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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

Velocity space diffusion of pickup ions from the water group at Comet Halley

The diffusion in velocity space of cometary ions was studied using the distributions of ions measured by the implanted ion spectrometer in Giotto during the inbound pass. The measurements were transformed into a frame comoving with the solar wind and oriented with the magnetic field. The observations show the evolution of the pitch angle distribution in the solar wind turbulence to form a shell from the initial ring. Diffusion in energy takes place simultaneously but on a longer time scale. Comparison with theory is inhibited by the lack of a suitable spatial model, but the simple arguments that can be made indicate that pitch angle diffusion and the process of parallel pickup take place more slowly than theory suggests.

Coates, A. J.↗

High-resolution interferometric spectrophotopolarimetry

Spectrophotopolarimetric capability can be added to a laboratory interferometer-spectrometer by use of a specially designed module described herein. With the instrument so augmented, high-resolution spectra can be obtained of the Stokes parameters of the reference beam and the beams diffusely reflected or transmitted by a sample medium of interest. For any such beam, the exponential Fourier transforms of the two interferograms obtained with a polarizer-analyzer oriented along the 0 deg and the 90 deg directions provide the spectra of I and Q, separately. Within experimental (and numerical) noise, this I spectrum should be the same as the one obtained with the polarizer removed. The remaining Stokes parameters U and V are obtained with a third interferogram recorded with the polarizer along the 45 deg direction. The complete theory of this instrument is described including the detailed analysis of the polarization-interferograms it provides.

Fymat, A. L.↗

Ultrasonic determination of thermodynamic threshold parameters for irreversible cutaneous burns

In vivo ultrasonic measurements of the depth of conductive cutaneous burns experimentally induced in anesthetized Yorkshire pigs are reported as a function of burn time for the case in which the skin surface temperature is maintained at 100 C. The data are used in the solution of the one-dimensional heat diffusion equation with time-dependent boundary conditions to obtain the threshold temperature and the energy of transformation per unit mass associated with the transition of the tissue from the state of viability to the state of necrosis. The simplicity of the mathematical model and the expediency of the ultrasonic measurements in studies of thermal injury are emphasized.

Cantrell, J. H., Jr.↗

Effect of the theta-alpha-Al2O3 transformation on the oxidation behavior of beta-NiAl+Zr

Isothermal oxidation of NiAl+Zr has been performed over the temperature range of 800-1200 C and studied by TGA, XRD, and SEM. A discontinuous decrease in growth rate of two orders of magnitude was observed at 1000 C due to the formation of alpha-Al2O3 from theta-Al2O3. This transformation also resulted in a dramatic change in the surface morphology of the scales, as a whisker topography was changed into a weblike network of oxide ridges and radial transformation cracks. It is believed that the ridges are evidence for a short-circuit outward aluminum diffusion growth mechanism that has been documented in a number of O-18 tracer studies.

Rybicki, George C.↗

Importance of heterogeneous processes to tropospheric chemistry - Studies with a one-dimensional model

A one-dimensional, time-dependent model of tropospheric air composition is developed which incorporates several heterogeneous physical and chemical processes. The model includes the interaction of gases, aerosols, and hydrometeors through the physical mechanisms of nucleation, condensation, evaporation, coagulation, coalescence, and deliquescence. Precipitation, sedimentation, and dry deposition act to remove material from the atmosphere, while chemical transformations occur both in the vapor and the condensed phases. The model also incorporates the sources and vertical diffusion of gases and particles, as well as changes in the solar intensity caused by light-scattering from aerosols and clouds. Preliminary simulations made using this model indicate that rainout and washout processes strongly influence the distributions of tropospheric gases and aerosols under certain conditions.

Turco, R. P.↗

An Eulerian transport/transformation/removal model for SO2 and sulfate. I - Model development. II - Model calculation of SO(x) transport in the eastern United States

A three-dimensional, time dependent Eulerian atmospheric SO2 and sulfate transport/transformation/removal model is described and applied to the eastern U.S. The model was developed in anticipation of increased input to the atmospheric sulfur content by coal-burning power plants in the near future and is intended as an aid in identifying sources of SO2. The Eulerian transport model incorporates functions for chemical transformations, dry deposition, spatial topographical variations, spatial and temporal variations of mixing layer heights, the wind field, eddy diffusivities, deposition velocities, and temperature and water concentration profiles. Attention is also given to the SO2 photochemical oxidation mechanism and rates. Results from a 72-hr simulation of SO(x) transport over the eastern U.S., using actual 1974 meteorological data, illustrate the model's capability to depict interactions between emissions, transport, chemistry and removal. Concentration distributions are demonstrated to have significant spatial and temporal variations.

