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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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NASA NTRS2003

Surface Time-Variable Gravity Signals and Possible Sources Including Core Mass Flow

Over two decades of geodetic satellite-laser-ranging (SLR) data show that the variation of the Earth's oblateness parameter J2 has a clear seasonal signal of amplitude of about 3e-10 and a secular decrease of about -2.8e-11/year, superimposed on some interesting interannual fluctuations. Physically, any change in mass distribution or/inside the Earth will be reflected in the time-variable gravity signal obtained outside the Earth, according to Newton s gravitational law. Therefore, such signal contains contributions from all geophysical sources that redistribute mass, on all temporal and spatial scales, including those from the core. Besides Earth rotation and geomagnetic field variations, the time-variable gravity also contains information linking Earth surface observations with internal core dynamical processes. The time scales of the gravity signal are critical in helping differentiate different contributions. The atmosphere and hydrosphere are responsible for the seasonal and much of the interannual and intraseasoanl fluctuations, while the secular trend is due mainly to the post-glacial rebound but possibly core mass flow. To estimate the latter effect, we use our MoSST (Modular, Scalable, Self-consistent, Three-dimensional) core dynamics model to forward simulate the core flow, and density variation due to the core convection. Our results suggest that, when upward continued to the surface, the J2 component of the core mass redistribution can reach an overall amplitude of e-11/year, approaching the SLR detectability and significant in geophysical terms. We also find a general westward drift of the mass flow, with a speed comparable to that of the geomagnetic westward drift.

Chao, Benjamin F.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Self-organization of the earth's biosphere-geochemical or geophysiological?

We explore the implications of indicating the biosphere's self-organization by the trend over time of the net entropic flow from the Earth's surface, the actual physical boundary of virtually all biotic mass. This flow, derived from the radiative surface entropy budget, is approximately inversely related to the surface temperature when the solar incident flux remains constant. In the geophysiological ('gaian') interpretation, biospheric self-organization has increased with the progressive colonization of the continents and evolutionary developments in the land biota, as a result of surface cooling arising from biotic enhancement of weathering. The key site for this self-organization is at the interface between land and atmosphere, the soil, where carbon is sequestered by its reaction (as carbonic and organic acids) with calcium magnesium silicates. Along with disequilibrium (steady-state) levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the occurrence of differentiated soil is the critical material evidence for biospheric self-organization, whether it be geophysiological or geochemical (ie., purely result of inorganic reactions). The computed equilibrium levels of carbon dioxide and corresponding equilibrium temperatures in the past are dramatically different from the steady-state levels. With future solar luminosity increase, the biospheric capacity for climatic regulation will decrease, leading to the ending of self-organization some two billion years from now. The Earth's surface will then approach chemical equilibrium with respect to the carbonate-silicate cycle.

Schwartzman, David W.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Is there a classical Hyades lithium problem?

The distribution of surface lithium abundances in the Hyades cluster, as a function of effective temperature, has resisted a satisfactory theoretical explanation for more than two decades. Trends in the historically recomputed values of stellar opacity have stimulated a systematic investigation of the effects of larger opacities on lithium depletion during the premain-sequence evolution of low-mass stars. It is shown that the calculated depletion depends quite strongly on the opacities employed, and that both surface and interior opacities play an important role. By performing standard evolutionary calculations with parameterized increments in the opacities, the observed Hyades Li and T(eff) relation for G and K dwarfs have been determined in a manner consistent with the other observational constraints. The solution presented herein requires an increase in interior opacities at about 4 million K over older values by approximately less than 37 percent. Such a change is not incompatible with the historical trends in opacity computations and suggests that the resolution of this problem lies solely in the opacities, without recourse to other physical mechanisms such as turbulent diffusion or 'extra mixing'.

