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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 649 records · Page 36

On-orbit cryogenic fluid transfer

A number of future NASA and DOD missions have been identified that will require, or could benefit from resupply of cryogenic liquids in orbit. The most promising approach for accomplishing cryogenic fluid transfer in the weightlessness environment of space is to use the thermodynamic filling technique. This approach involves initially reducing the receiver tank temperature by using several charge hold vent cycles followed by filling the tank without venting. Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace, under contract to the NASA Lewis Research Center, is currently developing analytical models to describe the on orbit cryogenic fluid transfer process. A detailed design of a Shuttle attached experimental facility, which will provide the data necessary to verify the analytical models, is also being performed.

Aydelott, J. C.↗

Challenges in the development of the orbiter active thermal control subsystem

A number of major challenges were faced in the design and development of the Orbiter Active Thermal Control Subsystem (ATCS). At the system level, the initial challenges were to define an approach that would interface dual Freon coolant loops with multiple coolant loops from other vehicle subsystems with the lowest weight penalty to the Orbiter; and to provide highly responsive vehicle heat rejection throughout all of the Orbiter mission phases. Optimized heat exchangers, representing an advance in the state-of-the-art in heat exchanger design, were developed to transfer heat between the orbiter Freon coolant loops and five other vehicle systems. Flash evaporation was selected as a highly efficient and responsive means for cooling the Orbiter Freon loops during ascent and entry. The Flash Evaporator Subsystem (FES) utilizes cyclic water spray cooling in a chamber maintained at or below the water triple point pressure. A summary of the basic heat transfer research conducted to identify the fundamental heat transfer processes involved in water spray cooling in support of the FES design is given. The high fidelity dynamic analytical model of the FES that was generated to aid in the design of control logic, evaluate performance and simulate ground test and flight anomalies is discussed. A description of the FES and Integrated ATCS testing conducted in the SESL chamber A at NASA-JSC is also presented.

Nason, J. R.↗

Automated Extraction of Absorption Bands from Reflectance Special

A multiple high order derivative spectroscopy technique has been developed for deriving wavelength positions, half widths, and heights of absorption bands in reflectance spectra. The technique is applicable to laboratory spectra as well as medium resolution (100-200/cm) telescope or spacecraft spectra with moderate (few percent) noise. The technique permits absorption band positions to be detected with an accuracy of better than 3%, and often better than 1%. The high complexity of radiative transfer processes in diffusely reflected spectra can complicate the determination of absorption band positions. Continuum reflections, random illumination geometries within the material, phase angle effects, composite overlapping bands, and calibration uncertainties can shift apparent band positions by 20% from their actual positions or mask them beyond detection. Using multiple high order derivative analysis, effects of scattering continua, phase angle, and calibration (smooth features) are suppressed. Inflection points that characterize the positions and half widths of constituent bands are enhanced by the process and directly detected with relatively high sensitivity.

Huguenin, R. L.↗

Solar radiance models for determination of ERBE scanner filter factor

Shortwave spectral radiance models for use in the spectral correction algorithms for the ERBE Scanner Instrument are provided. The required data base was delivered to the ERBe Data Reduction Group in October 1984. It consisted of two sets of data files: (1) the spectral bidirectional angular models and (2) the spectral flux modes. The bidirectional models employ the angular characteristics of reflection by the Earth-atmosphere system and were derived from detailed radiance calculations using a finite difference model of the radiative transfer process. The spectral flux models were created through the use of a delta-Eddington model to economically simulate the effects of atmospheric variability. By combining these data sets, a wide range of radiances may be approximated for a number of scene types.

Arduini, R. F.↗

Magnetic field draping against the dayside magnetopause

Interplanetary magnetic fields observed upstream of earth's magnetosphere at ISEE 3 form input for a gasdynamic model of magnetic field draping in the dayside magnetosheath. Model results near the magnetopause are compared with appropriately lagged observations at ISEE 1. In 16 to 24 cases, the angle between the transverse component of the model and observed fields is less than 20 deg. The agreement is surprisingly good in view of the uncertainty introduced by the large distances between ISEE 1 and ISEE 3. The results indicate that magnetohydrodynamic and energy transfer processes at the magnetopause do not cause large distortions of the magnetosheath magnetic field. In addition, a comparison between observed and model field magnitudes indicates that immediately outside the magnetopause the observed field behaves like the model field at a distance of approx. 0.5 R sub E from the magnetopause, outside the region where magnetohydrodynamic effects make the gasdynamic model inapplicable. Patterns of model magnetic field orientation at the magnetopause are presented for practical application.

