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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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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Environmental Barrier Coating Surface Temperature Mapping Using a Compatible Er-Doped Sc 2 SiO 5 Temperature-Sensing Layer

Accurate surface temperature-mapping capabilities in the 1300 to 1500 °C range are needed for SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites protected by environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) under testing in turbine engine environment facilities. The strong background thermal radiation at these higher temperatures is a challenging issue. Er-doped Y 2 SiO 5 was previously shown to be capable of achieving luminescence lifetime-based temperature mapping up to 1560 °C as a standalone material. However, compatibility issues between an Er-doped Y 2 SiO 5 surface temperature sensing layer and an underlying Sc 2 Si 2 O 7 -based EBC topcoat limited temperature mapping of the EBC surface to a maximum of 1380 °C. Therefore, an Er-doped Sc 2 SiO 5 temperature sensing layer has been subsequently developed with better compatibility with the Sc2Si2O7-based EBC topcoat. Localized spot temperature measurements as well as luminescence lifetime imaging-based temperature mapping were demonstrated up to 1535 °C from a 15 µm thick Er-doped Sc 2 SiO 5 layer at the surface of a Sc2Si2O7-based EBC topcoat, a significant improvement over the Er-doped Y2SiO5 layer 1380 °C temperature sensing limit. No degradation of the Er-doped Sc 2 SiO 5 temperature sensing surface layer was observed.

temperature measurement↗
NASA NTRS2020

The role of blocking circulation and emerging open water feedbacks on Greenland cold‐season air temperature variability over the last century

Substantial marine, terrestrial, and atmospheric changes have occurred over the Greenland region during the last century. Several studies have documented record‐levels of Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) summer melt extent during the 2000s and 2010s, but relatively little work has been carried out to assess regional climatic changes in other seasons. Here, we focus on the less studied cold‐season (i.e., autumn and winter) climate, tracing the long‐term (1873–2013) variability of Greenland's air temperatures through analyses of coastal observations and model‐derived outlet glacier series and their linkages with North Atlantic sea ice, sea surface temperature (SST), and atmospheric circulation indices. Through a statistical framework, large amounts of west and south Greenland temperature variance (up to r^2~50%) can be explained by the seasonally‐contemporaneous combination of the Greenland Blocking Index (GBI) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO; hereafter the combination of GBI and NAO is termed GBI). Lagged and concomitant regional sea‐ice concentration (SIC) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) seasonal indices account for small amounts of residual air temperature variance (r^2<~10%) relative to the GBI. The correlations between GBI and cold‐season temperatures are predominantly positive and statistically‐significant through time, while regional SIC conditions emerge as a significant covariate from the mid‐20th century through the conclusion of the study period. The inclusion of the cold‐season Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in multivariate analyses bolsters the air temperature variance explained by the North Atlantic regional predictors, suggesting the remote, background climate state is important to long‐term Greenland temperature variability. These findings imply that large‐scale tropospheric circulation has a strong control on surface temperature over Greenland through dynamic and thermodynamic impacts and stress the importance of understanding the evolving two‐way linkages between the North Atlantic marine and atmospheric environment in order to more accurately predict Greenland seasonal climate variability and change through the 21st century.

air temperatures↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Joint Aerosol-Monsoon Experiment: A New Challenge to Monsoon Climate Research

