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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 973 records · Page 54
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Modeling of pickup ion distributions in the Halley cometosheath: Empirical limits on rates of ionization, diffusion, loss and creation of fast neutral atoms

The shape of the velocity distribution of water group ions observed by the Giotto ion mass spectrometer on its approach to comet Halley is modeled to derive empirical values for the rates of ionization, energy diffusion, and loss in the midcometosheath. The model includes the effect of rapid pitch angle scattering into a bispherical shell distribution as well as the effect of the magnetization of the plasma on the charge exchange loss rate. It is found that the average rate of ionization of cometary neutrals in this region of the cometosheath appears to be of the order of a factor 3 faster than the `standard' rates approx. 1 x 10(exp -6)/s that are generally assumed to model the observations in most regions of the comet environment. For the region of the coma studied in the present work (approx. 1 - 2 x 10(exp 5) km from the nucleus), the inferred energy diffusion coefficient is D(sub 0) approx. equals 0.0002 to 0.0005 sq km/cu s, which is generally lower than values used in other models. The empirically obtained loss rate appears to be about an order of magnitude greater than can be explained by charge exchange with the `standard' cross section of approx. 2 x 10(exp -15)sq cm. However such cross sections are not well known and for water group ion/water group neutral interactions, rates as high as 8 x 10(exp -15) sq cm have previously been suggested in the literature. Assuming the entire loss rate is due to charge exchange yields a rate of creation of fast neutral atoms of the order of approx. 10(exp -4)/s or higher, depending on the level of velocity diffusion. The fast neutrals may, in turn, be partly responsible for the higher-than-expected ionization rate.

Huddleston, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Salt Distribution from Freezing Intrusions in Ice Shells on Ocean Worlds: Application to Europa

Several icy moons and dwarf planets appear to have hosted subsurface liquid water. Liquid water intruding upwards into the icy outer shells of these worlds freezes, forming ice and (from ocean solutes) non-ice solids. Here, we model concentrated aqueous solutions below 273 K to simulate the compositional evolution of freezing spherical intrusions. Starting solutions are based on five previously reported compositional end members for Europa's ocean. For moderate-pH end members dominated by chloride, sulfate, and/or carbonate, the solids formed include Ca-, Mg-, and Na-sulfates and -carbonates, as well as Na- and K-chlorides. For silica-rich, high-pH end members, abundant amorphous silica forms with, potentially, similarly abundant NaOH and KOH. We further develop a new numerical model to compute the spatial distribution of the formed solids and residual brine as freezing progresses. If non-ice solids settle to the bottom, their deposits tend to have stacked hourglass shapes, widening each time the crystallization temperature of a new solid is reached. We discuss the applicability of this model to vertical fractures and global freezing of a subsurface ocean. These results inform (i) how compositional heterogeneities may affect the thermophysical properties of ice shells, which in turn influence convective and cryovolcanic transport, (ii) the compatibility of brine pockets with physicochemical conditions suitable for microbial life, and (iii) possible measurements of compositional heterogeneities within ice shells by spacecraft such as NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's JUICE missions. The methodology developed here is applicable to other ice-covered ocean worlds.

Planetary structure↗
DOE OSTI2026

𝑁 = 8 Shell Breaking in 12 Be from a Single-Particle Perspective

Experimental observations of the low-lying states in 12 Be and their accurate modeling play an essential role in understanding the disappearance of the 𝑁 = 8 magic number. Long-standing experimental ambiguities have been clarified using an one-neutron adding (𝑑, 𝑝) reaction on 11 Be using the ISOLDE Solenoidal Spectrometer at CERN’s HIE-ISOLDE facility. The single-particle energies of 1⁢𝑠 1/2 , 0⁢𝑑 5/2 , and 0⁢𝑝 1/2 orbitals in 12 Be have been determined from the extracted spectroscopic factors. A significant reduction between the separation of 1⁢𝑠 1/2 and 0⁢𝑝 1/2 orbitals is found in comparison with the carbon isotones, highlighting the breakdown of the 𝑁 = 8 shell. These observations serve as an important test of different effects incorporated in theoretical models. It is found that two synergistic mechanisms, core deformation and weak binding, are responsible for the 𝑁 = 8 shell breaking and the exotic near-threshold phenomena observed in 12 Be, including the narrow unnatural-parity resonance $0^{-}_1$ and the possible halolike nature of the $0^+_2$ isomer.

