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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 595 records · Page 33

Meeting human needs

Manned space flight can be viewed as an interaction of three general elements: the human crewmember, spacecraft systems, and the environment. While the human crewmember is a crucial element in the system, certain physiological, psychological, environ- mental and spacecraft systems factors can compromise human performance in space. These factors include atmospheric pressure, physiology, uncertainties associated with space radiation, the potential for exposure to toxic materials in the closed environment, and spacecraft habitability. Health protection in space, for current and future missions, relies on a philosophy of risk reduction, which in the space program is achieved in four ways-through health maintenance, health care, design criteria, an selection and training. Emphasis is place upon prevention, through selection criteria and careful screening. Spacecraft health care systems must be absolutely reliable, and they will be automated and computerized to the maximum extent possible, but still designed with the human crewmember's capabilities in mind. The autonomy and technological sophistication of future missions will require a greater emphasis on high-level interaction between the human operator and automated systems, with effective allocation of tasks between humans and machines. Performance in space will include complex tasks during extravehicular activity (EVA) and on planetary surfaces, and knowledge of crewmembers' capability and limitations during such operations will be critical to mission success. Psychological support will become increasingly important on space missions, as crews spend long periods in remote and potentially hazardous environments. The success of future missions will depend on both individual psychological health and group cohesion and productivity, particularly as crew profiles become more heterogeneous. Thus, further human factors are needed in the area of small-group dynamics and performance.

Nicogossian, Arnauld E.↗

Accelerating massively parallel hemodynamic models of coarctation of the aorta using neural networks

Comorbidities such as anemia or hypertension and physiological factors related to exertion can influence a patient’s hemodynamics and increase the severity of many cardiovascular diseases. Observing and quantifying associations between these factors and hemodynamics can be difficult due to the multitude of co-existing conditions and blood flow parameters in real patient data. Machine learning-driven, physics-based simulations provide a means to understand how potentially correlated conditions may affect a particular patient. Here, we use a combination of machine learning and massively parallel computing to predict the effects of physiological factors on hemodynamics in patients with coarctation of the aorta. We first validated blood flow simulations against in vitro measurements in 3D-printed phantoms representing the patient’s vasculature. We then investigated the effects of varying the degree of stenosis, blood flow rate, and viscosity on two diagnostic metrics – pressure gradient across the stenosis (ΔP) and wall shear stress (WSS) - by performing the largest simulation study to date of coarctation of the aorta (over 70 million compute hours). Using machine learning models trained on data from the simulations and validated on two independent datasets, we developed a framework to identify the minimal training set required to build a predictive model on a per-patient basis. We then used this model to accurately predict ΔP (mean absolute error within 1.18 mmHg) and WSS (mean absolute error within 0.99 Pa) for patients with this disease.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Anomaly Detection in Liquid Sodium Cold Trap Operation with Multisensory Data Fusion Using Long Short-Term Memory Autoencoder

Sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR), which use high temperature fluid near ambient pressure as coolant, are one of the most promising types of GEN IV reactors. One of the unique challenges of SFR operation is purification of high temperature liquid sodium with a cold trap to prevent corrosion and obstructing small orifices. We have developed a deep learning long short-term memory (LSTM) autoencoder for continuous monitoring of a cold trap and detection of operational anomaly. Transient data were obtained from the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) liquid sodium facility at Argonne National Laboratory. The cold trap purification at METL is monitored with 31 variables, which are sensors measuring fluid temperatures, pressures and flow rates, and controller signals. Loss-of-coolant type anomaly in the cold trap operation was generated by temporarily choking one of the blowers, which resulted in temperature and flow rate spikes. The input layer of the autoencoder consisted of all the variables involved in monitoring the cold trap. The LSTM autoencoder was trained on the data corresponding to cold trap startup and normal operation regime, with the loss function calculated as the mean absolute error (MAE). The loss during training was determined to follow log-normal density distribution. During monitoring, we investigated a performance of the LSTM autoencoder for different loss threshold values, set at a progressively increasing number of standard deviations from the mean. The anomaly signal in the data was gradually attenuated, while preserving the noise of the original time series, so that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) averaged across all sensors decreased below unity. Results demonstrate detection of anomalies with sensor-averaged SNR < 1.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Moessbauer spectroscopy of Mg(0.9)Fe(0.1)SiO3 perovskite

