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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 631 records · Page 35
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1977

Wall cooling effects on hypersonic transitional/turbulent boundary layers at high Reynolds numbers

The characteristics of a thick hypersonic boundary layer turbulent for a length of 175 cm on a 4 deg sharp wedge were measured. The resulting boundary layer was free from transverse curvature effects and only mildly affected by upstream history effects caused by pressure and wall temperature gradients. Heat-transfer distributions were used to locate regions of laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow at an edge unit Reynolds number of 470,000 cm at wall-to-total temperature ratios from about 0.3 to 1. Wall cooling had little effect on the location of the transition region. Pitot and total temperature profiles and skin-friction measurements were obtained at several locations along the model longitudinal centerline. Mixing length and turbulent Prandtl number distributions were derived from the fully turbulent mean profiles.

Watson, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

SSME thrust chamber simulation using Navier-Stokes equations

The capability of the PHOENICS fluid dynamics code in predicting two-dimensional, compressible, and reacting flow in the combustion chamber and nozzle of the space shuttle main engine (SSME) was evaluated. A non-orthogonal body fitted coordinate system was used to represent the nozzle geometry. The Navier-Stokes equations were solved for the entire nozzle with a turbulence model. The wall boundary conditions were calculated based on the wall functions which account for pressure gradients. Results of the demonstration test case reveal all expected features of the transonic nozzle flows. Of particular interest are the locations of normal and barrel shocks, and regions of highest temperature gradients. Calculated performance (global) parameters such as thrust chamber flow rate, thrust, and specific impulse are also in good agreement with available data.

Przekwas, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

A New High Efficiency Segmented Thermoelectric Unicouple

To achieve high thermal-to-electric energy conversion efficiency, it is desirable to operate thermoelectric generator devices over large temperature gradients and also to maximize the thermoelectric performance of the materials used to build the devices. However, no single thermoelectric material is suitable for use over a very wide range of temperatures (approx. 300 - 1000 K). It is therefore necessary to use different materials in each temperature range where they possess optimum performance. This can be achieved in two ways: 1) multistage thermoelectric generators where each stage operates over a fixed temperature difference and is electrically insulated but thermally in contact with the other stages and 2) segmented generators where the p- and n-legs are formed of different segments joined in series. The concept of integrating new thermoelectric materials developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) into a segmented thermoelectric generator has been presented in detail in earlier publications . This new generator is expected to operate over a 300-973 K temperature difference and will use novel segmented legs based on a combination of state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials and novel p-type Zn4Sb3, p-type CeFe4Sb12-based alloys and n-type CoSb3-based alloys. An increase in the conversion efficiency of about 60% is expected compared to conventional Bi2Te3- and PbTe-based generators. We present in this paper the latest experimental results from the bonding studies between the different segments of the p-legs, n-legs, and p-leg to n-leg interconnect. Evaluation of the bond quality was done by measuring the contact resistance across the joints as well as by detailed microstructure investigations to reveal any potential interdiffusion. Among the materials investigated as inter-layers between the different segments of the legs, Pd-Ag joining alloys have been found to provide mechanically stable and low electrical resistance bonds.

Caillat, T.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PPMI): Description and Initial Analysis of Experiments Conducted aboard the International Space Station

Flow visualization experiments during the controlled directional melt back and re-solidification of succinonitrile (SCN) and SCN-water mixtures were conducted using the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) apparatus in the glovebox facility (GBX) aboard the International Space Station. The study samples were initially 'cast' on earth under 450 millibar of nitrogen into 1 cm ID glass sample tubes approximately 30 cm in length, containing 6 in situ thermocouples. During the Space experiments, the processing parameters and flow visualization settings are remotely monitored and manipulated from the ground Telescience Center (TSC). The ground solidified sample is first subjected to a unidirectional melt back, generally at 10 microns per second, with a constant temperature gradient ahead of the melting interface. Bubbles of different sizes are seen to initiate at the melt interface and, upon release from the melting solid, translate at different speeds in the temperature field ahead of them before coming to rest. Over a period of time these bubbles dissolve into the melt. The gas-laden liquid is then directionally solidified in a controlled manner, generally starting at a rate of 1 micron /sec. Observation and preliminary analysis of bubble formation and mobility in pure SCN samples during melt back and the subsequent structure resulting during gas generation upon re-solidification are presented and discussed.

