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At least 91 records · Page 5

Finite-element analysis of turbulent flow in annular exhaust diffusers of gas turbine engines

A modified version of the Petrov-Galerkin weighted residual method coupled with a biquadratic finite element of the Lagrangian type was used to develop a finite-element model of the turbulent flow field in the annular exhaust diffuser of a gas turbine engine. The swirling flow field was analyzed with emphasis on the diffuser off-design operation. A comparison of the numerical results with experimental data shows that the model is applicable to moderately separating flows of the kind that are typically associated with the off-design performance of diffusing passages in gas turbines.

Baskharone, E. A.↗

Determination of the gram-positive bacterial content of soils and sediments by analysis of teichoic acid components

Many gram-positive bacteria form substituted polymers of glycerol and ribitol phosphate esters known as teichoic acids. Utilizing the relative specificity of cold concentrated hydrofluoric acid in the hydrolysis of polyphosphate esters it proved possible to quantitatively assay the teichoic acid-derived glycerol and ribitol from gram-positive bacteria added to various soils and sediments. The lipids are first removed from the soils or sediments with a one phase chloroform-methanol extraction and the lipid extracted residue is hydrolyzed with cold concentrated hydrofluoric acid. To achieve maximum recovery of the teichoic acid ribitol, a second acid hydrolysis of the aqueous extract is required. The glycerol and ribitol are then acetylated after neutralization and analyzed by capillary gas-liquid chromatography. This technique together with measures of the total phospholipid, the phospholipid fatty acid, the muramic acid and the hydroxy fatty acids of the lipopolysaccharide lipid A of the gram-negative bacteria makes it possible to describe the community structure environmental samples. The proportion of gram-positive bacteria measured as the teichoic acid glycerol and ribitol is higher in soils than in sediments and increases with depth in both.

Ribitol/analogs & derivatives↗

Focused Ion Beam Recovery of Hypervelocity Impact Residue in Experimental Craters on Metallic Foils

The Stardust sample return capsule will return to Earth in January 2006 with primitive debris collected from Comet 81P/Wild-2 during the fly-by encounter in 2004. In addition to the cometary particles embedded in low-density silica aerogel, there will be microcraters preserved in the Al foils (1100 series; 100 micrometers thick) that are wrapped around the sample tray assembly. Soda lime spheres (approximately 49 m in diameter) have been accelerated with a light-gas-gun into flight-grade Al foils at 6.35 km s(sup -1) to simulate the potential capture of cometary debris. The preserved crater penetrations have been analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) to locate and characterize remnants of the projectile material remaining within the craters. In addition, ion beam induced secondary electron imaging has proven particularly useful in identifying areas within the craters that contain residue material. Finally, high-precision focused ion beam (FIB) milling has been used to isolate and then extract an individual melt residue droplet from the interior wall of an impact penetration. This enabled further detailed elemental characterization, free from the background contamination of the Al foil substrate. The ability to recover pure melt residues using FIB will significantly extend the interpretations of the residue chemistry preserved in the Al foils returned by Stardust.

Graham, G. A.↗

Gas-rich minerals in the Allende meteorite - Attempted chemical characterization

A ten-step etching experiment with HNO3 was performed on a chromite-carbon residue from Allende, in order to characterize the HNO3-soluble minor phase 'Q' that contains most of the primordial Ar, Kr, and Xe. Each etch fraction was analyzed by neutron activation analysis for Cr, Fe, Co, Ir, and Au. The results suggest that Q consists of two minerals, each comprising about 5 per cent of the residue. Phase Q1, of Fe/Cr ratio greater than 20, is soluble in cold dilute HNO3 and seems to contain most of the heavy noble gases. It may be an HCl-insoluble sulfide of nominal composition (Fe84Ni12Cr4)Sx. Phase Q2, of Fe/Cr ratio about 0.5 and somewhat enriched in Co, is slowly soluble in hot concentrated HNO3 and seems to be at least an order of magnitude poorer in heavy noble gases than Q1. It may be daubre-elite or an acid-soluble variety of chromite.

