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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1971

Electrochemical studies in aluminum chloride melts

A melt purification system was developed which produces a final melt far superior electrochemically than those previously reported. A residual current of less than 2 microamps/sq mn at a sweep rate of 0.5 V/sec was used as the criteria for a pure melt. The use of a second purified bulk melt and a heated pipette permitted the rapid exchange of working electrode compartments while retaining the same reference electrode system. The major portion of the work was carried out in the 1:1 AlCl3:NaCl melt at 175 and 200 C. Several measurements were made in the 2:1 melt and a few on the silver systems in intermediate compositions. Programs for PDP-8I and PDP-12 digital computers and the required electronic circuitry systems were developed to carry out various electrochemical measurements in the melt. A pair of 50 yard transmission lines were used to connect the computer to the experiment. Ensemble averaging and digital, least squares smoothing are used within the programs to improve the signal-to-noise ratio by at least an order of magnitude. Some of the computerized electrochemcial techniques used to examine the different systems were pulse polarography, double pulse polarography, staircase voltammetry, kinetic double potential step chronoamperometry and double potential step chronocoulometry.

Osteryoung, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Pyroxene-melt equilibria

A thermodynamic analysis of pyroxene-melt equilibria is performed through use of a literature survey of analyses of high-Ca pyroxene and coexisting silicate melt pairs and analyses of low-Ca pyroxene silicate melt pairs. Reference is made to a modified version of a model developed by Bottinga and Weill (1972) which more successfully accounts for variations in melt composition than does a model which considers the melt to be composed of simple oxides which mix ideally. By using a variety of pyroxene melt relations, several pyroxene-melt and low-Ca pyroxene-high-Ca pyroxene geothermometers are developed which have internally consistant precisions of approximately + or - 20 C. Finally, it is noted that these equations may have application in modeling the evolution of mineral compositions during differentiation of basaltic magmas.

Nielsen, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Hydrothermal alteration of impact melt sheets with implications for Mars

A model of the interaction of water with an impact melt sheet is constructed to explain the presence of hydrothermal alteration, fluid flow channels, and the redistribution of volatile elements in terrestrial melt sheets. A calculation of the amount of water vaporized beneath a melt sheet with a large fraction of melt results in a maximum total steam/melt sheet ratio of 23% by weight. The model also applies to Martian impact melt sheets, which have a total volume greater than a global layer 60 m thick. Hydrothermal circulation of steam in Martian melt sheets may have produced iron-rich alteration clays, ferric hydroxides, and near-surface accumulations of salts. The ability of vapor-dominated hydrothermal systems to concentrate sulfate relative to chloride is consistent with the high sulfate to chloride ratio found in the Martian soil by the Viking landers. A major fraction of the Martian soil may consist of the erosion products of hydrothermally altered impact melt sheets.

Newsom, H. E.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Melt segregation in plagioclase-poikilitic mesosiderites

The Budalan and Mincy mesosiderites contain a poikilitic-plagioclase matrix with orthopyroxene chadacrysts and interstitial-subophitic inverted pigeonite. Orthopyroxene chadacrysts in both mesosiderites are uniformly more aluminous than orthopyroxene clasts, suggesting that they were not derived from clasts by metamorphism. Interstitial inverted pigeonite is more ferroan than adjacent orthopyroxene in the matrix, consistent with the crystallization of a melt with the sequence orthopyroxene followed by pigeonite. The magnesium chadcrysts in Mincy could not have formed from a melt in equilibrium with the clasts but could have crystallized from impact melt. The most Mg chadacrysts are enclosed in large reversely zoned plagioclase crystals as a result of the undercooling in melt-lacking plagioclase clasts and associated nuclei. Mincy contains both plagioclase-poor and plagioclase-rich regions, explained by a separation of silicate melt into pools. Reckling Peak A80258, a plagioclase-poikilitic mesosiderite with a very high chadacryst/plagioclase ratio, resembles Mincy material from which melt has been extracted. It is suggested that the origin of the plagioclase-poikilitic mesosiderites is impact melting of a metal-silicate mixture.

