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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 505 records · Page 28

A finite element surface impedance representation for steady-state problems

A procedure for determining the scattered pressure field resulting from a monochromatic harmonic wave that is incident upon a layer energy absorbing structure is treated. The situation where the structure is modeled with finite elements and the surrounding acoustic medium (water or air) is represented with either acoustic finite elements, or some type of boundary integral formulation, is considered. Finite element modeling problems arise when the construction of the structure, at the fluid structure interface, are nonhomogeneous and in particular, when the inhomogeneities are small relative to the acoustic wave length. An approximate procedure is presented for replacing the detailed microscopic representation of the layered surface configuration with an equivalent simple surface impedance finite element, which is especially designed to work only at limited frequencies. An example problem is presented using NASTRAN. However, the procedure is general enough to adapt to practically any finite element code having a steady state option.

Kalinowski, A. J.↗

NASA Technology Applications Team: Commercial applications of aerospace technology

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) is pleased to report the results of NASA contract NASW-4367, 'Operation of a Technology Applications Team'. Through a period of significant change within NASA, the RTI Team has maintained its focus on helping NASA establish partnerships with U.S. industry for dual use development and technology commercialization. Our emphasis has been on outcomes, such as licenses, industry partnerships and commercialization of technologies that are important to NASA in its mission of contributing to the improved competitive position of U.S. industry. RTI's ongoing commitment to quality and customer responsiveness has driven our staff to continuously improve our technology transfer methodologies to meet NASA's requirements. For example, RTI has emphasized the following areas: (1) Methodology For Technology Assessment and Marketing: RTI has developed an implemented effective processes for assessing the commercial potential of NASA technologies. These processes resulted from an RTI study of best practices, hands-on experience, and extensive interaction with the NASA Field Centers to adapt to their specific needs; (2) Effective Marketing Strategies: RTI surveyed industry technology managers to determine effective marketing tools and strategies. The Technology Opportunity Announcement format and content were developed as a result of this industry input. For technologies with a dynamic visual impact, RTI has developed a stand-alone demonstration diskette that was successful in developing industry interest in licensing the technology; and (3) Responsiveness to NASA Requirements: RTI listened to our customer (NASA) and designed our processes to conform with the internal procedures and resources at each NASA Field Center and the direction provided by NASA's Agenda for Change. This report covers the activities of the Research Triangle Institute Technology Applications Team for the period 1 October 1993 through 31 December 1994.

Source record↗

NASA Technology Applications Team: Commercial applications of aerospace technology

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) Team has maintained its focus on helping NASA establish partnerships with U.S. industry for dual use development and technology commercialization. Our emphasis has been on outcomes, such as licenses, industry partnerships and commercialization of technologies, that are important to NASA in its mission of contributing to the improved competitive position of U.S. industry. The RTI Team has been successful in the development of NASA/industry partnerships and commercialization of NASA technologies. RTI ongoing commitment to quality and customer responsiveness has driven our staff to continuously improve our technology transfer methodologies to meet NASA's requirements. For example, RTI has emphasized the following areas: (1) Methodology For Technology Assessment and Marketing: RTI has developed and implemented effective processes for assessing the commercial potential of NASA technologies. These processes resulted from an RTI study of best practices, hands-on experience, and extensive interaction with the NASA Field Centers to adapt to their specific needs. (2) Effective Marketing Strategies: RTI surveyed industry technology managers to determine effective marketing tools and strategies. The Technology Opportunity Announcement format and content were developed as a result of this industry input. For technologies with a dynamic visual impact, RTI has developed a stand-alone demonstration diskette that was successful in developing industry interest in licensing the technology. And (3) Responsiveness to NASA Requirements: RTI listened to our customer (NASA) and designed our processes to conform with the internal procedures and resources at each NASA Field Center and the direction provided by NASA's Agenda for Change. This report covers the activities of the Research Triangle Institute Technology Applications Team for the period 1 October 1993 through 31 December 1994.

