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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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107 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Backscattering by nonspherical hydrometeors as calculated by the coupled-dipole method - An application in radar meteorology

The severest test of a theory of scattering by particles is how well it calculates scattering in the backward direction. The coupled-dipole method can be used for accurately calculating backscattering at 94 GHz by hexagonal ice crystals. Backscattering by columns is markedly different from that by plates, which indicates that it might be possible to infer size and shape distributions of ice crystals using recently developed millimeter wave radar.

Dungey, Clifton E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Receiving efficiency of monostatic pulsed coherent lidars. I - Theory. II - Applications

Pulsed coherent radars' receiving efficiency, eta, is presently investigated as a function of range z on the basis of a theory which relates eta(z) to both the transmitted laser intensity and the point-source receiving efficiency; this efficiency is calculated by a backward method employing the back-propagated local oscillator (BPLO) approach. The theory is applied to the ideal case, in order to study system optimization when both the transmitted and the BPLO fields at the antenna are Gaussian. In the second part of this work, eta(z) is calculated for various conditions of the NOAA/ERL Wave Propagation Laboratory CO2 Doppler lidar; the sensitivity of eta(z) to transmitted laser beam quality, telescope focal setting, telescope power, scanner astigmatism, and system misalignment.

Zhao, Yanzeng↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Yearly Variation in Fall-Winter Arctic Winter Vortex Descent

Using the change in HALOE methane profiles from early September to late March, we have estimated the minimum amount of diabatic descent within the polar which takes place during Arctic winter. The year to year variations are a result in the year to year variations in stratospheric wave activity which (1) modify the temperature of the vortex and thus the cooling rate; (2) reduce the apparent descent by mixing high amounts of methane into the vortex. The peak descent amounts from HALOE methane vary from l0km -14km near the arrival altitude of 25 km. Using a diabatic trajectory calculation, we compare forward and backward trajectories over the course of the winter using UKMO assimilated stratospheric data. The forward calculation agrees fairly well with the observed descent. The backward calculation appears to be unable to produce the observed amount of descent, but this is only an apparent effect due to the density decrease in parcels with altitude. Finally we show the results for unmixed descent experiments - where the parcels are fixed in latitude and longitude and allowed to descend based on the local cooling rate. Unmixed descent is found to always exceed mixed descent, because when normal parcel motion is included, the path average cooling is always less than the cooling at a fixed polar point.

Schoeberl, Mark R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The CIV processes in the CRIT experiments

A qualitative analysis is conducted to reconcile the experimental data from critical ionization velocity (CIV) studies with CIV theories. The experimental data are reviewed demonstrating that: (1) the wave frequency is variable and low; (2) the wave polarization is almost isotropic; (3) electron energization is not easily reconciled with the observed wave spectrum; and (4) ambient electron density plays a role in determining CIV triggering conditions. Analytical treatment is given to the dispersion relation of the lower hybrid wave (LWH) instability driven by the streaming of an ion beam generated by the interaction of the neutral cloud with the ambient atmosphere. By incorporating the LWH instabilities of strong turbulence and finite-size effects into theoretical CIV relationships, the observations can be interpreted. The issues raised by the experimental data are understood within the context of a hypothesis of backward propagating nonlinearly collapsing wavepackets.

Papadopoulos, K.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The dynamics and control of fluctuating pressure loads in the reattachment region of a supersonic free shear layer

The primary aim is to investigate the mechanisms which cause the unsteady wall-pressure fluctuations in shock wave turbulent shear layer interactions. The secondary aim is to find means to reduce the magnitude of the fluctuating pressure loads by controlling the unsteady shock motion. The particular flow proposed for study is the unsteady shock wave interaction formed in the reattachment zone of a separated supersonic flow. Similar flows are encountered in many practical situations, and they are associated with high levels of fluctuating wall pressure. Wall pressure fluctuations were measured in the reattachment region of the supersonic free shear layer. The free shear layer was formed by the separation of a Mach 2.9 turbulent boundary layer from a backward facing step. Reattachment occurred on a 20 deg ramp. By adjusting the position of the ramp, the base pressure was set equal to the freestream pressure, and the free shear layer formed in the absence of a separation shock. An array of flush-mounted, miniature, high-frequency pressure transducers was used to make multichannel measurements of the fluctuating wall pressure in the vicinity of the reattachment region. Contrary to previous observations of this flow, the reattachment region was found to be highly unsteady, and the pressure fluctuations were found to be significant. The overall behavior of the wall pressure loading is similar in scale and magnitude to the unsteadiness of the wall pressure field in compression ramp flows at the same Mach number. Rayleigh scattering was used to visualize the instantaneous shock structure in the streamwise and spanwise direction. Spanwise wrinkles on the order of half the boundary layer thickness were observed.