Swenson, Fritz J.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Erosive burning research

A status report is given on the results for the completed tests in a series of motor firings being carried out to measure the effects of the parameters that are considered to most strongly influence the scaling to larger rocket motor sizes of the transition to/or threshold conditions for erosive burning rate augmentation. Propellant burning rates at locations along the axis of the test motors are measured with a newly developed plasma capacitance gauge technique. The measured results are compared with erosive-burning predictions from a supporting ballistics analysis. The completed motor firings have successfully demonstrated response to the designed test variables. The trends with varying propellant burning rate, chamber pressure, and mass flow rate are consistent with existing results, but no pronounced effect of surface roughness has been observed. Rather, the influence of propellant oxidizer particle size on erosive burning is through its effect on the base, no-corssflow burning rate.

Strand, L.↗

NASA NTRS2004

A Comparison of Transportation Systems for Human Missions to Mars

There are many ways to send humans to Mars. Credible technical reports can be traced to the 1950's. More recently, NASA has funded major studies that depict a broad variety of trajectories, technologies, stay times, and costs. Much of this data is still valid with direct application to today's exploration planning. This paper presents results comparing these studies with particular emphasis on the in-space transportation aspects of the mission. Specifically, comparisons are made on propulsion systems used for getting the crew and mission equipment from Earth orbit to Mars orbit, descending and ascending from the surface, and returning to Earth orbit. Areas of comparison for each of these phases include crew size, mission mass, propellant mass, delta v, specific impulse, transit time, surface stay time, aero-braking, and others. Data is analyzed to demonstrate either strong trends toward particular technologies or diverging solutions.

Bipropellants↗

DOE OSTI2023

A Novel Experimental Approach to Understand the Transport of Nanodrugs

Nanoparticle-based drugs offer attractive advantages like targeted delivery to the diseased site and size and shape-controlled properties. Therefore, understanding the particulate flow of the nanodrugs is important for effective delivery, accurate prediction of required dosage, and developing efficient drug delivery platforms for nanodrugs. In this study, the transport of nanodrugs including flow velocity and deposition is investigated using three model metal oxide nanodrugs of different sizes including iron oxide, zinc oxide, and combined Cu-Zn-Fe oxide synthesized via a modified polyol approach. The hydrodynamic size, size, morphology, chemical composition, crystal phase, and surface functional groups of the water-soluble nanodrugs were characterized via dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Two different biomimetic flow channels with customized surfaces are developed via 3D printing to experimentally monitor the velocity and deposition of the different nanodrugs. A diffusion dominated mechanism of flow is seen in size ranges 92 nm to 110 nm of the nanodrugs, from the experimental velocity and mass loss profiles. The flow velocity analysis also shows that the transport of nanodrugs is controlled by sedimentation processes in the larger size ranges of 110–302 nm. However, the combined overview from experimental mass loss and velocity trends indicates presence of both diffusive and sedimentation forces in the 110–302 nm size ranges. It is also discovered that the nanodrugs with higher positive surface charges are transported faster through the two test channels, which also leads to lower deposition of these nanodrugs on the walls of the flow channels. The results from this study will be valuable in realizing reliable and cost-effective in vitro experimental approaches that can support in vivo methods to predict the flow of new nanodrugs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

The Arctic

Arctic observations in 2023 provided clear evidence of rapid and pronounced climate and environmental change, shaped by past and ongoing human activities that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and push the broader Earth system into uncharted territory. This chapter provides a snapshot of 2023 and summarizes decades-long trends observed across the Arctic, including warming surface air and sea-surface temperatures, decreasing snow cover, diminishing sea ice, thawing permafrost, and continued mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet and Arctic glaciers. These changes are driving a transition to a wetter, greener, and less frozen Arctic, with serious implications for Arctic peoples and ecosystems, as well as for low- and midlatitudes