Carmichael, G. R.↗

Group-kinetic theory of turbulence

The two phases are governed by two coupled systems of Navier-Stokes equations. The couplings are nonlinear. These equations describe the microdynamical state of turbulence, and are transformed into a master equation. By scaling, a kinetic hierarchy is generated in the form of groups, representing the spectral evolution, the diffusivity and the relaxation. The loss of memory in formulating the relaxation yields the closure. The network of sub-distributions that participates in the relaxation is simulated by a self-consistent porous medium, so that the average effect on the diffusivity is to make it approach equilibrium. The kinetic equation of turbulence is derived. The method of moments reverts it to the continuum. The equation of spectral evolution is obtained and the transport properties are calculated. In inertia turbulence, the Kolmogoroff law for weak coupling and the spectrum for the strong coupling are found. As the fluid analog, the nonlinear Schrodinger equation has a driving force in the form of emission of solitons by velocity fluctuations, and is used to describe the microdynamical state of turbulence. In order for the emission together with the modulation to participate in the transport processes, the non-homogeneous Schrodinger equation is transformed into a homogeneous master equation. By group-scaling, the master equation is decomposed into a system of transport equations, replacing the Bogoliubov system of equations of many-particle distributions. It is in the relaxation that the memory is lost when the ensemble of higher-order distributions is simulated by an effective porous medium. The closure is thus found. The kinetic equation is derived and transformed into the equation of spectral flow.

Tchen, C. M.↗

Approximations to and local properties of diffusions with discontinuous controls

The paper discusses several properties of control systems defined by stochastic differential equations, which are defined by the method of Girsanov, using a transformation of measures, and where the controls are discontinuous. Uniqueness of the multivariate distributions of the process is proved, and it is shown that the process is a limit, in a natural sense, of a certain discrete time approximation. Other questions, concerning the effects on the distributions of the paths, and of the cost of approximating the control by a smooth control and concerning local properties of the solution, are discussed.

Kushner, H. J.↗

Analytical solutions of a class of multidimensional Fokker-Planck equations

Analytical representations of the solutions of Kolmogorov's forward (i.e., Fokker-Planck) and backward partial differential equations are obtained by employing Girsanov's (1960) transformation. The equations considered are restricted to those with the drift vector being the gradient of a function and the diffusion matrix being nonsingular and dependent upon time only.

Zhang, Weijian↗

Experimental Investigation of a Model of a Two-Stage Turboblower

In the present paper an investigation is made of two stages of a multistage turboblower having a vaneless diffuser behind the impeller and guide vanes at the inlet to the nest stage. The method employed was that of investigating the performance of the successive elements of the blower (the impeller, vaneless diffuser, ets.) whereby the kinematics of the flow through the blower could be followed and the pressure at the different points computed. The character of the flow and the physical significance of the loss coefficients could thereby be determined so as to secure the best agreement of the computed with the actual performance of the blower. Since the tests were carried out for various delivery volumes, the dependence of the coefficients on a number of factors (angle of attack, velocities, etc.) could be obtained. The distribution of the losses that occur during the transformation of dynamic pressure at the impeller exit into static pressure could be found and likewise the range within which the friction coefficient varies in the vaneless diffuser. With the aid of factors having a certain physical significance, the centrifugal blower could be computed on the basis of a more or less schematical consideration of the phenomena occuring during the air flow through it, and the use of arbitrary factors and recourse to the geometrical similtude law thus avoided. The present investigation largely summarizes all the previous work af the CHI Blower Section on the different elements of a centrifugal blower. Some considerations on the analysis of model test data for application to full-scale are presented in the appendix.