Aerosol and monsoon related droughts and floods are two of the most serious environmental hazards confronting more than 60% of the population of the world living in the Asian monsoon countries. In recent years, thanks to improved satellite and in-situ observations, and better models, great strides have been made in aerosol, and monsoon research respectively. There is now a growing body of evidence suggesting that interaction of aerosol forcing with water cycle dynamics in monsoon regions may substantially alter the redistribution of energy at the earth surface and in the atmosphere, and therefore significantly impact monsoon rainfall variability and long term trends. In this talk, I will describe issues related to societal needs, scientific background, and challenges in studies of aerosol-water cycle interaction in Asian monsoon regions. As a first step towards addressing these issues, the authors call for an integrated observation and modeling research approach aimed at the interactions between aerosol chemistry and radiative effects and monsoon dynamics of the coupled ocean-atmosphere-land system. A Joint Aerosol-Monsoon Experiment (JAMEX) is proposed for 2007-2011, with an enhanced observation period during 2008-09, encompassing diverse arrays of observations from surface, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and satellites of physical and chemical properties of aerosols, long range aerosol transport as well as meteorological and oceanographic parameters in the Indo-Pacific Asian monsoon region. JAMEX will leverage on coordination among many ongoing and planned national programs on aerosols and monsoon research in China, India, Japan, Nepal, Italy, US, as well as international research programs of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Lau, William K. M.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Epitaxial Design of Complex Nickelates as Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a crucial process in electrochemical water splitting, a promising technology to renewably yield hydrogen gas from water. Designing and developing earth‐abundant, efficient, and stable OER electrocatalysts to replace the most widely used but scarce RuO 2 and IrO 2 are thus of critical interest. Recently, ABO 3 ‐structured perovskite oxides, especially rare‐earth nickelates, are extensively studied for their potential use as OER electrocatalysts. In particular, the epitaxial synthesis of complex oxide thin films allows flexible and precise control over the materials so that their structure–stability–property relationships can be established. Using nickelate thin films as model systems, this review illustrates how epitaxial design allows researchers to test different hypotheses and proposed descriptors, as well as formulate new design principles. Following a brief introduction to the background of OER mechanisms, proposed activity descriptors, and synthesis methods, various epitaxial design strategies are surveyed including strain tuning, composition control, surface termination/orientation selection, defect engineering, and interface design. These have led to precise control over the atomic structures and electronic properties of nickelates which in turn determine their electrochemical performance. Finally, the remaining challenges and perspectives toward a deeper understanding and use of complex oxides as OER catalysts are discussed.

Choi, Min‐Ju↗
NASA NTRS1977

Significance of vegetation in interpreting thermal radiation from a terrestrial surface

The regions between crop rows are modeled as infinitely long diffuse cavities. Geometrical view factors are calculated, accounting for reflected radiation emanating internal to the cavity and from the background sky. A 'cavity' emissivity dependent on local geometry is defined to allow for correcting apparent temperatures to true temperatures. The total emissivity appropriate for correcting aircraft thermal data is then calculated by averaging all emissivity components to account for soil, crop, and background. It is shown that even for the lowest crop and vegetation emissivities, if the crop height-to-spacing ratio is greater than unity, the composite emissivity is greatly increased, giving rise to a decreased error in remotely sensed temperature data.

Sutherland, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Zodiacal emission. II - Dust near ecliptic

The location and brightness of the peak zodiacal emission are derived from IRAS observations of the diffuse infrared background radiation. A uniform ellipsoid geometrical model is fitted to the latitudes of peak brightness, from which the orientation of the surface of maximum dust density near the earth's orbit is derived. Deviations from the uniform ellipsoid indicate that this surface bends toward the invariable plane of the solar system beyond 2.5 AU from the sun. The variations of the peak zodiacal emission brightness with solar elongation and observation date allow two independent determinations of the gradient of the volume emissivity of interplanetary dust. Combined with theoretical calculations of the infrared emission from silicate and graphite grains heated by the sun, the gradient of the dust density is found to be n proportional to r exp (-1.1 + or - 0.2). Systematic brightness variations with ecliptic longitude reveal two potential asymmetries in the dust complex: excess emission following the earth in its orbit, and excess emission along lines of sight with ecliptic longitude lambda = 190 + or - 20 deg and solar lambda about 100 deg.

Reach, William T.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Wave Driven Exothermic Heating in the Mesopause Region

A full-wave propagation model was developed that describes the propagation of gravity waves from the Earth's surface to the upper boundary, which can be placed anywhere between 150 and 500 km altitude. The model includes a realistic background atmosphere, and includes the effects of mean horizontal winds and their vertical shears, mean vertical temperature gradients, the eddy and molecular diffusion of heat and momentum, and the effects of ion-drag. This model solves five coupled second-order differential equations (continuity, momentum, and energy) in the vertical coordinate to derive the perturbation variables u', v', w' (horizontal and vertical velocity components), T' (temperature) and p' (pressure). The upper boundary can be automatically selected based on tests using the radiation condition at the upper boundary, wherein the height is increased until the wave is experiencing severe dissipation at the upper boundary, ensuring that substantial absorption occurs for any waves reflected from the upper boundary. The determination of wave amplitude is a key requirement of wave energetics. Therefore, the fullwave model has been applied to airglow observations in order to determine wave amplitudes as a function of altitude. This was accomplished by using the full-wave model output to drive a chemistry perturbation module that describes minor species perturbations and the resulting airglow perturbations. The full-wave output was multiplied by an altitude-independent factor such that the modeled and observed relative airglow intensity perturbations were equal. The effects of mean winds were included in these studies, and found to be the most important model input affecting the calculations (being more important than the choice of eddy diffusion profiles and chemical kinetic coefficients). In one study (Hickey et al., 1997a) these winds could not be well estimated from the measurements, whereas in the second study (Hickey et al.,1997b) the mean were well defined with a sodium wind-temperature lidar.

