VOID FRACTION MEASUREMENTS IN A CAVITATING VENTURI
Void fraction /local density/ measurements are made in an axisymmetric cavitation flow inside of a venturi tube operating with mercury, using a gamma-ray densitometer
CAVITATION FLOW↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “Density fractionation”
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Achievement of a high-density, high-confinement, and high-beta tokamak plasma regime in DIII-D, and implications for a lower-current path for ITER and FPP
Experiments on DIII-D have demonstrated a density-confinement synergy that enables sustainment of high performance in a previously unattained parameter regime of simultaneous very high energy confinement quality (H 98y2 ≥ 1.5), very high line-average density Greenwald fraction (ƒ Gr = πa 2 < n >/I P ≥ 1.4), and high toroidal beta (β T ≥ 3%). Tokamak operation in this regime is essential for a compact steady-state FPP, as well as for Q=10 with 500 MW of fusion power in ITER at I P << 15 MA. These experiments leveraged the knowledge that, in the high-poloidal-beta (β P ) regime, impurity and density gradients can enhance turbulence stabilization caused by high α MHD (α MHD ~(dβ P )⁄dr). This was described by theoretical predictions and gyrokinetic transport simulations [M.T. Kotschenreuther et al, 2024 Nucl. Fusion, 64 076033], and later confirmed by experiments on DIII-D [S. Ding et al, 2024 Nature 629 555]. To increase both β P and β T , the new experiments increased the ideal-wall stability β N -limit by using a smaller plasma-outer wall distance and higher triangularity in the plasma cross section (top/bottom average δ~0.9), enabled by the recent “shape & volume rise” (SVR) modification to the DIII-D divertor. The higher triangularity also contributed to achieving higher ƒ Gr by enabling higher pedestal density. At high density, the pedestal is ballooning limited and exhibits small and frequent ELMs, while the divertor is near detachment even without any impurity seeding. High plasma performance was attained and sustained reproducibly, with the eventual terminations brought about by an MHD mode destabilized as the current profile slowly continued to evolve. A path to stationary fully noninductive operation might include ECH injection to reduce both core impurity accumulation and the electron collisionality, thus increasing the bootstrap current. These experiments provide the first experimental demonstration of the ƒ Gr , H 98y2 , and β T values required simultaneously for ITER Q = 10 at I P < 10 MA, pointing to practical ways to improve the energy confinement in a fusion reactor.
Garofalo, Andrea M. [General Atomics, San Diego, C↗
The origins of the plasma in the distant plasma sheet
It is pointed out that ion mass spectrometers operating in the keV range have recently begun to provide a new class of information on magnetospheric processes. One of the principal motivations for the development of energetic ion mass spectrometers has been to investigate the origins of the hot plasma populations of the magnetosphere. Peterson et al. (1981) were able to estimate the fractional ion density of ionospheric origin in five intervals by intercomparing the He(++) and H(+) spectra and assuming the excess low-energy H(+) ions were from the ionosphere. They obtained values in the range from 0.1 to 0.65. The present investigation is concerned with an expansion of the previous study. A substantially larger data base is utilized, and a different set of assumptions is considered to infer the relative fractions of solar and ionospheric H(+) and to look for systematic changes in the relative source strengths with magnetic activity.