Ambient pressure Moessbauer spectra of Mg(0.9)Fe-57(0.1)SiO3 perovskite synthesized at pressure-temperature conditions of about 50 GPa and 1700 K show that the iron is entirely high-spin Fe(2+) and appears to be primarily located in the octahedral site within the crystal structure. We observe broad Moessbauer lines, suggesting a distribution of electric-field gradients caused by disorder associated with the Fe ions. Also, the perovskite exhibits magnetic ordering at temperatures lower than 5 K, implying that there is a magnetic contribution to the absolute ('third-law') entropy of this phase.

Jeanloz, Raymond↗

Methods for LWIR Radiometric Calibration and Characterization

The utility of a remote sensing system increases with its ability to retrieve surface temperature or radiance accurately. Research applications, such as sea temperature and power plant discharge, require a 0.2 C resolution or better for absolute temperature retrievals. Other applications, including agriculture water stress detection, require at least a 1 C resolution. To achieve these levels of accuracy routinely, scientists must perform laboratory and onboard calibration, as well as in-flight vicarious radiometric characterization. A common approach used for in-flight radiometric characterization incorporates a well-calibrated infrared radiometer that is mounted on a bouy and placed on a uniform water body. The radiometer monitors radiant temperature along with pressure, humidity, and temperature measurements of an associated column of atmosphere. On very still waters, however, a buoy can significantly distrub these measurements. Researchers at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC) have developed a novel approach of using an uncooled infrared camera mounted on a boom to quantify buoy effects. Another critical aspect of using buoy-mounted infrared radiometers is the need for extensive laboratory characterization of the instruments' radiometric sensitivity, field of view, and spectral response. Proper surface temperature retrieval also requires detailed knowledge of both the upward emission and the reflected sky emission. Recent work at SSC has demonstrated that the use of a polarization-based radiometer operating at the Brewster angle can greatly simplify temperature retrieval as well as improve overall accuracy.

Ryan, Robert↗

Evidence-based Approach to Establish Space Suit Carbon Dioxide Limits

A literature survey was conducted to assess if published data (evidence) could help inform a space suit carbon dioxide (CO2) limit. The search identified more than 120 documents about human interaction with elevated CO2. Until now, the guiding philosophy has been to drive space suit CO2 as low as reasonably achievable. NASA’s EVA Office requested an evidencebased approach to support a new generation of exploration-class extravehicular activity (EVA) space suits. Specific literature data about CO2 are not available for EVA in microgravity because EVA is an operational activity and not a research platform. However, enough data from groundbased research are available to facilitate a consensus of expert opinion on space suit CO2 limits. The compilation of data in this report can answer many but not all concerns about the consequences of hypercapnic exercise in a space suit. Inspired partial pressure of CO2 (PICO2) and not dry-gas partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2) is the appropriate metric for hypercapnic dose to establish space suit CO2 limits. The reduction of inspired gas partial pressures by saturation of the inspired gases with water vapor at 37°C is a significant factor under conditions of hypobaric space suit operation. Otherwise healthy EVA astronauts will exhibit wide variability in responses to acute hypercapnia while at rest and during exercise. What is clear from the literature is the absence of prospective (objective) accept or reject criteria for CO2 exposure in general, and no such criteria exist for operating a space suit. There is no absolute “Gold Standard” for an acceptable acute hypercapnic limit, just a gradual decrease in performance as CO2 increases. Acceptable CO2 exposure limits are occupation, situation (learned or novel tasks), and personspecific. Investigators who measured hypercapnic physiology rarely correlated those changes to neurocognitive symptoms, and those that measured hypercapnic neurocognition rarely correlated those changes with physiology. Some answers about changes in neurocognition and functional EVA performance during hypercapnic exercise in a space suit await new research.