Dovjik, s.↗

Experimental clean combustor program: Phase 3: Turbulence measurement addendum

Airflow turbulence parameters were measured in the high pressure, high temperature flow stream leaving the compressor of an operating gas turbine engine. A water cooled hot film turbulence probe was used to determine the turbulence intensity and length scale in the compressor exit flow stream of the CF6-50 engine. Data were obtained only at idle operating conditions. At engine power levels above idle conditions, durability problems and erratic data readings were encountered with the turbulence measurement probes. Turbulence measurements were made at three radial immersions at a point 15.5 cm downstream of the compressor outlet guide vanes in the compressor exit diffuser. The passage height at this point is 5.54 cm. Data reduction was accomplished with a time-data fast Fourier transform (FFT) system. This system finds the power spectral density distribution (PSD) of a large number of data samples using a direct Fourier transform algorithm and finds the autocorrelation parameter for these data by doing an FFT analysis of the PSD curves for a series of time delay intervals.

Taylor, J. R.↗

Velocity space diffusion and nongyrotropy of pickup water group ions at comet Grigg-Skjellerup

The diffusion of water group cometary ions in velocity space at comet Grigg-Skjellerup was measured during the Giotto spacecraft encounter. The evolution of the collapsed pitch angle and energy distributions during the inbound and outbound passes shows that the timescale for energy diffusion may be similar to that for pitch angle diffusion. Fully isotropic pitch angle distributions were never seen. Also the bulk parameters of the three-dimensional distributions are examined. Transformation of these parameters into a field-aligned solar wind frame allows us to test the gyrotropy of the distributions. These observations imply that there were deviations from gyrotropy throughout the encounter becoming most important near to closest approach.

Coates, A. J.↗

Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopic methods for microbial ecology: analysis of bacteria, bacteria-polymer mixtures and biofilms

Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has been used to rapidly and nondestructively analyze bacteria, bacteria-polymer mixtures, digester samples and microbial biofilms. Diffuse reflectance FT-IR (DRIFT) analysis of freeze-dried, powdered samples offered a means of obtaining structural information. The bacteria examined were divided into two groups. The first group was characterized by a dominant amide I band and the second group of organisms displayed an additional strong carbonyl stretch at approximately 1740 cm-1. The differences illustrated by the subtraction spectra obtained for microbes of the two groups suggest that FT-IR spectroscopy can be utilized to recognize differences in microbial community structure. Calculation of specific band ratios has enabled the composition of bacteria and extracellular or intracellular storage product polymer mixtures to be determined for bacteria-gum arabic (amide I/carbohydrate C-O approximately 1150 cm-1) and bacteria-poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (amide I/carbonyl approximately 1740 cm-1). The key band ratios correlate with the compositions of the material and provide useful information for the application of FT-IR spectroscopy to environmental biofilm samples and for distinguishing bacteria grown under differing nutrient conditions. DRIFT spectra have been obtained for biofilms produced by Vibrio natriegens on stainless steel disks. Between 48 and 144 h, an increase in bands at approximately 1440 and 1090 cm-1 was seen in FT-IR spectra of the V. natriegens biofilm. DRIFT spectra of mixed culture effluents of anaerobic digesters show differences induced by shifts in input feedstocks. The use of flow-through attenuated total reflectance has permitted in situ real-time changes in biofilm formation to be monitored and provides a powerful tool for understanding the interactions within adherent microbial consortia.

NASA Discipline Number 61-10↗

Thermal Diffusivity for III-VI Semiconductor Melts at Different Temperatures

The change of the thermal properties of semiconductor melts reflects the structural changes inside the melts, and a fundamental understanding of this structural transformation is essential for high quality semiconductor crystal growth process. This paper focused on the technical development and the measurement of thermal properties of III-VI semiconductor melts at high temperatures. Our previous work has improved the laser flash method for the specialized quartz sample cell. In this paper, we reported the results of our recent progress in further improvements of the measurement system by minimizing the free convection of the melt, adding a front IR detector, and placing the sample cell in a vacuum environment. The results for tellurium and selenium based compounds, some of which have never been reported in the literature, were obtained at different temperatures as a function of time. The data were compared with other measured thermophysical properties to shed light on the structural transformations of the melt.

