRS1972

Observed effects of earth-reflected radiation and hydrogen drag on the orbital accelerations of balloon satellites.

From March through May 1967, the high-altitude balloon satellites Pageos (1966 56A) and Dash 2 (1963 30D) were both in continuous sunlight orbits. Observed variations in the orbital accelerations of both satellites are found to be due primarily to a combination of the perturbing effects of earth albedo radiation and atmospheric drag. An equation based on diffuse Lambertian reflection of sunlight from the earth predicts quite well the observed trend of orbital accelerations for both satellites due to the force of earth albedo radiation. After correcting for this effect, the remaining orbital energy changes are found to be consistent with atmospheric drag perturbations, making it possible to deduce mean exospheric densities above 2300 km. The results indicate that hydrogen concentrations during the observation period were about three times greater than that given by the U.S. Standard Atmosphere Supplements (1966).

Prior, E. J.↗