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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Thermophysical property measurements in electromagnetic levitators

Proper measurements of thermophysical properties of hot levitated liquid drops require the following: accurate temperature measurement (brightness measurement, emissivity measurement); precise drop shape measurements with submillisecond time resolution (density determination, rotational and vibrational shape information); precise control of drop shape (high symmetry variable gap levitators); accurate energy transfer measurements (direct measurements of energy transfer rates for defined gas flows over samples with quantitative measurements of energy transfer rates for defined flows over samples with known shapes); and precise measurements of repetitive sample motions (rapid repetitive shape measurements, frequency measurements with reflected laser light, measurements in the levitator and as a freely falling drop). Recent advances in coil design and control of sample rotation in an electromagnetic levitator are discussed with respect to the above requirements.

Hauge, Robert H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A new, simple electrostatic-acoustic hybrid levitator

Battelle has developed a hybrid levitator by combining the known single-axis acoustic standing wave levitator with a coaxial DC electric field. The resulting Coulomb forces on the charged liquid or solid sample support its weight and, together with the acoustic force, center the sample. Liquid samples with volumes approximately less than 100 micro-liters are deployed from a syringe reservoir into the acoustic pressure node. The sample is charged using a miniature high voltage power supply (approximately less than 20 kV) connected to the syringe needle. As the electric field, generated by a second miniature power supply, is increased, the acoustic intensity is reduced. The combination of both fields allows stable levitation of samples larger than either single technique could position on the ground. Decreasing the acoustic intensity reduces acoustic convection and sample deformation. Neither the electrostatic nor the acoustic field requires sample position sensing or active control. The levitator, now used for static and dynamic fluid physics investigations on the ground, can be easily modified for space operations.

Lierke, E. G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Coarse-fine residual gravity cancellation system with magnetic levitation

Aircraft flight along parabolic trajectories have been proposed and executed in order to achieve low cost, near free fall conditions of moderate duration. This paper describes a six degree of freedom experiment isolation system designed to cancel out residual accelerations due to mechanical vibrations and errors in aircraft trajectory. The isolation system consists of a fine motion magnetic levitator whose stator is transported by a conventional coarse motion stage. The levitator uses wide gap voice coil actuators and has the dual purpose of isolating the experiment platform from aircraft vibrations and actively cancelling residual accelerations through feedback control. The course motion stage tracks the levitated platform in order to keep the levitator's coils centered within their matching magnetic gaps. Aspects of system design, an analysis of the proposed control strategy and simulation results are presented. Feasibility experiments are also discussed.

Salcudean, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A hybrid electromagnetic-acoustic levitator for the containerless processing of undercooled melts

The hybrid, acoustic-EM levitator discussed provides a small lifting force independently of its EM component by exciting an acoustic resonance that serves as a pressure node at the position of the EM-levitated specimen. The system also stabilizes and damps chaotic oscillations during specimen positioning, and can excite forced oscillations of levitated molten metals for drop-physics and thermophysical property measurements. Attention is given to the character and function of the atmosphere in the levitator. Noncontact temperature measurement is via single-color optical pyrometer.

Hmelo, Anthony B.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Effects of levitated dust on astronomical observations from the lunar surface

It is believed that a substantial population of levitated dust is present in the terminator region of the moon. Stray light scattered by this dust layer may contaminate astronomical observations made from the lunar surface using infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. The evidence for dust levitation stems from: Surveyor vidicon images of horizon glow; anomalous brightness in photographs of the solar corona taken by Apollo astronauts while the spacecraft was just inside the moon's shadow; and observations by Apollo astronauts of streamers just prior to lunar orbital sunrise or just after lunar orbital sunset. It has been proposed that the differential charging of the lunar surface in the terminator region due to photoemission and the consequent strong local electric fields comprise the mechanism responsible for this levitation. Although quantitative data on the levitated lunar dust distribution are meager, it is possible to estimate column densities and sizes. In this paper we summarize the estimates of particulate sizes and number densities of previous authors, and construct a nominal terminator dust distribution, as a function of particulate radius and altitude above the lunar surface. Using the model we estimate the brightness of scattered sunshine for three wavelength bands. For the results in the visible wavelengths, we compare the estimated brightness with the known brightness of selected astronomical objects and discuss the implications for lunar-based astronomy.