Grugel, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI): Description and Initial Analysis of Experiments Conducted aboard the International Space Station

Flow visualization experiments during the controlled directional melt back and re-solidification of succinonitrile (SCN) and SCN-water mixtures were conducted using the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation (PFMI) apparatus in the glovebox facility (GBX) aboard the International Space Station. The study samples were initially "cast" on earth under 450 millibar of nitrogen into 1 cm ID glass sample tubes approximately 30 cm in length, containing 6 in situ thermocouples. During the Space experiments, the processing parameters and flow visualization settings are remotely monitored and manipulated from the ground Telescience Center (TSC). The ground solidified sample is first subjected to a unidirectional melt back, generally at 10 microns per second, with a constant temperature gradient ahead of the melting interface. Bubbles of different sizes are seen to initiate at the melt interface and, upon release from the melting solid, translate at different speeds in the temperature field ahead of them before coming to rest. Over a period of time these bubbles dissolve into the melt. The gas-laden liquid is then directionally solidified in a controlled manner, generally starting at a rate of 1 micron /sec. Observation and preliminary analysis of bubble formation and mobility in pure SCN samples during melt back and the subsequent structure resulting during gas generation upon re-solidification are presented and discussed.

Grugel, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Spacecraft Design Thermal Control Subsystem

The Thermal Control Subsystem engineers task is to maintain the temperature of all spacecraft components, subsystems, and the total flight system within specified limits for all flight modes from launch to end-of-mission. In some cases, specific stability and gradient temperature limits will be imposed on flight system elements. The Thermal Control Subsystem of "normal" flight systems, the mass, power, control, and sensing systems mass and power requirements are below 10% of the total flight system resources. In general the thermal control subsystem engineer is involved in all other flight subsystem designs.

Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter (JIMO)↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2: Large-scale Climate Features and Climate Sensitivity

The Pliocene epoch has great potential to improve our understanding of the long-term climatic and environmental consequences of an atmospheric CO2 concentration near ∼400 parts per million by volume. Here we present the large-scale features of Pliocene climate as simulated by a new ensemble of climate models of varying complexity and spatial resolution based on new reconstructions of boundary conditions (the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2; PlioMIP2). As a global annual average, modelled surface air temperatures increase by between 1.7 and 5.2 ∘C relative to the pre-industrial era with a multi-model mean value of 3.2 ∘C. Annual mean total precipitation rates increase by 7 % (range: 2 %–13 %). On average, surface air temperature (SAT) increases by 4.3 ∘C over land and 2.8 ∘C over the oceans. There is a clear pattern of polar amplification with warming polewards of 60∘ N and 60∘ S exceeding the global mean warming by a factor of 2.3. In the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, meridional temperature gradients are reduced, while tropical zonal gradients remain largely unchanged. There is a statistically significant relationship between a model's climate response associated with a doubling in CO2 (equilibrium climate sensitivity; ECS) and its simulated Pliocene surface temperature response. The mean ensemble Earth system response to a doubling of CO2 (including ice sheet feedbacks) is 67 % greater than ECS; this is larger than the increase of 47 % obtained from the PlioMIP1 ensemble. Proxy-derived estimates of Pliocene sea surface temperatures are used to assess model estimates of ECS and give an ECS range of 2.6–4.8 ∘C. This result is in general accord with the ECS range presented by previous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Reports.

Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project↗
NASA NTRS1987

Deuterium in the daytime thermosphere

Ion concentration measurements for H(+) and D(+) from the magnetic ion mass spectrometer on the Atmosphere Explorer C satellite are used, in conjunction with other atmospheric data, to determine the concentrations of H and D in the nonpolar daytime thermosphere. The ratio of the observed D(+) to H(+) concentrations has essentially the same height dependence in the 300 to 800-km region as expected for their neutral counterparts, even in the presence of ion temperature gradients and probable large vertical ion fluxes. Rapid charge exchange with atomic oxygen ensures that D/H is about equal to D(+)/H(+) at the lower altitudes where the derived D to H concentration ratio is a factor of about 6 larger than its sea level value, for an exospheric temperature of 930 K. This relative enhancement of deuterium arises from the fact that hydrogen more readily escapes the earth, and a large vertical gradient in the H concentration relative to its diffusive equilibrium value is necessary to drive this upward flux through the lower thermosphere. If these planetary losses of hydrogen are much greater than those associated with evaporative escape, as is the current view, then correspondingly larger deuterium loss rates are also likely in order that the thermospheric D/H ratio not increase well above the observed value. The absolute winter daytime concentration of deuterium at 300 km is found to be 210 + or - 50 atoms/cu cm.

Breig, E. L.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Modeling Temperature Profiles in the Pedestal of NSTX with Reduced Models

This paper describes new modeling capabilities for predicting H-mode pedestal profiles in spherical tokamaks. Temperature profiles for NSTX discharges 132543 and 132588 are modeled by coupling the \textsc{astra} transport solver with neoclassical transport and gyrokinetic-based reduced models for electron temperature gradient (ETG) and kinetic ballooning mode (KBM) instabilities. A quasi-linear surrogate model for ion-scale transport is developed using linear \textsc{gene} simulations, requiring only a single free parameter calibrated to one discharge. Time-evolving the temperatures with fixed density yields good agreement with experiments for both discharges. Systematic analysis of the transport mechanisms reveals that neoclassical transport is huge across the entire pedestal region for the ion channel. ETG turbulence is large in the plasma edge and low density gradient region, contributing substantially to the electron channel. However, KBM/MHD-like modes also drive significant transport in both the ion and electron thermal channels, making them essential for accurate pedestal modeling. Further refinements, including explicit E×B shear suppression and scaled ETG transport, produce quantitative but not qualitative improvements. This work lays the foundation for predictive modeling of future devices. This paper is on arxiv and has been submitted to Nuclear Fusion.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1974

Polar symmetric flow of a viscous compressible atmosphere; an application to Mars

The atmosphere is assumed to be driven by a polar symmetric temperature field and the equations of motion in pressure ratio coordinates are linearized by considering the zero order in terms of a thermal Rossby number R delta I/(2a omega) sq where delta T is a measure of the latitudinal temperature gradient. When the eddy viscosity is greater than 1 million sq cm/sec, the boundary layer extends far up into the atmosphere, making the geostrophic approximation invalid for the bulk of the atmosphere. A temperature model for Mars was used which was based on Mariner 9 infrared spectral data with a 30% increase in the depth averaged temperature from the winter pole to the subsolar point. The results obtained for the increase in surface pressure from the subsolar point to the winter pole, as a function of eddy viscosity and with no-slip conditions imposed at the surface, are given.

Pirraglia, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Advanced methods for preparation and characterization of infrared detector materials

Mercury cadmium telluride crystals were prepared by the Bridgman method with a wide range of crystal growth rates and temperature gradients adequate to prevent constitutional supercooling under diffusion-limited, steady state, growth conditions. The longitudinal compositional gradients for different growth conditions and alloy compositions were calculated and compared with experimental data to develop a quantitative model of the crystal growth kinetics for the Hg(i-x)CdxTe alloys, and measurements were performed to ascertain the effect of growth conditions on radial compositional gradients. The pseudobinary HgTe-CdTe constitutional phase diagram was determined by precision differential thermal analysis measurements and used to calculate the segregation coefficient of Cd as a function of x and interface temperature. Computer algorithms specific to Hg(1-x)CdxTe were developed for calculations of the charge carrier concentrations, charge carrier mobilities, Hall coefficient, optical absorptance, and Fermi energy as functions of x, temperature, ionized donor and acceptor concentrations, and neutral defect concentrations.