Chen, Jie [Southern University of Science and Tech↗
NASA NTRS1986

On the Theory of Type 1 X-Ray Bursts: The Energetics of Bursts and the Nuclear Fuel Reservoir in the Envelope

The observed properties of type 1 X-ray bursts from 4U/MXB 1636-53 and those of models of thermonuclear flashes on accreting neutron stars are compared. Ways to explain variations in the burst recurrence properties without an apparent correlation with the accretion rate, including the rapid succession of bursts at intervals 10 min are discussed. The strongest X-ray bursts, which occur after a very long interval, are well described by thermonuclear flash models with simple accumulation of accreted fuel, and a spherically symmetric structure in the burning shell. The majority of observed bursts, however, occur after much shorter intervals, and radiate much smaller amounts of energy, by a factor of up to 10 times that predicted by the spherical models. An ignition mechanism of the bursts is proposed in terms of elemental mixing and dissipative heating associated with hydrodynamical instabilities in the neutron star envelope caused by angular momentum carried inward by accreted gas.

Fujimoto, Masayuki Y.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Integration of the QMSFRG Database into the HZETRN Code

Accurate nuclear interaction data bases are needed for describing the transport of space radiation in matter including space craft structures, atmospheres, and tissues. Transport models support the identification and development of new material concepts for human and electronic part protection. Quantum effects are manifested in nuclear reactions in several ways including interference effects between terms in the multiple scattering series, the many-body nuclear wave functions (for e.g. the roles of shell structure and Fermi momentum) and nuclear clustering. The quantum multiple scattering fragmentation model (QMSFRG) is a comprehensive model for generating nuclear interaction databases for galactic cosmic ray (GCR) transport. Other nuclear databases including the NUCFRG model and Monte-Carlo simulation codes such as FLUKA, LAHET, HETC, and GEANT ignore quantum effects. These codes fail to describe many important features of nuclear reactions and are thus inaccurate for the evaluation of materials for radiation protection. Previously we have shown that quantum effects are manifested through constructive interference in forward production spectra, the effects of Fermi momentum on production spectra, cluster nuclei knockout, and the nuclear response function. Quantum effects are especially important for heavy ions with mass numbers less than 20 that dominate radiation transport in human tissues and for the materials that are expected to be superior in space radiation protection. We describe the integration of the QMSFRG model into the HZETRN transport code. Integration milestones include proper treatment of odd-even charge-mass effects in nuclear fragmentation and the momentum distribution of nucleon production from GCR primary heavy ions. We have also modified the two-body amplitudes in the model to include nuclear medium effects. In order to include a comprehensive description of the GCR isotopic composition in materials, we have described the isotopic composition of the GCR by extending the 59-isotope version of HZETRN to an 120-isotope version. The isotopic composition of most primary GCR elements (including H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, Ar, Ca, Cr, and Fe) are included in the extended model. We discuss results for the high-energy neutron composition inside materials, and the charge and mass distribution for benchmark GCR problems.

Cucinotta, F. A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The influence of strong hydromagnetic turbulence on newborn cometary ions

By means of a test particle model, the time evolution of the velocity distribution function of newborn cometary ions in the presence of strong hydromagnetic turbulence is studied. The test particle model employs a realistic spectrum of hydromagnetic turbulence corresponding to the observations of the International Cometary Explorer spacecraft at Comet Giacobini-Zinner. It is found that pitch-angle scattering processes can rapidly result in the formation of the shell distribution which has been observed near Comets Giacobini-Zinner and Halley. The model also indicates that radial diffusion in velocity space develops on a much longer time scale.

Price, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Compression strength of composite primary structural components

The linear elastic response is determined for an internally pressurized, long circular cylindrical shell stiffened on the inside by a regular arrangement of identical stringers and identical rings. Periodicity of this configuration permits the analysis of a portion of the shell wall centered over a generic stringer-ring joint; i.e., a unit cell model. The stiffeners are modeled as discrete beams, and the stringer is assumed to have a symmetrical cross section and the ring an asymmetrical section. Asymmetery causes out-of-plane bending and torsion of the ring. Displacements are assumed as truncated double Fourier series plus simple terms in the axial coordinate to account for the closed and pressure vessel effect (a non-periodic effect). The interacting line loads between the stiffeners and the inside shell wall are Lagrange multipliers in the formulation, and they are also assumed as truncated Fourier series. Displacement continuity constraints between the stiffeners and shell along the contact lines are satisfied point-wise. Equilibrium is imposed by the principle of virtual work. A composite material crown panel from the fuselage of a large transport aircraft is the numerical example. The distributions of the interacting line loads, and the out-of-plane bending moment and torque in the ring, are strongly dependent on modeling the deformations due to transverse shear and cross-sectional warping of the ring in torsion. This paper contains the results from the semiannual report on research on 'Pressure Pillowing of an Orthogonally Stiffened Cylindrical Shell'. The results of the new work are illustrated in the included appendix.