Source record↗

Verification of BOUT++ by the method of manufactured solutions

BOUT++ is a software package designed for solving plasma fluid models. It has been used to simulate a wide range of plasma phenomena ranging from linear stability analysis to 3D plasma turbulence and is capable of simulating a wide range of drift-reduced plasma fluid and gyro-fluid models. A verification exercise has been performed as part of a EUROfusion Enabling Research project, to rigorously test the correctness of the algorithms implemented in BOUT++, by testing order-of-accuracy convergence rates using the Method of Manufactured Solutions (MMS). We present tests of individual components including time-integration and advection schemes, non-orthogonal toroidal field-aligned coordinate systems and the shifted metric procedure which is used to handle highly sheared grids. The flux coordinate independent approach to differencing along magnetic field-lines has been implemented in BOUT++ and is here verified using the MMS in a sheared slab configuration. Finally, we show tests of three complete models: 2-field Hasegawa-Wakatani in 2D slab, 3-field reduced magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in 3D field-aligned toroidal coordinates, and 5-field reduced MHD in slab geometry.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

The magnetic structure of long-wavelength magnetohydrodynamic modes in current-carrying stellarator plasmas

Magnetic field fluctuations are observed in current-carrying stellarator plasmas when the rotational transform is close to a rational value at the edge of the plasma. At low plasma pressure, these fluctuations are associated with perturbed currents parallel to the equilibrium magnetic field lines. A model for these magnetohydrodynamic modes in a low-β, three-dimensional stellarator equilibria has been developed. A set of helical current filaments are constrained to mimic the structure of magnetic field lines on rational surfaces derived from three-dimensional (3D) equilibrium reconstructions. Transformation to straight field line coordinates then allows fitting of the poloidal magnetic sensor data to a single harmonic function, which fixes the modeled toroidal mode structure via the field line flow geometry. The developed procedure accurately captures phase and amplitude variation for m/n = 3/2, 3/1, and 4/1 modes in the 3D equilibria of the compact toroidal hybrid experiment.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Multi-Variable Model-Based Parameter Estimation Model for Antenna Radiation Pattern Prediction

A new procedure is presented to develop multi-variable model-based parameter estimation (MBPE) model to predict far field intensity of antenna. By performing MBPE model development procedure on a single variable at a time, the present method requires solution of smaller size matrices. The utility of the present method is demonstrated by determining far field intensity due to a dipole antenna over a frequency range of 100-1000 MHz and elevation angle range of 0-90 degrees.

Deshpande, Manohar D.↗

On the redundancy of operators and the bispectrum in the most general second-order scalar-tensor theory

In this short note we explain how to use the linear equations of motion to simplify the third-order action for the cosmological fluctuations. No field redefinition is needed in this exact procedure which considerably limits the range of independent cubic operators, and hence of possible shapes of the primordial bispectrum. We demonstrate this in the context of the most general single-field scalar-tensor theory with second-order equations of motion, whose third-order action has been calculated recently in arXiv:1107.2642 and 1107.3917. In particular, we show that the three cubic operators initially pointed out in these works as new compared to k-inflation can actually be expressed in terms of standard k-inflationary operators.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

3D Hall Probe Calibration Procedure

Hall probes are commonly used to measure local magnetic field, however they need to be calibrated. This technical note describes the accurate 3D Hall probe calibration system developed by the NSLS-II Insertion devices group at BNL. The calibration procedure and the calibration curves of an Arepoc 3D Hall probe have been presented.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Nonlinear behavior of acoustic waves in combustion chambers

The nonlinear growth and limiting amplitude of acoustic waves in a combustion chamber are considered. A formal framework is provided within which practical problems can be treated with a minimum of effort and expense. The general conservation equations were expanded in two small parameters, one characterizing the mean flow field and one measuring the amplitude of oscillations, and then combined to yield a nonlinear inhomogeneous wave equation. The unsteady pressure and velocity fields were expressed as syntheses of the normal modes of the chamber, but with unknown time-varying amplitudes. This procedure yielded a representation of a general unsteady field as a system of coupled nonlinear oscillators. The system of nonlinear equations was treated by the method of averaging to produce a set of coupled nonlinear first order differential equations for the amplitudes and phases of the modes. The analysis is applicable to any combustion chamber. The most interesting applications are probably to solid rockets, liquid rockets, or thrust augmentors on jet engines.