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2004

Greenland Glacier Albedo Variability

The program for Arctic Regional Climate Assessment (PARCA) is a NASA-funded project with the prime goal of addressing the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet. Since the formal initiation of the program in 1995, there has been a significant improvement in the estimates of the mass balance of the ice sheet. Results from this program reveal that the high-elevation regions of the ice sheet are approximately in balance, but the margins are thinning. Laser surveys reveal significant thinning along 70 percent of the ice sheet periphery below 2000 m elevations, and in at least one outlet glacier, Kangerdlugssuaq in southeast Greenland, thinning has been as much as 10 m/yr. This study examines the albedo variability in four outlet glaciers to help separate out the relative contributions of surface melting versus ice dynamics to the recent mass balance changes. Analysis of AVHRR Polar Pathfinder albedo shows that at the Petermann and Jakobshavn glaciers, there has been a negative trend in albedo at the glacier terminus from 1981 to 2000, whereas the Stor+strommen and Kangerdlugssuaq glaciers show slightly positive trends in albedo. These findings are consistent with recent observations of melt extent from passive microwave data which show more melt on the western side of Greenland and slightly less on the eastern side. Significance of albedo trends will depend on where and when the albedo changes occur. Since the majority of surface melt occurs in the shallow sloping western margin of the ice sheet where the shortwave radiation dominates the energy balance in summer (e.g. Jakobshavn region) this region will be more sensitive to changes in albedo than in regions where this is not the case. Near the Jakobshavn glacier, even larger changes in albedo have been observed, with decreases as much as 20 percent per decade.

Source record↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Integrated Waste Trade Study: Lunar Surface to Deep Space

The Logistics Reduction Project is one of NASA's technology development projects that is preparing humanity for deep space missions. Reducing the mass and volume of logistical supplies that must be carried from Earth to support the missions and their crews is the primary goal of the project. Effective ways to achieve this goal include reducing, reusing, or recycling wastes generated throughout the mission. Due to the goal of the project, waste processing technologies were analyzed for Lunar surface missions at various lengths and an 850-day Mars transit mission to evaluate the potential benefits of waste processing pertaining to each mission. The technologies assessed include trash compaction, trash-to-gas and human metabolic waste processing technologies, integrated with the baseline architectures of each mission’s habitat. The fully integrated systems were analyzed using an equivalent system mass, which is a metric that encompasses the mass, volume, power and cooling of a system, resulting in an estimate of launch mass and serving as a proxy for cost. Each system’s equivalent system mass was compared to that of the baseline waste processing system of the respective habitat, hand compaction with storage for Lunar surface missions and hand compaction with jettisoning for Mars transit, to evaluate whether the traded waste processing technology was beneficial. This analysis identifies a general trend that more sophisticated waste processing can be beneficial depending on the mission duration. For Lunar surface missions, the water recovery from waste processing can pay off over consecutive missions, due to offsetting the losses from the system via extravehicular activities. In contrast for Mars transit, the primary objective is mass removal from the spacecraft, so technologies like trash-to-gas are competitive with the baseline. Furthermore, the technologies which can recover resources from waste, such as water, may present additional advantages to an ever-changing Mars mission architecture.

Waste processing↗

DOE OSTI2020

Nitride or Oxynitride? Elucidating the Composition–Activity Relationships in Molybdenum Nitride Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Molybdenum nitride (Mo–N) catalysts have shown promising activity and stability for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acid. However, the effect of oxygen (O) incorporation (from synthesis, catalysis, or exposure to air) on their activity remains elusive. Here, we use reactive sputtering to synthesize three compositions of thin-film catalysts and use extensive materials characterization to investigate the depth-dependent structure and incorporated O. We show that the as-deposited Mo–N films are highly oxidized both at the surface (>30% O) and in the bulk (3–21% O) and that the ORR performance is strongly correlated with the bulk structure and composition. Activity for 4e– ORR is highest for compositions with the highest N/O and N/Mo ratio. Furthermore, H 2 O 2 production for the films with moderate O content is comparable to or higher than the most H 2 O 2 -selective nonprecious metal catalysts in acidic electrolyte, on a moles per mass or surface area of catalyst basis. Density functional theory provides insight into the energetics of O incorporation and vacancy formation, and we hypothesize that activity trends with O/N ratios can be traced to the varying crystallite phases and their interactions with ORR adsorbates. This work demonstrates the prevalence and significance of O in metal nitride electrocatalysts and motivates further investigation into the role of O in other nonprecious metal materials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

