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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 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1954

A Method for Prevention of Screaming in Rocket Engines

Lateral and longitudinal combustion-pressure oscillations that occurred in screaming combustion of a 1000-pound-thrust rocket engine using white fuming nitric acid and JP-4 fuel as propellants were successfully prevented by means of longitudinal fins in the combustion chamber. Fin position was critical, and complete attenuation was achieved only when the fins were located in a zone approximately 8 to 16 inches from the injector. Fins located in other zones, that is, near the injector or far downstream from the injector, did not stop the oscillations. When oscillations occurred in finned chambers, the longitudinal mode seemed more dominant than the lateral mode; in chambers without fins, the lateral mode tended to be dominant. The lateral oscillation was distorted and its intensity diminished by the fins. Fins, however, did not affect the frequencies; the longitudinal frequency varied inversely with chamber length, and lateral frequencies varied only slightly from an average of 6000 cycles per second.

ROCKET ENGINE NOISE↗
NASA NTRS2014

High Current Hollow Cathode Plasma Plume Measurements

Plasma plume measurements are reported for a hollow cathode assembly (HCA) operated at discharge currents of 50, 70, and 100 A at xenon flow rates between 19 - 46 standard cubic centimeter per minute. The HCA was centrally mounted in the NASA-300MS Hall Thruster and was operated in the "spot" and "plume" modes with additional data taken with an applied magnetic field. Langmuir probes, retarding potential analyzers, and optical emission spectroscopy were employed to measure plasma properties near the orifice of the HCA and to assess the charge state of the near-field plasma. Electron temperatures (2-6 electron volt) and plasma potentials are consistent with probe-measured values in previous investigations. Operation with an applied-field yields higher discharge voltages, increased Xe III production, and increased signals from the 833.5 nm C I line. While operating in plume mode and with an applied field, ion energy distribution measurements yield ions with energies significantly exceeding the applied discharge voltage. These findings are correlated with high-frequency oscillations associated with each mode.

High frequency analysis↗
NASA NTRS1977

The effects of flow separation on shuttle dynamics and aeroelastic stability

The effects of flow separation on the dynamic and aeroelastic stability of various shuttle configurations have been investigated. Flow separation is shown to affect the aeroelastic stability of the 747/Orbiter yaw modes, the orbiter dynamic stability and possibly the aeroelastic stability of the wing torsional mode, and to dominate both the dynamic and aeroelastic stability of the launch configuration. Limit cycle oscillations of certain launch configuration modes are the result of sudden flow separation. The limit cycle oscillations threaten the structural integrity in two ways: (1) by outright overstressing of the structure due to large modal deflection, (2) by fatigue due to the continued flexing of the structure. Fatigue is a more significant consideration for the reusable (100 flights) shuttle than it has been for previous space boosters.

Reding, J. P.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enhanced particle flux due to localized divertor MHD instability in DIII-D tokamak

An MHD mode with a frequency of <10 kHz has been identified near the inner strike point from various diagnostics, i.e., divertor Langmuir probes, magnetics sensors, and interferometers, but does not appear in the upstream and core diagnostics. This MHD mode is associated with magnetic oscillations of ≳5 G, has a long wavelength in the toroidal direction with toroidal mode number n=1, but is localized in a narrow radial region of a few cm. The mode appears when the outer strike point remains attached and the inner strike point nearly detaches, grows with increasing density, and eventually weakens and vanishes as the outer strike point detaches. This mode results in particle flux with an order of magnitude higher than the background plasmas near the inner strike point. The mode characteristics are consistent with the Current-Convective-Instability theory prediction. Initial simulations based on experimental input have found oscillations with similar frequencies but weaker amplitude.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

Evidence of 5 minute Oscillations from Parker Solar Probe

The Sun’s surface vibrates in characteristic 5 minute oscillations, known as p-modes, generated by sound waves trapped within the convection zone. Although these oscillations have long been hypothesized to reach into the solar wind, direct in situ evidence has remained elusive, even during previous close encounters by Parker Solar Probe (PSP). Here, we present strong in situ evidence of 5 minute oscillations in the upper solar corona, based on observations from PSP’s three closest perihelia. In two events at 9.9 solar radii (R ⊙ ), we identify statistically significant (∼6σ) 3.1–3.2 mHz peaks in the magnetic field power spectrum, each appearing as a large-amplitude, spherically polarized Alfvénic wave train lasting approximately 35 minutes. These results demonstrate that global solar oscillations can reach the solar wind.