Crooker, N. U.↗

Radiative interactions in transient energy transfer in gaseous systems

Analyses and numerical procedures are presented to investigate the radiative interactions in transient energy transfer processes in gaseous systems. The nongray radiative formulations are based on the wide-band model correlations for molecular absorption. Various relations for the radiative flux are developed; these are useful for different flow conditions and physical problems. Specific plans for obtaining extensive results for different cases are presented. The methods presented in this study can be extended easily to investigate the radiative interactions in realistic flows of hydrogen-air species in the scramjet engine.

Tiwari, S. N.↗

Discussion of flight experiments with an entry research vehicle

The focus of interest is the maneuvering flight of advanced entry vehicles operating at altitudes above 50 km and at velocities of 5 to 8 km/s. Information resulting in more accurate aerodynamic analysis is sought and measurement techniques that appear to be applicable are identified. Measurements discussed include: shock layer or boundary layer profiles of velocity, temperature, species mass fractions, and other gas properties associated with aerodynamic heating; surface energy transfer process; nonequilibrium flow processes and pressure distribution; separated, vortic leeside flow of nonequilibrium fluid; boundary layer transition on highly swept configurations; and shock and surface slip and gas/surface interaction. Further study should focus on evolving measurement techniques, installation requirements, and on identification of the portions of flights where successful results seem probable.

Potter, J. L.↗

Measurements of energy distribution and wall temperature in flowing hydrogen microwave plasma systems

An electrothermal propulsion concept utilizing a microwave plasma system as the mechanism to convert electromagnetic energy into translational energy of the flowing gas is being investigated. A calorimetric experimental system has been designed and built enclosing the microwave plasma system to accurately determine the net energy transferred to the flowing gas. For a flow rate of 8900 micromoles/sec, a pressure of 7.4 torr, and an absorbed power level of 80 W, an energy transfer efficiency of 50 percent has been measured. A heat transfer model that characterizes the energy transfer processes in the plasma is developed. A wall temperature for the plasma system is calculated.

Chapman, R.↗

Three-dimensional radiative transfer using a Fourier-transform matrix-operator method

The three-dimensional equation of transfer for a scattering medium with planar geometry is solved by using a spatial Fourier transform and extending matrix-operator techniques developed previously for the one-dimensional equation. Doubling and adding algorithms were derived by means of an interaction principle for computing the Fourier-transformed radiation field. The resulting expressions fully describe the radiative transfer process in a scattering medium, inhomogeneous in the x-, y- and z-directions, illuminated from above by an arbitrarily general intensity field and bounded from below by a surface with completely general reflection properties.

Martonchik, J. V.↗

Spatial distributions of magnetic field fluctuations in the dayside magnetosheath

In a study that tests the hypothesis that magnetosheath magnetic fields are disturbed on plasma streamlines which are connected to the quasi-parallel bow shock, magnetometer observations from the ISEE 2 and IMP 8 spacecraft are used to investigate the dayside spatial distributions of fluctuating magnetosheath fields for different interplanetary field orientations. The results suggest that although other sources such as Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities and flux transfer processes probably contribute to the fluctuations in the magnetosheath field, the quasi-parallel shock source is an important contributor in the dayside region.

Luhmann, J. G.↗

Polarization photometer to measure bidirectional reflectance factor R(55 deg, 0 deg, 55 deg, 180 deg) of leaves

A polarization photometer has been developed for rapidly determining the bidirectional, polarized, and diffuse light-scattering properties of individual leavs illuminated and measured 'in vivo' at an angle of 55 deg (approximately Brewster's angle) in six wavelength bands in the visible and near-IR wavelength regions. The optical performance and data quality of the system are evaluated to estimate the magnitude of the variation in the data attributable to the instrument system and to measurement procedures. The potential to discriminate between three species of oak is demonstrated using data acquired by the polarization photometer. The instrument is being used to increase understanding of the radiation transfer process in plant canopies and specifically to determine how agronomic information of the physical and chemical processes in leaves, plants, and plant canopies is expressed in these light-scattering properties.

Vanderbilt, V. C.↗

Fast fluctuations of soft X-rays from active regions

A selection of short lived small soft X-ray bursts is studied using data from the Hard X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (HXIS), and the results are compared with the data from the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer (HXRBS) with a view to understanding conditions at the onset of flares. Short-lived events provide an opportunity to study the radiation from the primary energy transfer process without confusion from the slowly-varying thermal X-ray emission which characterizes the decay of a large flare. The fast decay of the soft X-rays, only a few tens of seconds, suggests that they occur in the dense chromosphere. The results indicate that the short events may be signatures of several different phenomena, depending on their characteristics. Some events occur in association with reverse-drift type III bursts and simultaneous flaring elsewhere on the Sun, thus suggesting dumping of particles accelerated at a remote site. Some events have hard X-ray bursts and normal type III bursts associated with them, while others have neither. The latter events place strong constraints on the nonthermal electron population present.

