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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 NTRS1982

Transient effects in beam-plasma interactions in a space simulation chamber stimulated by a fast pulse electron gun

Interest in the interaction of electron beams with plasma generated by ionization caused by the primary electron beam was stimulated by the need to develop special vacuum tubes to operate in the kMHz frequency region. The experiments of Getty and Smullin (1963) indicated that the interaction of an energetic electron beam with its self-produced plasma resulted in the emission of wave energy over a wide range of frequencies associated with cyclotron and longitudinal plasma instabilities. This enhanced the thermal plasma density in the vicinity of the beam, and the term Beam-Plasma Discharge (BPD) was employed to described this phenomenon. The present investigation is concerned with some of the transient phenomena associated with wave emission during the beam switch-on and switch-off periods. Results are presented on the changes in electron energy spectra on a time scale of tens of milliseconds following beam switch-on. The results are discussed in terms of the beam plasma discharge phenomenon.

Raitt, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Removing Defects From Silicon Ribbon

Proposal for removing impurities from silicon ribbon and sheet could be developed into an automated production-line process. New technique which combines ion-cluster bombardment, electron-gun heating, and plasma etching, could be key step in fabricating inexpensive solar-cell arrays. Silicon sheets and ribbons treated this way could have enhanced carrier lifetimes necessary for satisfactory solar-cell performance.

Shimada, K.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Experimental investigation of nozzle/plume aerodynamics at hypersonic speeds

Much of the work involved the Ames 16-Inch Shock Tunnel facility. The facility was reactivated and upgraded, a data acquisition system was configured and upgraded several times, several facility calibrations were performed and test entries with a wedge model with hydrogen injection and a full scramjet combustor model, with hydrogen injection, were performed. Extensive CFD modeling of the flow in the facility was done. This includes modeling of the unsteady flow in the driver and driven tubes and steady flow modeling of the nozzle flow. Other modeling efforts include simulations of non-equilibrium flows and turbulence, plasmas, light gas guns and the use of non-ideal gas equations of state. New experimental techniques to improve the performance of gas guns, shock tubes and tunnels and scramjet combustors were conceived and studied computationally. Ways to improve scramjet engine performance using steady and pulsed detonation waves were also studied computationally. A number of studies were performed on the operation of the ram accelerator, including investigations of in-tube gasdynamic heating and the use of high explosives to raise the velocity capability of the device.

Bogdanoff, David W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Arc-driven rail gun research

The equations describing the performance of an inductively-driven rail gun are analyzed numerically. Friction between the projectile and rails is included through an empirical formulation. The equations are applied to the experiment of Rashleigh and Marshall to obtain an estimate of energy distribution in rail guns as a function of time. The effect of frictional heat dissipation on the bore of the gun is calculated. The mechanism of plasma and projectile acceleration in a dc rail gun is described from a microscopic point of view through the establishment of the Hall field. The plasma conductivity is shown to be a tensor indicating that there is a small component of current parallel to the direction of acceleration. The plasma characteristics are evaluated as a function of plasma mass through a simple fluid mechanical analysis of the plasma. By equating the energy dissipated in the plasma with the radiation heat loss, the properties of the plasma are determined.

Ray, P. K.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Plasma Accelerator Development for Dynamic Formation of Plasma Liners: A Status Report

An experimental plasma accelerator for magnetic target fusion (MTF) applications under development at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is described. The accelerator is a pulsed plasma thruster and has been tested experimentally and plasma jet velocities of approximately 50 km/sec have been obtained. The plasma jet structure has been photographed with 10 ns exposure times to reveal a stable and repeatable plasma structure. Data for velocity profile information has been obtained using light pipes embedded in the gun walls to record the plasma transit at various barrel locations. Preliminary spatially resolved spectral data and magnetic field probe data are also presented. A high speed triggering system has been developed and tested as a means of reducing the gun "jitter". This jitter is being characterized and future work for second generation "ultra-low jitter" gun development is being identified.

Thio, Y. C. Francis↗
NASA NTRS2001

An Experimental Study of a Low-Jitter Pulsed Electromagnetic Plasma Accelerator

An experimental plasma accelerator for a variety of applications under development at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is described. The accelerator is a pulsed plasma thruster and has been tested experimentally and plasma jet velocities of approximately 50 kilometers per second have been obtained. The plasma jet structure has been photographed with 10 ns exposure times to reveal a stable and repeatable plasma structure. Data for velocity profile information has been obtained using light pipes embedded in the gun walls to record the plasma transit at various barrel locations. Preliminary spatially resolved spectral data and magnetic field probe data are also presented. A high speed triggering system has been developed and tested as a means of reducing the gun "jitter". This jitter has been characterized and future work for second generation "ultra-low jitter" gun development is identified.

Thio, Y. C. Francis↗
NASA NTRS2002

Progress In Plasma Accelerator Development for Dynamic Formation of Plasma Liners

An experimental plasma accelerator for magnetic target fusion (MTF) applications under development at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is described. The accelerator is a coaxial pulsed plasma thruster (Figure 1). It has been tested experimentally and plasma jet velocities of approx.50 km/sec have been obtained. The plasma jet has been photographed with 10-ns exposure times to reveal a stable and repeatable plasma structure (Figure 2). Data for velocity profile information has been obtained using light pipes and magnetic probes embedded in the gun walls to record the plasma and current transit respectively at various barrel locations. Preliminary spatially resolved spectral data and magnetic field probe data are also presented. A high speed triggering system has been developed and tested as a means of reducing the gun "jitter". This jitter is being characterized and future work for second generation "ultra-low jitter" gun development is being identified.