Gros, J.↗

Experiments on the amplification of optical activity

Chemical mechanisms for the amplification of small, abiotically produced enantiomeric excesses leading to the complete stereo specificity of all biochemical reactions observed in the present-day biosphere are investigated quantitatively. Partial copolymerization of a mixture of R- and S-leucine or R- and S-valine N-carboxy anhydrides containing a known excess of one enantiomer was induced and the enantiomeric composition of the resulting oligomer was analyzed by gas chromatography. It is found that the 50% polymerization of leucine mixtures having excesses of 8 to 70% of either enantiomer leads to a significant enhancement of the enantiomeric excess of the polymer, accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the enantiomeric excess of the unpolymerized residue. On the other hand, 25-50% polymerization of valine mixtures is observed to result in polymers showing a decreased enantiomeric excess relative to the starting mixture and corresponding increases in those of the residue. Results of the leucine polymerization are interpreted as supporting the theory of steric interactions between the monomer and the helical structure of the polymer leading to the enrichment of one enantiomer, and possible mechanisms for the reverse stereospecificity observed in valine are discussed.

Blair, N. E.↗

Contactless Growth of ZnSe Single Crystals by Physical Vapor Transport

ZnSe crystals were grown by self-seeded physical vapor transport (PVT) technique in the horizontal configuration. The source materials were heat treated by H2 reduction to remove the oxide followed by baking under dynamic vacuum to adjust the source composition toward that of congruent sublimation. Contactless growth of ZnSe single crystals have been performed consistently using three different source materials. The crystals grew away from the wall during the later stage of the growth with large (110) facets tend to align parallel to the gravity direction. The Scanning Electron Micrography (SEM) micrographs and the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) images showed that large (110) terraces and steps dominate the as-grown facets. The measured residual gas pressures in the processed ampoules agree well among various source materials and the major components were CO and H2. No preferred growth direction was found. The one-dimensional diffusion model on the mass flux of a multi-species PVT system was employed to analyze the conditions for contactless growth. The calculated thermal profile for supersaturation is very close to the thermal profile measured inside the empty furnace bore in the region of contactless growth. The effects of convective flows in the vapor phase inside the ampoule on the growth processes are discussed.

Su, Ching-Hua↗

Conversion and Extraction of Insoluble Organic Materials in Meteorites

We endeavor to develop and implement methods in our laboratory to convert and extract insoluble organic materials (IOM) from low car-bon bearing meteorites (such as ordinary chondrites) and Precambrian terrestrial rocks for the purpose of determining IOM structure and prebiotic chemistries preserved in these types of samples. The general scheme of converting and extracting IOM in samples is summarized in Figure 1. First, powdered samples are solvent extracted in a micro-Soxhlet apparatus multiple times using solvents ranging from non-polar to polar (hexane - non-polar, dichloromethane - non-polar to polar, methanol - polar protic, and acetonitrile - polar aprotic). Second, solid residue from solvent extractions is processed using strong acids, hydrochloric and hydrofluoric, to dissolve minerals and isolate IOM. Third, the isolated IOM is subjected to both thermal (pyrolysis) and chemical (oxidation) degradation to release compounds from the macromolecular material. Finally, products from oxidation and pyrolysis are analyzed by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GCMS). We are working toward an integrated method and analysis scheme that will allow us to determine prebiotic chemistries in ordinary chondrites and Precambrian terrestrial rocks. Powerful techniques that we are including are stepwise, flash, and gradual pyrolysis and ruthenium tetroxide oxidation. More details of the integrated scheme will be presented.

Locke, Darren R.↗

Physical processes and infrared emission from the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant

IRAS 12-100 micron data on the Cas A remnant are presented, and various physical mechanisms and astrophysical sites that may contribute to the observed infrared emission are analyzed. The contributions of various sources of infrared emission to the IRAS fluxes are found to be small. The residual infrared emission is attributed to thermal emission from dust which is swept up by the expanding supernova blast wave and collisionally heated by the postshock X-ray emitting gas. The calculations are consistent with a shock velocity of 1800 km/s and a preshock gas density of about 2/cu cm. The mass of the swept-up gas is about 0.6 solar mass. An excess of 12 micron thermal emission in the spectrum of Cas A suggests the presence of very small particles in the preshocked gas.