Simnett, G. F.↗

Applications of aerospace technology

The objective of the Research Triangle Institute Technology Transfer Team is to assist NASA in achieving widespread utilization of aerospace technology in terrestrial applications. Widespread utilization implies that the application of NASA technology is to benefit a significant sector of the economy and population of the Nation. This objective is best attained by stimulating the introduction of new or improved commercially available devices incorporating aerospace technology. A methodology is presented for the team's activities as an active transfer agent linking NASA Field Centers, industry associations, user groups, and the medical community. This methodology is designed to: (1) identify priority technology requirements in industry and medicine, (2) identify applicable NASA technology that represents an opportunity for a successful solution and commercial product, (3) obtain the early participation of industry in the transfer process, and (4) successfully develop a new product based on NASA technology.

Rouse, Doris J.↗

Effect of structure on current and potential distributions in porous electrode

Porous electrodes generally contain constricted macropores and localized micropores. The effects of the macropore constrictions on the resistance of a capillary were studied and an analytical model was developed for predicting the current distribution in a constricted macropore which directly includes constriction effects and does not require an empirical tortuosity parameter. The current and concentration distributions in localized micropores were also investigated and it was shown that the microporous area is fully accessible to charge and mass transfer processes. From these analyses it was concluded that the micropores primarily affect the kinetics of the interfacial processes by contributing to the interfacial area, while the macropores impose ohmic and mass transport limitations through the volume of the porous electrode.

Lanzi, Oscar↗

The accretion disk limit cycle mechanism in GK Persei

The accretion disk thermal instability (limit cycle) mechanism for dwarf novalike outbursts is applied to the old nova GK Per in order to find values of the input parameters which reproduce the observed outbursts and to constrain the physics associated with the disk and the mass transfer process. It is found that models in which the dimensionless viscosity parameter has the value of 0.003 in the cold phase and 0.015 in the hot phase reproduce the observed spacing and duration of the eruptions. The calculated light curves at V and 1750 A are close to those observed during recent eruptions of GK Per if the interstellar reddening E(B-V) to this system is roughly 0.3.

Cannizzo, J. K.↗

Navier Stokes solution of the flowfield over ice accretion shapes

The numerical simulation of flow about ice accretion shapes has been accomplished by solving the Navier-Stokes equations using MacCormack's explicit finite difference scheme. The computations were performed on a CRAY-XMP computer. The influence of turbulence is taken into account by means of an algebraic eddy-viscosity model. In order to optimize the grid spacing and to achieve near orthogonality at the surface of the complex ice shapes, a hyperbolic grid generation scheme is utilized. Particular attention is given to the heat transfer process for which good agreement between the numerical and experimental results is achieved. In addition, liquid water droplet trajectories are coupled within the flowfield along with the resulting collection efficiencies using a parabolized Navier-Stokes formulation.

Scott, J. N.↗

Heat and mass transfer in flames

Heat- and mass-transfer processes in turbulent diffusion flames are discussed, considering turbulent mixing and the structure of single-phase flames, drop processes in spray flames, and nonluminous and luminous flame radiation. Interactions between turbulence and other phenomena are emphasized, concentrating on past work of the author and his associates. The conserved-scalar formalism, along with the laminar-flamelet approximation, is shown to provide reasonable estimates of the structure of gas flames, with modest levels of empiricism. Extending this approach to spray flames has highlighted the importance of drop/turbulence interactions; e.g., turbulent dispersion of drops, modification of turbulence by drops, etc. Stochastic methods being developed to treat these phenomena are yielding encouraging results.

Faeth, G. M.↗

An experimental study using flow visualization on the effect of an acoustic field on heat transfer from spheres

The physical mechanisms responsible for the heat transfer process in a thermal-acoustic field were investigated using the technique of holographic interferometry for flow visualization. Experimental results were obtained with sound pressure levels in the range of 120 to 150 decibels, relative to a pressure of 0.0002 dynes/sq cm. Steady state laminar flow was observed when the vibrational Reynolds number was below 400; separated flow was observed when it was above 400. In the presence of a horizontal sound field, the data indicate that the relation between the vibrational Nusselt number, Nu(v) and the vibrational Reynolds number, Re(v) is given by Nu(v) = Re(v) exp 0.22. In the presence of a vertical sound field, the corresponding relation is Nu(v) = Re(v) exp 0.15.

Leung, W. W.↗