Sharp, R. D.↗
Carbon content of soil fractions varies with season, rainfall, and soil fertility across a lowland tropical moist forest gradient
Tropical forests contain some of the largest soil carbon (C) stocks on Earth, making them broadly relevant to terrestrial-climate feedbacks, yet our understanding of how their soil organic C (SOC) fractions vary over space and time is limited. We studied effects of season, fertility, and mean annual precipitation (MAP) on the C contents of soil fractions across 14 lowland forests in Panama. We measured free-debris, occluded-debris, and mineral-associated SOC fractions, as well as soluble C associated with each fraction. We hypothesized that mineral-associated SOC would be greatest in infertile, strongly weathered soils with large reactive mineral contents. We also hypothesized that the debris SOC fractions would accumulate during the dry season, reflecting seasonal increases in litterfall. To address this, we compared soil fractions in wet and dry seasons from fertile and infertile soils across a range of 1809 – 2864 mm MAP. The C content (mg C / g soil) of all soil fractions varied with fertility and MAP: specifically, free-debris SOC was greatest in wet, high-fertility soils, and occluded-debris SOC was greater in high-fertility than low-fertility soils. The mineral-associated SOC fraction, which contained the majority of bulk soil C, showed increasing C content with greater MAP in infertile sites, presumably driving similar spatial patterns in the bulk soil. Only the free-debris SOC fraction showed strong seasonal variation, increasing in mass during the dry season. Nitrogen behaved similarly to C. In summary, soil C contents increased with MAP in infertile sites but not fertile sites, driven by the mineral-associated SOC fraction. The dry season had greater free-debris SOC, but this seasonal trend was not apparent in bulk soil C, likely because of the small size of the free-debris SOC fraction. Furthermore, changes in the quantity and seasonality of precipitation, which are projected for tropical forests, might shift spatial and temporal patterns of soil C storage, which would in turn influence forest-climate feedbacks for this C-rich biome.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Robe Development for Electrical Conductivity Analysis in an Electron Gun Produced Helium Plasma
The use of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power conversion systems, potentially coupled with a fission power source, is currently being investigated as a driver for an advanced propulsion system, such as a plasma thruster. The efficiency of a MHD generator is strongly dependent on the electrical conductivity of the fluid that passes through the generator; power density increases as fluid conductivity increases. Although traditional MHD flows depend on thermal ionization to enhance the electrical conductivity, ionization due to nuclear interactions may achieve a comparable or improved conductivity enhancement while avoiding many of the limitations inherent to thermal ionization. Calculations suggest that nuclear-enhanced electrical conductivity increases as the neutron flux increases; conductivity of pure He-3 greater than 10 mho/m may be achievable if exposed to a flux greater than 10(exp 12) neutrons/cm2/s.) However, this remains to be demonstrated experimentally. An experimental facility has been constructed at the Propulsion Research Center at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, using helium as the test fluid. High energy electrons will be used to simulate the effects of neutron-induced ionization of helium gas to produce a plasma. These experiments will be focused on diagnosis of the plasma in a virtually static system; results will be applied to future tests with a MHD system. Initial experiments will utilize a 50 keV electron gun that can operate at up to a current of 200 micro A. Spreading the electron beam over a four inch diameter window results in an electron flux of 1.5x 10(exp 13) e/sq cm/s. The equivalent neutron flux that would produce the same ionization fraction in helium is 1x10(exp 12) n/sq cm/s. Experiments will simulate the neutron generated plasma modeled by Bitteker, which takes into account the products of thermal neutron absorption in He-3, and includes various ion species in estimating the conductivity of the resulting plasma. Several different probes will be designed and implemented to verify the plasma kinetics model. System parameters and estimated operating ranges are summarized. The predicted ionization fraction, electron density, and conductivity levels are provided in for an equivalent neutron flux of 1x10(exp 12) n/cm2/s. Understanding the complex plasma kinetics throughout a MHD channel is necessary to design an optimal power conversion system for space propulsion applications. The proposed experiments seek to fully characterize the helium plasma and to determine the reliability of each measurement technique, such that they may be applied to more advanced MHD studies. The expected value of each plasma parameter determined from theoretical models will be verified experimentally by several independent techniques to determine the most reliable method of obtaining each parameter. The results of these experiments will be presented in the final paper.
Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.↗
Characterisation of nano-scale precipitates in BOR60 irradiated T91 steel using atom probe tomography
Atom probe tomography has characterised the microstructural changes in T91 steel after BOR60 reactor irradiation at five temperatures between 376 °C and 524 °C to doses between 14.6 dpa and 35.1 dpa. Irradiation-induced precipitation and segregation to carbide/matrix interface induced by neutron irradiation has been characterised. Atom probe tomography characterisation shows that Mn, Ni, Si -rich (MNS-rich) clusters form in T91 steel irradiated in BOR60 reactor at temperatures between 376 °C and 415 °C, which is not observed at higher temperatures 460 °C and 524 °C. Additionally, the number density, volume fraction and composition of MNS-rich clusters have been characterised. Ni, Mn, Si and P is found to segregate at carbide matrix interface after irradiation at lower temperature and only P segregation is observed at 524 °C.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Dual X-ray computed tomography-aided classification of melt pool boundaries and flaws in crept additively manufactured parts
In metal additive manufacturing (AM), understanding the process-structure-performance relationships requires a combination of multi-scale characterization techniques that allows for the measurement of the melt pool shape and boundary and classifying various defects and flaws in the AM parts. Such approaches can be destructive, only 2D in nature, or have a small field of view and can be complex to co-register and analyze. Here, in this work, we present a non-destructive 3D inspection technique that employs dual-energy X-ray computed tomography (XCT) along with a model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) and a new segmentation algorithm. The proposed approach and algorithm are not only capable of classifying and quantifying flaws such as pores, cracks, and inclusions, but they also allow for the extraction of microstructural features such as melt pool boundaries (MPB) and melt pool regions (MPR), that can help understand process-structure-performance relationships for alloys under study. As an exemplar application, we employed the method for characterization of an additively manufactured aluminum alloy crept under tensile stress at 300 °C for 1064 h. Our results demonstrate high quality segmentation and classification of various flaws and MPB and MPR, for the first time, using 3D X-ray CT inspection. The delineated MPB and MPR in the crept samples reveal the preferential growth paths of cracks that formed during creep deformation. The technique was used for successfully quantifying the characteristics (number of defects, their density, volume fraction, etc.) of the manufacturing-induced pores and creep-induced cracks, which is necessary to better understand the creep failure mechanisms of the material.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Soil Carbon Stocks Not Linked to Aboveground Litter Input and Chemistry of Old-Growth Forest and Adjacent Prairie
The long-standing assumption that aboveground plant litter inputs have a substantial influence on soil organic carbon storage (SOC) and dynamics has been challenged by a new paradigm for SOC formation and persistence. We tested the importance of plant litter chemistry on SOC storage, distribution, composition, and age by comparing two highly contrasting ecosystems: an old-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest, with highly aromatic litter, and an adjacent coastal prairie, with more easily decomposed litter. We hypothesized that if plant litter chemistry was the primary driver, redwood would store more and older SOC that was less microbially processed than prairie. Total soil carbon stocks to 110 cm depth were higher in prairie (35 kg C m —2 ) than redwood (28 kg C m —2 ). Radiocarbon values indicated shorter SOC residence times in redwood than prairie throughout the profile. Higher amounts of pyrogenic carbon and a higher degree of microbial processing of SOC appear to be instrumental for soil carbon storage and persistence in prairie, while differences in fine-root carbon inputs likely contribute to younger SOC in redwood. We conclude that at these sites fire residues, root inputs, and soil properties influence soil carbon dynamics to a greater degree than the properties of aboveground litter.