Hewins, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Garnet melt viscosity, surface tension and drainage

Good surface morphology and layer uniformity of LPE-grown Bi YIG films are favored by fast melt removal after growth. Three flux modifying oxides: MoO3, V2O3, and WO3 are compared with respect to their effect on viscosity, surface tension and melt drainage. All three oxides increased the viscosities of Bi-garnet melts, but the viscosities and drainage times of V2O3 and MoO3 modified melts were smaller than those of WO3 modified melts. The liquid-gas surface tension was found to be temperature independent. The drainage process was strongly temperature dependent, 40 to 60 kcal/mol, whereas the viscosities of melts had activation energies of 11 to 16 kcal/mol. Contact angles of 16 + or - 2 deg were measured on frozen melt drops.

Luther, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Small particle melting of pure metals

Submicron-sized crystallites of lead, tin, indium and bismuth were melted in situ in the modified specimen chamber of a Siemens transmission e lectron microscope. Melting point and size determinations were made directly from the dark field images of the crystallites. Particles exhibited melting points that decreased with decreasing particle size. A near-linear relationship was observed for the melting point as a function of the reciprocal of the radius. Thermodynamnic expressions based on the significant contributions of the surface energy to the free energy of the system also suggest a linear relation. Other factors, such as shape and surface contamination, were also observed to affect the size-dependent melting of particles. Crystallites of extended platelet shape did not exhibit a significant depression in melting point. Elevated residual gas pressures were found to lessen the melting point depression of spherical particles.

Allen, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Snow melt on sea ice surfaces as determined from passive microwave satellite data

SMMR data for the year 1979, 1980 and 1984 have been analyzed to determine the variability in the onset of melt for the Arctic seasonal sea ice zone. The results show melt commencing in either the Kara/Barents Seas or Chukchi Sea and progressing zonally towards the central Asian coast (Laptev Sea). Individual regions had interannual variations in melt onset in the 10-20 day range. To determine whether daily changes occur in the sea ice surface melt, the SMMR 18 and 37 GHz brightness temperature data are analyzed at day/night/twilight periods. Brightness temperatures illustrate diurnal variations in most regions during melt. In the East Siberian Sea, however, daily variations are observed in 1979, throughout the analysis period, well before any melt would usually have commenced. Understanding microwave responses to changing surface conditions during melt will perhaps give additional information about energy budgets during the winter to summer transition of sea ice.

Anderson, Mark R.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Sources of clasts in terrestrial impact melts - Clues to the origin of LKFM

Low-K Fra Mauro (LKFM) 'basalt', which is found exclusively as an impact melt rock, cannot be modeled geochemically from its clast population or from any combination of known pristine lunar rock types. To clarify clast/melt relationships, a study was made of impact melt rocks from Mistastin Lake crater, Labrador, where there are only three target rocks: anorthosite, quartz monzonite, and granodiorite. Feldspar compositions in these rocks define distinct fields on the An-Ab-Or ternary diagram, making it possible to identify the source of each feldspar clast. Clasts in the Mistastin impact melts do not reflect the abundance of target rocks melted during the impact. The abundance of anorthosite in the clast population varies from 34 to 100 percent compared to a relatively constant value of 65 percent calculated to be in the melt matrix. Therefore the clasts appear to be derived predominantly from material relatively far removed from the zone of impact melting. Melt-matrix composition is dictated strictly by the composition of the target materials within a small radius around and below the point of impact. This suggests that the LKFM composition was derived from a lower crustal source.

Mccormick, K. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Thermocapillary convection in zone-melting crystal growth - An open-boat physical simulation

Thermocapillary convection in a molten zone of NaNO3 contained in a boat with a free horizontal surface, that is heated from above by a centered wire heater, was studied to simulate flow in zone-melting crystal growth. Using a laser-light-cut technique and fine SiO powder as a tracer, convection in the melt zone was visualized in two different cases. In the first case, the entire melt surface was free, while in the second the melt surface was free only in the immediate vicinity of one vertical wall and was covered elsewhere, this wall being to simulate the melt/crystal interface during crystal growth. It was observed that thermocapillary convection near this wall prevailed in the first case, but was reduced significantly in the second. Since thermocapillary rather than natural convection dominated in the melt, the effect of the partial covering of the melt surface on thermocapillary convection in the melt observed in this study is expected to be similar under microgravity.

