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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 NTRS1984

Effective temperatures and luminosities of very hot O type subdwarfs

Twelve very hot O-type subdwarfs were observed with the IUE-satellite in the low dispersion mode. Temperatures were derived from the slopes of the UV continua and distances were estimated from the color excesses. Most of them are hotter than 60,000 K, i.e., they are the hottest known subdwarfs. From their spectral appearance and location in a H.R.-diagram, they form a rather inhomogeneous group. Three of them turned out to be central stars or nearly central stars, and four are definitely near the white dwarf stage. The surface helium to hydrogen ratio varies from about normal to the extreme case. Most of them appear to be post EHB objectives of 0.5 solar mass with a helium burning shell as their energy source, and their peculiar helium-to-hydrogen ratios are most likely the result of diffusion and convective mixing in surface layers. Previously announced in STAR as N83-23254

Schonberner, D.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Analysis of Doppler lidar wind measurements

Doppler lidar and multiple Doppler radar data were obtained in a convectively mixed planetary boundary layer. The lidar measurements were possible due to scattering from existing aerosols; radar reflecting chaff was released in the atmosphere to make it visible to the multiple Doppler radar network. The data were analyzed to obtain detailed horizontal wind structures. The divergence of the horizontal wind was calculated and the anelastic continuity equation integrated to obtain vertical air motions. Differences between the areally averaged quantities and the grid point values provided a measure of the fluctuations in the wind components or the turbulent wind fluctuations. Vertical profiles of the mean winds and quantities related to the turbulent kinetic energy components and the turbulent momentum transfers were also calculated.

Srivastava, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A case study of mobilization and transport of Saharan dust

The mobilization and transport of the Saharan dust over the West Africa and the tropical Atlantic Ocean during the days of August 23-28, 1974, were investigated using the data set developed by GFDL, together with numerical models of the atmosphere and aerosol. It was found that the mobilization of dust during this period was related to the passage of a shallow easterly wave; mobilization was effected by dry convective mixing of low-level jets associated with the easterly wave. Model simulations show that the aerosol at any one point can be a complicated mixture of particles lifted at different times and different places; bimodal size distributions developed when dust was mobilized within a dust plume that was generated on a previous day.

Westphal, Douglas L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Analysis of models for two solution crystal growth problems

Two diffusive solution crystal growth models are considered which are characterized by two phases separated by an interface, a lack of convective mixing in either phase, and the presence of diffusion components differing widely in diffusivity. The first model describes precipitant-driven solution crystal growth and the second model describes a hanging drop evaporation problem. It is shown that for certain proteins sharp concentration gradients may develop in the drop during evaporation, while under the same conditions the concentrations of other proteins remain uniform.

Fehribach, Joseph D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Fluid dynamics and low gravity effects of chemical vapor deposition

Based on the comparison between experimental data and numerical results for the growth of GaAs from TMGa, it was shown that 3D simulations are necessary to simulate rectangular CVD reactors even when operated under subcritical (Ra) conditions. The important points found are summarized in the three attached reprints. The experimental studies of mixed convection in horizontal channels have shown three regimes of high Ra (22,220) number flows. At Re = 18.5, the rolls develop very quickly, significantly modulating the axial velocity even before it reaches the beginning of the hot plate. A few centimeters downstream, the velocities become asymmetric about the vertical centerplane and at x = 12 cm, become unsteady. These asymmetries were predicted theoretically, but experimental evidence has not been published prior to this work. At Re = 36, the axial velocity is only slightly modified at x = 0. Although the flow remains steady and symmetric about the vertical centerplane, there is a small spatial oscillation in the velocities over the length of the channel. The period of this oscillation was around 5 cm. At Re = 54, the longitudinal rolls developed smoothly over a length of 30 cm, with no asymmetries, unsteadiness, or spatial oscillations. Comparison of numerical simulations of these flows to experiments has revealed the importance and difficulty of setting proper thermal boundary conditions on the sidewalls. Calculated flows and experimentally measured flows showed very similar profiles, but at different axial locations, with the rolls developing more rapidly in the experiments. This is directly attributable to partially conducting sidewalls of the apparatus being hotter in the entrance section than the adiabatic walls of the simulations. A thorough comparison of the experimental data and numerical results for a variety of sidewall boundary conditions is in preparation.

