Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “High Explosives”

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 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

On the simulation of ballistic shock loads

Blast or penetrator-impact induced shocks are characterized by high acceleration levels, particularily in the higher frequency range and for a short time duration. These shocks are dangerous for the equipment of ships, combat vehicles, airplanes or spacecraft structures. As ballistic shock loads are insufficiently simulated by laboratory test machines, researchers designed a ballistic shock simulator. The impact induced shocks are simulated by an explosive and the vehicle to be bombarded is replaced by a simplified structure. This structure is suitable to accommodate any equipment which can be tested up to their load limits.

Hollburg, Uwe↗
NASA NTRS2018

Constraints on the chemical enrichment history of the Perseus Cluster of galaxies from high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

High-resolution spectroscopy of the core of the Perseus Cluster of galaxies, using the Hitomi satellite above 2 keV and the XMM–Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer at lower energies, provides reliable constraints on the abundances of O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni. Accounting for all known systematic uncertainties, the Ar/Fe, Ca/Fe, and Ni/Fe ratios are determined with a remarkable precision of less than 10 per cent, while the constraints on Si/Fe, S/Fe, and Cr/Fe are at the 15 per cent level, and Mn/Fe is measured with a 20 percent uncertainty. The average biases in determining the chemical composition using archival CCD spectra from XMM–Newton and Suzaku typically range from 15 to 40 per cent. A simple model in which the enrichment pattern in the Perseus Cluster core and the protosolar nebula are identical gives a surprisingly good description of the high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy results, with X^2=10.7 for 10 degrees of freedom. However, this pattern is challenging to reproduce with linear combinations of existing supernova nucleosynthesis calculations, particularly given the precise measurements of intermediateα-elements enabled by Hitomi. We discuss in detail the degeneracies between various supernova progenitor models and explosion mechanisms, and the remaining uncertainties in these theoretical models. We suggest that including neutrino physics in the core-collapse supernova yield calculations may improve the agreement with the observed pattern ofα-elements in the Perseus Cluster core. Our results provide a complementary benchmark for testing future nucleosynthesis calculations required to understand the origin of chemical elements.

A Simionescu↗
NASA NTRS2020

An Evolutionary System of Mineralogy. Part I: Stellar Mineralogy (>13 to 4.6 Ga)

Minerals preserve records of the physical, chemical, and biological histories of their origins and subsequent alteration, and thus provide a vivid narrative of the evolution of Earth and other worlds through billions of years of cosmic history. Mineral properties, including trace and minor elements, ratios of isotopes, solid and fluid inclusions, external morphologies, and other idiosyncratic attributes, represent information that points to specific modes of formation and subsequent environmental histories—information essential to understanding the co-evolving geosphere and biosphere. This perspective suggests an opportunity to amplify the existing system of mineral classification, by which minerals are defined solely on idealized end-member chemical compositions and crystal structures. Here we present the first in a series of contributions to explore a complementary evolutionary system of mineralogy—a classification scheme that links mineral species to their paragenetic modes. The earliest stage of mineral evolution commenced with the appearance of the first crystals in the universe at >13 Ga and continues today in the expanding, cooling atmospheres of countless evolved stars, which host the high-temperature (T > 1000 K), low-pressure (P < 10-2 atm) condensation of refractory minerals and amorphous phases. Most stardust is thought to originate in three distinct processes in carbon- and/or oxygen-rich mineral-forming stars: (1) condensation in the cooling, expanding atmospheres of asymptotic giant branch stars; (2) during the catastrophic explosions of supernovae, most commonly core collapse (Type II) supernovae; and (3) classical novae explosions, the consequence of runaway fusion reactions at the surface of a binary white dwarf star. Each stellar environment imparts distinctive isotopic and trace element signatures to the micro- and nanoscale stardust grains that are recovered from meteorites and micrometeorites collected on Earth’s surface, by atmospheric sampling, and from asteroids and comets. Although our understanding of the diverse mineral-forming environments of stars is as yet incomplete, we present a preliminary catalog of 41 distinct natural kinds of stellar minerals, representing 22 official International Mineralogical Association (IMA) mineral species, as well as 2 as yet unapproved crystalline phases and 3 kinds of non-crystalline condensed phases not codified by the IMA.

