Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “intermediate phase”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 667 records · Page 37

CALCULATING ROTATING HYDRODYNAMIC AND MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES TO UNDERSTAND MAGNETIC EFFECTS ON DYNAMICAL TIDES

To understand magnetic effects on dynamical tides, we study the rotating magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow driven by harmonic forcing. The linear responses are analytically derived in a periodic box under the local WKB approximation. Both the kinetic and Ohmic dissipations at the resonant frequencies are calculated, and the various parameters are investigated. Although magnetic pressure may be negligible compared to thermal pressure, the magnetic field can be important for the first-order perturbation, e.g., dynamical tides. It is found that the magnetic field splits the resonant frequency, namely the rotating hydrodynamic flow has only one resonant frequency, but the rotating MHD flow has two, one positive and the other negative. In the weak field regime the dissipations are asymmetric around the two resonant frequencies and this asymmetry is more striking with a weaker magnetic field. It is also found that both the kinetic and Ohmic dissipations at the resonant frequencies are inversely proportional to the Ekman number and the square of the wavenumber. The dissipation at the resonant frequency on small scales is almost equal to the dissipation at the non-resonant frequencies, namely the resonance takes its effect on the dissipation at intermediate length scales. Moreover, the waves with phase propagation that is perpendicular to the magnetic field are much more damped. It is also interesting to find that the frequency-averaged dissipation is constant. This result suggests that in compact objects, magnetic effects on tidal dissipation should be considered.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

OAST Space Theme Workshop. Volume 2: Theme summary. 3: Search for extraterrestrial intelligence (no. 9). A: Theme statement. B. 26 April 1976 presentation. C. Summary. D. Newer initiatives (form 4). E. Initiative actions (form 5)

Preliminary (1977-1983), intermediate (1982-1988), and long term (1989+) phases of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) program are examined as well as the benefits to be derived in radioastronomy and the problems to be surmounted in radio frequency interference. The priorities, intrinsic value, criteria, and strategy for the search are discussed for both terrestrial and lunar-based CYCLOPS and for a space SETI system located at lunar liberation point L4. New initiatives related to antenna independent technology, multichannel analyzers, and radio frequency interference shielding are listed. Projected SETI program costs are included.

Source record↗

The 30-GHz monolithic receive module

Key requirements for a 30 GHz GaAs monolithic receive module for spaceborne communication antenna feed array applications include an overall receive module noise figure of 5 dB, a 30 dB RF to IF gain with six levels of intermediate gain control, a five-bit phase shifter, and a maximum power consumption of 250 mW. The RF designs for each of the four submodules (low noise amplifier, some gain control, phase shifter, and RF to IF sub-module) are presented. Except for the phase shifter, high frequency, low noise FETs with sub-half micron gate lengths are employed in the submodules. For the gain control, a two stage dual gate FET amplifier is used. The phase shifter is of the passive switched line type and consists of 5-bits. It uses relatively large gate width FETs (with zero drain to source bias) as the switching elements. A 20 GHz local oscillator buffer amplifier, a FET compatible balanced mixer, and a 5-8 GHz IF amplifier constitute the RF/IF sub-module. Phase shifter fabrication using ion implantation and a self-aligned gate technique is described. Preliminary RF results obtained on such phase shifters are included.

Sokolov, V.↗

The development of the red giant branch. I - Theoretical evolutionary sequences

A grid of 100 evolutionary sequences extending from the zero-age main sequence to the onset of helium burning has been computed for stellar masses between 1.4 and 3.4 solar masses, helium abundances of 0.20 and 0.30, and heavy-element abundances of 0.004, 0.01, and 0.04. Using these computations the transition in the morphology of the red giant branch (RGB) between low-mass stars, which have an extended and luminous first RGB phase prior to helium ignition, and intermediate-mass stars, which do not, is investigated. Extensive tabulations of the numerical results are provided to aid in applying these sequences. The effects of the first dredge-up on the surface helium and CNO abundances of the sequences is discussed.

Sweigart, Allen V.↗

Experimental petrology and petrogenesis of mare volcanics

The present review is an extension of a review of experimental studies by Kesson and Lindsley (1976) on mare basalts that determined melting relations over a range of pressure. Pressures of multiple saturation (olivine + pyroxene +/-Cr-rich spinel +/-ilmenite) are in the range of 5 to 12.5 kbar for primitive mare basalts and in the range of 18 to 25 kbar for picritic basalts. High-Ti picrites have augite in the subliquidus region at intermediate pressures where olivine is the liquidus phase, but orthopyroxene is the liquidus phase at multiple saturation. Because of the steep depth/pressure gradient in the outer portion of the moon (20 km/kbar), these pressures imply great depths of melting within the moon and some means of transporting magmas hundreds of kilometers to the surface without significant chemical modification, if both olivine and pyroxene were left in the residuum.