Ban, H.↗

New Measurements of the Cosmic Infrared Background Fluctuations in Deep SpitzerllRAC Survey Data and their Cosmological Implications

We extend the previous measurements of CIB fluctuations to angular scales of less than or equal to 1 degree new data obtained in the course of the 2,000+ hour Spitzer Extended Deep Survey. Two fields with completed observations of approximately equal to 12 hr/pixel are analyzed for source-subtracted CIB fluctuations at 3.6 and 4.5 micrometers. The fields, EGS and UDS, cover a total area of approximately 0.25 deg and lie at high Galactic and Ecliptic latitudes, thus minimizing cirrus and zodiacal light contributions to the fluctuations. The observations have been conducted at 3 distinct epochs separated by about 6 months. As in our previous studies, the fields were assembled using the self-calibration method which is uniquely suitable for probing faint diffuse backgrounds. The assembled fields were cleaned off the bright sources down to the low shot noise levels corresponding to AB mag approximately equal to 25, Fourier-transformed and their power spectra evaluated. The noise was estimated from the time-differenced data and subtracted from the signal isolating the fluctuations remaining above the noise levels. The power spectra of the source-subtracted fields remain identical (within the observational uncertainties) for the three epochs of observations indicating that zodiacal light contributes negligibly to the fluctuations. By comparing to the measurements for the same regions at 8 micrometers we demonstrate that Galactic cirrus cannot account for the levels of the fluctuations either. The signal appears isotropically distributed on the sky as required by its origin in the CIB fluctuations. This measurement thus extends our earlier results to the important range of sub-degree scales. We find that the CIB fluctuations continue to diverge to more than 10 times those of known galaxy populations on angular scales out to less than or equal to 1 degree. The low shot noise levels remaining in the diffuse maps indicate that the large scale fluctuations arise from spatial clustering of faint sources well within the confusion noise. The spatial spectrum of these fluctuations is in reasonable agreement with simple fitting assuming that they originate in early populations spatially distributed according to the standard cosmological model (ACDM) at epochs coinciding with the first stars era. The alternative to this identification would require a new population never observed before, nor expected on theoretical grounds, but if true this would represent an important discovery in its own right.

Kashlinsky, A.↗

ISIS-2 satellite imagery and auroral morphology

Auroral morphology is emphasized over auroral dynamics in a paper describing conspicuous auroral features picked up by the ISIS-2 scanning photometer. Results of improved programs designed to transform the data into a corrected geomagnetic coordinate frame and generate latitude profiles of auroral intensities at different magnetic local times are reported. The diffuse aurora and its relation to the morphology of discrete aurorae is given special attention.

Anger, C. D.↗

In situ analysis of CO during chemisorption and oxidation on graphite: Supported Pt by FTIR-microspectrometry

For chemisorption and oxidation on Pt/HOPG (highly-orientated pyrolytic) graphite, reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR)-microspectrometry reveals a variable state and reactivity for CO. Even for model surface science systems, where surface heterogeneity is minimal, surface diffusion may be too slow relative to the reaction rate to avoid segregation of reactants into surface islands under steady-state conditions. Thus in CO oxidation on Pt (where the relevant surface diffusion coefficients are such that D sub O less than D sub CO) then reactant CO islands exists at the perimeters of which the surface reaction is thought to occur. Furthermore CO can chemisorb on metals in linear and bridge forms to extents which vary with precise faces predominantly exposed coverage, etc. Infrared has long been used to probe the nature of adsorbed CO on model film and heterogeneous surfaces, but it may now be that FTIR-microspectrometry will allow the state of this adsorbate and reactant to be investigated with a spatial resolution of 4.4 microns on model (and real) catalytic surfaces.

Self, Valerie A.↗

Finite-amplitude thermal convection in a spherical shell

The properties of finite-amplitude thermal convection for a Boussinesq fluid contained in a spherical shell are investigated. All nonlinear terms are retained in the equations, and both axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric solutions are studied. The velocity is expanded in terms of poloidal and toroidal vectors. Spherical surface harmonics resolve the horizontal structure of the flow, but finite differences are used in the vertical. With a few modifications, the transform method developed by Orszag (1970) is used to calculate the nonlinear terms, while Green's function techniques are applied to the poloidal equation and diffusion terms.

Young, R. E.↗