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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2002

Enhancement of preoxygenation for decompression sickness protection: effect of exercise duration

INTRODUCTION: Since strenuous exercise for 10 min during preoxygenation was shown to provide better protection from decompression sickness (DCS) incidence than resting preoxygenation, a logical question was: would a longer period of strenuous exercise improve protection even further? HYPOTHESIS: Increased strenuous exercise duration during preoxygenation increases DCS protection. METHODS: There were 60 subjects, 30 men and 30 women, who were exposed to 9,144 m (4.3 psia) for 4 h while performing mild, upper body exercise. Before the exposures, each subject performed three preoxygenation profiles on different days in balanced order: a 90-min resting preoxygenation control; a 240-min resting preoxygenation control; and a 90-min preoxygenation including exercise during the first 15 min. The subjects were monitored at altitude for venous gas emboli (VGE) with an echo-imaging system and observed for signs and symptoms of DCS. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in occurrence of DCS following any of the three preoxygenation procedures. Results were also comparable to an earlier report of 42% DCS with a 60-min preoxygenation including a 10-min exercise. There was no difference between VGE incidence in the comparison of protection offered by a 90-min preoxygenation with or without 13 min of strenuous exercise. The DCS incidence following a 240-min resting preoxygenation, 40%, was higher than observed during NASA studies and nearly identical with the earlier 42% DCS after a 60-min preoxygenation including exercise during the first 10 min. CONCLUSION: The protection offered by a 10 min exercise in a 60-min preoxygenation was not increased with extension of the preoxygenation exercise period to 15 min in a 90-min preoxygenation, indicating an upper time limit to the beneficial effects of strenuous exercise.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗
NASA NTRS2002

Pulmonary decompression sickness at altitude: early symptoms and circulating gas emboli

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary altitude decompression sickness (DCS) is a rare condition. 'Chokes' which are characterized by the triad of substernal pain, cough, and dyspnea, are considered to be associated with severe accumulation of gas bubbles in the pulmonary capillaries and may rapidly develop into a life-threatening medical emergency. This study was aimed at characterizing early symptomatology and the appearance of venous gas emboli (VGE). METHODS: Symptoms of simulated-altitude DCS and VGE (with echo-imaging ultrasound) were analyzed in 468 subjects who participated in 22 high altitude hypobaric chamber research protocols from 1983 to 2001 at Brooks Air Force Base, TX. RESULTS: Of 2525 subject-exposures to simulated altitude, 1030 (41%) had symptoms of DCS. Only 29 of those included DCS-related pulmonary symptoms. Of these, only 3 subjects had all three pulmonary symptoms of chokes; 9 subjects had two of the pulmonary symptoms; and 17 subjects had only one. Of the 29 subject-exposures with pulmonary symptoms, 27 had VGE and 21 had severe VGE. The mean onset times of VGE and symptoms in the 29 subject-exposures were 42 +/- 30 min and 109 +/- 61 min, respectively. In 15 subjects, the symptoms disappeared during recompression to ground level followed by 2 h of oxygen breathing. In the remaining 14 cases, the symptoms disappeared with immediate hyperbaric oxygen treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary altitude DCS or chokes is confirmed to be a rare condition. Our data showed that when diagnosed early, recompression to ground level pressure and/or hyperbaric oxygen treatment was 100% successful in resolving the symptoms.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2002

The effect of simulated weightlessness on hypobaric decompression sickness

BACKGROUND: A discrepancy exists between the incidence of ground-based decompression sickness (DCS) during simulated extravehicular activity (EVA) at hypobaric space suit pressure (20-40%) and crewmember reports during actual EVA (zero reports). This could be due to the effect of gravity during ground-based DCS studies. HYPOTHESIS: At EVA suit pressures of 29.6 kPa (4.3 psia), there is no difference in the incidence of hypobaric DCS between a control group and group exposed to simulated weightlessness (supine body position). METHODS: Male subjects were exposed to a hypobaric pressure of 29.6 kPa (4.3 psi) for up to 4 h. The control group (n = 26) pre-oxygenated for 60 min (first 10 min exercising) before hypobaric exposure and walking around in the altitude chamber. The test group (n = 39) remained supine for a 3 h prior to and during the 60-min pre-oxygenation (also including exercise) and at hypobaric pressure. DCS symptoms and venous gas emboli (VGE) at hypobaric pressure were registered. RESULTS: DCS occurred in 42% in the control and in 44% in simulated weightlessness group (n.s.). The mean time for DCS to develop was 112 min (SD +/- 61) and 123 min (+/- 67), respectively. VGE occurred in 81% of the control group subjects and in 51% of the simulated weightlessness subjects (p = 0.02), while severe VGE occurred in 58% and 33%, respectively (p = 0.08). VGE started after 113 min (+/- 43) in the control and after 76 min (+/- 64) in the simulated weightlessness group. CONCLUSIONS: No difference in incidence of DCS was shown between control and simulated weightlessness conditions. VGE occurred more frequently during the control condition with bubble-releasing arm and leg movements.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗
NASA NTRS2002