Kim, Y. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Sources of mineral fragments in impact melts 15445 and 15455 - Toward the origin of low-K Fra Mauro basalt

The compositions of major and minor elements in mineral clasts in low-K Fra Mauro (LKFM) are studied in order to gain a deeper understanding of the genesis of LKFM and its primogenitors. The fragments are picked up as the impact melt moves outward from the center of the target. It is suggested that most of the mineral debris found in the melts is derived from troctolites of the Mg-suite. The chemical end member that dominates the LKFM melt matrics is not present as either mineral or lithic clastic debris in these melt rocks. It is proposed that the missing chemical component of LKFM could have been a magma, existing within the crust 3.9 Ga ago, and was either ejected intact to form LKFM melt rocks or was mixed with other shock-melted crusted and mantle rocks to produce the LKFM compositions. Assimilation of lithic and mineral clasts into the melt after breccian assembly is not a significant process and cannot be adduced to explain the LKFM melt/clast dichotomy.

Spudis, P. D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Searching for Crisium Basin ejecta - Chemistry and ages of Luna 20 impact melts

Chemical (INAA) and chronological (Ar-40 - Ar-39) analyses of six Luna 20 impact melts are performed, and these are compared to the results of Podosek et al. (1973), commonly taken to be representative of the Crisium Basin impact. At least two chemical groups of impact melts are identified. One is interpreted as melts derived from the local crust by craters over the last 3.9 Ga. Another group, which includes one of the samples dated by Podosek et al. (1973), is chemically and chronologically (3.85 + or - 0.02 Ga) indistinguishable from Apollo 17 samples interpreted as Serenitatis impact melts, and hence could be melt formed by that event and deposited at the Luna 20 site. One sample (22023,3,F) has a well-defined age of 3.895 + or - 0.017 Ga, and is chemically similar to, but distinct from, impact melts from other basins. This sample, and its chemistry and age are tentatively identified with the Crisium Basin impact. Whether the age of the Crisium impact is given by 22023,3,F, the samples analyzed by Podosek et al. (1973), or neither, it is clear that Crisium impact melt is not abundant in the Luna 20 collection.

Swindle, T. D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Chronology and genesis of high-Ti mare volcanism: Melting of cogenetic depleted and enriched reservoirs

An understanding of the chronology and petrogenesis of volcanic rocks is paramount to unravelling the complexities of the composition and structure of the mantle of the Moon. High-Ti mare basalts represent the best-sampled suite of lunar volcanic rocks and likely represent melts of the uppermost mantle of the Moon. Compiled Nd and Sr isotopic data for high-Ti basalts, combined with weighted average ages determiend by various techniques, yield a complex melting history for the high-Ti mantle source. Melting occurred during three distinct episodes (3.84 Ga, 3.75-3.69 Ga, and 3.56 Ga) separated by hiatuses of 100 Ma or more. The first episode included the melting of a relatively trapped liquid (KREEPy)-rich source beneath the A-11 landing site. Later melting of this source produced magmas which were relatively trapped liquid-free at the A-11 site. Synchronous melting at the A-17 landing site produced magmas with variable proportions of this evolved trapped liquid component. The final phase of volcanism occurred at the A-11 site and involved the assimilation of an evolved 'neuKREEP' component. Continued melting of a similar source, which was nearly exhausted of its ilmenite component, beneath the A-12 landing site may have lead to production of magmas parental to the A-12 ilmenite basalts.