Dwek, E.↗

Cropland and Land-Clearing Emission Factors From Firex-AQ

The Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) campaign is a NOAA/NASA interagency intensive study of North American fires that took place from July to September 2019. Agricultural fires were sampled on 7 flights from August 21st to September 3rd, 2019. We present emission factors for gas-phase and aerosol-phase species for the different fuel types identified during the campaign. We discuss the dependence of these emission factors on both fuel type and burning characteristics such as modified combustion efficiency (MCE). We analyze 73 fires encompassing four different agricultural fuels (corn, rice, soybean, wheat) and four different types of land-clearing fuels (grass, slash, pile, shrub). Approximately half of all sampled fires were burning corn agricultural residue. We report emission factors for 118 VOCs, where two thirds of emissions are made up of species with lifetimes against oxidation by OH of less than 12 hours (near-field impacts) and the remainder have longer-lifetimes (far-field impacts). We also include an additional 9 aerosol species, 12 halogenated species, 5 sulfur-containing species, and 22 nitrogen-containing species, including NH3 and NOx. There is a statistically significant difference in MCE between agricultural and land-clearing fires that accounts for some of the differences in emission factors across these fuels. VOCs generally have a strong negative correlation with MCE but with different slopes across fuel types. There is a significant positive relationship between MCE and three gas-phase (NO, NO2, SO2) and two aerosol-phase (pCl, pNH4) species. Many emission factors show additional dependence factors beyond MCE that could be related to fuel composition, fire temperature, soil moisture, or other possible differences in burning conditions. Therefore, important differences in emission factors may result when averaging together different types of agricultural and land-clearing fuels in compilations for use in modeling efforts.

biomass burning↗

An all-sky search for molecular cirrus clouds

An all-sky map of IR-excess gas has been produced by subtracting the H I component from the IR brightness. The large IR-excess residuals that are spatially connected are used to define IR-excess clouds. Also, nearby molecular clouds at high Galactic latitude and clouds with local heating sources or a larger dust-to-gas ratio than average are identified. The map and a catalog of 516 significant clouds are presented and statistically analyzed.

Desert, F. X.↗

Large-area sheet task advanced dendritic web growth development

The thermal models used for analyzing dendritic web growth and calculating the thermal stress were reexamined to establish the validity limits imposed by the assumptions of the models. Also, the effects of thermal conduction through the gas phase were evaluated and found to be small. New growth designs, both static and dynamic, were generated using the modeling results. Residual stress effects in dendritic web were examined. In the laboratory, new techniques for the control of temperature distributions in three dimensions were developed. A new maximum undeformed web width of 5.8 cm was achieved. A 58% increase in growth velocity of 150 micrometers thickness was achieved with dynamic hardware. The area throughput goals for transient growth of 30 and 35 sq cm/min were exceeded.

Duncan, C. S.↗

Thermal alteration experiments on organic matter from recent marine sediments in relation to petroleum genesis

Three fractions of organic matter: lipid (benzene:methanol-extractable), humic acid (alkali-extractable) and kerogen (residue) were extracted from a young marine sediment (Tanner Basin, offshore southern California) and heated for different times (5-116 hr) and temperatures (150-410 C). The volatile (gases) and liquid products, as well as residual material, were then analyzed. On a weight basis, the lipid fraction produced 58% of the total identified n-alkanes, the kerogen fraction 41%, and the humic acid less than 1%. The volatiles produced by heating the lipid and humic acid fractions were largely CO2 and water, whereas those produced from heated kerogen also included methane, hydrogen gas and small amounts of C2-C4 hydrocarbons. A mechanism for hydrocarbon production due to the thermal alteration of organic constituents of marine sediment is discussed.

Ishiwatari, R.↗

Direct observation of small cluster mobility and ripening

Direct evidence is reported for the simultaneous occurrence of Ostwald ripening and short-distance cluster mobility during annealing of discontinuous metal films on clean amorphous substrates. The annealing characteristics of very thin particulate deposits of silver on amorphized clean surfaces of single crystalline thin graphite substrates were studied by in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) under controlled environmental conditions (residual gas pressure of 10 to the minus 9th power torr) in the temperature range from 25 to 450 C. Sputter cleaning of the substrate surface, metal deposition, and annealing were monitored by TEM observation. Pseudostereographic presentation of micrographs in different annealing stages, the observation of the annealing behavior at cast shadow edges, and measurements with an electronic image analyzing system were employed to aid the visual perception and the analysis of changes in deposit structure recorded during annealing. Slow Ostwald ripening was found to occur in the entire temperature range, but the overriding surface transport mechanism was short-distance cluster mobility.