Longhi, John↗

Non-Hamiltonian perturbations of integrable systems and resonance trapping

This paper studies general, non-Hamiltonian perturbations of integrable systems with two degrees of freedom and derives conditions for temporary and permanent resonance trapping. The analysis involves a noncanonical transformation of variables near the resonant manifold and averaging with respect to the fast phase to investigate oscillatory behavior on the intermediate timescale. The resulting reduced system is Hamiltonian to leading order and permits, after averaging on the intermediate, or libration, timescale, a canonical transformation to action-angle variables in the oscillation zone. The final system so obtained reveals the possible existence of two- and three-dimensional invariant tori in the vicinity of the resonant manifold. An explicit divergence condition for general perturbations to be dissipative on the slow timescale follows from the analysis. An application of this approach to the problem of resonant trapping and escape is outlined for the restricted problem of three bodies subject to dissipative perturbations with a radial symmetry.

Ghil, M.↗

Observations of chemical processing in the circumstellar environment

High resolution interferometer and single-dish observations of young, deeply embedded stellar systems reveal a complex chemistry in the circumstellar environments of low to intermediate mass stars. Depletions of gas-phase molecules, grain mantle evaporation, and shock interactions actively drive chemical processes in different regions around young stars. We present results for two systems, IRAS 05338-0624 and NCG 1333 IRAS 4, to illustrate the behavior found and to examine the physical processes at work.

NASA Program Exobiology↗

Surveying Clay Mineral Diversity in the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars

The CheMin XRD instrument aboard Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) has documented clay minerals in various drill samples during its traverse of Gale Crater's floor and ascent of Mt. Sharp. The most recent samples, named Marimba, Quela and Sebina were acquired from the Murray Formation in the Murray Buttes region of lower Mt. Sharp. Marimba and Quela come from a approx. 30 m package of finely laminated lacustrine mudstones. Sebina comes from an overlying package of heterolithic mudstone-sandstones. Clay minerals make up approx.15-25 wt.% of the bulk rock with similar contributions to XRD patterns in all three samples. Broad basal reflections at approx. 10deg 2(theta) CoK(alpha) indicate the presence of 2:1 group clay minerals. The 02(lambda) clay mineral band lies at approx. 22.9deg 2(theta), a region typically occupied by Fe-bearing dioctahedral 2:1 clay minerals like nontronite or Fe-illite. The low humidity within the CheMin instrument, which is open to the martian atmosphere, promotes loss of interlayer H2O and collapse of smectite interlayers making them difficult to distinguish from illites. However, based on the low K content of the bulk samples, it appears that smectitic clay minerals are dominant. Peak dehydroxylation of the Marimba sample measured by the SAM instrument on MSL occurred at 610C and 780C. Fe-bearing smectites are not consistent with these dehydroxylation temperatures. Thus, we suggest that a mixture of dioctahedral and trioctahedral smectite phases are present giving the appearance of intermediate octahedral occupancy in XRD. Dioctahedral smectites have not previously been reported in Gale Crater by MSL. Earlier in the mission, relatively clay mineral rich samples (approx. 20 wt.%) from lacustrine mudstones in Yellowknife Bay (YKB) were found to contain ferrian saponites. It is proposed that YKB saponites formed via isochemical aqueous alteration of detrital olivine close to the time of sediment deposition, under anoxic to poorly oxidizing conditions. In terrestrial settings where alteration sequences of basaltic rocks or sediments are observed, first-stage alteration clay minerals are typically trioctahedral smectite species, as reported from YKB. In later alteration stages trioctahedral clay minerals are replaced by dioctahedral clays as a result of removal and/or oxidation of Fe2+ and Mg. Observed changes in clay mineralogy between YKB and Murray Buttes samples correspond with differences in bulk mineralogy, including: 1) a transition from magnetite to hematite as the main Fe-oxide, 2) increasing abundances of Ca-sulfates and 3) a reduction in the quantity of reactive mafic minerals. This mineralogical change indicates an increasing degree of aqueous alteration and oxidation of mafic detritus in the upper part of the Murray Formation. These results broaden the spectrum of mineralogical facies documented by MSL. Together sedimentology and mineralogy indicate a long-lasting, dynamic fluvial-lacustrine system encompassing a range aqueous geochemical processes under varying redox conditions. Future work is needed to unravel the influence of global and local controls on the range of ancient conditions observed at Gale Crater.