Snyder, Gregory A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Synthetic and natural Nakhla pyroxenes: Parent melt composition and REE partition coefficients

Nakhla is one of the SNC meteorites, generally believed to be of martian origin. It is composed mainly of cumulus augite, in which primary igneous zoning is apparently preserved, and which serves as a recorder of the composition of Nakhla's parent melt and the conditions under which it crystallized. Knowledge of the composition and petrogenesis of this parent melt may help unravel Nakhla's relationship to the other SNC's, and provide clues to martian petrogenesis in general. This abstract reports new results of an ongoing study in which we are (1) comparing the major and minor element compositions of synthetic pyroxenes crystallized from various proposed parent melt compositions with those in Nakhla pyroxene to constrain the composition of the parent melt, and (2) measuring minor and trace element partition coefficients, particularly those of the REE, in order to obtain the most applicable D values with which to invert the natural pyroxene compositions to obtain the trace element composition of the parent melt. Results suggest that recent estimates of Nakhla's parent melt composition are too aluminous, and that mafic or ultramafic melts are more likely candidates.

Mckay, G.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Observation of melt onset on multiyear Arctic sea ice using the ERS 1 synthetic aperture radar

We present nearly coincident observations of backscattering from the Earth Remote-Sensing Satellite (ERS) 1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and of near-surface temperature from six drifting buoys in the Beaufort Sea, showing that the onset of melting in snow on multiyear sea ice is clearly detectable in the SAR data. Melt onset is marked by a clean, steep decrease in the backscattering cross section of multiyear ice at 5.3 GHz and VV polarization. We investigate the scattering physics responsible for the signature change and find that the cross section decrease is due solely to the appearance of liquid water in the snow cover overlying the ice. A thin layer of moist snow is sufficient to cause the observed decrease. We present a prototype algorithm to estimate the date of melt onset using the ERS 1 SAR and apply the algorithm first to the SAR data for which we have corresponding buoy temperatures. The melt onset dates estimated by the SAR algorithm agree with those obtained independently from the temperature data to within 4 days or less, with the exception of one case in which temperatures oscillated about 0 C for several weeks. Lastly, we apply the algorithm to the entire ERS 1 SAR data record acquired by the Alaska SAR Facility for the Beaufort Sea north of 73 deg N during the spring of 1992, to produce a map of the dates of melt onset over an area roughly 1000 km on a side. The progression of melt onset is primarily poleward but shows a weak meridional dependence at latitudes of approximately 76 deg-77 deg N. Melting begins in the southern part of the study region on June 13 and by June 20 has progressed to the northermost part of the region.

Winebrenner, D. P.↗
NASA NTRS1959

Vacuum-Induction, Vacuum-Arc, and Air-Induction Melting of a Complex Heat-Resistant Alloy

The relative hot-workability and creep-rupture properties at 1600 F of a complex 55Ni-20Cr-15Co-4Mo-3Ti-3Al alloy were evaluated for vacuum-induction, vacuum-arc, and air-induction melting. A limited study of the role of oxygen and nitrogen and the structural effects in the alloy associated with the melting process was carried out. The results showed that the level of boron and/or zirconium was far more influential on properties than the melting method. Vacuum melting did reduce corner cracking and improve surface during hot-rolling. It also resulted in more uniform properties within heats. The creep-rupture properties were slightly superior in vacuum heats at low boron plus zirconium or in heats with zirconium. There was little advantage at high boron levels and air heats were superior at high levels of boron plus zirconium. Vacuum heats also had fewer oxide and carbonitride inclusions although this was a function of the opportunity for separation of the inclusions from high oxygen plus nitrogen heats. The removal of phosphorous by vacuum melting was not found to be related to properties. Oxygen plus nitrogen appeared to increase ductility in creep-rupture tests suggesting that vacuum melting removes unidentified elements detrimental to ductility. Oxides and carbonitrides in themselves did not initiate microcracks. Carbonitrides in the grain boundaries of air heats did initiate microcracks. The role of microcracking from this source and as a function of oxygen and nitrogen content was not clear. Oxygen and nitrogen did intensify corner cracking during hot-rolling but were not responsible for poor surface which resulted from rolling heats melted in air.