Thio, Y. C. Francis↗
NASA NTRS2008

NASA Marshall Impact Testing Facility Capabilities Applicable to Lunar Dust Work

The Impact Testing Facility at Marshall Space Flight Center has several guns that would be of use in studying impact phenomena with respect to lunar dust. These include both ballistic guns, using compressed gas and powder charges, and hypervelocity guns, either light gas guns or an exploding wire gun. In addition, a plasma drag accelerator expected to reach 20 km/s for small particles is under development. Velocity determination and impact event recording are done using ultra-high-speed cameras. Simulation analysis is also available using the SPHC hydrocode.

Evans, Steven W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Beam-plasma instabilities and the beam-plasma discharge

Using a new waves on magnetized beams and turbulence (WOMBAT) 0-450 eV electron gun, measurements bearing on the generation of beam-plasma discharge (BPD) are made. The new gun has a narrower divergence angle than the old, and the BPD ignition current is found to be proportional to the cross-sectional area of the plasma. The high-frequency instabilities are identified with the two Trivelpiece-Gould modes, (1959). The upper frequency is identified as a Cerenkov resonance with the upper Trivelpiece-Gould mode, and the lower frequency with a cyclotron resonance with the lower mode, in agreement with theoretical expectations. Convective growth rates are found to be small. A mechanism involving the conversion of a convective instability to an absolute one by trapping of the unstable waves in the density perturbations of the low-frequency waves, is suggested for the low-frequency wave control of the onset of the high frequency precursors to the BPD.

Kellogg, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Ion resonances and ELF wave production by an electron beam injected into the ionosphere - ECHO 6

Two effects observed with electron antennas ejected from a sounding rocket launched into the ionosphere in March 1983 carrying electron beam guns are discussed. The sensor packages were ejected and travelled parallel to the vehicle trajectory. Electric potentials were measured between the single probes and a plasma diagnostic package while the gun injected electrons into the ionosphere in perpendicular and parallel 1 kHz directions. Signal pulses over the dc-1250 kHz range were detected. A kHz gun frequency caused a signal that decreased by two orders of magnitude between 45-90 m from the beam field line. However, the signal was detectable at 1 mV/m at 120 m, supporting earlier data that indicated that pulsed electron beams can cause ELF waves in space. Beam injection parallel to the magnetic field produced an 840 Hz resonance that could be quenched by activation of a transverse beam.

Winckler, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The WISP/HF system for Spacelab

The high frequency part of the waves in space plasmas system, WISP/HF, is a flexible shuttle Spacelab instrument for transmitting, receiving, and processing signals in the 0.3 to 30 MHz range. It permits a wide range of plasma wave experiments in the ionosphere including studies of the transmitting antenna, fundamentals of electromagnetic (EM) and electrostatic (ES) waves in magnetoplasmas, instabilities and nonlinearities, and remote sounding of ionospheric structure. Collaborative investigations involving other WISP equipment (e.g., antenna and propagation studies with the WISP/VLF system) or other Spacelab facilities (e.g., beam plasma interactions using charged particle guns) are envisaged. A few specific examples illustrate the relevance of WISP/HF to current scientific interest. The overall goal is to help build a comprehensive understanding of plasmaspheric wave physics through group studies.

James, H. G.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Objectives and design of the Echo 6 electron beam experiment - Large ionospheric perturbations and energetic particle patterns

The data from the March 30, 1983 launching of Echo 6 are presented. Echo 6 contained duplex accelerators and a system of four throw away detectors to detect and analyze conjugate electron echoes. The model used to calculate the proper trajectory of the rocket and the reason for not detecting echoes are discussed. The components of the plasma diagnostic package which was used to study the electron beam interactions with the ionospheric plasma, and the functions of the two controllable electron guns and the two sets of orthogonal electric probes are described. The signal-mode potentials between each probe and the plasma diagnostic payload are investigated. The signals produced by the gun pulses are analyzed and the interpretation of the electric field probe response is examined.

Winckler, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The spatial evolution of energetic electrons and plasma waves during the steady state beam plasma discharge

Experiments, involving the injection of energetic (keV) electron beams into the ionosphere-upper atmosphere system from rocket-borne electron guns, have provided evidence for the occurrence of strong beam-plasma interactions (BPI) both near to and remote from the injection point. However, the flight experiments have not provided clear and unambiguous evidence for the basic physical processes which produce the variety of confusing signatures. A laboratory experimental program was initiated to clarify some of a number of ambiguities regarding the obtained results. The present investigation is concerned with some experimental studies of the evolution of both the beam energy spectrum and the local wave amplitude-frequency spectrum at increasing axial distances from the electron gun for a variety of experimental conditions. The results of the studies show that the high frequency beam-plasma interaction represents the most important process.

Llobet, X.↗