Fast solar wind↗
NASA NTRS1987

Macroscale particle simulation of kinetic Alfven waves

Two types of simulations of the kinetic Alfven wave are presented using a macroscale particle simulation code (Tanaka and Sato, 1986) which enables individual particle dynamics to be followed in the MHD scales. In this code, low frequency electromagnetic fields are solved by eliminating high frequency oscillations such as the light modes, and the scalar potential electric field is solved by eliminating Lagrangian oscillations. The dependences of the frequency and the Landau damping on the perpendicular wavenumber were studied, and good agreement was found between simulation and theoretical predictions. Some fundamental nonlinear interactions of the kinetic Alfven wave with the particles (parallel acceleration of the electrons) were also noted.

Tanaka, Motohiko↗
DOE OSTI2023

Light Shining Through a Thin Wall: Evanescent Hidden Photon Detection

A kinetically-mixed hidden photon is sourced as an evanescent mode by electromagnetic fields that oscillate at a frequency smaller than the hidden photon mass. These evanescent modes fall off exponentially with distance, but nevertheless yield detectable signals in a photon regeneration experiment if the electromagnetic barrier is made sufficiently thin. We consider such an experiment using superconducting cavities at GHz frequencies, proposing various cavity and mode arrangements that enable unique sensitivity to hidden photon masses ranging from $10^{-5}$ eV to $ 10^{-1}$ eV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Revealing melt flow instabilities in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of aluminum alloy via in-situ high-speed X-ray imaging

Laser metal additive manufacturing technologies enable the fabrication of geometrically and compositionally complex parts unachievable by conventional manufacturing methods. However, the certification and qualification of additively manufactured parts are greatly hindered by the stochastic melt flow instabilities intrinsic to the process, which has not been explicitly revealed by direct observation. Here, we report the mechanisms of the melt flow instabilities in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process revealed by in-situ high-speed high-resolution synchrotron X-ray imaging. Here we identified powder/droplet impact, significant keyhole oscillation, and melting-mode switching as three major mechanisms for causing melt flow instabilities. We demonstrated the detrimental consequences of these instabilities brought to the process, and presented new understanding on the melt flow evolution and keyhole oscillation. This work provides critical insights into process instabilities during laser metal additive manufacturing, which may guide the development of instability mitigation approaches. The results reported here are also important for the development and validation of high-fidelity computational models.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2011

Surface Instability of Liquid Propellant under Vertical Oscillatory Forcing

Fluid motion in a fuel tank produced during thrust oscillations can circulate sub-cooled hydrogen near the liquid-vapor interface resulting in increased condensation and ullage pressure collapse. The first objective of this study is to validate the capabilities of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool, CFD-ACE+, in modeling the fundamental interface transition physics occurring at the propellant surface. The second objective is to use the tool to assess the effects of thrust oscillations on surface dynamics. Our technical approach is to first verify the CFD code against known theoretical solutions, and then validate against existing experiments for small scale tanks and a range of transition regimes. A 2D axisymmetric, multi-phase model of gases, liquids, and solids is used to verify that CFD-ACE+ is capable of modeling fluid-structure interaction and system resonance in a typical thrust oscillation environment. Then, the 3D mode is studied with an assumed oscillatory body force to simulate the thrust oscillating effect. The study showed that CFD modeling can capture all of the transition physics from solid body motion to standing surface wave and to droplet ejection from liquid-gas interface. Unlike the analytical solutions established during the 1960 s, CFD modeling is not limited to the small amplitude regime. It can extend solutions to the nonlinear regime to determine the amplitude of surface waves after the onset of instability. The present simulation also demonstrated consistent trends from numerical experiments through variation of physical properties from low viscous fluid to high viscous fluids, and through variation of geometry and input forcing functions. A comparison of surface wave patterns under various forcing frequencies and amplitudes showed good agreement with experimental observations. It is concluded that thrust oscillations can cause droplet formation at the interface, which results in increased surface area and enhanced heat transfer between the liquid and gas phases as the ejected droplets travel well into the warmer gas region.

Yang, H. Q.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The oscillations of superfluid neutron stars

The effects of superfluid hydrodynamics on the oscillations of neutron stars are investigated. The equations describing the small-amplitude pulsations of a neutron star's neutron-proton superfluid mixture are reduced to a system of three second-order equations for three scalar potentials. A variational principle is developed from which the frequencies of the modes of these superfluid oscillations may be estimated. These pulsations are studied by finding analytical solutions to the equations for simple uniform models of nonrotating neutron stars and numerical solutions for realistic models (including rotation). These solutions reveal that the lowest frequency modes are almost indistinguishable from those based on ordinary-fluid hydrodynamics. The analytical solutions also reveal the existence of a new set of modes having no ordinary-fluid counterpart.

