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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 721 records · Page 40
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Electronic search and rescue aids

There are two elements to the basic electronic search and rescue problem: a means for immediately alerting potential rescuers and an effective method to guide the rescue forces to the scene of the emergency. An Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) used by aircraft or an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) used by maritime vessels has the capability of providing for both an immediate alert and a homing signal to assist rescue forces in locating the site of the distress. This paper describes the development of ELT/EPIRB systems. Emphasis is placed on the SARSAT project, the COSPAS/SARSAT project, and an experimental 406 MHz ELT/EPIRB system.

Trudell, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Simulating a Direction-Finder Search for an ELT

A computer program simulates the operation of direction-finding equipment engaged in a search for an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) aboard an aircraft that has crashed. The simulated equipment is patterned after the equipment used by the Civil Air Patrol to search for missing aircraft. The program is designed to be used for training in radio direction-finding and/or searching for missing aircraft without incurring the expense and risk of using real aircraft and ground search resources. The program places a hidden ELT on a map and enables the user to search for the location of the ELT by moving a 14 NASA Tech Briefs, March 2005 small aircraft image around the map while observing signal-strength and direction readings on a simulated direction- finding locator instrument. As the simulated aircraft is turned and moved on the map, the program updates the readings on the direction-finding instrument to reflect the current position and heading of the aircraft relative to the location of the ELT. The software is distributed in a zip file that contains an installation program. The software runs on the Microsoft Windows 9x, NT, and XP operating systems.

Bream, Bruce↗
NASA NTRS1977

The spectrum and position of solar noise storms at decameter wavelengths

Decametric storm radiation during the period July-August 1970 has been observed simultaneously with a high sensitivity spectrograph at Arecibo Observatory and with the log-periodic, swept-frequency array of the Clark Lake Radio Observatory. The observations complement each other; different types of fine structure emissions can be easily identified on the spectrograph records and their position can be determined from the swept-frequency recordings. The relative positions of the different emissions which have been observed during the storms are studied. Four distinct sources appear to be present. The continuum emission, the type I bursts and the flare-related type III's are all emitted at different locations. The storm type III bursts, type IIIb's and drift pairs overlap in position, but appear at different locations than the previously mentioned sources.

De La Noe, J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Computational modeling of magnetically actuated propellant orientation

Unlike terrestrial applications where gravity positions liquid at the 'bottom' of the tank, the location of liquid propellant in spacecraft tanks is uncertain unless specific actions are taken or special features are built into the tank. Some mission events require knowledge of liquid position prior to a particular action: liquid must be positioned over the tank outlet prior to starting the main engines and must be moved away from the tank vent before vapor can be released overboard to reduce pressure. It may also be desirable to positively position liquid to improve propulsion system performance: moving liquid away from the tank walls will dramatically decrease the rate of heat transfer to the propellant, suppressing the boil-off rate, thereby reducing overall mission propellant requirements. The process of moving propellant to a desired position is referred to as propellant orientation or reorientation. Several techniques have been developed to positively position propellant in spacecraft tanks and each technique imposes additional requirements on vehicle design. Propulsive reorientation relies on small auxiliary thrusters to accelerate the tank. The inertia of the liquid causes it to collect in the aft-end of the tank if the acceleration is forward. This technique requires that additional thrusters be added to the vehicle, that additional propellant be carried in the vehicle, and that an additional operational maneuver be executed. Another technique uses Liquid Acquisition Devices (LAD's) to positively position propellants. These devices rely on surface tension to hold the liquid within special geometries (i.e. vanes, wire-mesh channels, start-baskets). While avoiding some of the penalties of propulsive orientation, this technique requires the addition of complicated hardware inside the propellant tank and performance for long duration missions is uncertain. The subject of the present research is an alternate technique for positively positioning liquid within spacecraft propellant tanks: magnetic fields.

