Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “RIMS”

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.

At least 109 records · Page 6

Mercurian crater rim heights and some interplanetary comparisons

Rim height (Re) data have been gathered through shadow measurements for 30 fresh mercurian craters with diameters (D) between 2.6 and 39 km. Small mercurian craters (i.e., those less than about 16 km in diameter) have higher rims than do lunar craters of the same diameter; on the basis of Re/D measurements alone, however, mercurian craters larger than about 16 km appear to be indistinguishable from their lunar counterparts (those greater than about 21 km in diameter). Apparent crater depths (Ra, the crater depth measured from the initial target surface) derived from empirical data allude to a decrease in Ra/D with calculated modal impact velocity. This is consistent with the hypothesis that higher impact velocities place the effective depth of burst of the event closer to the surface, thus causing a shallower crater.

Cintala, M. J.↗

Possible rim crest deposits in cores 12027 and 15008 - Some interpretations and problems for future research

Light colored coarse grained soils in the upper parts of cores 12027 and 15008 have a chaotic fabric and abundant bedrock-derived rock fragments. They overlie dark colored, fine grained soils with horizontal fabric and abundant regolith-derived rock fragments. The light colored soils are interpreted to be rim crest deposits associated with the craters seen in the lunar surface sampling photographs. The coarse size, poor sorting and chaotic fabric are believed to have originated by the violent mixing processes which are expected with ejecta deposition. The increase in bedrock-derived particles within the light colored soil can be explained by ejecta from craters that penetrated through or deep into the regolith. The dark soils are believed to predate the craters. Distribution of rock fragments in the material interpreted as rim crest ejecta does not fit a simple model of overturned stratigraphy.

Nagle, J. S.↗

RIM as an implementation tool for a distributed heterogeneous database

The another distributed database system (ADDS) prototype supports interactive, d hoc retrieval from several of the Amoco/Standard DHDBMS. The ADDS conceptual design, the usage of RIM in several components of ADDS, and some enhancements ot RIM that were used by the developers of the ADDS prototype are outlined. Topics covered include: (1) ADDS Overview; (2) composite database dictionary/directory; (3) user interface and user profiles; (4) subrequest execution; (5) merger/formatter; and (6) a transportable implamentation.

Breitbart, Y. J.↗

RIM as the data base management system for a material properties data base

Relational Information Management (RIM) was selected as the data base management system for a prototype engineering materials data base. The data base provides a central repository for engineering material properties data, which facilitates their control. Numerous RIM capabilities are exploited to satisfy prototype data base requirements. Numerical, text, tabular, and graphical data and references are being stored for five material types. Data retrieval will be accomplished both interactively and through a FORTRAN interface. The experience gained in creating and exercising the prototype will be used in specifying requirements for a production system.

Karr, P. H.↗

Compositional evidence regarding the origins of rims on Semarkona chondrules

This paper presents results on neutron activation analyses of the interiors and the abraded surfaces of seven chondrules from Semarkona chondrite. The results showed that six of seven chondrule rims have enhanced contents of siderophiles and chalcophiles relative to chondrule interiors, indicating that, during chondrule formation, metal/sulfide melts migrated to the exterior of the chondrule; later reheating caused this material to spread out into fine-grained rim material. For nonvolatile elements, the lithophile and siderophile element abundance patterns in the surfaces are generally similar to those in the corresponding interiors, indicating that the surface and the interior metal might have originated from a single precursor. The volatile to moderately-volatile elements K, As, and Zn tend to be enriched in the surface, compared with other elements of similar mineral affinity.

Grossman, Jeffrey N.↗

Matrix and fine-grained rims in the unequilibrated CO3 chondrite, ALHA77307 - Origins and evidence for diverse, primitive nebular dust components

SEM, TEM, and electron microprobe analysis were used to investigate in detail the mineralogical and chemical characteristics of dark matrix and fine-grained rims in the unequilibrated CO3 chondrite ALHA77307. Data obtained revealed that there was a remarkable diversity of distinct mineralogical components, which can be identified using their chemical and textural characteristics. The matrix and rim components in ALHA77307 formed by disequilibrium condensation process as fine-grained amorphous dust that is represented by the abundant amorphous component in the matrix. Subsequent thermal processing of this condensate material, in a variety of environments in the nebula, caused partial or complete recrystallization of the fine-grained dust.