Robert M. Hazen↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Common Origin of Normal Type Ia Supernovae Suggested by the Photometric Diversity

In recent years, with the increasing number of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered soon after their explosions, a nonnegligible fraction of SNe Ia with early-excess emissions (EExSNe Ia) have been confirmed. In this paper, we present a total of 67 early-phase normal SNe Ia from published papers and ongoing transient survey projects to systematically investigate their photometric behaviors from very early time. We found that EExSNe Ia in our sample have longer rise and brighter peak luminosities compared to non-EExSNe Ia. Moreover, EExSNe Ia commonly have “tiny red bump” or “blue plateau” features in the early B − V color while non-EExSNe Ia show blueward evolution from the very beginning. Here, we propose that the thin He-shell double detonation scenario can phenomenologically explain the photometric diversities of normal SNe Ia considering different white dwarf–He-shell mass combinations and the viewing angle effect, implying a unified explosion mechanism of normal-type SNe Ia. To further verify the possible common origin of normal SNe Ia, systematical studies of multiband photometric and spectral properties of early-phase SNe Ia through the new-generation wide-field time-domain survey facilities and global real-time follow-up networks are highly needed.

Wu, Weiyu↗
NASA NTRS2002

Theoretical Technology Research for the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Program

During the last four years the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) IGPP (Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics) Space Plasma Simulation Group has continued its theoretical effort to develop a Mission Oriented Theory (MOT) for the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program. This effort has been based on a combination of approaches: analytical theory, large-scale kinetic (LSK) calculations, global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations and self-consistent plasma kinetic (SCK) simulations. These models have been used to formulate a global interpretation of local measurements made by the ISTP spacecraft. The regions of applications of the MOT cover most of the magnetosphere: solar wind, low- and high- latitude magnetospheric boundary, near-Earth and distant magnetotail, and auroral region. Most recent investigations include: plasma processes in the electron foreshock, response of the magnetospheric cusp, particle entry in the magnetosphere, sources of observed distribution functions in the magnetotail, transport of oxygen ions, self-consistent evolution of the magnetotail, substorm studies, effects of explosive reconnection, and auroral acceleration simulations. A complete list of the activities completed under the grant follow.

Ashour-Abdalla, Maha↗
NASA NTRS1961

A Technique for Obtaining Hypervelocity Impact Data by using the Relative Velocities of Two Projectiles

A facility has been developed and put into operation to determine the feasibility of obtaining hypervelocity impact data by using the relative velocities of two projectiles. The facility utilizes the technique of firing a target toward an oncoming high-velocity projectile so that the impact velocity is equal to the sum of the projectile velocity and the target velocity. A 37-millimeter powder gun is utilized to accelerate the targets, and a specially designed 22-caliber light-gas gun accelerates the impacting projectiles. The light-gas gun is operated by detonating an explosive charge which permits it to be synchronized with the firing of the 37-millimeter gun. Impact velocities as great as 21,850 ft/sec have been obtained during development of the facility. After the oncoming projectiles impact the targets fired from the 37-millimeter gun, these targets are recovered by allowing them to impact into Celotex and soft wooden blocks. The craters formed in the targets then can be observed and measured. The results of several preliminary firings of the facility are included in this report.

Kinard, William H.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Quantity Distance for the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building for Solid Propellant Fueled Launchers

The NASA KSC VAB was built to process Apollo launchers in the 1960's, and later adapted to process Space Shuttles. The VAB has served as a place to assemble solid rocket motors (5RM) and mate them to the vehicle's external fuel tank and Orbiter before rollout to the launch pad. As Space Shuttle is phased out, and new launchers are developed, the VAB may again be adapted to process these new launchers. Current launch vehicle designs call for continued and perhaps increased use of SRM segments; hence, the safe separation distances are in the process of being re-calculated. Cognizant NASA personnel and the solid rocket contractor have revisited the above VAB QD considerations and suggest that it may be revised to allow a greater number of motor segments within the VAB. This revision assumes that an inadvertent ignition of one SRM stack in its High Bay need not cause immediate and complete involvement of boosters that are part of a vehicle in adjacent High Bay. To support this assumption, NASA and contractor personnel proposed a strawman test approach for obtaining subscale data that may be used to develop phenomenological insight and to develop confidence in an analysis model for later use on full-scale situations. A team of subject matter experts in safety and siting of propellants and explosives were assembled to review the subscale test approach and provide options to NASA. Upon deliberations regarding the various options, the team arrived at some preliminary recommendations for NASA.

Stover, Steven↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of a Data Overflow Protection System for Super-Kamiokande to Maximize Data from Nearby Supernovae

Neutrinos from very nearby supernovae, such as Betelgeuse, are expected to generate more than ten million events over 10 s in Super-Kamokande (SK). At such large event rates, the buffers of the SK analog-to-digital conversion board (QBEE) will overflow, causing random loss of data that are critical for understanding the dynamics of the supernova explosion mechanism. In order to solve this problem, two new data-acquisition (DAQ) modules were developed to aid in the observation of very nearby supernovae. The first of these, the SN module, is designed to save only the number of hit photomultiplier tubes during a supernova burst and the second, the Veto module, prescales the high-rate neutrino events to prevent the QBEE from overflowing based on information from the SN module. In the event of a very nearby supernova, these modules allow SK to reconstruct the time evolution of the neutrino event rate from beginning to end using both QBEE and SN module data. This paper presents the development and testing of these modules together with an analysis of supernova-like data generated with a flashing laser diode. We demonstrate that the Veto module successfully prevents DAQ overflows for Betelgeuse-like supernovae as well as the long-term stability of the new modules. During normal running the Veto module is found to issue DAQ vetos a few times per month resulting in a total dead-time less than 1 ms, and does not influence ordinary operations. Additionally, using simulation data we find that supernovae closer than 800 pc will trigger the Veto module, resulting in a prescaling of the observed neutrino data.