Culick, F. E. C.↗

Use of Semi-Autonomous Tools for ISS Commanding and Monitoring

As the International Space Station (ISS) has moved into a utilization phase, operations have shifted to become more ground-based with fewer mission control personnel monitoring and commanding multiple ISS systems. This shift to fewer people monitoring more systems has prompted use of semi-autonomous console tools in the ISS Mission Control Center (MCC) to help flight controllers command and monitor the ISS. These console tools perform routine operational procedures while keeping the human operator "in the loop" to monitor and intervene when off-nominal events arise. Two such tools, the Pre-positioned Load (PPL) Loader and Automatic Operators Recorder Manager (AutoORM), are used by the ISS Communications RF Onboard Networks Utilization Specialist (CRONUS) flight control position. CRONUS is responsible for simultaneously commanding and monitoring the ISS Command & Data Handling (C&DH) and Communications and Tracking (C&T) systems. PPL Loader is used to uplink small pieces of frequently changed software data tables, called PPLs, to ISS computers to support different ISS operations. In order to uplink a PPL, a data load command must be built that contains multiple user-input fields. Next, a multiple step commanding and verification procedure must be performed to enable an onboard computer for software uplink, uplink the PPL, verify the PPL has incorporated correctly, and disable the computer for software uplink. PPL Loader provides different levels of automation in both building and uplinking these commands. In its manual mode, PPL Loader automatically builds the PPL data load commands but allows the flight controller to verify and save the commands for future uplink. In its auto mode, PPL Loader automatically builds the PPL data load commands for flight controller verification, but automatically performs the PPL uplink procedure by sending commands and performing verification checks while notifying CRONUS of procedure step completion. If an off-nominal condition occurs during procedure execution, PPL Loader notifies CRONUS through popup messages, allowing CRONUS to examine the situation and choose an option of how PPL loader should proceed with the procedure. The use of PPL Loader to perform frequent, routine PPL uplinks offloads CRONUS to better monitor two ISS systems. It also reduces procedure performance time and decreases risk of command errors. AutoORM identifies ISS communication outage periods and builds commands to lock, playback, and unlock ISS Operations Recorder files. Operation Recorder files are circular buffer files of continually recorded ISS telemetry data. Sections of these files can be locked from further writing, be played back to capture telemetry data that occurred during an ISS loss of signal (LOS) period, and then be unlocked for future recording use. Downlinked Operation Recorder files are used by mission support teams for data analysis, especially if failures occur during LOS. The commands to lock, playback, and unlock Operations Recorder files are encompassed in three different operational procedures and contain multiple user-input fields. AutoORM provides different levels of automation for building and uplinking the commands to lock, playback, and unlock Operations Recorder files. In its automatic mode, AutoORM automatically detects ISS LOS periods, then generates and uplinks the commands to lock, playback, and unlock Operations Recorder files when MCC regains signal with ISS. AutoORM also features semi-autonomous and manual modes which integrate CRONUS more into the command verification and uplink process. AutoORMs ability to automatically detect ISS LOS periods and build the necessary commands to preserve, playback, and release recorded telemetry data greatly offloads CRONUS to perform more high-level cognitive tasks, such as mission planning and anomaly troubleshooting. Additionally, since Operations Recorder commands contain numerical time input fields which are tedious for a human to manually build, AutoORM's ability to automatically build commands reduces operational command errors. PPL Loader and AutoORM demonstrate principles of semi-autonomous operational tools that will benefit future space mission operations. Both tools employ different levels of automation to perform simple and routine procedures, thereby offloading human operators to perform higher-level cognitive tasks. Because both tools provide procedure execution status and highlight off-nominal indications, the flight controller is able to intervene during procedure execution if needed. Semi-autonomous tools and systems that can perform routine procedures, yet keep human operators informed of execution, will be essential in future long-duration missions where the onboard crew will be solely responsible for spacecraft monitoring and control.