Johnson, Eric R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The NSSDC trapped radiation model facility

The National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) trapped radiation models calculate the integral and differential electron and proton flux for given values of the particle energy E, drift shell parameter L, and magnetic field strength B for either solar maximum or solar minimum. The most recent versions of the series of models, which have been developed and continuously improved over several decades by Dr. James Vette and coworkers at NSSDC, are AE-8 for electrons and AP-8 for protons. The present status of the NSSDC trapped particle models is discussed. The limits of validity of the models are described.

Gaffey, John D., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Development and Characterization of a Rate-Dependent Three-Dimensional Macroscopic Plasticity Model Suitable for Use in Composite Impact Problems

Several key capabilities have been identified by the aerospace community as lacking in the material/models for composite materials currently available within commercial transient dynamic finite element codes such as LS-DYNA. Some of the specific desired features that have been identified include the incorporation of both plasticity and damage within the material model, the capability of using the material model to analyze the response of both three-dimensional solid elements and two dimensional shell elements, and the ability to simulate the response of composites composed with a variety of composite architectures, including laminates, weaves and braids. In addition, a need has been expressed to have a material model that utilizes tabulated experimentally based input to define the evolution of plasticity and damage as opposed to utilizing discrete input parameters (such as modulus and strength) and analytical functions based on curve fitting. To begin to address these needs, an orthotropic macroscopic plasticity based model suitable for implementation within LS-DYNA has been developed. Specifically, the Tsai-Wu composite failure model has been generalized and extended to a strain-hardening based orthotropic plasticity model with a non-associative flow rule. The coefficients in the yield function are determined based on tabulated stress-strain curves in the various normal and shear directions, along with selected off-axis curves. Incorporating rate dependence into the yield function is achieved by using a series of tabluated input curves, each at a different constant strain rate. The non-associative flow-rule is used to compute the evolution of the effective plastic strain. Systematic procedures have been developed to determine the values of the various coefficients in the yield function and the flow rule based on the tabulated input data. An algorithm based on the radial return method has been developed to facilitate the numerical implementation of the material model. The presented paper will present in detail the development of the orthotropic plasticity model and the procedures used to obtain the required material parameters. Methods in which a combination of actual testing and selective numerical testing can be combined to yield the appropriate input data for the model will be described. A specific laminated polymer matrix composite will be examined to demonstrate the application of the model.

Impact↗
NASA NTRS1981

Proposed three-phase modeling of Be stars from combined UV and visual observations

Far ultraviolet observations of the behavior of wind velocity and superionization values as a function of the phase of the (Be, B shell, B normal) pattern established by visual observations for gamma Cas and 59 Cyg are translated into a crude atmospheric model for the Be phase and several kinds of mass flux variability across the three phases.

Doazan, V.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A finite element study of the EIDI system

This paper presents a method for modeling the structural dynamics of an Electro-Impulse De-Icing System, using finite element analyses procedures. A guideline for building a representative finite element model is discussed. Modeling was done initially using four noded cubic elements, four noded isoparametric plate elements and eight noded isoparametric shell elements. Due to the size of the problem and due to the underestimation of shear stress results when compared to previous analytical work an approximate model was created to predict possible areas of shedding of ice. There appears to be good agreement with the test data provided by The Boeing Commercial Airplane Company. Thus these initial results of this method were found to be encouraging. Additional analytical work and comparison with experiment is needed in order to completely evaluate this approach.

Khatkhate, A. A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Two Types of Soft X-ray Spectra in Cataclysmic Variables

We present results of analyses of Chandra HETG soft X-ray spectra (Lambda = 1.5-25 A) of seven cataclysmic variables. We find that these spectra divide unambiguously into two distinct types. Spectra of the first type, consisting of EX Hya, V603 Aql, U Gem, and SS Cyg, are remarkably well fit by a simple cooling flow model, which assumes only steady-state isobaric radiative cooling. This model has only two free parameters, the maximum temperature, kT(sub max), which provides a rough measurement of the depth of the potential well, and the overall normalization, which provides a highly precise measurement of the total accretion rate. Spectra of the second type, consisting of V1223 Sgr, A Psc, and GK Per, are grossly inconsistent with a simple cooling flow model. They instead exhibit a hard continuum, and, in addition, show strong H-like and He-like ion emission but little Fe L-shell emission, which is consistent with expectations for line emission from a photoionized plasma. Using a simple photoionization model, we argue that the observed line emission for these sources can be driven entirely by the hard continuum. The physical significance of these two distinct types of X-ray spectra is also explored.

White, Nicholas E.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Gold L-shell emission spectroscopy as a temperature diagnostic in laser-driven experiments

Measurements of plasma conditions within gold hohlraums are challenging but provide important information about hohlraum energy transport. To date, there are no reliable passive diagnostic approaches that produce information about the hohlraum plasma conditions. Gold L-shell emission spectroscopy is a promising method to measure the electron temperature in multi-keV gold hohlraum plasmas. In this study, we compare time-resolved measurements of gold L-shell spectra against a more conventional electron temperature-sensitive diagnostic, K-shell emission from zinc, a mid-Z dopant. The Au L-shell and Zn K-shell spectra are taken simultaneously. The analysis of both sets of data exhibits good agreement with a singular rad-hydro model, suggesting a similar evolution in the mean electron temperature of the hohlraum plasma. These findings support the use of L-shell spectroscopy of gold as a method to study gold plasma conditions.