F20 Instrumentation and technique↗
DOE OSTI2024

Exascale Computing and Data Handling: Challenges and Opportunities for Weather and Climate Prediction

The emergence of exascale computing and artificial intelligence offer tremendous potential to significantly advance Earth system prediction capabilities. However, enormous challenges must be overcome to adapt models and prediction systems to use these new technologies effectively. A 2022 WMO report on exascale computing recommends “urgency in dedicating efforts and attention to disruptions associated with evolving computing technologies that will be increasingly difficult to overcome, threatening continued advancements in weather and climate prediction capabilities.” Further, the explosive growth in data from observations, model and ensemble output, and postprocessing threatens to overwhelm the ability to deliver timely, accurate, and precise information needed for decision-making. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers untapped opportunities to alter how models are developed, observations are processed, and predictions are analyzed and extracted for decision-making. Given the extraordinarily high cost of computing, growing complexity of prediction systems, and increasingly unmanageable amount of data being produced and consumed, these challenges are rapidly becoming too large for any single institution or country to handle. This paper describes key technical and budgetary challenges, identifies gaps and ways to address them, and makes a number of recommendations.

Atmosphere↗
NASA NTRS2022

Quantifying mass flows at Mt. Cleveland, Alaska between 2001 and 2020 using satellite photogrammetry

Measuring eruption volume provides constraints on the magma supply rate and plumbing systems and therefore is a critical component for monitoring volcanoes. We use ArcticDEM—a large collection of time-dependent digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from satellite stereo-photogrammetry — to construct a first-of-its-kind measurement of the volumes of recent mass flows at Mount Cleveland, Alaska. We quantify the volume of the products of the 2001 eruption (the largest in the past half-century) as (54.8 ± 0.5) × 10 -6 m -3 covering a total area of 5.09 km -2 . The total volume of material loss at the summit crater is (0.67 ± 0.02) × 10 -6 m -3 , which is likely caused by later explosions and collapses of the shallow magma chamber. The total eruptive volume between 2017 and 2020 is (0.086 ± 0.002) × 10 -6 m -3 . Elevation changes associated with lahars are variable. On the upper northern slopes of the volcano, the lahar channels were almost exclusively erosive, suggesting that lahars originating at the summit eroded and entrained loose materials high on the cone. In general, lahar deposits were thickest near their toes, with some reaching ~20 m thickness.

Chunli Dai↗
NASA NTRS1980

Synthesis of Al-26 in explosive hydrogen burning

The possibility of Al-26 synthesis during the explosive processing of hydrogen-rich material in the outer layers of a supernova or in nova envelopes is investigated. It is found that in the peak temperature range of 1-3 x 10 to the 8th deg K and for expansion time scales of the order of 1-1000 s, values of (Al-26)/(Al-27) as high as 0.1-1 can be obtained for values of 0.001-100,000 for the product of the peak density in g/cu cm and the proton mass fraction. Such a level of Al-26 production is considerably higher than that of recent carbon/neon burning nucleosynthesis models, and is sufficient to account for the magnesium anomalies detected in certain inclusions from the Leoville and Allende meteorites. Al abundances resulting from a hydrodynamical calculation performed on the grounds of a 25 solar mass presupernova model are also presented, and the influence of uncertainties in the input physics is discussed; in particular, the rates of the (Mg-25)(p,gamma)(Al-26) and (Al-26)(p,gamma)(Si-27) key reactions are studied.

Arnould, M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

IUE investigations of SN 1987A

IUE observations of the SN 1987A began shortly after the discovery and have been frequent through 1988 and 1989, using the fine error sensor for photometry, low dispersion spectra for the supernova spectrum, and high dispersion observations for the interstellar medium when the supernova was bright and for circumstellar gas surrounding the supernova as the initial event faded. The UV data were very useful in determining which star exploded, assessing the ionizing pulse produced as the shock hit the surface of the star, and in constraining the stellar evolution that preceded the explosion through observations of a circumstellar shell.