Conkin, Johnny↗

Progress in the validation of rotor aerodynamic codes using field data

Within the framework of the fourth phase of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Task 29, a large comparison exercise between measurements and aeroelastic simulations has been carried out featuring three simulation cases in axial, sheared and yawed inflow conditions. Results were obtained from more than 19 simulation tools originating from 12 institutes, ranging in fidelity from blade element momentum (BEM) to computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) and compared to state-of-the-art field measurements from the 2 MW DanAero turbine. More than 15 different variable types ranging from lifting-line variables to blade surface pressures, loads and velocities have been compared for the different conditions, resulting in over 250 comparison plots. The result is a unique insight into the current status and accuracy of rotor aerodynamic modeling. For axial flow conditions, a good agreement was found between the various code types, where a dedicated grid sensitivity study was necessary for the CFD simulations. However, compared to wind tunnel experiments on rotors featuring controlled conditions, it remains a challenge to achieve good agreement of absolute levels between simulations and measurements in the field. For sheared inflow conditions, uncertainties due to rotational and unsteady effects on airfoil data result in the CFD predictions standing out above the codes that need input of sectional airfoil data. However, it was demonstrated that using CFD-synthesized airfoil data is an effective means to bypass this shortcoming. For yawed flow conditions, it was observed that modeling of the skewed wake effect is still problematic for BEM codes where CFD and free vortex wake codes inherently model the underlying physics correctly. The next step is a comparison in turbulent inflow conditions, which is featured in IEA Wind Task 47. Doing this analysis in cooperation under the auspices of the IEA Wind Technology Collaboration Program (TCP) has led to many mutual benefits for the participants. The large size of the consortium brought ample manpower for the analysis where the learning process by combining several complementary experiences and modeling techniques gave valuable insights that could not be found when the analysis is carried out individually.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Autonomous sputter synthesis of thin film nitrides with composition controlled by Bayesian optimization of optical plasma emission

Autonomous experimentation has emerged as an efficient approach to accelerate the pace of material discovery. Although instruments for autonomous synthesis have become popular in molecular and polymer science, solution processing of hybrid materials, and nanoparticles, examples of autonomous tools for physical vapor deposition are scarce yet important for the semiconductor industry. Here, we report the design and implementation of an autonomous workflow for sputter deposition of thin films with controlled composition, leveraging a highly automated sputtering reactor custom-controlled by Python, optical emission spectroscopy (OES), and a Bayesian optimization algorithm. We modeled film composition, measured by x-ray fluorescence, as a linear function of plasma emission lines monitored during co-sputtering from elemental Zn and Ti targets in an N 2 and Ar atmosphere. A Bayesian control algorithm, informed by OES, navigates the space of sputtering power to fabricate films with user-defined compositions by minimizing the absolute error between desired and measured optical emission signals. We validated our approach by autonomously fabricating Zn x Ti 1-x N y films that deviate from the targeted cation composition by a relative ±3.5%, even for 15 nm thin films, demonstrating that the proposed approach can reliably synthesize thin films with a specific composition and minimal human interference. Moreover, the proposed method can be extended to more difficult synthesis experiments where plasma intensity lines depend non-linearly on pressure, or the elemental sticking coefficients strongly depend on the substrate temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Thermal Compton Scattering of Electron Beams on Blackbody Photons: A Monte Carlo Event Generator for Multi-Turn Tracking at the Electron-Ion Collider

Compton scattering of ultra-relativistic electrons on thermal (blackbody) photons is typically a subdominant process in electron storage rings, but at sufficiently high electron energy and low residual gas pressure it can become competitive with beam-gas scattering and contribute to dis tributed losses and backgrounds. We present a self-contained Monte Carlo event generator for thermal Compton scattering designed for integration into multi-turn tracking workflows. The im plementation follows H. Burkhardt’s proposal method: trial scattering angles are sampled from the Thomson differential cross section and accepted/rejected using the Klein-Nishina to Thomson ratio, yielding the correct Compton spectrum while retaining simple absolute-rate normalization. Ther mal photon energies are sampled from the blackbody photon-number spectrum via an exact mixture representation.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Line strength and self-broadening coefficient of the pure rotational S(1) quadrupole line in H2