Hickey, Michael P.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Morphology and the Strength of Intermolecular Contact in Protein Crystals

The strengths of intermolecular contacts (macrobonds) in four lysozyme crystals were estimated based on the strengths of individual intermolecular interatomic interaction pairs. The periodic bond chain of these macrobonds accounts for the morphology of protein crystals as shown previously. Further in this paper, the surface area of contact, polar coordinate representation of contact site, Coulombic contribution on the macrobond strength, and the surface energy of the crystal have been evaluated. Comparing location of intermolecular contacts in different polymorphic crystal modifications, we show that these contacts can form a wide variety of patches on the molecular surface. The patches are located practically everywhere on this surface except for the concave active site. The contacts frequently include water molecules, with specific intermolecular hydrogen-bonds on the background of non-specific attractive interactions. The strengths of macrobonds are also compared to those of other protein complex systems. Making use of the contact strengths and taking into account bond hydration we also estimated crystal-water interfacial energies for different crystal faces.

Matsuura, Yoshiki↗
NASA NTRS2003

Real-time three-dimensional color doppler evaluation of the flow convergence zone for quantification of mitral regurgitation: Validation experimental animal study and initial clinical experience

BACKGROUND: Pitfalls of the flow convergence (FC) method, including 2-dimensional imaging of the 3-dimensional (3D) geometry of the FC surface, can lead to erroneous quantification of mitral regurgitation (MR). This limitation may be mitigated by the use of real-time 3D color Doppler echocardiography (CE). Our objective was to validate a real-time 3D navigation method for MR quantification. METHODS: In 12 sheep with surgically induced chronic MR, 37 different hemodynamic conditions were studied with real-time 3DCE. Using real-time 3D navigation, the radius of the largest hemispherical FC zone was located and measured. MR volume was quantified according to the FC method after observing the shape of FC in 3D space. Aortic and mitral electromagnetic flow probes and meters were balanced against each other to determine reference MR volume. As an initial clinical application study, 22 patients with chronic MR were also studied with this real-time 3DCE-FC method. Left ventricular (LV) outflow tract automated cardiac flow measurement (Toshiba Corp, Tokyo, Japan) and real-time 3D LV stroke volume were used to quantify the reference MR volume (MR volume = 3DLV stroke volume - automated cardiac flow measurement). RESULTS: In the sheep model, a good correlation and agreement was seen between MR volume by real-time 3DCE and electromagnetic (y = 0.77x + 1.48, r = 0.87, P <.001, delta = -0.91 +/- 2.65 mL). In patients, real-time 3DCE-derived MR volume also showed a good correlation and agreement with the reference method (y = 0.89x - 0.38, r = 0.93, P <.001, delta = -4.8 +/- 7.6 mL). CONCLUSIONS: real-time 3DCE can capture the entire FC image, permitting geometrical recognition of the FC zone geometry and reliable MR quantification.

Validation Studies↗
NASA NTRS2006

Effects of Laser Peening, and Shot Peening, on Friction Stir Welding

A viewgraph presentation describing the effects of laser peening and shot peening on friction stir welding is shown. The topics include: 1) Background; 2) Friction Stir Welding (FSW); 3) Microstructure; 4) Laser & Shot Peening; 5) Residual Stresses; 6) Tensile Behavior; 7) Fatigue Life & Surface Roughness; 8) Crack Growth; and 9) Benefits.