Lindblom, Lee↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dynamics of disordered mechanical systems with large connectivity, free probability theory, and quasi-Hermitian random matrices

Disordered mechanical systems with high connectivity represent a limit opposite to the more familiar case of disordered crystals. Individual ions in a crystal are subjected essentially to nearest-neighbor interactions. In contrast, the systems studied in this paper have all their degrees of freedom coupled to each other. Thus, the problem of linearized small oscillations of such systems involves two full positive-definite and non-commuting matrices, as opposed to the sparse matrices associated with disordered crystals. Consequently, the familiar methods for determining the averaged vibrational spectra of disordered crystals, introduced many years ago by Dyson and Schmidt, are inapplicable for highly connected disordered systems. In this paper we apply random matrix theory (RMT) to calculate the averaged vibrational spectra of such systems, in the limit of infinitely large system size. At the heart of our analysis lies a calculation of the average spectrum of the product of two positive definite random matrices by means of free probability theory techniques. We also show that this problem is intimately related with quasi-hermitian random matrix theory (QHRMT), which means that the ‘hamiltonian’ matrix is hermitian with respect to a non-trivial metric. This extends ordinary hermitian matrices, for which the metric is simply the unit matrix. The analytical results we obtain for the spectrum agree well with our numerical results. The latter also exhibit oscillations at the high-frequency band edge, which fit well the Airy kernel pattern. We also compute inverse participation ratios of the corresponding amplitude eigenvectors and demonstrate that they are all extended, in contrast with conventional disordered crystals. Finally, we compute the thermodynamic properties of the system from its spectrum of vibrations. In addition to matrix model analysis, we also study the vibrational spectra of various multi-segmented disordered pendula, as concrete realizations of highly connected mechanical systems. A universal feature of the density of vibration modes, common to both pendula and the matrix model, is that it tends to a non-zero constant at vanishing frequency.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Coupling magnons to an opto-electronic parametric oscillator

Hybrid magnonic systems have emerged as versatile modular components for quantum signal transduction and sensing applications owing to their capability of connecting distinct quantum platforms. To date, the majority of the magnonic systems have been explored in a local, near-field scheme, due to the close proximity required for realizing a strong coupling between magnons and other excitations. This constraint greatly limits the applicability of magnons in developing remotely coupled, distributed quantum network systems. On the contrary, opto-electronic architectures hosting self-sustained oscillations have been a unique platform for long-haul signal transmission and processing. Here, we integrated an opto-electronic oscillator with a magnonic oscillator consisting of a microwave waveguide and a Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 (YIG) sphere, and demonstrated strong and coherent coupling between YIG’s magnon modes and the opto-electronic oscillator’s characteristic photon modes—revealing the hallmark anti-crossing gap in the measured spectrum. In particular, the photon mode is produced on-demand via a nonlinear, parametric process as stipulated by an external seed pump. Both the internal cavity phase and the external pump phase can be precisely tuned to stabilize either degenerate or nondegenerate auto-oscillations. Our result lays out a new, hybrid platform for investigating the long-distance coupling and nonlinearity in coherent magnonic phenomena, which may be found useful in constructing the future “distributed hybrid magnonic systems.”

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1993

A 10 GHz Y-Ba-Cu-O/GaAs hybrid oscillator proximity coupled to a circular microstrip patch antenna

A 10 GHz hybrid YBCO/GaAs microwave oscillator proximity coupled to a circular microstrip antenna has been designed, fabricated, and characterized. The oscillator was a reflection mode type using a GaAs MESFET as the active element. The feedline, transmission lines, RF chokes, and bias lines were all fabricated from YBCO superconducting thin films on a 1 cm x 1 cm lanthanum aluminate substrate. The output feedline of the oscillator was wire bonded to a superconducting feedline on a second 1 cm x 1 cm lanthanum aluminate substrate, which was in turn proximity coupled to a circular microstrip patch antenna. Antenna patterns from this active patch antenna and the performance of the oscillator measured at 77 K are reported. The oscillator had a maximum output power of 11.5 dBm at 77 K, which corresponded to an efficiency of 10 percent. In addition, the efficiency of the microstrip patch antenna together with its high temperature superconducting feedline was measured from 85 K to 30 K and was found to be 71 percent at 77 K, increasing to a maximum of 87.4 percent at 30 K.