13C-NMR spectroscopy↗
Structure of iso-density sets in supersonic isothermal turbulence
Context: The gas density structure of the cold molecular phase of the interstellar medium is the main controller of star formation. Aims: A theoretical framework is proposed to describe the structural content of the density field in isothermal supersonic turbulence. Methods: It makes use of correlation and structure functions of the phase indicator field defined for different iso-density values. The relations between these two-point statistics and the geometrical features of iso-density sets such as the volume fraction, the surface density, the curvature, and fractal characteristics are provided. An exact scale-by-scale budget equation is further derived revealing the role of the turbulent cascade and dilation on the structural evolution of the density field. Although applicable to many flow situations, this tool is here first invoked for characterising supersonic isothermal turbulence, using data from the currently best-resolved numerical simulation. Results: We show that iso-density sets are surface fractals rather than mass fractals, with dimensions that markedly differ between dilute, neutral, and dense regions. The surface–size relation is established for different iso-density values. We further find that the turbulent cascade of iso-density sets is directed from large towards smaller scales, in agreement with the classical picture that turbulence acts to concentrate more surface into smaller volumes. Intriguingly, there is no range of scales that complies with a constant transfer rate in the cascade, challenging our fundamental understanding of interstellar turbulence. Finally, we recast the virial theorem in a new formulation drawing an explicit relation between the aforementioned geometrical measures and the dynamics of iso-density sets.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Efficient cosmological analysis of the SDSS/BOSS data from the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure
The precision of the cosmological data allows us to accurately approximate the predictions for cosmological observables by Taylor expanding up to a low order the dependence on the cosmological parameters around a reference cosmology. By applying this observation to the redshift-space one-loop galaxy power spectrum of the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure, we analyze the BOSS DR12 data by scanning over all the parameters of ΛCDM cosmology with massive neutrinos. Furthermore, we impose several sets of priors, the widest of which is just a Big Bang Nucleosynthesis prior on the current fractional energy density of baryons, Ω b h 2 , and a bound on the sum of neutrino masses to be less than 0.9 eV. In this case we measure the primordial amplitude of the power spectrum, A s , the abundance of matter, Ω m , the Hubble parameter, H 0 , and the tilt of the primordial power spectrum, n s , to about 19%, 5.7%, 2.2% and 7.3% respectively, obtaining ln (10 10 A s )=2.91± 0.19, Ω m =0.314± 0.018, H 0 =68.7± 1.5 km/(s Mpc) and n s =0.979± 0.071 at 68% confidence level.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
CLASSY III. The Properties of Starburst-driven Warm Ionized Outflows
We report the results of analyses of galactic outflows in a sample of 45 low-redshift starburst galaxies in the COS Legacy Archive Spectroscopic SurveY (CLASSY), augmented by five additional similar starbursts with Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) data. The outflows are traced by blueshifted absorption lines of metals spanning a wide range of ionization potential. The high quality and broad spectral coverage of CLASSY data enable us to disentangle the absorption due to the static interstellar medium (ISM) from that due to outflows. We further use different line multiplets and doublets to determine the covering fraction, column density, and ionization state as a function of velocity for each outflow. We measure the outflow's mean velocity and velocity width, and find that both correlate in a highly significant way with the star formation rate, galaxy mass, and circular velocity over ranges of four orders of magnitude for the first two properties. We also estimate outflow rates of metals, mass, momentum, and kinetic energy. We find that, at most, only about 20% of silicon created and ejected by supernovae in the starburst is carried out in the warm phase we observe. The outflows' mass-loading factor increases steeply and inversely with both circular and outflow velocity (log–log slope ~–1.6), and reaches ~10 for dwarf galaxies. We find that the outflows typically carry about 10%–100% of the momentum injected by massive stars and about 1%–20% of the kinetic energy. We show that these results place interesting constraints on, and new insights into, models and simulations of galactic winds.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Variations in the localization of acetyl- coenzyme A synthetase in aerobic yeast cells
Acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase in aerobic yeast cells localization in microsomal fraction by density gradients
Jahnke, L.↗
Stably trapped proton limits for Jupiter
A general introduction to pitch-angle diffusion for Earth and Jupiter magnetospheres is given. The instabilities which might limit the trapped fluxes in the earth magnetosphere are identified as the interchange or ballooning mode, electrostatic loss cone modes, and electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave. The instability theory of the ion cyclotron wave is discussed. This wave can be unstable only if protons can be in cyclotron resonance with the wave. The instability growth rate is proportional to the cyclotron frequency, the fractional number density of fast particles, and the anisotropy of the fast particle distribution. The critical proton energy is the lowest energy for which the stably trapped limit applies, and is calculated to be 150 MeV at L = 2 and for 10 ion pairs/cu cm. Particles above the critical threshold energy are considered and their stability limit is approximately 3 x 10 to the 10th power/sq cm/sec divided by L to the 4th power.