Murphy, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Electromagnetically levitated vibration isolation system for the manufacturing process of silicon monocrystals

This paper introduces a study on an Electromagnetically Levitated Vibration Isolation System (ELVIS) for isolation control of large-scale vibration. This system features no mechanical contact between the isolation table and the installation floor, using a total of four electromagnetic actuators which generate magnetic levitation force in the vertical and horizontal directions. The configuration of the magnet for the vertical direction is designed to prevent any generation of restoring vibratory force in the horizontal direction. The isolation system is set so that vibration control effects due to small earthquakes can be regulated to below 5(gal) versus horizontal vibration levels of the installation floor of up t 25(gal), and those in the horizontal relative displacement of up to 30 (mm) between the floor and levitated isolation table. In particular, studies on the relative displacement between the installation floor and the levitated isolation table have been made for vibration control in the horizontal direction. In case of small-scale earthquakes (Taft wave scaled: max. 25 gal), the present system has been confirmed to achieve a vibration isolation to a level below 5 gal. The vibration transmission ratio of below 1/10 has been achieved versus continuous micro-vibration (approx. one gal) in the horizontal direction on the installation floor.

Kanemitsu, Yoichi↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Electrostatic Levitation Facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Containerless processing is an important area of research in materials science. Electrostatic levitation (ESL) represents an emerging technology which permits containerless processing in a vacuum environment. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) established a levitation facility to provide a critical resource to the microgravity materials science research community to continue and enhance ground-based research in the support of the development of flight experiments during the transition to Space Station. During ESL processing, charged specimens are levitated in the electrostatic field produced by the system's electrodes. Three sets of positioning electrodes represent the heart of the MSFC system. Two dual-axis position sensitive detectors provide input for the PID control-loop computer. Sample position is maintained by adjusting the control voltages for the power supplies of the positioning electrodes. A UV source refreshes the charge on specimens during processing via the photoelectric effect. Lasers permit sample heating independent of positioning. The processing chamber typically operates under vacuum condition approximately = 10(exp -7) Torr. Electrostatic levitation provides a materials science research tool for investigations of refractory solids and melts. Topics of investigation include thermophysical properties, phase equilibria, metastable phase formation, undercooling and nucleation, time-temperature-transformation diagrams and other aspects of materials processing. Current capabilities and recent results of processing studies for metals, alloys and oxides will be reviewed.

Rogers, Jan R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Characterization of Acousto-Electric Cluster and Array Levitation and its Application to Evaporation

An acousto-electric levitator has been developed to study the behavior of liquid drop and solid particle clusters and arrays. Unlike an ordinary acoustic levitator that uses only a standing acoustic wave to levitate a single drop or particle, this device uses an extra electric static field and the acoustic field simultaneously to generate and levitate charged drops in two-dimensional arrays in air without any contact to a solid surface. This cluster and array generation (CAG) instrument enables us to steadily position drops and arrays to study the behavior of multiple drop and particle systems such as spray and aerosol systems relevant to the energy, environmental, and material sciences.

Robert E. Apfel↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA MSFC Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) Rapid Quench System

Electrostatic levitation, a form of containerless processing, is an important tool in materials research. Levitated specimens are free from contact with a container; therefore, heterogeneous nucleation on container walls is not possible. This allows studies of deeply undercooled melts. Furthermore, studies of high‐temperature, highly reactive materials are also possible. Studies of the solidification and crystallization of undercooled melts is vital to the understanding of microstructure development, particularly the formation of alloys with unique properties by rapid solidification. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) lab has recently been upgraded to allow for rapid quenching of levitated materials. The ESL Rapid Quench System uses a small crucible‐like vessel that can be partially filled with a low melting point material, such as a Gallium alloy, as a quench medium. An undercooled sample can be dropped into the vessel to rapidly quench the sample. A carousel with nine vessels sits below the bottom electrode assembly. This system allows up to nine rapid quenches before having to break vacuum and remove the vessels. This new Rapid Quench System will allow materials science studies of undercooled materials and new materials development. In this presentation, the system is described and initial results are presented.

SanSoucie, Michael P.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Electrostatic Levitation for Studies of Additive Manufactured Materials

The electrostatic levitation (ESL) laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is a unique facility for investigators studying high temperature materials. The laboratory boasts two levitators in which samples can be levitated, heated, melted, undercooled, and resolidified. Electrostatic levitation minimizes gravitational effects and allows materials to be studied without contact with a container or instrumentation. The lab also has a high temperature emissivity measurement system, which provides normal spectral and normal total emissivity measurements at use temperature. The ESL lab has been instrumental in many pioneering materials investigations of thermophysical properties, e.g., creep measurements, solidification, triggered nucleation, and emissivity at high temperatures. Research in the ESL lab has already led to the development of advanced high temperature materials for aerospace applications, coatings for rocket nozzles, improved medical and industrial optics, metallic glasses, ablatives for reentry vehicles, and materials with memory. Modeling of additive manufacturing materials processing is necessary for the study of their resulting materials properties. In addition, the modeling of the selective laser melting processes and its materials property predictions are also underway. Unfortunately, there is very little data for the properties of these materials, especially of the materials in the liquid state. Some method to measure thermophysical properties of additive manufacturing materials is necessary. The ESL lab is ideal for these studies. The lab can provide surface tension and viscosity of molten materials, density measurements, emissivity measurements, and even creep strength measurements. The ESL lab can also determine melting temperature, surface temperatures, and phase transition temperatures of additive manufactured materials. This presentation will provide background on the ESL lab and its capabilities, provide an approach to using the ESL in supporting the development and modeling of the selective laser melting process for metals, and provide an overview of the results to date.