Rohrer, Norman J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A 10 GHz Y-Ba-Cu-O/GaAs hybrid oscillator proximity coupled to a circular microstrip patch antenna

A 10 GHz hybrid Y-Ba-Cu-O / GaAs microwave oscillator proximity coupled to a circular microstrip antenna was designed, fabricated and characterized. The oscillator was a reflection mode type using a GaAs MESFET as the active element. The feedline, transmission lines, RF chokes, and bias lines were all fabricated from YBa2Cu3O(7-x) superconducting thin films on a 1 cm x 1 cm lanthanum aluminate substrate. The output feedline of the oscillator was wire bonded to a superconducting feedline on a second 1 cm x 1 cm lanthanum aluminate substrate, which was in turn proximity coupled to a circular microstrip patch antenna. Antenna patterns from this active patch antenna and the performance of the oscillator measured at 77 K are reported. The oscillator had a maximum output power of 11.5 dBm at 77 K, which corresponded to an efficiency of 10 percent. In addition, the efficiency of the microstrip patch antenna together with its high temperature superconducting feedline was measured from 85 K to 30 K and was found to be 71 percent at 77 4 increasing to a maximum of 87.4 percent at 30 K.

Rohrer, Norman J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Unsteady aerodynamic flow field analysis of the space shuttle configuration. Part 2: Launch vehicle aeroelastic analysis

An exploratory analysis has been made of the aeroelastic stability of the Space Shuttle Launch Configuration, with the objective of defining critical flow phenomena with adverse aeroelastic effects and developing simple analytic means of describing the time-dependent flow-interference effects so that they can be incorporated into a computer program to predict the aeroelastic stability of all free-free modes of the shuttle launch configuration. Three critical flow phenomana have been identified: (1) discontinuous jump of orbiter wing shock, (2) inlet flow between orbiter and booster, and (3) H.O. tank base flow. All involve highly nonlinear and often discontinuous aerodynamics which cause limit cycle oscillations of certain critical modes. Given the appropriate static data, the dynamic effects of the wing shock jump and the HO tank bulbous base effect can be analyzed using the developed quasi-steady techniques. However, further analytic and experimental efforts are required before the dynamic effects of the inlet flow phenomenon can be predicted for the shuttle launch configuration.

Reding, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Tropical Cyclone Activity in the North Atlantic Basin During the Weather Satellite Era, 1960-2014

This Technical Publication (TP) represents an extension of previous work concerning the tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic basin during the weather satellite era, 1960-2014, in particular, that of an article published in The Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science. With the launch of the TIROS-1 polar-orbiting satellite in April 1960, a new era of global weather observation and monitoring began. Prior to this, the conditions of the North Atlantic basin were determined only from ship reports, island reports, and long-range aircraft reconnaissance. Consequently, storms that formed far from land, away from shipping lanes, and beyond the reach of aircraft possibly could be missed altogether, thereby leading to an underestimate of the true number of tropical cyclones forming in the basin. Additionally, new analysis techniques have come into use which sometimes has led to the inclusion of one or more storms at the end of a nominal hurricane season that otherwise would not have been included. In this TP, examined are the yearly (or seasonal) and 10-year moving average (10-year moving average) values of the (1) first storm day (FSD), last storm day (LSD), and length of season (LOS); (2) frequencies of tropical cyclones (by class); (3) average peak 1-minute sustained wind speed ( ) and average lowest pressure ( ); (4) average genesis location in terms of north latitudinal ( ) and west longitudinal ( ) positions; (5) sum and average power dissipation index ( ); (6) sum and average accumulated cyclone energy ( ); (7) sum and average number of storm days ( ); (8) sum of the number of hurricane days (NHD) and number of major hurricane days (NMHD); (9) net tropical cyclone activity index (NTCA); (10) largest individual storm (LIS) PWS, LP, PDI, ACE, NSD, NHD, NMHD; and (11) number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes (N4/5). Also examined are the December-May (D-M) and June-November (J-N) averages and 10-year moving average values of several climatic factors, including the (1) oceanic Nino index ( ); (2) Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation ( ) index; (3) Atlantic meridional mode ( ) index; (4) global land-ocean temperature index ( ); and (5) quasi-biennial oscillation ( ) index. Lastly, the associational aspects (using both linear and nonparametric statistical tests) between selected tropical cyclone parameters and the climatic factors are examined based on their 10-year moving average trend values.

satellite↗
DOE OSTI2015

Time-domain self-consistent theory of frequency-locking regimes in gyrotrons with low-Q resonators

A time-domain theory of frequency-locking gyrotron oscillators with low-Q resonators has been developed. The presented theory is based on the description of wave propagation by a parabolic equation taking into account the external signal by modification of boundary conditions. We show that the developed model can be effectively used for simulations of both single- and multi-mode operation regimes in gyrotrons driven by an external signal. For the case of low-Q resonators typical for powerful gyrotrons, the external signal can influence the axial field profile inside the interaction space significantly and, correspondingly, the value of the electron orbital efficiency.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