The effect of repeated altitude exposures on the incidence of decompression sickness

INTRODUCTION: Repeated altitude exposures in a single day occur during special operations parachute training, hypobaric chamber training, unpressurized flight, and extravehicular space activity. Inconsistent and contradictory information exists regarding the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) during such hypobaric exposures. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that four short exposures to altitude with and without ground intervals would result in a lower incidence of DCS than a single exposure of equal duration. METHODS: The 32 subjects were exposed to 3 different hypobaric exposures--condition A: 2 h continuous exposure (control); condition B: four 30-min exposures with descent/ascent but no ground interval between the exposures; condition C: four 30-min exposures with descent/ascent and 60 min of ground interval breathing air between exposures. All exposures were to 25,000 ft with 100% oxygen breathing. Subjects were observed for symptoms of DCS, and precordial monitoring of venous gas emboli (VGE) was accomplished with a SONOS 1000 echo-imaging system. RESULTS: DCS occurred in 19 subjects during A (mean onset 70+/-29 min), 7 subjects in B (60+/-34 min), and 2 subjects in C (40+/-18 min). There was a significant difference in DCS incidence between B and A (p = 0.0015) and C and A (p = 0.0002), but no significant difference between B and C. There were 28 cases of VGE in A (mean onset 30+/-23 min), 21 in B (41+/-35 min), and 21 in C (41+/-32 min) with a significant onset curve difference between B and A and between C and A, but not between B and C. Exposure A resulted in four cases of serious respiratory/neurological symptoms, while B had one and C had none. All symptoms resolved during recompression to ground level. CONCLUSION: Data indicate that repeated simulated altitude exposures to 25,000 ft significantly reduce DCS and VGE incidence compared with a single continuous altitude exposure.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1997

Modeling the effects of exercise during 100% oxygen prebreathe on the risk of hypobaric decompression sickness

BACKGROUND: Several previous studies indicated that exercise during prebreathe with 100% O2 decreased the incidence of hypobaric decompression sickness (DCS). We report a meta-analysis of these investigations combined with a new study in our laboratory to develop a statistical model as a predictive tool for DCS. HYPOTHESIS: Exercise during prebreathe increases N2 elimination in a theoretical 360-min half-time compartment decreasing the incidence of DCS. METHODS: A dose-response probability tissue ratio (TR) model with 95% confidence limits was created for two groups, prebreathe with exercise (n = 113) and resting prebreathe (n = 113), using nonlinear regression analysis with maximum likelihood optimization. RESULTS: The model predicted that prebreathe exercise would reduce the residual N2 in a 360-min half-time compartment to a level analogous to that in a 180-min compartment. This finding supported the hypothesis. The incidence of DCS for the exercise prebreathe group was significantly decreased (Chi-Square = 17.1, p < 0.0001) from the resting prebreathe group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that exercise during prebreathe increases tissue perfusion and N2 elimination approximately 2-fold and markedly lowers the risk of DCS. Based on the model, the prebreathe duration may be reduced from 240 min to a predicted 91 min for the protocol in our study, but this remains to be verified. The model provides a useful planning tool to develop and test appropriate prebreathe exercise protocols and to predict DCS risks for astronauts.

NASA Program Environmental Health↗
NASA NTRS1996

Testing of hypotheses about altitude decompression sickness by statistical analyses

This communication extends a statistical analysis of forced-descent decompression sickness at altitude in exercising subjects (J Appl Physiol 1994; 76:2726-2734) with a data subset having an additional explanatory variable, rate of ascent. The original explanatory variables for risk-function analysis were environmental pressure of the altitude, duration of exposure, and duration of pure-O2 breathing before exposure; the best fit was consistent with the idea that instantaneous risk increases linearly as altitude exposure continues. Use of the new explanatory variable improved the fit of the smaller data subset, as indicated by log likelihood. Also, with ascent rate accounted for, replacement of the term for linear accrual of instantaneous risk by a term for rise and then decay made a highly significant improvement upon the original model (log likelihood increased by 37 log units). The authors conclude that a more representative data set and removal of the variability attributable to ascent rate allowed the rise-and-decay mechanism, which is expected from theory and observations, to become manifest.