MSL↗

Europa Lander Trajectory Design Using Lissajous Staging Orbits

Lissajous orbits and approximation of their invariant manifolds are used to generate landing trajectories to the surface of Europa. Each lissajous is discretized into individual revolutions that each resemble a periodic orbit. The unstable manifolds of each individual revolution propagated forward in time generate more surface coverage than manifolds of simple libration point orbits such as halo or Lyapunov orbits. The stable manifolds propagated backwards in time from the individual lissajous revolutions provide direct connections to the last phase of a moon tour. The strategy developed produces ballistic landing trajectories with a wide surface coverage, and allows for the decoupling of the landing and moon tour phase by using the lissajous as an intermediate staging orbit. The multiple revolutions of the lissajous, multiple departure times along each revolution, multiple quasi periodic options at each energy, and multiple energies of the lissajous family provide many degrees of freedom in the design process.

McElarth, Timothy P.↗

A common platform for DSN receiver development

NASA's Deep Space Network is currently updating a number of sub systems within the Signal Processing Centers at its Deep Space Communication Complexes in order to modernize aging equipment in the downlink receivers for telemetry, tracking, radio science, and radio astronomy. To reduce development costs and increase commonality among these traditionally custom-built receivers, the implementation team has developed a flexible architecture built primarily around commercial off-the-shelf hardware compliant with the Micro Telecommunications Computing Architecture (uTCA) specification and commercial high speed 10Gbit Ethernet switches. Custom firmware and software are being developed to perform the required signal processing functions needed to replace the legacy systems in a phased implementation approach which establishes a new digital Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal distribution system first, followed by implementations of various receiver functions as dictated by need. The first of these new receivers, the Open Loop Receiver, will come online in the Fall of 2018. A description of the new architecture, referred to as the “Common Platform”, will be provided followed by an overview of the phased implementation approach and initial OLR performance results.

Navarro, Robert↗

Thermodynamic re-modelling of the Cu–Nb–Sn system: Integrating the nausite phase

Currently available Cu–Nb–Sn phase diagrams lack the recently discovered nausite phase (Cu,Nb)Sn 2 , which is an important intermediate in the course of thermal processing of superconducting Nb 3 Sn wires. Processing decisively determines the resulting microstructure of Nb 3 Sn and, thus, its superconducting properties. Lack of suitable and complete phase diagrams, however, obstructs rational design of such thermal processing procedures. To close this gap and to obtain valid knowledge of homogeneity and stability range of nausite, various Cu–Nb–Sn samples, which are heat-treated between 300 °C and 500 °C, are investigated. By means of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), a temperature-dependent homogeneity range of nausite is observed, which covers average mole fractions of Cu between 0.09 and 0.15. This is correlated with a change in the mean atomic volume and can be seen in the lattice parameters determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Additionally performed first-principles calculations on different CuSn 2 and NbSn 2 model structures confirm this trend. Furthermore, the peritectic decomposition of nausite to NbSn 2 and liquid at 586 °C is determined by means of in situ XRD and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). By using the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHase Diagrams) approach, all these findings are used to extend a previous thermodynamic description of the Cu–Nb–Sn system by including the nausite as an additional phase. Finally, with this noteworthy integration, the updated modelling of the Cu–Nb–Sn system can be used for optimizing the multistage heat-treatment steps during processing superconducting Nb 3 Sn wires.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Hydrogenation of o -Cresol at the Water/Pt(111) Interface

Catalytic experiments were performed to investigate the hydrogenation of o-cresol to 2-methylcyclohexanol on a platinum catalyst in water. It has been observed experimentally both here and in prior studies that intermediate ketones desorb from the catalyst surface in the vapor phase or in hydrocarbon solvents, but they are not observed when reactions are carried out in the aqueous phase. Density functional theory was employed to explore the atomic-scale mechanism of o-cresol hydrogenation at the water/Pt(111) interface. Here, we show that water plays a dual role of accelerating the rate of hydrogenation of these ketones by shuttling hydrogen from the surface while also decreasing the rate of desorption of the less polar ketone intermediate from the catalyst surface. These two effects, when combined, explain the lack of observation of these ketone intermediates when this hydrogenation reaction is carried out in the aqueous phase.