Hochstein, John I.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Computational Modeling of Magnetically Actuated Propellant Orientation

Unlike terrestrial applications where gravity positions liquid at the "bottom" of the tank, the location of liquid propellant in spacecraft tanks is uncertain unless specific actions are taken or special features are built into the tank. Some mission events require knowledge of liquid position prior to a particular action: liquid must be positioned over the tank outlet prior to starting the main engines and must be moved away from the tank vent before vapor can be released overboard to reduce pressure. It may also be desirable to positively position liquid to improve propulsion system performance: moving liquid away from the tank walls will dramatically decrease the rate of heat transfer to the propellant, suppressing the boil-off rate, thereby reducing overall mission propellant requirements. The process of moving propellant to a desired position is referred to as propellant orientation or reorientation. Propulsive reorientation relies on small auxiliary thrusters to accelerate the tank. The inertia of the liquid causes it to collect in the aft-end of the tank if the acceleration is forward. Liquid Acquisition Devices (LAD's) rely on surface tension to hold the liquid within special geometries, (i.e. vanes, wire-mesh channels, start-baskets), to positively position propellants. Both of these technologies add significant weight and complexity to the spacecraft and can be limiting systems for long duration missions. The subject of the present research is an alternate technique for positively positioning liquid within spacecraft propellant tanks: magnetic fields. LOX is paramagnetic (attracted toward a magnet) and LH2 is diamagnetic (repelled from a magnet). Order-of-magnitude analyses, performed in the 1960's to determine required magnet size, concluded that the magnets would be prohibitively massive and this option has remained dormant during the intervening years. Recent advances in high-temperature superconducting materials hold the promise of electromagnets with sufficient performance to support cryogenic propellant management tasks. In late 1992, NASA MSFC began a new investigation in this technology commencing with the design of the Magnetically-Actuated Propellant Orientation (MAPO) experiment. A mixture of ferrofluid and water is used to simulate the paramagnetic properties of LOX and the experiment is being flown on the KC-135 aircraft to provide a reduced gravity environment. The influence of a 0.4 Tesla ring magnet on flow into and out of a subscale Plexiglas tank is being recorded on video tape. The most efficient approach to evaluating the feasibility of MAPO is to compliment the experimental program with development of a computational tool to model the process of interest. The goal of the present research is to develop such a tool. Once confidence in its fidelity is established by comparison to data from the MAPO experiment, it can be used to assist in the design of future experiments and to study the parameter space of the process. Ultimately, it is hoped that the computational model can serve as a design tool for full-scale spacecraft applications.

Hochstein, John I.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Distance to the IBEX Ribbon Source Inferred From Parallax

Maps of energetic neutral atom (ENA) fluxes obtained from observations made by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) revealed a bright structure extending over the sky, subsequently dubbed the IBEX ribbon. The ribbon had not been expected from the existing models and theories prior to IBEX, and a number of mechanisms have since been proposed to explain the observations. In these mechanisms, the observed ENAs emerge from source plasmas located at different distances from the Sun. Since each part of the sky is observed by ibex TWICE DURING THE YEAR FROM OPPOSTIE SIDE OF THE Sun, the apparent position of the ribbon as observed in the sky is shifted due to parallax. To determine the ribbons parallax, we found the precise location of the maximum signal of the ribbon observed in each orbital arc. The apparent positions obtained were subsequently corrected for the Compton-Getting effect, gravitational deflection, and radiation pressure. Finally, we selected a part of the ribbon where its position is similar in the different IBEX ENERGY PASSBANDS. We compared the apparent positions obtained from the viewing locations on the opposite sides of the Sun, and found that they are shifted by a parallax angle of 0 41 0 15, which corresponds to a distance of AU. This finding supports models of the ribbon with the source located just outside the heliopause.