Smits, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Stability of separating subsonic boundary layers

The primary and subharmonic instabilities of separating compressible subsonic two-dimensional boundary layers in the presence of a two-dimensional roughness element on a flat plate are investigated. The roughness elements considered are humps and forward- and backward-facing steps. The use of cooling and suction to control these instabilities is studied. The similarities and differences between the instability characteristics of separating boundary layers and those of the boundary layer over a flat plate with a zero pressure gradient are pointed out and discussed. The theoretical results agree qualitatively and quantitatively with the experimental data of Dovgal and Kozlov. Cooling and suction decrease the growth rates of primary and subharmonic waves in the attached-flow regions but increase them in the separated-flow regions.

Masad, Jamal A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Calibration of a Spatial-Temporal Discrimination Model from Forward, Simultaneous, and Backward Masking

We have been developing a simplified spatial-temporal discrimination model similar to our simplified spatial model in that masking is assumed to be a function of the local visible contrast energy. The overall spatial-temporal sensitivity of the model is calibrated to predict the detectability of targets on a uniform background. To calibrate the spatial-temporal integration functions that define local visible contrast energy, spatial-temporal masking data are required. Observer thresholds were measured (2IFC) for the detection of a 12 msec target stimulus in the presence of a 700 msec mask. Targets were 1, 3 or 9 c/deg sine wave gratings. Masks were either one of these gratings or two of them combined. The target was presented in 17 temporal positions with respect to the mask, including positions before, during and after the mask. Peak masking was found near mask onset and offset for 1 and 3 c/deg targets, while masking effects were more nearly uniform during the mask for the 9 c/deg target. As in the purely spatial case, the simplified model can not predict all the details of masking as a function of masking component spatial frequencies, but overall the prediction errors are small.

Ahumada, Albert J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Molecular velocimetry using stimulated Raman spectroscopy

Molecular flow velocity of N2 was measured in a supersonic wind tunnel using inverse Raman spectroscopy. This technique employs the large Doppler shift exhibited by the molecules when the pump and probe laser beams are counter-propagating (backward scattering). A retrometer system is employed to yield a vibration-free optical configuration which has the additional advantage of obtaining both the forward and backward scattered spectra simultaneously. The linebreadths and their relative Doppler shift can be used to determine the static pressure, translational temperature, and molecular flow velocity. A demonstration of the concept was performed in a supersonic wind tunnel and included: (1) measurements over the Mach number range 2.50 to 4.63; (2) static pressure measurements (at Mach 2.50) corresponding to a Reynolds number per foot range of 1 to 5 x 10 to the 6th power; and (3) measurements behind the shock wave of a flat plate model.

Exton, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Semiautomated Multilayer Picking Algorithm for Ice-sheet Radar Echograms Applied to Ground-Based Near-Surface Data

Snow accumulation over an ice sheet is the sole mass input, making it a primary measurement for understanding the past, present, and future mass balance. Near-surface frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radars image isochronous firn layers recording accumulation histories. The Semiautomated Multilayer Picking Algorithm (SAMPA) was designed and developed to trace annual accumulation layers in polar firn from both airborne and ground-based radars. The SAMPA algorithm is based on the Radon transform (RT) computed by blocks and angular orientations over a radar echogram. For each echogram's block, the RT maps firn segmented-layer features into peaks, which are picked using amplitude and width threshold parameters of peaks. A backward RT is then computed for each corresponding block, mapping the peaks back into picked segmented-layers. The segmented layers are then connected and smoothed to achieve a final layer pick across the echogram. Once input parameters are trained, SAMPA operates autonomously and can process hundreds of kilometers of radar data picking more than 40 layers. SAMPA final pick results and layer numbering still require a cursory manual adjustment to correct noncontinuous picks, which are likely not annual, and to correct for inconsistency in layer numbering. Despite the manual effort to train and check SAMPA results, it is an efficient tool for picking multiple accumulation layers in polar firn, reducing time over manual digitizing efforts. The trackability of good detected layers is greater than 90%.

Antarctic Ice-Sheet↗
NASA NTRS1982

Quantitative tests of a steady state theory of solar wind electrons

A comparison is made of IMP 6, 7 and 8 electron data with the predictions of a solar wind electron steady state theory in which the control of transport by the macroscopic interplanetary electric and magnetic fields, as well as elastic Coulomb collisions with solar wind protons and thermal electrons, is assumed. While a ratio of forward to backward phase density for field-aligned extrathermal electrons of 6:1 is predicted, electron distribution measurements within the high speed solar wind show this ratio to be typically about an order of magnitude larger. A set of solar wind bulk speed anticorrelations predicted by the theory on the basis of a larger set of assumptions cannot be found in the IMP electron data set, so that improved agreement may require such modifications of the theory's assumptions as the inclusion of inelastic Coulomb and/or wave electron collisions.

