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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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58 records · Page 4

Time-Resolved Data Acquisition for In Situ Subsurface Planetary Geochemistry

The current gamma-ray/neutron instrumentation development effort at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center aims to extend the use of active pulsed neutron interrogation techniques to probe the subsurface geochemistry of planetary bodies in situ. All previous NASA planetary science missions, that used neutron and/or gamma-ray spectroscopy instruments, have relied on a constant neutron source produced from galactic cosmic rays. One of the distinguishing features of this effort is the inclusion of a high intensity 14.1 MeV pulsed neutron generator synchronized with a custom data acquisition system to time each event relative to the pulse. With usually only one opportunity to collect data, it is difficult to set a priori time-gating windows to obtain the best possible results. Acquiring time-tagged, event-by-event data from nuclear induced reactions provides raw data sets containing channel/energy, and event time for each gamma ray or neutron detected. The resulting data set can be plotted as a function of time or energy using optimized analysis windows after the data are acquired. Time windows can now be chosen to produce energy spectra that yield the most statistically significant and accurate elemental composition results that can be derived from the complete data set. The advantages of post-processing gamma-ray time-tagged event-by-event data in experimental tests using our prototype instrument will be demonstrated.

Bodnarik, Julia Gates↗

Time-resolved Neutron-gamma-ray Data Acquisition for in Situ Subsurface Planetary Geochemistry

The current gamma-ray/neutron instrumentation development effort at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center aims to extend the use of active pulsed neutron interrogation techniques to probe the subsurface elemental composition of planetary bodies in situ. Previous NASA planetary science missions, that used neutron and/or gamma-ray spectroscopy instruments, have relied on neutrons produced from galactic cosmic rays. One of the distinguishing features of this effort is the inclusion of a high intensity 14.1 MeV pulsed neutron generator synchronized with a custom data acquisition system to time each event relative to the pulse. With usually only one opportunity to collect data, it is difficult to set a priori time-gating windows to obtain the best possible results. Acquiring time-tagged, event-by-event data from nuclear induced reactions provides raw data sets containing channel/energy, and event time for each gamma ray or neutron detected. The resulting data set can be plotted as a function of time or energy using optimized analysis windows after the data are acquired. Time windows can now be chosen to produce energy spectra that yield the most statistically significant and accurate elemental composition results that can be derived from the complete data set. The advantages of post-processing gamma-ray time-tagged event-by-event data in experimental tests using our prototype instrument will be demonstrated.

Pulsed neutrongenerator↗

Remote Measurement of Atmospheric Temperatures By Raman Lidar

The Raman shifted return of a lidar, or optical radar, system has been utilized to make atmospheric temperature measurements. These measurements were made along a horizontal path at temperatures between -20 C and +30 C and at ranges of about 100 meters. The temperature data were acquired by recording the intensity ratio of two portions of the Raman spectrum which were simultaneously sampled from a preset range. The lidar unit employed in this testing consisted of a 4 joule-10ppm laser operating at 694.3 nm, a 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, and a system of time-gated detection and signal processing electronics. The detection system processed three return signal wavelength intervals - two intervals along the rotational Raman scattered spectrum and one interval centered at the Rayleigh-Mie scattered wavelength. The wavelength intervals were resolved by using a pellicle beam splitter and three optical interference filters. Raman return samples were taken from one discrete range segment during each test shot and the signal intensities were displayed in digital format. The Rayleigh-Mie techniques. The test site utilized to evaluate this measurement technique encompassed a total path length of 200 meters. Major components of the test site included a trailer-van housing the lidar unit, a controlled environment test zone, and a beam terminator. The control zone which was located about 100 meters from the trailer was 12 meters in length, 2.4 meters in diameter, and was equipped with hinged doors at each end. The temperature of the air inside the zone could be either raised or lowered with respect to ambient air through the use of infrared heaters or a liquid-nitrogen cooling system. Conditions inside the zone were continuously monitored with a thermocouple rake assembly. The test path length was terminated by a 1.2 meter square array of energy absorbing cones and a flat black screen. Tests were initially conducted at strictly ambient conditions utilizing the normal outside air temperatures as a test parameter. These tests provided a calibration of the Raman intensity ratio as a function of' temperature for the particular optical-filter arrangement used in this system while also providing a test of' the theoretical prediction formulated in the design of the system. Later tests utilized zone temperatures above and below ambient to provide temperature gradient data. These tests indicate that ten shots, or one minute of' data acquisition, from a 100 meter range can provide absolute temperature measurements with an accuracy of + 30 C and a range resolution of about 5 meters. Because this measurement accuracy compares well with that predicted for this particular unit, it is suggested that a field-application system could be built with signif'icant improvements in both absolute accuracy and range.

Salzman, Jack A.↗

FY2024 Q4 L2 Milestone 8237 for Opacity-on-NIF

This document addresses parts 2 and 3 of the original milestone request. In the following writeup, the development of OpSpecTR at LLNL by LLNL and NNSS personnel will be detailed first, followed by a write-up of the development of Vme-resolved simulaVons of the opacity-on-NIF experiment. Capsule backlight simulaVons, hohlraum simulaVons, and sample simulaVons from CASSIO are combined to produce the line of sight from the capsule to an effecVve OpSpec posiVon. Spectra are generated by post-processing these simulaVons from either Spect3D, a commercial software by Prism ComputaVonal Sciences, or FESTR (Finite Element Spectroscopic Transport of RadiaVon), a LANL code. While the simulaVons do not at this stage proceed late enough to include the worst of the backgrounds generated from the hohlraum experimentally and each post-processing simulaVon includes only one ray for each spectrometer channel, these efforts represent proof of concept for a new capability to complete Vme-resolved and Vmegated simulaVons for the complete line of sight of the complex opacity-on-NIF geometry. Future work will be discussed at the end of the report for both efforts.

42 ENGINEERING↗