Lehoczky, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

On partial mixing zones in horizontal-branch stellar cores

The present semianalytical treatment for aspects of horizontal branch (HB) star core evolution considers a criterion for the existence of a partial mixing zone in a general stellar model. This criterion implies that there must be a zone with a composition gradient. Attention is given to the consequences of the assumption for the behavior of the core close to the central He exhaustion; with the degree of mixing implied by the constraint on the temperature gradient, core opacity tends to a limit late in evolution, and then declines. The central opacity and flux decreases give the convective region a strong tendency to shrink.

Dorman, Ben↗
NASA NTRS1993

Thermoelastic response of metal matrix composites with large-diameter fibers subjected to thermal gradients

A new micromechanical theory is presented for the response of heterogeneous metal matrix composites subjected to thermal gradients. In contrast to existing micromechanical theories that utilize classical homogenization schemes in the course of calculating microscopic and macroscopic field quantities, in the present approach the actual microstructural details are explicitly coupled with the macrostructure of the composite. Examples are offered that illustrate limitations of the classical homogenization approach in predicting the response of thin-walled metal matrix composites with large-diameter fibers when subjected to thermal gradients. These examples include composites with a finite number of fibers in the thickness direction that may be uniformly or nonuniformly spaced, thus admitting so-called functionally gradient composites. The results illustrate that the classical approach of decoupling micromechanical and macromechanical analyses in the presence of a finite number of large-diameter fibers, finite dimensions of the composite, and temperature gradient may produce excessively conservative estimates for macroscopic field quantities, while both underestimating and overestimating the local fluctuations of the microscopic quantities in different regions of the composite. Also demonstrated is the usefulness of the present approach in generating favorable stress distributions in the presence of thermal gradients by appropriately tailoring the internal microstructure details of the composite.

Aboudi, Jacob↗
NASA NTRS2011

Analysis of Ultra High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Level 4 Datasets

Sea surface temperature (SST) studies are often focused on improving accuracy, or understanding and quantifying uncertainties in the measurement, as SST is a leading indicator of climate change and represents the longest time series of any ocean variable observed from space. Over the past several decades SST has been studied with the use of satellite data. This allows a larger area to be studied with much more frequent measurements being taken than direct measurements collected aboard ship or buoys. The Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) is an international project that distributes satellite derived sea surface temperatures (SST) data from multiple platforms and sensors. The goal of the project is to distribute these SSTs for operational uses such as ocean model assimilation and decision support applications, as well as support fundamental SST research and climate studies. Examples of near real time applications include hurricane and fisheries studies and numerical weather forecasting. The JPL group has produced a new 1 km daily global Level 4 SST product, the Multiscale Ultrahigh Resolution (MUR), that blends SST data from 3 distinct NASA radiometers: the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer ? Earth Observing System(AMSRE). This new product requires further validation and accuracy assessment, especially in coastal regions.We examined the accuracy of the new MUR SST product by comparing the high resolution version and a lower resolution version that has been smoothed to 19 km (but still gridded to 1 km). Both versions were compared to the same data set of in situ buoy temperature measurements with a focus on study regions of the oceans surrounding North and Central America as well as two smaller regions around the Gulf Stream and California coast. Ocean fronts exhibit high temperature gradients (Roden, 1976), and thus satellite data of SST can be used in the detection of these fronts. In this case, accuracy is less of a concern because the primary focus is on the spatial derivative of SST. We calculated the gradients for both versions of the MUR data set and did statistical comparisons focusing on the same regions.