Feldman, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS2016

The Effect of Acoustic Forcing on Instabilities and Breakdown in Swept-Wing Flow over a Backward-Facing Step

Instability interaction and breakdown were experimentally investigated in the flow over a swept backward-facing step. Acoustic forcing was used to excite the Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) instability and to acquire phase-locked results. The phase-averaged results illustrate the complex nature of the interaction between the TS and stationary cross flow instabilities. The weak stationary cross flow disturbance causes a distortion of the TS wavefront. The breakdown process is characterized by large positive and negative spikes in velocity. The positive spikes occur near the same time and location as the positive part of the TS wave. Higher-order spectral analysis was used to further investigate the nonlinear interactions between the TS instability and the traveling cross flow disturbances. The results reveal that a likely cause for the generation of the spikes corresponds to nonlinear interactions between the TS, traveling cross flow, and stationary cross flow disturbances. The spikes begin at low amplitudes of the unsteady and steady disturbances (2-4% U (sub e) (i.e. boundary layer edge velocity)) but can achieve very large amplitudes (20-30 percent U (sub e) (i.e. boundary layer edge velocity)) that initiate an early, though highly intermittent, breakdown to turbulence.

Eppink, Jenna L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Lateral shift of an optical beam due to leaky surface-plasmon excitations

A leaky-wave theory is applied to the study of the lateral shift of a bounded optical beam reflected from a prism-air-metal (and prism-metal-air) layered configuration with surface-plasmon excitations. The locations of the pole and the zero of the reflection coefficient for the leaky surface-plasmon mode are calculated as one varies the thickness of the center layer. The excited surface-plasmon mode is leaky because of the presence of the prism. Both the real part and the imaginary part of the pole are affected by the energy leakage. The detailed structure of the reflected intensity and the forward and backward shifts of the reflected beam are illustrated.

Chuang, S. L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Application of an Affine Nonlinear Galerkin Reduced-order Model to Compressible Fluid Flows

Galerkin reduced-order models (ROMs) often struggle to accurately capture multiscale fluid physics in challenging flow regimes such as flows experiencing compressibility effects. This in part stems from the global nature of both the basis construction problem and the spectral formulation itself. In this work, a multi-basis ROM is developed in an affine space based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) by projecting the full Navier-Stokes equations expressed in terms of the specific volume, velocity, and pressure primitive variables. The model is applied to high-fidelity numerical simulation datasets obtained for a canonical compressible flow configuration: the flow over a backward facing step at different subsonic Mach numbers. It is observed that application of an eigenvalue reassignment (ER) stabilization method is required to avoid early divergence of the ROM predictions for this configuration in the three Mach numbers tested. The sensitivity of the POD-ROM results to the choice of parameters in the stabilization algorithm is discussed.

reduced-order model↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Application of an Affine Nonlinear Galerkin Reduced-order Model to Compressible Fluid Flows

Galerkin reduced-order models (ROMs) often struggle to accurately capture multiscale fluid physics in challenging flow regimes such as flows experiencing compressibility effects. This in part stems from the global nature of both the basis construction problem and the spectral formulation itself. In this work, a multi-basis ROM is developed in an affine space based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) by projecting the full Navier-Stokes equations expressed in terms of the specific volume, velocity, and pressure primitive variables. The model is applied to high-fidelity numerical simulation datasets obtained for a canonical compressible flow configuration: the flow over a backward facing step at different subsonic Mach numbers. It is observed that application of an eigenvalue reassignment (ER) stabilization method is required to avoid early divergence of the ROM predictions for this configuration in the three Mach numbers tested. The sensitivity of the POD-ROM results to the choice of parameters in the stabilization algorithm is discussed.

reduced-order model↗
NASA NTRS1997

Particle Scattering in the Resonance Regime: Full-Wave Solution for Axisymmetric Particles with Large Aspect Ratios

Reliable descriptions of the optical properties of clouds and aerosols are essential for studies of radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres. The scattering algorithms provide accurate estimates of these properties for spherical particles with a wide range of sizes and refractive indices, but these methods are not valid for non-spherical particles (e.g., ice crystals, mineral dust, and smoke). Even though a host of methods exist for deriving the optical properties of nonspherical particles that are very small or very large compared with the wavelength, only a few methods are valid in the resonance regime, where the particle dimensions are comparable with the wavelength. Most such methods are not ideal for particles with sharp edges or large axial ratios. We explore the utility of an integral equation approach for deriving the single-scattering optical properties of axisymmetric particles with large axial ratios. The accuracy of this technique is shown for spheres of increasing size parameters and an ensemble of randomly oriented prolate spheroids of size parameter equal to 10.079368. In this last case our results are compared with published results obtained with the T-matrix approach. Next we derive cross sections, single-scattering albedos, and phase functions for cylinders, disks, and spheroids of ice with dimensions extending from the Rayleigh to the geometric optics regime. Compared with those for a standard surface integral equation method, the storage requirement and the computer time needed by this method are reduced, thus making it attractive for generating databases to be used in multiple-scattering calculations. Our results show that water ice disks and cylinders are more strongly absorbing than equivalent volume spheres at most infrared wavelengths. The geometry of these particles also affects the angular dependence of the scattering. Disks and columns with maximum linear dimensions larger than the wavelength scatter much more radiation in the forward and backward directions and much less radiation at intermediate phase angles than equivalent volume spheres.