Li, Yaping↗

Phase diagrams for alkali-activated slag binders

Phase diagrams for alkali-activated slag (AAS) binders are simulated at (metastable) thermodynamic equilibrium, spanning the relevant compositional envelopes for these materials. The phase diagrams are generally consistent with experimental observations in the literature, dominated by calcium (alkali) aluminosilicate hydrate (C-(N-)A-S-H) gels and Mg-Al layered double hydroxides. Relationships between the stabilities of the predicted solid phase assemblages, pore solution compositions, and the bulk chemical composition are identified, yielding an improved understanding of AAS binder chemistry. Strätlingite is predicted at low to intermediate Si concentrations and at high Al content, while zeolites (and thus most likely also disordered alkali-aluminosilicate (hydrate) gels) tend to precipitate at higher concentrations of both Si and Al; katoite and AFm-type phases are stabilised at intermediate levels of CaO + Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} + MgO. The application of these results in designing AAS binders can enable the phase assemblages and chemical properties of these materials to be more precisely controlled.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The nature of photoinduced phase transition and metastable states in vanadium dioxide

Photoinduced threshold switching processes that lead to bistability and the formation of metastable phases in photoinduced phase transition of VO 2 are elucidated through ultrafast electron diffraction and diffusive scattering techniques with varying excitation wavelengths. We uncover two distinct regimes of the dynamical phase change: a nearly instantaneous crossover into an intermediate state and its decay led by lattice instabilities over 10 ps timescales. The structure of this intermediate state is identified to be monoclinic, but more akin to M 2 rather than M1 based on structure refinements. The extinction of all major monoclinic features within just a few picoseconds at the above-threshold-level (~20%) photoexcitations and the distinct dynamics in diffusive scattering that represents medium-range atomic fluctuations at two photon wavelengths strongly suggest a density-driven and nonthermal pathway for the initial process of the photoinduced phase transition. These results highlight the critical roles of electron correlations and lattice instabilities in driving and controlling phase transformations far from equilibrium.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Spin-state transition induced half metallicity in a cobaltate from first principles

Half metal is a promising spintronic material. Here, we explore, using first principles calculations, a spin-state transition induced half metallicity in a layered cobaltate via a physical or chemical pressure. Our exemplary first principles study shows that the layered cobaltate Sr{sub 2}CoO{sub 3}F would undergo a transition, under a pressure of 5.4 GPa, from a high-spin antiferromagnetic insulator to an intermediate-spin ferromagnetic half-metal. The former phase is associated with a superexchange in a Mott insulator, and the latter one is due to a broad band formation and a kinetic energy gain of the partially occupied e{sub g} orbital. Note that the above transition could also be induced by a chemical pressure via doping in (Sr{sub 1−x}Ca{sub x}){sub 2}CoO{sub 3}F (x > 0.3). This work suggests that a cobaltate would be of a particular interest if stabilized into an intermediate-spin state.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Magnetic anisotropy in uranium monosulfide probed by magnetic torque measurements

We have studied the magnetic torque in uranium monosulfide (US) single crystals to explore the magnetic anisotropy in this material. Uranium monosulfide crystallizes in a cubic, NaCl-type of crystal structure and exhibits the largest magnetocrystalline anisotropy observed in cubic systems. By performing detailed torque measurements we observe a strongly anisotropic behavior in the paramagnetic phase due to crystal defects and quadrupolar pair interactions. Our studies also confirm the presence of a large anisotropy in the ferromagnetic state of the US system with the <100>, <111>, and <110> directions being the hard, easy, and intermediate axes, respectively. Furthermore, the anisotropy in the paramagnetic phase shows similar characteristics to the anisotropy observed in the ferromagnetic phase, as characterized by second and fourth rank susceptibility terms. The similarity of the anisotropic behaviors in paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases is the consequence of strong magnetoelastic properties in this system, which possibly lead to the rhombohedral structural distortion, not only in the ferromagnetic phase but also in the paramagnetic phase (induced by applied magnetic field).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Doppler radar having phase modulation of both transmitted and reflected return signals

A microwave radar signal is generated for transmission through an antenna. Before transmission, the signal is phase modulated by 0 deg or 90 deg amounts during each alternate half-cycles of an intermediate frequency (IF) clock signal. After transmission and return, the signal is again phase modulated the same amounts during each alternate half-cycles. The return phase modulated signal is mixed with a leakage signal component of the microwave signal, leaving an IF Doppler. The IF Doppler signal may then be amplified, removing any requirement that direct current level signals be amplified and also removing the effect of detector noise from the Doppler signal.

Kobayashi, H. S.↗