ISM: atoms↗
NASA NTRS2016

Assessing the Impact of Vertical Land Motion on Twentieth Century Global Mean Sea Level Estimates

Near-global and continuous measurements from satellite altimetry have provided accurate estimates of global mean sea level in the past two decades. Extending these estimates further into the past is a challenge using the historical tide gauge records. Not only is sampling nonuniform in both space and time, but tide gauges are also affected by vertical land motion (VLM) that creates a relative sea level change not representative of ocean variability. To allow for comparisons to the satellite altimetry estimated global mean sea level (GMSL), typically the tide gauges are corrected using glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models. This approach, however, does not correct other sources of VLM that remain in the tide gauge record. Here we compare Global Positioning System (GPS) VLM estimates at the tide gauge locations to VLM estimates from GIA models, and assess the influence of non-GIA-related VLM on GMSL estimates. We find that the tide gauges, on average, are experiencing positive VLM (i.e., uplift) after removing the known effect of GIA, resulting in an increase of 0.2460.08 mm yr21 in GMSL trend estimates from 1900 to present when using GPS-based corrections. While this result is likely dependent on the subset of tide gauges used and the actual corrections used, it does suggest that non-GIA VLM plays a significant role in twentieth century estimates of GMSL. Given the relatively short GPS records used to obtain these VLM estimates, we also estimate the uncertainty in the GMSL trend that results from limited knowledge of non-GIA-related VLM.

Hamlington, B. D.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The application of image processing to satellite navigation

Given the locations of several landmarks on a satellite acquired image and their true geographic coordinates, the position and orientation of the satellite can be determined. Two methods for automatically locating the image coordinates of specified landmarks are described. The first, a particularly fast sequential similarity detection algorithm for template matching was originally described by Nagel and Rosenfeld. The second method involves iteratively resampling the picture function in the vicinity of the anticipated landmark. A variety of other speedup methods is also described. An application to SMS imagery is envisioned.

Hord, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Rotary balance data for a typical single-engine general aviation design for an angle-of-attack range of 8 deg to 90 deg. 2: Influence of horizontal tail location for Model D

The influence of horizontal tail location on the rotational flow aerodynamics is discussed for a 1/6-scale general aviation airplane model. The model was tested using various horizontal tail positions, with both a high and a low-wing location and for each of two body lengths. Data were measured, using a rotary balance, over an angle-of-attack range of 8 to 90 deg, and for clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations covering an Omega b/2V range of 0 to 0.9.

Barnhart, B.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Connector interface assembly for enclosed vessels and associated systems and methods

Systems, methods, and apparatus that employ a connector assembly having a substrate layer with an inner aperture and an outer periphery, and one or more signal traces disposed on the substrate that extend from an inner first location to an outer second location of the apparatus, for communicating data between electronic devices positioned within an interior volume of an enclosed vessel and complementary electronic devices positioned in an ambient environment external to the enclosed vessel. An inner connector is conductively connected the signal traces at the inner first location of each signal trace, and an outer connector is conductively connected to the one or more signal traces at the outer second location of each signal trace. A substantially flat exterior surface extends radially over at least a portion of a region between the respective first locations and the respective second locations.

Estrada, Juan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Application of a Novel Heat Pump Model for Estimating Economic Viability and Barriers of Heat Pumps in Dairy Applications in the United States

Heat pumps represent an important opportunity for energy savings and decarbonization. This work investigates the techno-economic performance of high-temperature heat pumps (HTHPs) for use in the U.S. dairy industry. The studied heat pump performs a 50 °C temperature lift on a waste heat stream of cleaning water and applies the upgraded heat stream to a fluid milk pasteurization process. This work involved the creation of a HTHP model that estimated the coefficient of performance (COP), internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV), and payback period (PBP), and emissions saved for a heat pump replacing a natural gas boiler. Capital costs, operations, and maintenance (O&M) cost, heat pump lifetime, electricity prices, natural gas prices, and a cost of carbon were varied to perform a parametric study on the factors affecting the break-even price of HTHPs. The results show that HTHP economics are highly sensitive to COP and energy price environment, and less sensitive to capital and O&M cost variance, leading to a large scatter of positive and negative NPVs based on U.S. location. PBPs demonstrate a defined threshold, based on energy price environment, below which favorable two-to-three-year PBPs predominate. This work is focused on the U.S. dairy industry, but international application in relation to fossil vs. electricity price regimes. Heat pumps have seen wider adoption in regions with a high ratio of fossil energy to electricity prices ($/MMBTU vs. $/kWh). The U.S. has plentiful natural gas resulting in lower fossil energy prices which has reduced heat pump adoption. This paper identifies potential first mover industries for HTHP adoption and their associated price regimes even in regions with lower ratios of fossil energy to electricity prices that exist many places globally.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION,↗
DOE OSTI2022