Brearley, Adrian J.↗

A new technique for deconvolution of data from instruments that make integral measurements, e.g. RIMS on DE-1

A general method for deconvolving an unknown function from integral measurements is described and applied to data from the instrument Retarding Ion Mass Spectrometer (RIMS) aboard the spacecraft Dynamics Explorer 1 (DE-1). The principal features of the method are: (1) it uses objective criteria based upon fundamental statistical principles, i.e. Bayesian statistics; (2) it provides for insertion of prior knowledge in a non-prejudicial, explicit manner through the choice of breakpoints that determine the bicubic spline expansion functions; (3) it prevents random fluctuations from controlling the fit to the data through the use of singular value decomposition and the elimination of small singular values; and (4) it guards agianst the introduction of spurious features into the result by including a penalty function and using the principle of generalized cross validation. Illustrative examples from RIMS data for H(+) and O(+) show that the method provides enhanced accuracy and detail in deconvolving the ion phase space density.

Perez, J. D.↗

Lybia Montes: A Safe, Ancient Cratered Terrain, Mars Surveyor Landing Site at the Isidis Basin Rim

The Isidis basin rim may be key to understanding Mars' past with future lander missions: this area enables the mission objective to explore Mars' climatic and geologic history, including the search for liquid water and evidence of prior or extant life in ancient terrains. While two safe candidate landIng sites for Mars Pathfinder were identified in Isidis Planitia, and one is being pursued for the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander, the region around Isidis Planitia. in contrast to Tharsis for example, has only been lightly studied. The advent of new high resolution data sets provides an opportunity to re-assess the geologic context of this Impact basin and its rim within the Martian geologic sequence as a candidate site for studying Mars' ancient cratered terrain and ancient hydrosphere. This reexamination is warranted by the various hypotheses that Isidis was once filled with ice or water.

Haldemann, A. F. C.↗

Lybia Montes: A Safe, Ancient Cratered Terrain, Mars Surveyor Landing Site at the Isidis Basin Rim

The Isidis basin rim may be key to understanding Mars' past with future lander missions: this area enables the mission objective to explore Mars' climatic and geologic history, including the search for liquid water and evidence of prior or extant life in ancient terrains. While two safe candidate landing sites for Mars Pathfinder were identified in Isidis Planitia, and one is being pursued for the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander [Crumpler: 3.4 N, 277.8 W], the region around Isidis Planitia, in contrast to Tharsis for example, has only been lightly studied. The advent of new high resolution data sets provides an opportunity to reassess the geologic context of this impact basin and its rim within the Martian geologic sequence as a candidate site for studying Mars' ancient cratered terrain and ancient hydrosphere. This reexamination is warranted by the various hypotheses that Isidis was once filled with ice or water.

Haldemann, A. F. C.↗

Chondrule Rimming by Sweepup of Dust in the Protoplanetary Nebula: Constraints on Primary Accretion

Chondrite constituents display signs of aerodynamic sorting. In prior work we have shown that plausible conditions of nebula turbulence aerodynamically select chondrule-sized particles for strong concentration into zones 5-6 orders of magnitude denser than average. We refer to this process as Turbulent Concentration (TC). The TC hypothesis also predicts a particle size distribution within densely concentrated zones which is in very good agreement with that of chondrules; disaggregated from CV chondrites by Paque and Cuzzi and, from an LL UOC, by Hughes. Here we present results from the TC hypothesis relating to other aspects of the properties of chondrules and chondrites specifically, the thickness of fine-grained rims, which am often referred to as 'accretion rims'. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Cuzzi, J. N.↗

Investigation of Rim Cracking in Turbine Wheels with Welded Blades

Rim cracking in turbine wheels with welded blades was evaluated. The problem is explained on the basis of the occurrence of plastic flow in the rim during transient starting conditions when thermal compressive stresses resulting from high-temperature gradients exceed the proportional elastic limit of the material.