Hatamleh, Omar↗
NASA NTRS2009

Performance Assessment of the Mercury Laser Altimeter on MESSENGER from Mercury Orbit

The Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) is one of seven instruments on the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft,a mission in NASA's Discovery Program. MESSENGER was launched on August 3, 2004, and entered into orbit about Mercury on March 29, 2011. As of June 30, 2011 MLA started to collect science Measurements on March 29, 2011. As of June 30, 2011 MLA had accumulated about 3 million laser ranging measurements to the Mercury surface through one Mercury year, i.e ., one complete cycle of the spacecraft thermal environment. The average MLA laser output-pulse energy remained steady despite the harsh thermal environment, in which the laser bench temperature changed by as much as 15 C over a 35 min operating period . The laser beam-collimating telescope experienced a 30 C temperature swing over the same period, and the thermal cycling repeated every 12 hours. Nonetheless, MLA receiver optics appeared to be aligned and in focus throughout these temperature excursions. The maximum ranging distance of MLA was 1500 km at near-zero laser-beam incidence angle (and emission angle) and 600 km at 60 deg incidence angle. The MLA instrument performance in Mercury orbit has been consistent with the performance demonstrated during MESSENGER's Mercury flybys in January and October 2008 and during pre-launch testing. In addition to range measurements, MLA data are being used to estimate the surface reflectance of Mercury at 1064 nm wavelength, including regions of permanent shadow on the floors of polar craters. MLA also provides a measurement of the surface reflectance of sunlight at 1064 nm wavelength by its noise counters, for which output is a monotonic function of the background light.

Sun, Xiaoli↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ultra-pure nickel for structural components of low-radioactivity instruments

The next generation of nuclear and particle physics rare-event search experiments demand structural materials combining ultra-low levels of radioactive contamination with exceptional mechanical strength. Here, this study evaluates chemical vapor deposition (CVD) nickel as a low radioactive background candidate structural material for such applications. Manufacturer-supplied CVD Ni grown on aluminum substrates was assayed via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) employing isotope-dilution. These material assays produced measured bulk concentration of 232 Th, 238 U, and nat K at the levels of ~70 ppq, ≲100 ppq, and ~900 ppt, respectively, which is the lowest reported in nickel. Surface-etch profiling uncovered higher concentrations of these contaminants extending ~10 μ m beneath the surface, likely associated with the aluminum growth substrate. Additionally, the CVD Ni underwent tensile testing alongside standard Ni samples. CVD Ni exhibited a planar tensile strength of ~600 MPa, significantly surpassing standard nickel. However, heat treatment was found to reduce the tensile strength to levels comparable to standard Ni, with implications for high-temperature weld joining methods. The results reported are compared to the one other well documented usage of CVD Ni in a low radioactive background physics research experiment and a discussion is provided on how the currently reported results may arise from changes in CVD fabrication or testing process. These results establish CVD Ni as a promising low-radioactivity structural material, while outlining the need for further development in surface cleaning and weld-joining techniques to fully realize its potential in large-scale, low radioactive background rare-event search experiments.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Modeled Response of Greenland Snowmelt to the Presence of Biomass Burning-Based Absorbing Aerosols in the Atmosphere and Snow

Biomass burning produces smoke aerosols that are emitted into the atmosphere. Some smoke constituents, notably black carbon, are highly effective light-absorbing aerosols (LAA). Emitted LAA can be transported to high-albedo regions like the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and affect local snowmelt. In the summer, the effects of LAA in Greenland are uncertain. To explore how LAA affect GrIS snowmelt and surface energy flux in the summer, we conduct idealized global climate model simulations with perturbed aerosol amounts and properties in the GrIS snow and overlying atmosphere. The in-snow and atmospheric aerosol burdens we select range from background values measured on the GrIS to unrealistically high values. This helps us explore the linearity of snowmelt response and to achieve high signal-to-noise ratios. With LAA operating only in the atmosphere, we find no significant change in snowmelt due to the competing effects of surface dimming and tropospheric warming. Regardless of atmospheric LAA presence, in-snow black carbon-equivalentmixing ratios greater than ~60 ng/g produce statistically significant snowmelt increases over much of the GrIS. We find that net surface energy flux changes correspond well to snowmelt changes for all cases. The dominant component of surface energy flux change is solar energy flux, but sensible and longwave energy fluxes respond to temperature changes. Atmospheric LAA dampen the magnitude of solar radiation absorbed by in-snow LAA when both varieties are simulated. In general, the significant melt and surface energy flux changes we simulate occur with LAA quantities that have never been recorded in Greenland.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2011