Nyce, Thomas A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Interface shapes during vertical Bridgman growth of (Pb, Sn)Te crystals

Melt-solid interfaces obtained during vertical Bridgman growth of (Pb, Sn)Te crystals were investigated with a quenching technique. The shapes of these interfaces, revealed by etching longitudinally cut sections, were correlated with the composition variations determined by EMPA. These experiments demonstrated that the interface shape can be changed from concave to convex by moving its location from the edge of the cold zone into the hot zone. The metallography and microsegregation near the melt-solid interface were analyzed in detail. A sharp change in composition above the interface indicated the existence of a diffusion boundary layer 40-90 microns thick. This small diffusion boundary layer is consistent with strong convective mixing in the (Pb, Sn)Te melt.

Huang, YU↗
NASA NTRS1992

Thermal evolution and chemical differentiation of the terrestrial magma ocean

The release of gravitational energy resulted in global melting and formation of a magma ocean during accretion of the Earth. Although it is believed that the formation of the magma ocean resulted in gravitational differentiation of melt and solid, the differentiation might be disturbed by the following processes: (1) convective mixing; (2) cooling and solidification; and (3) growth of the earth, which results in secular increase of pressure, and stirring by planetesimal impacts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the differentiation processes of the terrestrial magma ocean by taking into account various disturbing processes.

Abe, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Numerical Computation of Low-Speed Concurrent Flow Flame Spread in Mixed Buoyant and Forced Flow

The effect of low-speed mixed convection (forced plus buoyant) on concurrent flow flame spread over a thin solid is examined. Computations are carried out using an existing model. Results indicate that seemingly small levels of gravity can significantly alter flame spread rates. Starting with a purely forced flow condition, as gravity is added, the entrainment due to buoyancy lengthens the flame and increases the spread rate significantly. Buoyancy has an influence on the extinction limits. At low speed, the presence of a small gravity level widens the flammability limit.

Ferkul, Paul V.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Flow field velocity measurements for non-isothermal systems

Experimental techniques which can be potentially utilized to measure the gas velocity fields in nonisothermal CVD systems both in ground-based and space-based investigations are considered. The advantages and disadvantages of a three-component laser velocimetry (LV) system that was adapted specifically for quantitative determination of the mixed convective flows in a chamber for crystal growth and film formation by CVD are discussed. Data from a horizontal research CVD reactor indicate that current models for the effects of thermophoretic force are not adequate to predict the thermophoretic bias in arbitrary flow configurations. It is concluded that LV techniques are capable of characterizing the fluid dynamics of a CVD reactor at typical growth temperatures. Thermal effects are shown to dominate and stabilize the fluid dynamics of the reactor. Heating of the susceptor increases the gas velocities parallel to the face of a slanted susceptor by up to a factor of five.

Johnson, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Successive X-ray bursts from accreting neutron stars

The evolution of a neutron star undergoing a series of thermonuclear flashes in its accreted hydrogen-rich layer has been numerically followed to determine the effects of the history of the neutron star's thermal and compositional structure on the properties of the emitted X-ray bursts. Burst characteristics are studied for a range of mass accretion rates, CNO abundances in the accreted matter, and initial thermal states of the underlying neutron star core; the bursts exhibit erratic behavior for low CNO metal abundances and cool neutron star cores, with the burst recurrence time scales varying by 1-2 orders of magnitude. There is typically a continued presence of a substantial amount of unburnt hydrogen in the accreted layer throughout the series of the X-ray burst events. Convective mixing during the quiescent phase leads to the inward transport of helium to high densities and eventually to the initiation of the next outburst. The resulting bursts can be weak and, in such cases, are characterized by short recurrence time scales (1-2 hr), low peak luminosities (0.1-0.2 times the Eddington value), and low alpha-values (about 20).

Taam, Ronald E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A global numerical study of radon-222 and lead-210 in the atmosphere using the AES and York University CDT General Circulation Model (AYCG)

The Canadian Climate Center (CCC) GCM has been modified to allow its use for studies in atmospheric chemistry. The initial experiments reported here have been run to test and allow sensitivity studies of the new transport module. The impact of different types of parameterization for the convective mixing have been studied based on the large scale evolution of Rn-222 and Pb-210. Preliminary results have shown that the use of a scheme, which mixes unstable columns over a very short time scale, produces a global distribution of lead that agrees in some aspects with observations. The local impact of different mixing schemes on a short lived tracer like the radon is very important.