Millenson, M. B.↗

Nanophase, Low-Ni Metal Grains in Fine-grained Rims in the Murchison CM2 Chondrite: Insights into the Survival of Metal Grains During Aqueous Alteration

Aqueous alteration has played a significant role in the geological evolution of almost all the chondrite groups and attests to the importance of water during the earliest history of the solar system. Among the chondrites that show evidence of aqueous alteration the CM chondrites, in particular, have received considerable attention, because of their primitive composition and the fact that they preserve a record of incomplete hydration. Petrologic studies of this group of meteorites have helped provide important insights into aqueous alteration processes and the nature of the alteration products. However, due to the complex history of these chondrites, important details of the alteration remain enigmatic. Among the major problems to be resolved are the location and timing of aqueous alteration as well as the relationship between alteration and brecciation. Although many authors favor aqueous alteration within a parent body environment, there is also evidence that some of the components of CM chondrites may have experienced aqueous alteration prior to accretion. One of the key lines of evidence for alteration in a pre-accretionary environment is the presence of unaltered metal grains associated with hydrated phases. Low-Ni metal (kamacite) is typically one of the first phases in CM chondrites that alters in the presence of water. However, in some CM chondrites, such as Yamato 791198, micron-sized metal grains are present within the hydrated fine-grained rim material around chondrules. In addition, nanometer-sized grains that have been interpreted as being unaltered metal particles have been reported in the relatively heavily altered CM chondrite, ALH 81002. In most cases, these occurrences have been interpreted as being the result of mixing of anhydrous and hydrous materials prior to accretion. According to this hypothesis, the metal grains remain unaltered because little or no post-accretionary alteration took place. Whilst such a scenario is plausible, no alternative explanations such as the presence of submicron protective layers or a minor element chemistry that might inhibit oxidation have been investigated in detail. During a study of the distribution of carbonaceous material in fine-grained rims on chondrules in Murchison, previously unidentified, nanometer-sized metal grains were observed. These grains were characterized in detail using high resolution TEM and energy filtered TEM (EFTEM) and provide important insights into how metal grains in CM chondrites may survive aqueous alteration.

Brearley, Adrian J.↗

Mineralogy and Textural Characteristics of Fine-grained Rims in the Yamato 791198 CM2 Carbonaceous Chondrite: Constraints on the Location of Aqueous Alteration

Carbonaceous chondrites provide important clues into the nature of physical and chemical processes in the early solar system. A question of key importance concerns the role of water in solar nebular and asteroidal processes. The effects of water on primary mineral assemblages have been widely recognized in chondritic meteorites, especially the CI and CM carbonaceous chondrites. These meteorites have undergone extensive aqueous alteration that occurred prior to their arrival on Earth. In the case of the CM chondrites, this alteration has resulted in the partial to complete replacement of the primary nebular phases with secondary alteration phases. Considerable controversy exists as to the exact location where the alteration of the CM chondrites occurred. Several textural lines of evidence have been cited in support of aqueous alteration prior to the accretion of the final parent asteroid. An important line of evidence to support this hypothesis is the dis-equilibrium nature of fine-grained rims and matrix materials. [2] also noted the juxtaposition of micron-sized Fe-Ni metal grains and apparently unaltered chondrule glass against hydrated rim silicates. Conversely, there is a large body of evidence in favor of parent body alteration such as the occurrence of undisturbed Fe-rich aureoles and the systematic redistribution of elemental components over millimeters, e.g., Mg(+2) into the matrix and Fe(+2) into chondrules etc.

Chizmadia, Lysa J.↗

Fine-Grained Rims in the Allan Hills 81002 and Lewis Cliff 90500 CM2 Meteorites: Their Origin and Modification

Antarctic CM meteorites Allan Hills (ALH) 8 1002 and Lewis Cliff (LEW) 90500 contain abundant fine-grained rims (FGRs) that surround a variety of coarse-grained objects. FGRs from both meteorites have similar compositions and petrographic features, independent of their enclosed objects. The FGRs are chemically homogeneous at the 10 m scale for major and minor elements and at the 25 m scale for trace elements. They display accretionary features and contain large amounts of volatiles, presumably water. They are depleted in Ca, Mn, and S but enriched in P. All FGRs show a slightly fractionated rare earth element (REE) pattern, with enrichments of Gd and Yb and depletion of Er. Gd is twice as abundant as Er. Our results indicate that those FGRs are not genetically related to their enclosed cores. They were sampled from a reservoir of homogeneously mixed dust, prior to accretion to their parent body. The rim materials subsequently experienced aqueous alteration under identical conditions. Based on their mineral, textural, and especially chemical similarities, we conclude that ALH 8 1002 and LEW 90500 likely have a similar or identical source.