NASA Center JSC↗
DOE OSTI2019

On producing CO 2 from subsurface reservoirs: simulations of liquid-gas phase change caused by decompression

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) extraction from deep reservoirs is currently important in CO 2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and may become more important in the future if interim CO 2 storage becomes common. In late 2014, we were involved in a production test of liquid CO 2 from the Middle Duperow dolostone at Kevin Dome, Montana. The test resulted in lowering the temperature at the well bottom to ~2 °C, and showed that the well and reservoir had very low CO 2 productivity. We have used the CO 2 modeling capabilities of the TOUGH codes to simulate the test and to show that liquid CO 2 in the reservoir changes to gas phase as the pressure is lowered in the well during production testing. The associated phase change and decompression combine to drastically lower the bottom-hole temperature, creating the potential for water ice or CO 2 hydrate to form. By hypothesizing a relatively high-permeability damage zone near the well surrounded by lower permeability reservoir rock, we can match the observed pressure, temperature, and production rate. Moving from the Kevin Dome test to the question of CO 2 extraction from deep reservoirs in general, we carried out a parametric study to investigate the effects of reservoir depth and transmissivity on CO 2 production rate for a prototypical reservoir. Simulations show that depth and high transmissivity favor productivity. Complex phase changes within the ranges of P-T encountered in typical CO 2 production wells affect production rates. The results of our parametric study may be useful for the preliminary feasibility assessment of CCO 2 extraction from deep reservoirs.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

The r-process nucleosynthesis during the decompression of neutron star crust material

About half of the nuclei heavier than iron observed in nature are produced by the so-called rapid neutron capture process, or r-process, of nucleosynthesis. The identification of the astrophysics site and the specific conditions in which the r-process takes place remains, however, one of the still-unsolved mysteries of modern astrophysics. Another underlying difficulty associated with our understanding of the r-process concerns the uncertainties in the predictions of nuclear properties for the few thousands exotic neutron-rich nuclei involved, for which essentially no experimental data exist. The present paper emphasizes some important future challenges faced by nuclear physics in this problem, particularly in the determination of the nuclear structure properties of exotic neutron-rich nuclei as well as their radiative neutron capture rates and their fission probabilities. These quantities are particularly relevant to determine the composition of the matter resulting from the r-process. Both the astrophysics and the nuclear physics difficulties are critically reviewed with special attention paid to the r-process taking place during the decompression of neutron star matter following the merging of two neutron stars.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Measurement of the shell decompression in direct-drive inertial-confinement-fusion implosions

Measurement of the effect of adiabat (α) on the shell thickness were performed in direct-drive implosions. When reducing the adiabat of the shell from α = 6 to α = 4:5, the shell thickness was measured to decrease from 75 μm to 60 μm, but when decreasing the adiabat further (α = 1:8), the shell thickness was measured to increase to 75 μm. The measured shell thickness, shell trajectories, neutron bang time, and neutron yield were reproduced by two dimensional simulations that include laser imprint, nonlocal thermal transport, cross-beam energy transfer, and first-principles equation-of-state models. The minimum core size was measured to decrease from 40 μm to 30 μm, consistent with the reduction of the adiabat from α = 6 to α = 1:8. Simulations that neglected imprint reproduced the measured core size of the entire adiabat scan, but signi cantly underestimate the shell thickness for adiabat below ~3. These results show that the decompression of the shell measured for low-adiabat implosions was a result of laser imprint.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Nature of polyamorphic transformations in H 2 O under isothermal compression and decompression

In this paper, we report polyamorphic transformations of H 2 O under isothermal compression and decompression at 150 K, observed by in situ x-ray diffraction. Detailed structural information across the transformations among low-, high-, and very high-density amorphs (LDA, HDA, VHDA) reveals the mechanisms, the reversibility, and (dis)continuity of the transformations. During isothermal (de)compression, the polyamorphic transformations are characterized by a sharp and reversible LDA-VHDA transformation, with an HDA-like form (referred to as HDA’) appearing as an intermediate state. The LDA-VHDA transformation is found to occur in two steps: a discontinuous transition between LDA and HDA’ and a continuous change within HDA’ involving structural reconfigurations and finally converging to VHDA. Both LDA and VHDA are found to be structurally stable showing elastic behavior under (de)compression, while HDA’ is structurally unstable. Lastly, possible relations of these observations to low- and high-density liquids are discussed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