SanSoucie, Michael P.↗
NASA NTRS2015

The NASA MSFC Electrostatic Levitation (ESL) Laboratory: Summary of Capabilities, Recent Upgrades, and Future Work

The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) electrostatic levitation (ESL) laboratory has a long history of providing materials research and thermophysical property data. A summary of the labs capabilities, recent upgrades, and ongoing and future work will be provided. The laboratory has recently added two new capabilities to its main levitation chamber: a rapid quench system and an oxygen control system. The rapid quench system allows samples to be dropped into a quench vessel that can be filled with a low melting point material, such as a gallium or indium alloy. Thereby allowing rapid quenching of undercooled liquid metals. The oxygen control system consists of an oxygen sensor, oxygen pump, and a control unit. The sensor is a potentiometric device that determines the difference in oxygen activity between two gas compartments separated by an electrolyte, which is yttria-stabilized zirconia. The pump utilizes coulometric titration to either add or remove oxygen. The system is controlled by a desktop control unit, which can also be accessed via a computer. This system allows the oxygen partial pressure within the vacuum chamber to be measured and controlled, theoretically in the range from 10-36 to 100 bar. The ESL laboratory also has an emissometer, called the High-Temperature Emissivity Measurement System (HiTEMS). This system measures the spectral emissivity of materials from 600degC to 3,000degC. The system consists of a vacuum chamber, a black body source, and a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR). The system utilizes optics to swap the signal between the sample and the black body. The system was originally designed to measure the hemispherical spectral emissivity of levitated samples, which are typically 2.5mm spheres. Levitation allows emissivity measurements of molten samples, but more work is required to develop this capability. The system is currently setup measure the near-normal spectral emissivity of stationary samples, which has been used to take measurements of ablative materials, rocket nozzle coating materials, and materials for spacecraft instruments.

SanSoucie, Michael P.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Characterization of Oscillation Modes in Levitated Droplets Using Image and Non-Image Based Techniques

The dynamics of levitated liquid droplets can be used to measure their thermophysical properties by correlating the frequencies at which normal modes of oscillation most strongly resonate when subject to an external oscillatory force. In two preliminary works, it was shown via electrostatic levitation and processing of various metals and alloys that 1) the resonance of the first principal mode of oscillation (mode n = 2) can be used to accurately measure surface tension and 2) that so-called ‘higher-order resonance’ of n = 3 is observable at a predictable frequency. It was also shown, in the context of future space-based experimentation on the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF), a setup on the International Space Station (ISS) operated by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), that while the shadow array method in which droplet behavior is visualized would be challenging to identify the n = 3 resonance, the normal mode n = 4 was predicted to be more easily identifiable. In this short communication, experimental evidence of the first three principal modes of oscillation is provided using molten samples of Tin and Indium and it is subsequently shown that, as predicted, an “image-less” approach can be used to identify both n = 2 and n = 4 resonances in levitated liquid droplets. This suggests that the shadow array method may be satisfactorily used to obtain a self-consistent benchmark of thermophysical properties by comparing results from two successive even-mode natural frequencies.

Nevin Brosius↗
DOE OSTI2013

Bifunction in Er{sup 3+}/Yb{sup 3+} co-doped BaTi{sub 2}O{sub 5}–Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} glasses prepared by aerodynamic levitation method

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Novel BaTi{sub 2}O{sub 5}–Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} based glasses have been prepared by aerodynamic levitation. • The obtained glasses show high thermal stability with T{sub g} = 763.3 °C. • Er{sup 3+}/Yb{sup 3+} co-doped glasses show strong upconversion based on a two-photon process. • Red emission is stronger than green emissions for EBT by high Yb{sup 3+} concentration. • Magnetic ions are paramagnetic and the distribution is homogeneous in the glasses. - Abstract: Novel Er{sup 3+}/Yb{sup 3+} co-doped BaTi{sub 2}O{sub 5}–Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} spherical glasses have been fabricated by aerodynamic levitation method. The thermal stability, upconversion luminescence, and magnetic properties of the present glass have been studied. The glasses show high thermal stability with 763.3 °C of the onset temperature of the glass transition. Red and green emissions centered at 671 nm, 548 nm and 535 nm are obtained at 980 nm excitation. The upconversion is based on a two-photon process by energy transfer, excited-state absorption, and energy back transfer. Yb{sup 3+} ions are more than Er{sup 3+} ions in the glass, resulting in efficient energy back transfer from Er{sup 3+} to Yb{sup 3+}. So the red emission is stronger than the green emissions. Magnetization curves indicate that magnetic rare earth ions are paramagnetic and the distribution is homogeneous and random in the glass matrix. Aerodynamic levitation method is an efficient way to prepare glasses with homogeneous rare earth ions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Determination of the levitation limits of dust particles within the sheath in complex plasma experiments