Brzezinski, Amy S.↗

Early stage of superradiance from Bose-Einstein condensates

We investigate the dynamics of matter and optical waves at the early stage of superradiant Rayleigh scattering from Bose-Einstein condensates. Our analysis is within a spatially dependent quantum model which is capable of providing analytic solutions for the operators of interest. The predictions of the present model are compared to the predictions of a closely related mean-field model, and we provide a procedure that allows one to calculate quantum expectation values by averaging over semiclassical solutions. The coherence properties of the outgoing scattered light are also analyzed, and it is shown that the corresponding correlation functions may provide detailed information about the internal dynamics of the system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Blanco DECam Bulge Survey (BDBS)

The Blanco DECam Bulge Survey (BDBS) has imaged more than 200 square degrees of the southern Galactic bulge, providing photometry in the ugrizy filters for ~250 million unique stars. The presence of a strong foreground disk population, along with complex reddening and extreme image crowding, has made it difficult to constrain the presence of young and intermediate age stars in the bulge population. We employed an accurate cross-match of BDBS with the latest data release (EDR3) from the Gaia mission, matching more than 140 million sources with BDBS photometry and Gaia EDR3 photometry and astrometry. We relied on Gaia EDR3 astrometry, without any photometric selection, to produce clean BDBS bulge colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). Gaia parallaxes were used to filter out bright foreground sources, and a Gaussian mixture model fit to Galactic proper motions could identify stars kinematically consistent with bulge membership. We applied this method to 127 different bulge fields of 1 deg 2 each, with |$\ell$| ≤ 9.5 ° and –9.5 ° ≤ b ≤ –2.5 °. The astrometric cleaning procedure removes the majority of blue stars in each field, especially near the Galactic plane, where the ratio of blue to red stars is .10%, increasing to values ~20% at higher Galactic latitudes. We rule out the presence of a widespread population of stars younger than 2 Gyr. The vast majority of blue stars brighter than the turnoff belong to the foreground population, according to their measured astrometry. We introduce the distance between the observed red giant branch bump and the red clump as a simple age proxy for the dominant population in the field, and we confirm the picture of a predominantly old bulge. Further work is needed to apply the method to estimate ages to fields at higher latitudes, and to model the complex morphology of the Galactic bulge. We also produce transverse kinematic maps, recovering expected patterns related to the presence of the bar and of the X-shaped nature of the bulge.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Open clusters in the Kepler field. II. NGC 6866

We have developed a maximum-likelihood procedure to fit theoretical isochrones to the observed cluster color-magnitude diagrams of NGC 6866, an open cluster in the Kepler spacecraft field of view. The Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm permits exploration of the entire parameter space of a set of isochrones to find both the best solution and the statistical uncertainties. For clusters in the age range of NGC 6866 with few, if any, red giant members, a purely photometric determination of the cluster properties is not well-constrained. Nevertheless, based on our UBVRI photometry alone, we have derived the distance, reddening, age, and metallicity of the cluster and established estimates for the binary nature and membership probability of individual stars. We derive the following values for the cluster properties: (m – M) {sub V} = 10.98 ± 0.24, E(B – V) = 0.16 ± 0.04 (so the distance = 1250 pc), age =705 ± 170 Myr, and Z = 0.014 ± 0.005.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Generalization of the extended Lagrangian formalism on a field theory and applications