Beagley, Stephen R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

High-performance parallel analysis of coupled problems for aircraft propulsion

This research program deals with the application of high-performance computing methods to the numerical simulation of complete jet engines. The program was initiated in 1993 by applying two-dimensional parallel aeroelastic codes to the interior gas flow problem of a by-pass jet engine. The fluid mesh generation, domain decomposition and solution capabilities were successfully tested. Attention was then focused on methodology for the partitioned analysis of the interaction of the gas flow with a flexible structure and with the fluid mesh motion driven by these structural displacements. The latter is treated by an ALE technique that models the fluid mesh motion as that of a fictitious mechanical network laid along the edges of near-field fluid elements. New partitioned analysis procedures to treat this coupled 3-component problem were developed in 1994. These procedures involved delayed corrections and subcycling, and have been successfully tested on several massively parallel computers. For the global steady-state axisymmetric analysis of a complete engine we have decided to use the NASA-sponsored ENG10 program, which uses a regular FV-multiblock-grid discretization in conjunction with circumferential averaging to include effects of blade forces, loss, combustor heat addition, blockage, bleeds and convective mixing. A load-balancing preprocessor for parallel versions of ENG10 has been developed. It is planned to use the steady-state global solution provided by ENG10 as input to a localized three-dimensional FSI analysis for engine regions where aeroelastic effects may be important.

Felippa, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Seasonal variability of light availability and utilization in the Sargasso Sea

A 2 year time series of optical, biogeochemical, and physical parameters, taken near the island of Bermuda, is used to evaluate the sources of temporal variability in light avaliability and utilization in the Sargasso Sea. Integrated assessments of light availability are made by examining the depth of constant percent incident photosynthetically available radiation (% PAR) isolumes. To first order, changes in the depth %PAR isolumes were caused by physical processes: deep convection mixing in the winter which led to the spring bloom and concurrent shallowing of %PAR depths and the occurrence of anomalous thermohaline water masses during the summer and fall seasons. Spectral light availability variations are assessed using determinations of diffuse attenuation coefficient spectra which illustrates a significant seasonal cycle in colored detrital particulate and/or dissolved materials that is unrelated to changes in chlorophyll pigment concentrations. Temporal variations in the photosynthetic light utilization index Psi are used to assess vertically intergrated light utilization variations. Values of Psi are highly variable and show no apparent seasonal pattern which indicates that Psi is not simply a 'biogeochemical constant.' Determinations of in situ primary production rates and daily mean PAR fluxes are used to diagnose the relative role of light limitation in determining vertically integrated rates of primary production integral PP. The mean depth of the light-saturated zone (the vertical region where the daily mean PAR flux was greater than or equal to the saturation irradiance) is only approximately 40 m, although more than one half of interal PP occurred within this zone. Production model results illustrate that accurate predictions of integral PP are dependent upon rates of light-saturated production rather than upon indices of light limitation. It seems unlikely that significant improvements in simple primary production models will come from the partitioning of the Earth's seas into biogeochemical provinces.

Siegel, David A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Coupled ice-ocean variability in the Greenland Sea

A major surface feature of the Greenland Sea during winter is the frequent eastward extension of sea ice south of 75 deg N and an associated embayment to the north. These features are nominally connected with the East Greenland Current, and both the promontory) and the embayment are readily apparent on climatic ice charts. However, there are significant changes in these features on time-scales as short as a few days. Using a combination of satellite microwave images (SSM/I) of ice cover, meteorological data and in situ velocity, temperature and salinity records, we relate the ice distribution and its changes to the developing structure and circulation of the upper ocean during winter 1988-1989. Our measurements illustrate the preconditioning that leads to convective overturn, which in turn brings warmer water to the surface and results in the rapid disappearance of ice. In particular, the surface was cooled to the freezing point by early December and the salinity then increased through ice formation (about 0.016 m/d) and brine rejection. Once the vertical density gradient was sufficiently eroded, a period of high heat flux (greater than 300 W/sq m) in late January provided enough buoyancy loss to convectively mix the upper water column to at least 200 m. We estimate vertical velocities at about 3 cm/s downward during the initial sinking. The deepening of the thermocline raised surface temperatures by over 1 C resulting in nearly 1.5 x 105 km of ice-melt within two days. Average rates of ice retreat are about 2 km/d southwestward, generally consistent with a wind-driven flow. Comparison of hydrographic surveys from before and after the overturning indicate the fresh water was advected out of the area, possibly to the south and east of our moorings.