Experiments are performed in which dust particles are levitated at varying heights above the powered electrode in a radio frequency plasma discharge by changing the discharge power. The trajectories of particles dropped from the top of the discharge chamber are used to reconstruct the vertical electric force acting on the particles. The resulting data, together with the results from a self-consistent fluid model, are used to determine the lower levitation limit for dust particles in the discharge and the approximate height above the lower electrode where quasineutrality is attained, locating the sheath edge. These results are then compared with current sheath models. It is also shown that particles levitated within a few electron Debye lengths of the sheath edge are located outside the linearly increasing portion of the electric field.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Acoustic levitation of a large solid sphere

We demonstrate that acoustic levitation can levitate spherical objects much larger than the acoustic wavelength in air. The acoustic levitation of an expanded polystyrene sphere of 50 mm in diameter, corresponding to 3.6 times the wavelength, is achieved by using three 25 kHz ultrasonic transducers arranged in a tripod fashion. In this configuration, a standing wave is created between the transducers and the sphere. The axial acoustic radiation force generated by each transducer on the sphere was modeled numerically as a function of the distance between the sphere and the transducer. The theoretical acoustic radiation force was verified experimentally in a setup consisting of an electronic scale and an ultrasonic transducer mounted on a motorized linear stage. The comparison between the numerical and experimental acoustic radiation forces presents a good agreement.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Density of molten oxides measured in an aero-acoustic levitator

Knowing the thermophysical properties of high-temperature melts can aid the design of melt processes and validate atomic structural models, such as those used in studying glass formation. Property measurements on such melts are challenging, however, due to container-related contamination and heterogeneous nucleation. Containerless processing techniques that employ levitation can be used to avoid these obstacles. In that context, we demonstrate here the application of silhouette imaging to measure the density of molten oxides in an aero-acoustic levitation instrument (AAL). The AAL combines gas jet levitation with actively controlled acoustic positioning to enable full optical access to samples ca. 2–4 mm in diameter, which are laser beam heated and melted. The cross sections of molten drops are imaged using a monochromatic light source and narrowband-filtered camera. Melt volume is calculated from the cross sections and used to find density at several temperatures ranging 1530–1920 K, including up to 350 K of supercooling. We report densities for CaAl 2 O 4 , Ca 12 Al 14 O 33 , CaSiO 3 , their Fe 2 O 3 -bearing analogs, and 83TiO 2 -17RE 2 O 3 (RE = La or Nd). These provide important benchmarks of the capabilities, measurement uncertainties, and future outlook for this technique.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of Density of Liquid Oxides with an Aero-Acoustic Levitator

Densities of liquid oxide melts with melting temperatures above 2000 °C are required to establish mixing models in the liquid state for thermodynamic modeling and advanced additive manufacturing and laser welding of ceramics. Accurate measurements of molten rare earth oxide density were recently reported from experiments with an electrostatic levitator on board the International Space Station. In this work, we present an approach to terrestrial measurements of density and thermal expansion of liquid oxides from high-speed videography using an aero-acoustic levitator with laser heating and machine vision algorithms. The following density values for liquid oxides at melting temperature were obtained: Y 2 O 3 4.6 ± 0.15; Yb 2 O 3 8.4 ± 0.2; Zr 0.9 Y 0.1 O 1.95 4.7 ± 0.2; Zr 0.95 Y 0.05 O 1.975 4.9 ± 0.2; HfO 2 8.2 ± 0.3 g/cm 3 . The accuracy of density and thermal expansion measurements can be improved by employing backlight illumination, spectropyrometry and a multi-emitter acoustic levitator.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1999

Laser Induced Rotation of a Levitated Sample in Vacuum

A method of systematically controlling the rotational state of a sample levitated in a high vacuum using the photon pressure is described. A zirconium sphere was levitated in the high-temperature electrostatic levitator and it was rotated by irradiating it with a narrow beam of a high power laser on a spot off the center of mass.

laser induced rotation electrostatic levitator↗