Validation of realistic Monte Carlo plasma gamma-ray source on JET discharges

A novel modelling methodology has been developed for the creation of a realistic plasma gamma-ray source for Monte Carlo transport simulations in the tokamak JET. The methodology couples the TRANSP code for plasma transport calculations with the MCNP Monte Carlo particle transport code, thus connecting plasma physics with gamma-ray transport. Here, we present the validation of the developed source methodology by comparing calculated gamma-ray spectra with measurements performed at JET. The validation focuses on gamma-ray spectra measured by the tangential gamma-ray spectrometer during two JET three ion RF scenario discharges, performed in the JET 2019 deuterium experimental campaign. For validation the calculated plasma gamma-ray spectrum was combined with the neutron induced prompt gamma-ray background, originating in the vacuum vessel, and scaled to absolute values calculating the total number of plasma gamma-ray and neutron emitting reactions. The comparison between calculated and measured gamma-ray spectra shows good agreement with the shape of the calculated gamma-ray spectra matching that of measurements for both studied discharges. Moreover, the calculated absolute values of the gamma-ray spectra were of the same order of magnitude at the position of the gamma-ray detector located at the end of a long line-of-sight in a biological shield. Finally, the comparison has validated the developed plasma gamma-ray source methodology for MCNP photon transport calculations at JET. The validation provides a basis for the developed plasma gamma-ray source to be used as a support for the development of future tokamaks such as DEMO.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measurement of muon neutrino induced charged current interactions without charged pions in the final state using a new T2K off-axis near detector WAGASCI-BabyMIND

We report a flux-integrated cross section measurement of muon neutrino interactions on water and hydrocarbon via charged current reactions without charged pions in the final state with the WAGASCI-BabyMIND detector, which was installed in the T2K near detector hall in 2018. The detector is located 1.5° off-axis and is exposed to a more energetic neutrino flux than ND280, another T2K near detector, which is located at a different off-axis position. The total flux-integrated cross section is measured to be 1.26 ± 0.18⁢(stat+syst) × 10 −39 cm 2 /nucleon on CH and 1.44 ± 0.21⁢(stat+syst) × 10 −39 cm 2 /nucleon on H 2 ⁡O. These results are compared to model predictions provided by the neut v5.3.2 and genie v2.8.0 Monte Carlo generators and the measurements are compatible with these models. Differential cross sections in muon momentum and cosine of the muon scattering angle are also reported. This is the first such measurement reported with the WAGASCI-BabyMIND detector and utilizes the 2020 and 2021 datasets.

lepton-hadron interactions↗
DOE OSTI2026

Imaging surface topography with coherent x-ray reflectivity: Theory, kinematics, and simulations