Formalism of extended Lagrangian represents a systematic procedure to look for the local symmetries of a given Lagrangian action. In this work, the formalism is discussed and applied to a field theory. We describe it in detail for a field theory with first-class constraints present in the Hamiltonian formulation. The method is illustrated on examples of electrodynamics, Yang-Mills field, and nonlinear sigma model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

First Astronaut- Rover Interaction Field Test

The first Astronaut - Rover (ASRO) Interaction field test was conducted successfully on February 22-27, 1999, in Silver Lake, Mojave Desert, California in a representative planetary surface terrain. This test was a joint effort between the NASA Ames Research Center , Moffett Field, California and the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. As prototype advanced planetary surface space suit and rover technologies are being developed for human planetary surface exploration , it has been determined that it is important to better understand the potential interaction and benefits of an EVA astronaut interacting with a robotic rover . This interaction between an EVA astronaut and a robotic rover is seen as complementary and can greatly enhance the productivity and safety of surface excursions . This test also identified design requirements and options in an advanced space suit and robotic rover. The test objectives were: 1. To identify the operational domains where the EVA astronauts and rover are complementary and can interact and thus collaborate in a safe , productive and cost- effective way, 2. To identify preliminary requirements and recommendations for advanced space suits and rovers that facilitate their cooperative and complementary interaction, 3. To develop operational procedures for the astronaut-rover teams in the identified domains, 4. To test these procedures during representative mission scenarios during field tests by simulating the exploration of a planetary surface by an EVA crew interacting with a robotic rover, 5. To train a space suited test subject, simulated Earth-based and l or lander-based science teams, and robotic vehicle operators in mission configurations, and 6. To evaluate and understand socio-technical aspects of the astronaut - rover interaction experiment in order to guide future technologies and designs. Test results and areas for future research in the design of planetary space suits will be discussed .

Kosmo, Joseph J.↗

Improving Bending Moment Measurements on Wind Turbine Blades

Full-scale fatigue testing of wind turbine blades is conducted using resonance test techniques where the blade plus additional masses is excited at its first resonance frequency to achieve the target loading amplitude. Because there is not a direct relationship between the force applied by an actuator and the bending moment, the blade is instrumented with strain gauges that are calibrated under static loading conditions to determine the sensitivity or relationship between strain and applied moment. Then, during dynamic loading the applied moment is calculated using the strain response of the structure. A similar procedure is also used in the field to measure in-service loads on turbine blades. Because wind turbine blades are complex twisted structures and the deflections are large, there is often significant cross-talk coupling in the sensitivity of strain gauges placed on the structure. Recent work has shown that a sensitivity matrix with nonzero cross terms must be employed to find constant results when a blade is subjected to both flap and lead-lag loading. However, even under controlled laboratory conditions, potential for errors of 3 percent or more in the measured moment exist when using the typical cross-talk matrix approach due to neglecting the influence of large deformations and torsion. This is particularly critical when considering a biaxial load as would be applied on the turbine or during a biaxial fatigue test. This presentation describes these results demonstrating errors made when performing current loads measurement practices on wind turbine blades in the lab and evaluating potential improvements using enhanced cross-talk matrix approaches and calibration procedures.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Numerical Analysis of Electron Runaway in the Presence of Enhanced Field in the Vicinity of a Microtip

Transition of field-emission electrons to the runaway regime in the region of enhanced electric field determined by the configuration of a microtip on a cathode is studied at several pressures of gas medium. The problem is solved using simulation of electron motion in the presence of nonuniform electric field with the aid of the Monte Carlo procedure in the 2D configuration. Nitrogen is used as a working gas. Passage through a relatively small region of the enhanced field in the vicinity of the microtip may substantially facilitate electron escape to the runaway regime, especially, at pressures of greater than 10 atm. In our opinion, the resulting runaway electrons may provide preionization of gas medium and formation of the initial stage of a 3D discharge.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