Zuffada, Cinzia↗
NASA NTRS2004

Subsurface Sampling and Sensing Using Burrowing Moles

Finding evidence for life on Mars will likely require accessing the subsurface since the Martian surface is both hostile to life and to preservation of biosignatures due to the cold dry conditions, the strong W environment, and the presence of strong oxidants. Systems are needed to probe beneath the sun and oxidant baked surface of Mars and return samples to the surface for analysis or to bring the instrument sensing underground. Recognizing this need, the European Space Agency incorporated a small subsurface penetrometer or Mole onto the Beagle 2 Mars lander. Had the 2003 landing been successful, the Mole would have collected samples from 1-1.5 m depth and delivered them to an organic analysis instrument on the surface. The de- vice called the Planetary Underground Tool (PLUTO), also measured soil mechanical and thermophysical properties. Constrained by the small mass and volume allowance of the Beagle lander, the PLUTO mole was a slender cylinder only 2 cm diameter and 28 cm long equipped with a small sampling device designed to collect samples and bring them to the surface for analysis by other instrument. The mass of the entire system including deployment mechanism and tether was 1/2 kg. sensor package underground to make in situ measurements. The Mars Underground Mole (MUM) is a larger Mole based on the PLUTO design but incorporating light collection optics that interface to a fiber optic cable in the tether that transmits light to a combined stimulated emission Raman Spectrometer and Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) reflectance Spectrometer with sensitivity from 0.7 to 2.5 micrometers. This instrument is called the Dual Spectral Sensor and uses a Digital Array Scanning Interferometer as the sensor technology, a type of fourier transform interferometer that uses fixed element prisms and thus is highly rugged compared to a Michaelson interferometer. Due to the size limitations of an on-Mole instrument compartment, and the availability of a tether, the sensor head, light sources, and control electronics for the instrument are on the surface. The DSS sensor is capable of sensing a wide range of minerals relevant to Mars Astrobiology objectives including hydrated minerals, clays, carbonates, sulfates, and ice. Additionally, Raman spectroscopy is effective for detecting organics. The MUM is designed to achieve a maximum depth of penetration of 5 m in Mars regolith and can be repeatedly deployed and retrieved. The ability to perform repeated sampling, combined with the low mass and power requirements, means that Moles could be incorporated into a rover mission as well as used on a stationary platform. The Mole mechanism is a pointed slender cylinder that advances into soil by way of an internal sliding hammer mechanism. Part of the energy released by the spring-loaded hammer with each shock is transferred to the Mole casing and from there to the soil, resulting in penetration by displacing and compressing the surrounding soil. A backwards-directed impulse as a re- action to each forward shock is transferred via a suppressor mass against a second weaker spring allowing forward motion without requiring reactive forces provided by the lander. The Mole tip can be opened to collect soil samples. The Mole casing is tethered to a supporting mechanism that supplies power. Components supporting the Mole on the surface include a launch tube, tether reel and winch for pulling in tether, in addition to the tether itself.

Stoker, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Afterglow and Kilonova of the Short GRB 160821B

GRB 160821B is a short duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected and localized by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in the outskirts of a spiral galaxy at z = 0.1613, at a projected physical offset of 16 kpc from the galaxy’s center. We present X-ray, optical/nIR, and radio observations of its counterpart and model them with two distinct components of emission: a standard afterglow, arising from the interaction of the relativistic jet with the surrounding medium, and a kilonova, powered by the radioactive decay of the sub-relativistic ejecta. Broadband modelling of the afterglow data reveals a weak reverse shock propagating backward into the jet, and a likely jet-break at 3.5 d. This is consistent with a structured jet seen slightly off-axis (θview ∼ θcore) while expanding into a low-density medium (n ≈ 10−3 cm−3). Analysis of the kilonova properties suggests a rapid evolution towards red colours, similar toAT2017gfo, and a low-nIR luminosity, possibly due to the presence of a long-lived neutron star. The global properties of the environment, the inferred low mass (Mej <~ 0.006 Msun) and velocities (vej >~ 0.05c) of lanthanide-rich ejecta are consistent with a binary neutron star merger progenitor.

Gravitational waves↗