A theoretical formalism is described for understanding coherent x-ray reflectivity (CXR) from the surface of a semi-infinite crystal having a variable surface topography, described by the height profile ℎ(𝑥,𝑦). The surface topography is imaged as a complex “effective density,” obtained from the phasing and inversion of the coherent x-ray reflectivity data, measured through a rocking scan centered at a vertical momentum transfer 𝑄$^{0}_{𝑧}$ and a vertical range Δ⁢𝑄 𝑧 . The formalism predicts that the effective density has an amplitude with a maximum located at the surface height for each position within the surface plane. The phase of the effective density has a lateral variation that is controlled by the surface height and a vertical variation that reflects a combination of the interfacial structure and specific choice of measurement conditions. This understanding enables direct observation of nanometer-scale interfacial topography, i.e., ℎ⁡(𝑥,𝑦)⁢𝑐 𝑠 (where 𝑐 𝑠 is the vertical substrate lattice parameter) with Å-scale sensitivity to surface height. Numerical simulations illustrate and confirm the theoretical results. These results show how the interpretation of the interfacial density phase obtained by CXR data inversion (i.e., surface topography with respect to a flat surface) is conceptually similar to that previously known for Bragg coherent diffraction imaging (BCDI) measurements of isolated nanoparticles (i.e., lattice displacements with respect to an ideal crystal lattice). This suggests that CXR can be thought of as a form of dark field imaging with respect to the bright field BCDI approach. An implication of these results is that interfacial imaging may bypass some of the significant challenges associated with BCDI imaging of multiple particles having different orientations.

X-ray imaging↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tank Waste Characterization: History, Challenges, and Success Stories

The preparation and chemical and radiochemical analysis of Hanford tank waste samples can be performed with standard laboratory equipment and instruments as relatively routine processes that are not particularly challenging. Rather, the main challenges of tank waste characterization are associated with radiological dose and sampling limitations. Accurate, representative and effective sampling techniques are difficult with the waste tanks because they were not designed for routine sampling. There are a finite number of sampling locations for each tank based on riser positioning, depth and the operational functionality of the sampling riser. For example, in one recently emptied SST, there was one riser that was found to have had concrete dumped down it, thereby eliminating that sampling port. Additionally, the waste within the tank; especially true for the saltcake and sludge, is not homogenous. The ability to adequately mix a million-gallon double shell tank (DST) is a concern for data reproducibility. Another real challenge that must be addressed for sampling single shell tanks, is how to dissolve the salt cake waste in a compromised (leaking) SST. These physical constraints mean that uncertainty in the representativeness of samples must be considered when applying analytical results to the bulk contents of the tank. The tank waste is highly radioactive and thus can only be handled initially by facilities that can receive samples into concrete-shielded hot cells with remote operation with an example provided in Figure 1. The shielding protects the worker from the radiological dose while mineral oil windows and remotely operated manipulators enables the samples to be handled. At Hanford, analytical laboratories with these hot cell capabilities are limited to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the main Hanford operations support laboratory, 222-S Laboratory. Because of their highly radioactive nature, samples must be sufficiently diluted to facilitate their analysis outside of a shielded cell. In some cases, this means some accuracy must be compromised to complete the analysis beyond that normally encountered for non-radioactive material.

Waste Characterization, BBI, PHOENIX: Tank Farms: ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cape EGS: Frisco Pad Wells Flow Test Microseismic Data

This dataset contains microseismic data acquired during the Frisco pad flow test project led by Fervo Energy, conducted between July 17th - Aug 12th 2024, near the Utah FORGE geothermal site. The microseismic data was collected from various Utah FORGE wells: via Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) fiber in 16B, and two 3-component geophones located in wells 56-32 and 78B. The dataset is structured in SEGY format, where the first six traces represent data from the geophones, and the remaining traces capture DAS data from well 16B. Each SEGY file in this dataset contains triggered microseismic events, with event initiation based on Short-Time Average over Long-Time Average (STA/LTA) detection criteria during the stimulation process. Files are grouped by time intervals and named following the structure "[WellPad][WellName][Month]_[Year]Divine_Trigger[EventNumber].sgy," indicating well pad, well name, date, and event number. Sampling parameters include a spatial sampling of approximately 2 meters for DAS channels and a temporal sampling rate of 2000 Hz, with each data record spanning 1.2 seconds. The files' coordinates are referenced to the location of the FORGE 16A-32 wellhead, positioned at UTM coordinates: Easting 334641.1891 m and Northing 4263443.693 m. The geographic coordinates for this origin are 38.50402147 latitude and -112.8963897 longitude, with an elevation of 1650.0249 meters above sea level.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