The absolute intensity, S(sub 1), and self-broadening coefficient, gamma(sub L), for H2 S(sub zero)(1) pure rotational line at 17.0348 micrometers (587.032 cm(exp -1)) have been measured for the first time using a tunable diode laser spectrometer with a resolution of approximately 1 x 10(exp -3) cm(exp -1). By fitting a Galatry line shape convolved with a 1 x 10(exp -3) cm(exp -1) Gaussian instrument profile to absorption profiles, for H2 pressures ranging from 0.34 to 1.30 atm, values of s(sub 1) = (7.0 +/- 0.4) x 10(exp -8) cm(exp -2) atm(exp -1) and gamma(sub L) = (1.73 +/- 0.12) x 10(exp -3) cm(exp -1) atm(exp -1) were obtained.

Reuter, Dennis C.↗

Spectroscopic determination of electrical conductivity in an MHD duct from absolute intensity measurements

Measurements of the electrical conductivity in the NASA Lewis cesium seeded, H2-O2 MHD duct have been previously reported. In order to corroborate the above measurements and to analyze the possibility of nonuniform seed injection as a cause of the deviations, a spectroscopic investigation of the plasma conductivity has been undertaken. Transverse profiles of the absolute integrated intensity were measured from the optically thin lines of CSI-.5664 microns and .5636 microns. Radial profiles of emission coefficient were obtained from the measured transverse profiles of intensity by Abel inversion. Radial profiles of electrical conductivity were then obtained under two different assumptions. In the first, the Cs seed fraction is assumed uniform and equal to the measured flow rate at the time when the temperature and conductivity were obtained. In the second method, the local temperature and pressure are taken to be those given by a one-dimensional channel calculation including heat transfer and friction. In this case profiles of conductivity and seed fractions are obtained. The results of the two methods are compared to the previously measured conductivity.

Wang, S. Y.↗

A Finite Element Method for Compressible and Turbulent Multiphase Flow Instabilities with Heat Transfer

We present a new finite element framework for modeling compressible, turbulent multiphase flows with heat transfer. For two-fluid systems with a free surface, the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method is implemented without the need for interface reconstruction, while turbulence is resolved using a dynamic Vreman large eddy simulation (LES) model. Unlike most two-phase VOF studies, which neglect heat transfer, the present approach incorporates energy transport equations within the VOF formulation to account for heat exchange, an effect particularly important in turbulent flows. Conjugate heat transfer is often challenging in finite volume methods, which require explicit specification of heat fluxes at the solid–fluid interface, limiting accuracy and predictive capability. By contrast, the finite element formulation does not require heat flux inputs, allowing more accurate and robust simulation of heat transfer between solids and fluids. The method is demonstrated through three representative cases. First, a two-fluid instability with a single-mode perturbation is simulated and validated against analytical growth rates. Second, conjugate heat transfer is examined in a high-temperature flow over a cold metal cylinder, with validation performed both quantitatively—via pressure coefficient comparisons with experimental data—and qualitatively using vector field topology. Finally, compressible spray injection and breakup are modeled, demonstrating the ability of the framework to capture interfacial dynamics and atomization under turbulent, high-speed conditions. In the compressible spray injection and breakup case, the results indicate that the finite element formulation achieved higher predictive accuracy and robustness than the finite-volume method. With the same mesh resolution, the FEM reduced the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) from 6.96 mm and 26.0% (for the FVM) to 4.85 mm and 12.7%, respectively, demonstrating improved accuracy and robustness in capturing interfacial dynamics and heat transfer. The study also introduced vector field topology to visualize and interpret coherent flow structures and instabilities, offering insights beyond conventional scalar-field analyses.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Absolute intensities of spectral lines in carbon dioxide bands near 2050/cm