Hua, X.↗

Genetic Relationships Between Chondrules, Rims and Matrix

The most primitive chondrites are composed of chondrules and chondrule fragments, various types of inclusions, discrete mineral grains, metal, sulfides, and fine-grained materials that occur as interchondrule matrix and as chondrule/inclusion rims. Understanding how these components are related is essential for understanding how chondrites and their constituents formed and were processed in the solar nebula. For example, were the first generations of chondrules formed by melting of matrix or matrix precursors? Did chondrule formation result in appreciable transfer of chondrule material into the matrix? Here, we consider three types of data: 1) compositional data for bulk chondrites and matrix, 2) mineralogical and textural information, and 3) the abundances and characteristics of presolar materials that reside in the matrix and rims. We use these data to evaluate the roles of evaporation and condensation, chondrule formation, mixing of different nebular components, and secondary processing both in the nebula and on the parent bodies. Our goal is to identify the things that are reasonably well established and to point out the areas that need additional work.

Huss, G. R.↗

Mesoscale Raised Rim Depressions (MRRDs) on Earth: A Review of the Characteristics, Processes, and Spatial Distributions of Analogs for Mars

Fields of mesoscale raised rim depressions (MRRDs) of various origins are found on Earth and Mars. Examples include rootless cones, mud volcanoes, collapsed pingos, rimmed kettle holes, and basaltic ring structures. Correct identification of MRRDs on Mars is valuable because different MRRD types have different geologic and/or climatic implications and are often associated with volcanism and/or water, which may provide locales for biotic or prebiotic activity. In order to facilitate correct identification of fields of MRRDs on Mars and their implications, this work provides a review of common terrestrial MRRD types that occur in fields. In this review, MRRDs by formation mechanism, including hydrovolcanic (phreatomagmatic cones, basaltic ring structures), sedimentological (mud volcanoes), and ice-related (pingos, volatile ice-block forms) mechanisms. For each broad mechanism, we present a comparative synopsis of (i) morphology and observations, (ii) physical formation processes, and (iii) published hypothesized locations on Mars. Because the morphology for MRRDs may be ambiguous, an additional tool is provided for distinguishing fields of MRRDs by origin on Mars, namely, spatial distribution analyses for MRRDs within fields on Earth. We find that MRRDs have both distinguishing and similar characteristics, and observation that applies both to their mesoscale morphology and to their spatial distribution statistics. Thus, this review provides tools for distinguishing between various MRRDs, while highlighting the utility of the multiple working hypotheses approach.

Burr, Devon M.↗

Radial Internal Material Handling System (RIMS) for Circular Habitat Volumes

A Radial Internal Material Handling System (RIMS) has been developed to service a circular floor area in variable gravity. On planetary surfaces, pressurized human habitable volumes will require a means to carry heavy equipment between various locations within the volume of the habitat, regardless of the partial gravity (Earth, moon, Mars, etc). On the NASA Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU), a vertical cylindrical volume, it was determined that a variety of heavy items would need to be carried back and forth from deployed locations to the General Maintenance Work Station (GMWS) when in need of repair, and other equipment may need to be carried inside for repairs, such as rover parts and other external equipment. The vertical cylindrical volume of the HDU lent itself to a circular overhead track and hoist system that allows lifting of heavy objects from anywhere in the habitat to any other point in the habitat interior. In addition, the system is able to hand off lifted items to other material handling systems through the side hatches, such as through an airlock. This paper describes the RIMS system which is scalable for application in a variety of circular habitat volumes.

deep space habitats↗