Emission spectroscopy↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Plasma Instability Theory of Gamma-Ray Burst Emission

A plasma instability theory is presented for the prompt radiation from gamma-ray bursts. In the theory, a highly relativistic shell interacts with the interstellar medium through the filamentation and the two-stream instabilities to convert bulk kinetic energy into electron thermal energy and magnetic field energy. The processes are not efficient enough to satisfy the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions, so a shock cannot form through this mechanism. Instead, the interstellar medium passes through the shell, with the electrons radiating during this passage. Gamma-rays are produced by synchrotron self-Compton emission. Prompt optical emission is also produced through this mechanism, while prompt radio emission is produced through synchrotron emission. The model timescales are consistent with the shortest burst timescales. To emit gamma-rays, the shell's bulk Lorentz factor must be $\simg 10(exp 3)$. For the radiative processes to be efficient, the interstellar medium density must satisfy a lower limit that is a function of the bulk Lorentz factor. Because the limits operate as selection effects, bursts that violate them constitute new classes. In particular, a class of optical and ultraviolet bursts with no gamma-ray emission should exist. The lower limit on the density of the interstellar medium is consistent with the requirements of the Compton attenuation theory, providing an explanation for why all burst spectra appear to be attenuated. Several tests of the theory are discussed, as are the next theoretical investigations that should be conducted.

Brainerd, Jerome J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

𝐷-shell mixing in light baryons and its effect on the orbital motion

The standard description of the nucleon in the nonrelativistic quark model is an 1S,L = 0 state without orbital motion. Yet, there are several indications from phenomenology that an admixture of states with nonzero orbital motion maybe substantial. In this paper we focus on the “second shell” of the nucleon excitations (D-shell), for which we give a modern description of the wave functions. We follow it by investigating what we call a “maximal mixing” scenario, assuming a hypothetical long-range tensor force. We give the explicit wave functions for all states, before and after mixing, and reassess many predictions such as the magnetic moments, the standard and transitional form-factors from the nucleon to N*. Unexpectedly, in this scenario we can reproduce the long-puzzling features of the Roper resonance N*(1440). But even in this extreme case, the admixture of the 1D,L = 2 state to a nucleon remains significantly smaller than expected from phenomenology.

Baryons↗
NASA NTRS2006

Geometrically Nonlinear Shell Analysis of Wrinkled Thin-Film Membranes with Stress Concentrations

Geometrically nonlinear shell finite element analysis has recently been applied to solar-sail membrane problems in order to model the out-of-plane deformations due to structural wrinkling. Whereas certain problems lend themselves to achieving converged nonlinear solutions that compare favorably with experimental observations, solutions to tensioned membranes exhibiting high stress concentrations have been difficult to obtain even with the best nonlinear finite element codes and advanced shell element technology. In this paper, two numerical studies are presented that pave the way to improving the modeling of this class of nonlinear problems. The studies address the issues of mesh refinement and stress-concentration alleviation, and the effects of these modeling strategies on the ability to attain converged nonlinear deformations due to wrinkling. The numerical studies demonstrate that excessive mesh refinement in the regions of stress concentration may be disadvantageous to achieving wrinkled equilibrium states, causing the nonlinear solution to lock in the membrane response mode, while totally discarding the very low-energy bending response that is necessary to cause wrinkling deformation patterns.

Tessler, Alexander↗
NASA NTRS1984

Crashworthiness of light aircraft fuselage structures: A numerical and experimental investigation

The dynamic behavior of aircraft fuselage structures subject to various impact conditions was investigated. An analytical model was developed based on a self-consistent finite element (CFE) formulation utilizing shell, curved beam, and stringer type elements. Equations of motion were formulated and linearized (i.e., for small displacements), although material nonlinearity was retained to treat local plastic deformation. The equations were solved using the implicit Newmark-Beta method with a frontal solver routine. Stiffened aluminum fuselage models were also tested in free flight using the UTIAS pendulum crash test facility. Data were obtained on dynamic strains, g-loads, and transient deformations (using high speed photography in the latter case) during the impact process. Correlations between tests and predicted results are presented, together with computer graphics, based on the CFE model. These results include level and oblique angle impacts as well as the free-flight crash test. Comparisons with a hybrid, lumped mass finite element computer model demonstrate that the CFE formulation provides the test overall agreement with impact test data for comparable computing costs.

Nanyaro, A. P.↗