Decker, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Identification of Gravity-Related Effects on Crystal Growth From Melts With an Immiscibility Gap

This work involves an experimental-numerical approach to study the effects of natural and Marangoni convections on solidification of single crystals from a silicate melt with a liquid-liquid immiscibility gap. Industrial use of crystals grown from silicate melts is becoming increasingly important in electronic, optical, and high temperature structural applications. Even the simplest silicate systems like Al203-SiO2 have had, and will continue to have, a significant role in the development of traditional and advanced ceramics. A unique feature of crystals grown from the silicate systems is their outstanding linear electro-optic properties. They also exhibit exceptionally high optical rotativity. As a result, these crystals are attractive materials for dielectric, optical, and microwave applications. Experimental work in our laboratory has indicated that directional solidification of a single crystal mullite appears to be preceded by liquid-liquid phase separation in the melt. Disruption of the immiscible state results in crystallization of a two phase structure. There is also evidence that mixing in the melt caused by density-driven convection can significantly affect the stability of the immiscible liquid layers and result in poly-crystalline growth. On earth, the immiscible state has only been observed for small diameter crystals grown in float zone systems where natural convection is almost negligible. Therefore, it is anticipated that growth of large single crystals from silicate melts would benefit from microgravity conditions because of the reduction of the natural convective mixing. The main objective of this research is to determine the effects of transport processes on the phase separation in the melt during growth of a single crystal while addressing the following issues: (1) When do the immiscible layers form and are they real?; (2) What are the main physical characteristics of the immiscible liquids?; and (3) How mixing by natural or Marangoni convection affects the stability of the phase separated melt.

Kassemi, M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Update on the Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Extent: 1979-1999

Analysis of melt extent on the Greenland ice sheet is updated to span the time period 1979-1999 is examined along with its spatial and temporal variability using passive microwave satellite data. In order to acquire the full record, the issue of continuity between previous passive microwave sensors (SMMR, SSM/I F-8, and SSM/I F-11), and the most recent SSM/I F-13 sensor is addressed. The F-13 Cross-polarized gradient ratio (XPGR) melt-classification threshold is determined to be -0.0154. Results show that for the 21-year record, an increasing melt trend of nearly 1 %/yr is observed, and this trend is driven by conditions on in the western portion of the ice sheet, rather than the east, where melt appears to have decreased slightly. Moreover, the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 is likely to have had some impact the melt, but not as much as previously suspected. The 1992 melt anomaly is 1.7 standard deviations from the mean. Finally, the relationship between coastal temperatures and melt extent suggest an increase in surface runoff contribution to sea level of 0.31 mm/yr for a 1 C temperature rise.

Abdalati, Waleed↗
NASA NTRS2001

Kinetics of Nucleation and Crystal Growth in Glass Forming Melts in Microgravity

This flight definition project has the specific objective of investigating the kinetics of nucleation and crystal growth in high temperature inorganic oxide, glass forming melts in microgravity. It is related to one of our previous NASA projects that was concerned with glass formation for high temperature containerless melts in microgravity. The previous work culminated in two experiments which were conducted aboard the space shuttle in 1983 and 1985 and which consisted of melting (at 1500 C) and cooling levitated 6 to 8 mm diameter spherical samples in a Single Axis Acoustic Levitator (SAAL) furnace. Compared to other types of materials, there have been relatively few experiments, 6 to 8, conducted on inorganic glasses in space. These experiments have been concerned with mass transport (alkali diffusion), containerless melting, critical cooling rate for glass formation, chemical homogeneity, fiber pulling, and crystallization of glass forming melts. One of the most important and consistent findings in all of these experiments has been that the glasses prepared in microgravity are more resistant to crystallization (better glass former) and more chemically homogeneous than equivalent glasses made on Earth (1 g). The chemical composition of the melt appears relatively unimportant since the same general results have been reported for oxide, fluoride and chalcogenide melts. These results for space-processed glasses have important implications, since glasses with a higher resistance to crystallization or higher chemical homogeneity than those attainable on Earth can significantly advance applications in areas such as fiber optics communications, high power laser glasses, and other photonic devices where glasses are the key functional materials.

Day, Delbert E.↗