Kirshner, Robert P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Observing SN 1987A with the International Ultraviolet Explorer

The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite played a leading role in elucidating the nature of SN 1987A, providing a unique ultraviolet perspective on the brightest supernova since 1604. IUE observations of SN 1987A began promptly after discovery and were frequent through 1988 and 1989, using the FES (Fine Error Sensor) for photometry, low dispersion spectra for the supernova spectrum, high dispersion observations for the interstellar medium when the supernova was bright, and for circumstellar gas surrounding the supernova as the initial event faded. The UV data were especially useful in determining which star exploded, assessing the ionizing pulse produced as the shock hit the surface of the star, and in constraining the stellar evolution that preceded the explosion through observation of a circumstellar shell.

Kirshner, Robert P.↗
NASA NTRS1998

UCLA IGPP Space Plasma Simulation Group

During the past 10 years the UCLA IGPP Space Plasma Simulation Group has pursued its theoretical effort to develop a Mission Oriented Theory (MOT) for the International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program. This effort has been based on a combination of approaches: analytical theory, large scale kinetic (LSK) calculations, global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations and self-consistent plasma kinetic (SCK) simulations. These models have been used to formulate a global interpretation of local measurements made by the ISTP spacecraft. The regions of applications of the MOT cover most of the magnetosphere: the solar wind, the low- and high-latitude magnetospheric boundary, the near-Earth and distant magnetotail, and the auroral region. Most recent investigations include: plasma processes in the electron foreshock, response of the magnetospheric cusp, particle entry in the magnetosphere, sources of observed distribution functions in the magnetotail, transport of oxygen ions, self-consistent evolution of the magnetotail, substorm studies, effects of explosive reconnection, and auroral acceleration simulations.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2019

Understanding the Impact of Meteorological Spatiotemporal Variability on Distant Focusing Overpressure Risk

Since the 1950s, the amplification of blast energy from explosions has been understood to be a significant hazard to public safety at launch ranges. Historically, the risk assessment of the Distant Focusing Overpressure (DFO) hazard started with a single temperature and wind profile (e.g., a radiosonde launch) as input to acoustic 1-D ray tracing models. By analyzing rays propagation and performing ray tracing, population centers under high DFO risk can be identified. Although this method is useful, less is known about how the blast waves can be focused when the spatiotemporal variability of the input profiles are considered. In summary, this work aims to consider how realistic atmospheric boundary layer variability (e.g., turbulence, land-surface contrasts) may affect blast waves propagation and focusing and, as a result, DFO risk assessment results.

Blumberg, W. Greg↗
NASA NTRS2000

Transitional mixing in a binary species supercritical, temporal mixing layer

The turbulent mixing of fluids at high pressure is a topic of much interest as it is relavant both to the natural phenomena and to technical applications. In the realm of technical applications, liquid rocket combustion presents a particular challenge as the operating conditions are supercritical with respect to both fuel and oxidizer, making mandatory the understanding of supercritical fluid behavior for a potentially explosive mixture. In this situation, numerical simulations with validated models can contribute information that would be otherwise impossible to obtain.

supercritical↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ultrasound Characterization of Plastic Bonded Explosives With Varied Binder Content and Density

Advanced explosive formulations and methods of production require rapid characterization for both processes and materials. Here, we present results for ultrasound characterization of a plastic bonded explosive (PBX) formulation as a function of binder weight percent and pressing density using through-transmission sound speed measurements. The explosive in this study was composed of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) combined with the fluoropolymer binder Kynar Ultraflex B. Binder content ranged from 2.6 wt.% to 11.5 wt.% with associated explosive formulation densities from 1.69 g/cc to 1.89 g/cc. We find linear and nonlinear changes in longitudinal and shear sound speeds, peak frequencies, and measured elastic properties for the different PBX formulations. These measured changes can differentiate the tested formulations, highlighting the potential for ultrasound as a nondestructive characterization method for newly-formulated PBXs. We also demonstrate through-transmission measurements using different coupling media and present results from an ultrasound technique called resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS). Both transmission and RUS approaches may allow for rapid and even automated characterization of PBX components suitable for high-throughput manufacturing operations.

Engineering↗
NASA NTRS1973

Mass motion in solar flares

Mass motions in solar flares are here considered in terms of a previously proposed model. Particle acceleration occurs during reconnection of a current sheet located at coronal heights. The downward component of the particle flux produces an impulsive hard X-ray burst and heats the upper layers of the chromosphere sufficiently to lead to explosive evaporation. Some of the evaporated gas remains trapped in newly closed magnetic field lines and is responsible for the soft thermal component of X-ray emission. Gas which flows along open magnetic field lines subsequently forms a plasmoid which is ejected by magnetic stresses into interplanetary space and may subsequently cause a geomagnetic storm. Analysis of a highly simplified model leads to formulas for the density, temperature, and other parameters of the flare-produced plasma in terms of a length scale and mean magnetic field strength for the flare.

Sturrock, P. A.↗