The absolute intensities of individual lines of eleven relatively weak bands of (C-12)(O-16)2, (C-13)(O-16)2, (O-16)(C-12)(O-18), and (O-16)(C-12)(O-17) near 2050/cm were measured and recorded at room temperature and 0.01/cm resolution with the Fourier transform spectrometer located in the McMath solar telescope complex located at the National Solar Observatory on Kitt Peak. Each spectrum was obtained with an integration time of one hour, the temperature and pressure were monitored during this time, and the signal-to-rms noise in the 5 micron region was approximately 4000 for all scans. The intensities were determined from analysis of 1-2/cm segments of spectra using nonlinear least-squares spectral curve fitting, and analyzed to determine the vibrational band intensity and F-factor coefficients for each of the bands. The results are pertinent to a wide variety of problems in atmospheric physics and for the analysis of remote-sensing data.

Rinsland, C. P.↗

Observations of Uranus, Neptune, and Titan by the International Ultraviolet Explorer

The ultraviolet spectra of Uranus, Neptune, and Titan do not reveal absorption features at 7-A resolution from 2100 to 3200 A. Upper limits of from 1 to 3 A are set for the equivalent widths of narrow absorptions, which corresponds to a CO/H2 mixing ratio less than 2 x 10 to the -4th in the case of Uranus. The slopes of the continuum reflectivities of Uranus and Neptune are consistent with the semi-infinite Rayleigh-Raman scattering model of Cochran, while the absolute levels are matched only if solar photometry is modified within acceptable limits. An alternative, but less satisfactory explanation of the new data is that the UV reflectivities of both Uranus and Neptune are depressed uniformly by a continuum absorber. The suggestion by Savage et al (1980) that the albedo of Uranus decreases by approximately 20% from 2200 to 1800 A is not confirmed. For Titan, the albedo decreases monotonically toward shorter wavelengths down to 2300 A. New limits are set for the pressure level in the atmosphere of Titan up to which the real, but presently unidentified, UV absorber there must extend, and for the fraction of Titan that must be covered by this absorber

Caldwell, J.↗

Laser Absorption Spectroscopy Measurements of Post-Shock Non-Equilibrium Species in the NASA Ames Electric Arc Shock Tube

The NASA Ames Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST) is a unique facility capable of generating high enthalpy, shock-heated impulse gas flows representative of the kinetic and radiative conditions encountered by atmospheric entry vehicles. The facility maintains a successful history with emission spectroscopy, providing measurements of absolute radiance upon which various validation studies are anchored. The central objective of this work is to develop a comprehensive tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) sensing capability to provide complementary experimental insights to existing emission techniques. More specifically, a fast-scanning TDLAS-based diagnostic targeting the cyano radical (CN) in the near-infrared(near-IR) near 926.6 nm is employed in mixtures of 2.2% CH4in N2by mole for a sweep of incident shock velocities ranging 3.0-5.5 km/s and fill pressures 0.3-1.15 Torr. Laser scan rates up to 500 kHz probe multiple absorption features to provide quantitative measurements of temperature and species number density profiles behind the incident shock. In all instances, the temperature trend is consistent between emission-inferred and TDLAS-inferred measurements. However, at the lower-velocity conditions, there is an appreciable offset between the Data Parallel Line Relaxation Code (DPLR) simulation and experimental measurements. A similar behavior is observed in number density profiles, with emission measurements providing inferences of the CN(B) and CN(A) state, while TDLAS measurements provide an additional inference of the CN(X) state. In the fast-scanned experiments, measurement inferred number densities suggest a much faster production of CN at early times than captured by the model. This discrepancy motivates ongoing, additional spectroscopic and kinetics CN experiments to resolve the accuracy of modeling assumptions.