Roach, A. T.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Effect of microgravity on stress ethylene and carbon dioxide production in sweet clover (Melilotus alba L.)

The study of higher plant growth and development in the microgravity (micro-g) environment continues to be a challenge. This is in part a result of the available flight qualified hardware with restrictive closed gas environments. This point is underscored by considering that gas exchange of seedlings grown in microgravity may be further limited owing to a thicker layer of water wicked onto the roots and to the absence of convective mixing. We hypothesized that seedlings grown under such conditions will experience greater hypoxia in microgravity than at Earth gravity, and thus produce greater stress ethylene. We compared flight and ground samples of sweet clover seedlings grown in the Fluid Processing Apparatus (FPA) during STS-57 and found them to contain extremely high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and stress ethylene. There were time dependent increases for both gases, and seedling growth was greatly inhibited. We repeated these experiments aboard STS-60 using modified chambers which increased, by fifty fold, the air available to the developing seedlings. Sweet clover seed germination and subsequent seedling growth to eight days within the FPA modified with a gas permeable membrane is not compromised by the microgravity environment.

Gallegos, Gregory L.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Dynamics of Granular Materials

Granular materials exhibit a rich variety of dynamical behavior, much of which is poorly understood. Fractal-like stress chains, convection, a variety of wave dynamics, including waves which resemble capillary waves, l/f noise, and fractional Brownian motion provide examples. Work beginning at Duke will focus on gravity driven convection, mixing and gravitational collapse. Although granular materials consist of collections of interacting particles, there are important differences between the dynamics of a collections of grains and the dynamics of a collections of molecules. In particular, the ergodic hypothesis is generally invalid for granular materials, so that ordinary statistical physics does not apply. In the absence of a steady energy input, granular materials undergo a rapid collapse which is strongly influenced by the presence of gravity. Fluctuations on laboratory scales in such quantities as the stress can be very large-as much as an order of magnitude greater than the mean.

Behringer, Robert P.↗
NASA NTRS1996

High-Performance Parallel Analysis of Coupled Problems for Aircraft Propulsion

This research program dealt with the application of high-performance computing methods to the numerical simulation of complete jet engines. The program was initiated in January 1993 by applying two-dimensional parallel aeroelastic codes to the interior gas flow problem of a bypass jet engine. The fluid mesh generation, domain decomposition and solution capabilities were successfully tested. Attention was then focused on methodology for the partitioned analysis of the interaction of the gas flow with a flexible structure and with the fluid mesh motion driven by these structural displacements. The latter is treated by a ALE technique that models the fluid mesh motion as that of a fictitious mechanical network laid along the edges of near-field fluid elements. New partitioned analysis procedures to treat this coupled three-component problem were developed during 1994 and 1995. These procedures involved delayed corrections and subcycling, and have been successfully tested on several massively parallel computers, including the iPSC-860, Paragon XP/S and the IBM SP2. For the global steady-state axisymmetric analysis of a complete engine we have decided to use the NASA-sponsored ENG10 program, which uses a regular FV-multiblock-grid discretization in conjunction with circumferential averaging to include effects of blade forces, loss, combustor heat addition, blockage, bleeds and convective mixing. A load-balancing preprocessor tor parallel versions of ENG10 was developed. During 1995 and 1996 we developed the capability tor the first full 3D aeroelastic simulation of a multirow engine stage. This capability was tested on the IBM SP2 parallel supercomputer at NASA Ames. Benchmark results were presented at the 1196 Computational Aeroscience meeting.

Felippa, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Convective Influence on Radial Segregation During Unidirectional Solidification of the Binary Alloy HgCdTe

In order to simulate the space environment for basic research into the crystal growth mechanism, Hg(0.8)Cd(0.2)Te crystals were grown by the vertical Bridgman-Stockbarger method in the presence of an applied axial magnetic field. The influence of convection, by magneto hydrodynamic damping, on mass transfer in the melt and segregation at the solid-liquid interface was investigated by measuring the axial and radial compositional variations in the grown samples. The reduction of convective mixing in the melt through the application of the magnetic field is found to have a large effect on radial segregation and interface morphology in the grown crystals. Direct comparisons are made with a Hg(0.8)Cd(0.2)Te crystal grown without field and also in the microgravity environment of space during the second United States Microgravity Payload Mission (USMP-2).

Watring, D. A.↗