sea surface temperature SST)↗
NASA NTRS2017

Cloudless Atmospheres for Young Low-Gravity Substellar Objects

Atmospheric modeling of low-gravity (VL-G) young brown dwarfs remains challenging. The presence of very thick clouds is a possible source of this challenge, because of their extremely red near-infrared (NIR) spectra, but no cloud models provide a good fit to the data with a radius compatible with the evolutionary models for these objects. We show that cloudless atmospheres assuming a temperature gradient reduction caused by fingering convection provide a very good model to match the observed VL-G NIR spectra. The sequence of extremely red colors in the NIR for atmospheres with effective temperatures from approx. 2000 K down to approx. 1200 K is very well reproduced with predicted radii typical of young low-gravity objects. Future observations with NIRSPEC and MIRI on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will provide more constraints in the mid-infrared, helping to confirm or refute whether or not the NIR reddening is caused by fingering convection. We suggest that the presence or absence of clouds will be directly determined by the silicate absorption features that can be observed with MIRI. JWST will therefore be able to better characterize the atmosphere of these hot young brown dwarfs and their low-gravity exoplanet analogs.

Tremblin, P.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Cloudless Atmospheres for Young Low-Gravity Substellar Objects

Atmospheric modeling of low-gravity (VL-G) young brown dwarfs remains challenging. The presence of very thick clouds is a possible source of this challenge, because of their extremely red near-infrared (NIR) spectra, but no cloud models provide a good fit to the data with a radius compatible with the evolutionary models for these objects. We show that cloudless atmospheres assuming a temperature gradient reduction caused by fingering convection provide a very good model to match the observed VL-G NIR spectra. The sequence of extremely red colors in the NIR for atmospheres with effective temperatures from ∼2000 K down to ∼1200 K is very well reproduced with predicted radii typical of young low-gravity objects. Future observations with NIRSPEC and MIRI on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will provide more constraints in the mid-infrared, helping to confirm or refute whether or not the NIR reddening is caused by fingering convection. We suggest that the presence or absence of clouds will be directly determined by the silicate absorption features that can be observed with MIRI. JWST will therefore be able to better characterize the atmosphere of these hot young brown dwarfs and their low-gravity exoplanet analogs.

Tremblin, P.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Effects of negative triangularity on microinstabilities in a low-recycling lithium-wall spherical tokamak

In this work, we present a linear gyrokinetic study of the impact of negative triangularity (NT) on microinstabilities in the Lithium Tokamak eXperiment-β (LTX-β), a low-recycling spherical tokamak with liquid lithium plasma-facing components that produce flat electron-temperature profiles [Elliott et al., IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 48, 1382 (2020)]. While NT is widely recognized as a stabilizing mechanism and often associated with improved confinement in conventional tokamaks, this study reveals that its effect is not universally stabilizing in the parameter regime of LTX-β and is shown to be highly sensitive to local equilibria. Using local linear simulations with the GS2 code [Kotschenreuther et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 88, 128 (1995)] at ρ=0.3, 0.5, and 0.8 for two representative discharges (#103955 and #109355), and employing the Miller equilibrium model to isolate shaping effects, we find that NT can transition from stabilizing to destabilizing depending on magnetic shear, safety factor, and electron-temperature gradient. In shot #103955, NT reduces growth rates across radii, with strongest stabilization at the edge, whereas in shot #109355, it is stabilizing in the core but destabilizing at mid-radius and edge under experimental conditions. Parametric scans show that flattening the electron-temperature profile, increasing magnetic shear, and reducing the safety factor recover NT stabilization. These results demonstrate that NT stabilization is tunable rather than intrinsic and requires coordinated control of magnetic geometry and gradient drive.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1975

Dynamics of plankton populations in upwelling areas

The author has identified the following significant results. Spectral properties of the upwelled waters off the NW coast of Africa were studied with observations derived from aircraft and Skylab. Results indicate that the two-channel, ratio approach is ineffective in determining surface chlorophyll concentrations. Ocean color boundaries and temperature gradients were found to be directly correlated with each other and also with fishing effort in the upwelling region. Photographic and scanner data derived from Skylab were effective in locating ocean boundaries and mapping temperature distributions.

Szekielda, K. H.↗