Efaine Chang↗

Multiplexing Transducers Based on Tunnel-Diode Oscillators

Multiplexing and differential transducers based on tunnel-diode oscillators (TDOs) would be developed, according to a proposal, for operation at very low and/or widely varying temperatures in applications that involve requirements to minimize the power and mass of transducer electronic circuitry. It has been known since 1975 that TDOs are useful for making high-resolution (of the order of 10(exp -9)) measurements at low temperatures. Since that time, TDO transducers have been found to offer the following additional advantages, which the present proposal is intended to exploit: TDO transducers can operate at temperatures ranging from 1 K to about 400 K. Most electronic components other than tunnel diodes do not operate over such a wide temperature range. TDO transducers can be made to operate at very low power - typically, <1 mW. Inasmuch as the response of a TDO transducer is a small change in an arbitrarily set oscillation frequency, the outputs of many TDOs operating at sufficiently different set frequencies can be multiplexed through a single wire. Inasmuch as frequencies can be easily subtracted by means of mixing circuitry, one can easily use two TDOs to make differential measurements. Differential measurements are generally more precise and less susceptible to environmental variations than are absolute measurements. TDO transducers are tolerant to ionizing radiation. Ultimately, the response of a TDO transducer is measured by use of a frequency counter. Because frequency counting can be easily implemented by use of clock signals available from most microprocessors, it is not necessary to incorporate additional readout circuitry that would, if included, add to the mass and power consumption of the transducer circuitry. In one example of many potential variations on the basic theme of the proposal, the figure schematically depicts a conceptual differential-pressure transducer containing a symmetrical pair of TDOs. The differential pressure would be exerted on an electrically conductive and grounded diaphragm, which, at zero differential pressure, would nominally be sprung to a middle position between two capacitor plates that would be parts of the two TDOs. The frequencies of the two TDOs would vary in opposite directions as variations in differential pressure bent the diaphragm away from one capacitor plate and toward the other. The outputs of the TDOs would be mixed and lowpass filtered to obtain a signal at the difference between the frequencies of the two TDOs. The difference frequency would be measured by a frequency counter and converted to differential pressure by a computer.

Chui, Talso↗

High-Throughput Screening and Accurate Prediction of Ionic Liquid Viscosities Using Interpretable Machine Learning

Ionic liquids (ILs) are a novel group of green solvents with great promise for various industrial applications, including carbon capture and lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction. However, the use of ILs at the industrial scale remains challenging due to their high viscosities at ambient temperatures. To develop ILs with lower viscosities, a systematic study of their quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) is desirable. Here, we developed four machine learning (ML) models to predict viscosity at various temperature and pressure ranges, trained over a wide range of ILs consisting of various cationic and anionic families. ML methods including two-factor polynomial regression (two-factor PR), support vector regression (SVR), feed-forward neural networks (FFNN), and categorical boosting (CATBoost) were developed based on features that have proven useful in previous ML studies: COSMO-RS (conductor-like screening model for real solvents)-derived surface screening charge densities (sigma profiles). FFNN and CATBoost were the most accurate in predicting IL viscosities with lower average absolute relative deviation and higher R2 values on the test set. Tanimoto similarity scores were calculated to characterize the chemical space and structural similarity of the investigated ions. Furthermore, SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) analysis was employed to interpret the ML results. Temperature, the polar area of ILs, and the nonpolar regions of ions are key features that influence the viscosity predictions. Importantly, the IL viscosity prediction here is the most accurate reported to date.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Liquid-phase mixing of bipropellant doublets

Experimental results of unlike doublet mixing are correlated with an analytically derived equation predicting fluid cavitation. The correlation relates the minimum orifice pressure drop required to initiate cavitation, with the system back pressure, cold flow simulant vapor pressure, and the orifice flow discharge and contraction coefficients. Stream flow instabilities are also visually correlated with the onset of cavitation and orifice discharge coefficient measurements. The influence of cavitation on the characteristic phenomenon of hydraulic flip is observed for both circular and noncircular shaped orifices. For certain intermediate orifice lengths, some noncircular shapes are shown to produce more fully developed flows (shorter recovery lengths) and therefore a more cohesive jet, which in turn yields slightly higher cold flow mixing uniformities than circular shaped orifices of equal absolute length. The particular noncircular shaped elements evaluated are shown to be more sensitive to liquid stream misimpingement than the corresponding circular orifices.

Hoehn, F. W.↗