Real-Time Thermographic-Phosphor-Based Temperature Measurements of Thermal Barrier Coating Surfaces Subjected to a High-Velocity Combustor Burner Environment

Surface temperature measurements were conducted on metallic specimens coated with an yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coating (TBC) with a YAG:Dy phosphor layer that were subjected to an aggressive high-velocity combustor burner environment. Luminescence-based surface temperature measurements of the same TBC system have previously been demonstrated for specimens subjected to static furnace or laser heating. Surface temperatures were determined from the decay time of the luminescence signal of the YAG:Dy phosphor layer that was excited by a pulsed laser source. However, the furnace and laser heating provides a much more benign environment than that which exists in a turbine engine, where there are additional challenges of a highly radiant background and high velocity gases. As the next step in validating the suitability of luminescence-based temperature measurements for turbine engine environments, new testing was performed where heating was provided by a high-velocity combustor burner rig at Williams International. Real-time surface temperature measurements during burner rig heating were obtained from the decay of the luminescence from the YAG:Dy surface layer. The robustness of several temperature probe designs in the sonic velocity, high radiance flame environment was evaluated. In addition, analysis was performed to show whether the luminescence decay could be satisfactorily extracted from the high radiance background.

Eldridge, Jeffrey I.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Seismic Monitoring near Ithaca, New York, Reveals Nonuniform Distribution of Microseismicity in an Intraplate Region

Abstract Cornell University intends to use a deep direct-use geothermal system to heat its Ithaca, New York, campus. In preparation for this project, the Cornell Seismic Network has been monitoring the background seismicity in this intraplate region since 2019. From January 2020 to June 2023, 95 events were detected within 20 km of the proposed geothermal well site, with local magnitudes ranging from −1.02 to 0.56. None of these events appear in regional or national catalogs. Events locate in a narrow geographic band, with one-fourth exhibiting multimodal hypocentral probability peaks both near the surface and at 1–4 km depth. We relocate events with a joint hypocenter and 1D velocity model inversion, in addition to a fully nonlinear method, and then compare observations with synthetic waveforms. Together, these approaches provide strong evidence for >95% of events locating at the surface or within the 3-km-thick sedimentary sequence. We explore how anthropogenic activity and regional topographic stress may contribute to frequent surficial events. This information is critical for characterizing the background microseismicity for comparison during future geothermal operations. Ithaca’s geology of Paleozoic sediments overlying Precambrian crystalline basement is typical of many continental interiors, so these results also provide insight into intraplate microseismicity patterns.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗
NASA NTRS1993

Active galactic nuclei make the cosmic X-ray background

While it has long been known that active galactic nuclei (AGNs) make up a significant part of the X-ray background near 1 keV, it has been generally thought that the typical AGN X-ray spectrum did not fit the higher energy background spectrum. More recent data (from Ginga, SIGMA, and OSSE) show that the X-ray spectra of radio-quiet AGNs do in fact resemble the X-ray background spectrum. These data are well described (from 2 to 100 keV) by a model in which the X-ray photons are made by thermal Comptonization, and a fraction (around a half) of the X-rays are reflected by a cool surface. Using the observed evolution of X-ray-bright AGNs, we show that the known AGN population, radiating the spectrum observed at low redshift and integrated in redshift back to z about 4, is capable of producing the entire X-ray background from 2 to 100 keV.

Zdziarski, Andrzej A.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Erratum: Production and validation of scintillating structural components from low-background Poly(ethylene naphthalate)

Regretfully, the author list of the original paper did not contain the members of the groups being responsible for the HPGe screening, Radon emanation measurement and ICPMS surface characterization works. As the work performed is to be considered more than “just service work”, the authors together with the members of these groups have decided to amend the authors list. At publication the following authors were not included in the author list: • From Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, U.S.A.: E.W. Hoppe, I.J. Arnquist, K.P. Hobbs, A.D. French, M.L. diVacri • From INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, 67100 Assergi, Italy: M. Laubenstein • From M. Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, 30-348 Krakow, Poland: G. Zuzel The metadata of the present erratum are already correct.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