A detection of the sea level fingerprint of Greenland Ice Sheet melt

Rapid melting of ice sheets and glaciers drives a unique geometry, or fingerprint, of sea level change. However, the detection of individual fingerprints has been challenging because of sparse observations at high latitudes and the difficulty of disentangling ocean dynamic variability from the signal. Here we predict the fingerprint of Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) melt using recent ice mass loss estimates from radar altimetry data and model reconstructions of nearby glaciers and compare this prediction to an independent, altimetry-derived sea surface height trend corrected for ocean dynamic variability in the region adjacent to the ice sheet. A statistically significant correlation between the two fields (P < 0.001) provides an unambiguous observational detection of the near-field sea level fingerprint of recent GrIS melting in our warming world.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2018

Numerical Simulation of a Simplified High-Lift CRM Configuration Embedded with Fluidic Actuators

Numerical simulations have been performed for a simplified high-lift configuration that is representative of a modern transport airplane. This configuration includes a leading-edge slat, fuselage, wing, nacelle-pylon and a simple hinged flap. The suction surface of the flap is embedded with multiple rows of fluidic actuators to reduce the extent of reversed flow regions and improve the aerodynamic performance of the configuration with flap in a deployed state. In the current paper, a Lattice Boltzmann Method based high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, known as PowerFLOW® is used to simulate the entire flow field associated with this configuration, including the flow inside the actuators. A fully compressible version of the PowerFLOW® code that has been validated for high speed flows is used for the present simulations to accurately represent the transonic flow regimes that are encountered in the flow field generated by the actuators operating at higher mass flow (momentum) rates required to mitigate reverse flow regions on the suction surfaces of the main wing and the flap. The numerical solutions predict the expected trends in aerodynamic forces as the actuation levels are increased. More efficient active flow control (AFC) systems and actuator arrangement for lift augmentation are emerging based on the parametric studies conducted here prior to wind tunnel tests. These numerical solutions will be compared with experimental data, once such data becomes available.

Vatsa, Veer N.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Surface-wave tomography of the Emeishan large igneous province (China): Magma storage system, hidden hotspot track, and its impact on the Capitanian mass extinction

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are commonly associated with mass extinctions. However, the precise relations between LIPs and their impacts on biodiversity is enigmatic, given that they can be asynchronous. It has been proposed that the environmental impacts are primarily related to sill emplacement. Therefore, the structure of LIPs' magma storage system is critical because it dictates the occurrence and timing of mass extinction. We use surface-wave tomography to image the lithosphere under the Permian Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) in southwestern China. We find a northeast-trending zone of high shear-wave velocity (Vs) and negative radial anisotropy (Vsv > Vsh; v and h are vertically and horizontally polarized S waves, respectively) in the crust and lithosphere. We rule out the possibilities of rifting or orogenesis to explain these seismic characteristics and interpret the seismic anomaly as a mafic-ultramafic, dike-dominated magma storage system of the ELIP. We further propose that the anomaly represents a hidden hotspot track that was emplaced before the ELIP eruption. A zone of higher velocity but less-negative radial anisotropy, on the hotspot track but to the northeast of the eruption center in the Panxi region, reflects an elevated proportion of sills emplaced at the incipient stage of the ELIP. Liberation of poisonous gases by the early sill intrusions explains why the mid-Capitanian global biota crisis preceded the peak ELIP eruption by 2–3 m.y.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Impact of Site Identity, Location, and Accessibility on Polyethylene Conversion Rates and Product Selectivities over Metal-Free MFI Zeolites