Heinemann, K.↗

Development of a plasma sprayed ceramic gas path seal for high pressure turbine application

Development of the plasma sprayed graded, layered ZRO2/CoCrAlY seal system for gas turbine engine blade tip seal applications up to 1589 K (2400 F) surface temperature was continued. The effect of changing ZRO2/CoCrAlY ratios in the intermediate layers on thermal stresses was evaluated analytically with the goal of identifying the materials combinations which would minimize thermal stresses in the seal system. Three methods of inducing compressive residual stresses in the sprayed seal materials to offset tensile thermal stresses were analyzed. The most promising method, thermal prestraining, was selected based upon potential, feasibility and complexity considerations. The plasma spray equipment was modified to heat, control and monitor the substrate temperature during spraying. Specimens were fabricated and experimentally evaluated to: (1) substantiate the capability of the thermal prestrain method to develop compressive residual stresses in the sprayed structure and (2) define the effect of spraying on a heated substate on abradability, erosion and thermal shock characteristics of the seal system. Thermal stress analysis, including residual stresses and material properties variations, was performed and correlated with thermal shock test results. Seal system performance was assessed and recommendations for further development were made.

Shiembob, L. T.↗

Residual Gases in Crystal Growth Systems: Their Origin, Magnitude, and Dependence on the Processing Conditions

Residual gases present in closed ampoules may affect different crystal growth processes. Their presence may affect techniques requiring low pressures and affect the crystal quality in different ways. For that reason a good understanding and control of formation of residual gases may be important for an optimum design and meaningful interpretation of crystal growth experiments. Our extensive experimental and theoretical study includes degassing of silica glass and generation of gases from various source materials. Different materials processing conditions, like outgassing under vacuum, annealing in hydrogen, resublimation, different material preparation procedures, multiple annealings, different processing times, and others were applied and their effect on the amount and composition of gas were analyzed. The experimental results were interpreted based on theoretical calculations on diffusion in silica glass and source materials and thermochemistry of the system. Procedures for a reduction of the amount of gas are also discussed.

Palosz, W.↗

Laboratory simulation of the photoprocessing and warm-up of cometary and pre-cometary ices: Production of complex organic molecules

The recent missions to Comet Halley detected large quantities of organic material on grains as well as organic molecules in the gas phase. A possible origin of these materials is the energetic processing of ice mantles on the grains prior to comet formation, either in the pre-solar nebula or the interstellar medium. This process was simulated in the laboratory by depositing interstellar ice analogs (H2O/CH3OH/CO/NH3) on a cold (10 K) substrate with simultaneous UV irradiation. The material evaporating during warm-up of the photolyzed ice as well as the residue remaining at room temperature was analyzed by a number of techniques. It was found that a large number of organic molecules of various complexity are synthesized during the simulation process, stressing the possible significance of UV photolysis for producing the organic Comet material.

Schutte, W. A.↗

Laboratory simulation of the photoprocessing and warm-up of cometary and pre-cometary ices - Production and analysis of complex organic molecules

The recent missions to Comet Halley detected large quantities of organic material on grains as well as organic molecules in the gas phase. A possible origin of these materials is the energetic processing of ice mantles on the grains prior to comet formation, either in the pre-solar nebula or the interstellar medium. This process was simulated in the laboratory by depositing interstellar ice analogs (H2O/CH3OH/CO/NH3) on a cold (10 K) substrate with simultaneous UV irradiation. The material evaporating during warm-up of the photolyzed ice as well as the residue remaining at room temperature was analyzed by a number of techniques. It was found that a large number of organic molecules of various complexity are synthesized during the simulation process, stressing the possible significance of UV photolysis for producing the organic Comet material.

Schutte, W. A.↗

Residual Gases in Crystal Growth Systems

Residual gases present in closed ampoules may affect different crystal growth processes. That seems to be particularly true under microgravity conditions where, due to weightlessness of the melt, the gases may lead to detached solidification and/or formation of voids and bubbles, as observed in the past. For that reason a good understanding and control of formation of residual gases is important for an optimum design and meaningful interpretation of crystal growth experiments. Our extensive experimental and theoretical studies of the subject, summarized in this paper, include degassing of silica glass and generation of gases from different source materials. Different materials processing conditions, like outgassing under vacuum, annealing in hydrogen, resublimation, different material preparation procedures, multiple annealings, different processing times, and others were applied and their effect on the amount and composition of gas were analyzed. The experimental results were interpreted based on theoretical calculations on diffusion in silica glass and source materials and thermochemistry of the system. Procedures for a reduction of the amount of gas are also discussed.

Palosz, W.↗