Kennel, C.↗
Specialized physiological studies in support of manned space flight
Subjects were tested for tolerance to lower body negative pressure (LBNP) before and after acute dehydration by working intermittenly for two hours without fluid replacement. On the second day there-after the LBNP tests were repeated before and after acute dehydration. The LBNP test consisted of 5 min long consective stages at -20, -30, -40, -50 and -60 Torr. Tests were terminated when syncope was imminent or the full sequence was completed. Tolerance was expressed in terms of cumulative stress in Torr x min. Measurements of body mass, density, fat fraction and total body water (TBW) were made before and after acclimation. Blood volume and its constituents were determined before and after each of the four LBNP tests. During LBNP, heart rate, blood pressure, and changes in calf and forearm volume were recorded every minute. Results showed: acute dehydration caused a significant loss in average LBNP tolerance on all subjects. Acclimation to heat did not significantly affect LBNP tolerance in hydrated subjects but significantly improved it on dehydrated subjects.
Luft, U. C.↗
The H I Lyman continuum in solar prominences and its interpretation in the presence of inhomogeneities
Observations of the H I Lyman continuum are presented for nine hedgerow prominences observed at the limb with the Harvard EUV spectrometer on Skylab. Methods of analysis for both the continuum emission and absorption are developed for two contrasting models for the prominence fine structure, namely multiple resolved slabs, and multiple unresolved cylindrical threads. The absorption data set a lower limit on the total optical thickness at 912 A and on the number of structures in the line of sight. The emission data yield a mean electron temperature of 7524 + or - 739 K and a mean brightness temperature of 6316 + or - 75 K. Taken together the emission and absorption data set firm constraints on the ionization, density, and fractional volume.
Orrall, F. Q.↗
A model for mercury orificed hollow cathodes - Theory and experiment
A phenomenological model is developed which provides a qualitative description of the basic physical processes taking place within a mercury orifice hollow cathode. This model can be used to predict, to first order, the important cathode operating parameters such as emission length and insert temperature. By assuming an idealized ion production region within which most of the plasma processes are concentrated, the model can be expressed analytically as a simple set of equations which relate cathode dimensions and specifiable operating conditions, such as mass flow rate and discharge current, to such important parameters as insert temperature and plasma properties. A comparison of theoretical and experimental results shows that, if the excited state energy flux is neglected, the model provides relatively accurate predictions of emission length, emission surface temperature, plasma density, and fraction of discharge current due to volume ionization
Siegfried, D. E.↗
Kinetics of gas-to-liquid and liquid-to-solid transfer of particles in metal-matrix composites
Analytical models for transfer of particles from gas to liquid and from liquid to solid are introduced. The model for calculation of the pushing/engulfment transition in directionally solidified particulate metal matrix composites, considers process thermodynamics, process kinetics, thermophysical properties and buoyant forces. Based on processing variables (solidification velocity and direction) and on material variables (interface energies, particle size, particle and liquid density, volume fraction of particles and particle/liquid thermal conductivity ratio) four types of behavior were predicted. Also, two numerical models for liquid-to-solid transfer are discussed, as well as the limitations of presently available models.
Stefanescu, D. M.↗
Laser absorption flow diagnostics for use in hypersonic ground-based and flight experiments
Consideration is given to laboratory ground-based scale systems for measuring OH and NO and diode laser systems for measuring O2 and H2O. Several diagnostic instruments which are currently being used in a scramjet combustor test rig of the Ames 16-inch shock tunnel are described. Data on mole fraction, temperature, density, pressure, and velocity is obtained using specific data reduction techniques. These measurements provide critical data for evaluation of the propulsion system performance which include mass capture for quantification of fuel equivalence ratio (O2), flow contamination and emission levels (NO), combustion progress (OH), and injector mixing and combustion efficiency (H2O).
Cavolowsky, John A.↗