Brønsted (BAS), Lewis (LAS), and surface Brønsted (SBAS) acid sites have been investigated for polyethylene (PE) upcycling by zeolite catalysts, but there is no clear consensus regarding their catalytic roles, partly due to the complexity of the catalysts used and varying reaction conditions across studies. This work systematically determined how these sites impact PE conversion rates and product distributions by utilizing a suite of microporous MFI catalysts with varying Si/Al ratios, acid site densities, and inherent mesoporosities. PE conversion rates did not trend with total BAS or LAS densities due to a combination of internal mass transfer limitation and the apparent inability of LAS alone to cleave C–C bonds, but a strong, statistically significant correlation was present with respect to SBAS density and mesopore surface area, jointly, owing to accelerated polymer activation on external surfaces to smaller diffusion-limited chains. However, ingress of these SBAS-derived fragments ultimately remained rate limiting, as demonstrated by solid conversion rates that increased with mesopore surface area at similar SBAS density and likewise increased with SBAS density at similar mesopore surface area. In batch PE cracking reactions, light gaseous product selectivities were most sensitive to total BAS, with higher densities generally exhibiting higher selectivity to C 3 and linear C 4 –C 7 products and higher alkane/alkene product ratios, consistent with increased β-scission turnovers. Insights from this work help systematically clarify the roles of BAS, LAS, SBAS, and mesopores in PE cracking reactions and inform the development of tailored zeolite catalysts for efficient polyolefin upcycling.

accessibility↗

NASA NTRS2022

Retrieving Particulate Matter Concentrations over the Contiguous United States Using CALIOP Observations

Using twelve years (2007-2018) of NASA Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) near-surface 532 nm aerosol extinction retrievals, multi-year mean and trends of particulate matter (PM) concentrations are derived over the contiguous United States (CONUS). Different from past studies that use column integrated aerosol optical thickness, here only near-surface CALIOP aerosol extinction is used for deriving near-surface PM with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) concentrations using an innovative, bulk-mass-modeling-based method. Compared against ground based PM2.5 measurements from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an encouraging relationship between CALIOP-derived PM2.5 and EPA-observed PM2.5 (Deming slope = 0.89; RMSE = 3.42 µg/m3; mean bias = -1.00 µg/m3) is found using combined daytime/nighttime CALIOP data. Also, comparable trends in PM2.5 concentrations from the EPA and daytime and nighttime CALIOP data are found for most of the eastern CONUS and imply that air quality is generally improving over this region for the study period. Over the western CONUS, a seasonal analysis reveals that PM2.5 trends are positive during the more active wildfire season (June through November) but negative for other months. This study suggests that lidar data show promise in their use for obtaining PM2.5 estimates and provides motivation to further explore aerosol extinction-based PM concentration retrievals in anticipation of future space-based lidar missions.

CALIOP↗

NASA NTRS2012

Seismic Rate Changes Associated with Seasonal, Annual, and Decadal Changes in the Cryosphere

Near the Bering Glacier Global Fiducial site in southern Alaska large cryospheric fluctuations occur in a region of upper crustal faulting and folding associated with collision and accretion of the Yakutat terrane. In this study we report constraints on seasonal, annual and decadal cryospheric changes estimated over the last decade from field, aircraft and satellite measurements, and we evaluate the influence of cryospheric changes on the background seismic rate. Multi-year images from the Bering Glacier global fiducial site are available since mid-2003 to constrain changes in extent of the Bering Glacier and to discern feature changes in the glacial surface. Starting around the same time, satellite gravimetric measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate experiment (GRACE) commenced. Large spatial-scale mass change calculated from the GRACE 1deg x 1deg mascon solution of Luthcke et al. [2012] indicate a general trend of annual ice mass loss for southern Alaska but with large, variable seasonal mass fluctuations. Since 2007, the station position of a continuous GPS site near Cape Yakataga (Alaska EarthScope PBO site, AB35) has been available as well. In addition to changes in the geodetic position due to tectonic motion, this GPS station shows large seasonal excursions in the detrended vertical and horizontal position components consistent with snow loading in the fall and winter and melt onset/mass decrease in the spring/summer. To better understand the timing of processes responsible for the onset of cryospheric mass loss documented in the GRACE data, we examined changes in the snow cover extent and the onset of melt in the spring. We calculated the surface displacements of the solid Earth and theoretical earthquake failure criteria associated with these annual and seasonal ice and snow changes using layered elastic half-space. Additionally, we compared the seismic rate (M>1.8) from a reference background time period against other time periods with variable ice or tectonic change characteristics to test the significance of seismic rate changes. Our earlier results suggest statistically significant changes in the background seismic rate associated with large seasonal mass changes. INDEX

Sauber-Rosenberg, Jeanne↗

NASA NTRS1998

Aviation Fuel Tracer Simulation: Model Intercomparison and Implications

An upper limit for aircraft-produced perturbations to aerosols and gaseous exhaust products in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS) is derived using the 1992 aviation fuel tracer simulation performed by eleven global atmospheric models. Key findings are that subsonic aircraft emissions: (1) have not been responsible for the observed water vapor trends at 40degN; (2) could be a significant source of soot mass near 12 km, but not at 20 km; (3) might cause a noticeable increase in the background sulfate aerosol surface area and number densities (but not mass density) near the northern mid-latitude tropopause; and (4) could provide a global, annual mean top of the atmosphere radiative forcing up to +0.006 W/sq m and -0.013 W/sq m due to emitted soot and sulfur, respectively.

Danilin, M. Y.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Secular Climate Change on Mars: An Update Using One Mars Year of MSL Pressure Data

The South Polar Residual Cap (SPRC) on Mars is an icy reservoir of CO2. If all the CO2 trapped in the SPRC were released to the atmosphere the mean annual global surface pressure would rise by approximately 20 Pa. Repeated MOC and HiRISE imaging of scarp retreat within the SPRC led to suggestions that the SPRC is losing mass. Estimates for the loss rate vary between 0. 5 Pa per Mars Decade to 13 Pa per Mars Decade. Assuming 80% of this loss goes directly into the atmosphere, an estimate based on some modeling (Haberle and Kahre, 2010), and that the loss is monotonic, the global annual mean surface pressure should have increased between approximately 1-20 Pa since the Viking mission (approximately 20 Mars years ago). Surface pressure measurements by the Phoenix Lander only 2.5 Mars years ago were found to be consistent with these loss rates. Last year at this meeting we compared surface pressure data from the MSL mission through sol 360 with that from Viking Lander 2 (VL-2) for the same period to determine if the trend continues. The results were ambiguous. This year we have a full Mars year of MSL data to work with. Using the Ames GCM to compensate for dynamics and environmental differences, our analysis suggests that the mean annual pressure has decreased by approximately 8 Pa since Viking. This result implies that the SPRC has gained (not lost) mass since Viking. However, the estimated uncertainties in our analysis are easily at the 10 Pa level and possibly higher. Chief among these are the hydrostatic adjustment of surface pressure from grid point elevations to actual elevations and the simulated regional environmental conditions at the lander sites. For these reasons, the most reasonable conclusion is that there is no significant difference in the size of the atmosphere between now and Viking. This implies, but does not demand, that the mass of the SPRC has not changed since Viking. Of course, year-to-year variations are possible as implied by the Phoenix data. Given that there has been no unusual behavior in the climate system as observed by a variety of spacecraft at Mars since Phoenix, its seems more likely that the Phoenix data simply did not have a long enough record to accurately determine annual mean pressure changes as Haberle and Kahre (2010) cautioned. In the absence of a strong signal in the MSL data, we conclude that if the SPRC is loosing mass it is not going into the atmosphere reservoir.

Phoenix data↗