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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 1,333 records · Page 74
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2010

Utilizing TRMM to Analyze Sea Breeze Thunderstorm Patterns During El Nino Southern Oscillations and Their Effects upon Available Fresh Water for South Florida Agricultural Planning and Management

Water is in high demand for farmers regardless of where you go. Unfortunately, farmers in southern Florida have fewer options for water supplies than public users and are often limited to using available supplies from surface and ground water sources which depend in part upon variable weather patterns. There is an interest by the agricultural community about the effect weather has on usable surface water, however, research into viable weather patterns during La Nina and El Nino has yet to be researched. Using rainfall accumulation data from NASA Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) satellite, this project s purpose was to assess the influence of El Nino and La Nina Oscillations on sea breeze thunderstorm patterns, as well as general rainfall patterns during the summer season in South Florida. Through this research we were able to illustrate the spatial and temporal variations in rainfall accumulation for each oscillation in relation to major agricultural areas. The study period for this project is from 1998, when TRMM was first launched, to 2009. Since sea breezes in Florida typically occur in the months of May through October, these months were chosen to be the months of the study. During this time, there were five periods of El Nino and two periods of La Nina, with a neutral period separating each oscillation. In order to eliminate rainfall from systems other than sea breeze thunderstorms, only days that were conducive to the development of a sea breeze front were selected.

Cooley, Clayton↗
DOE OSTI2024

Physical, socio-psychological, and behavioural determinants of household energy consumption in the UK

Determining which attitudes and behaviours predict household energy consumption can help accelerate the low-carbon energy transition. Conventional approaches in this domain are limited, often relying on survey methods that produce data on individuals’ motivations and self-reported activities without pairing these with actual energy consumption records, which are particularly hard to collect for large, nationally representative samples. This challenge precludes the development of empirical evidence on which attitudes and behaviours influence patterns of energy consumption, thus limiting the extent to which these can inform energy interventions or conservation programs. This study demonstrates a novel methodology for estimating energy consumption in the absence of actual energy records by using a large, publicly available data set of energy consumption in the UK. We develop a predictive model using the Smart Energy Research Laboratory (SERL) data portal (with records from nearly 13,000 UK households) and then use this model to predict energy consumption (both electric and gas) for a sample of 1,000 UK householders for which we separately collect over 200 variables relating to climate change attitudes and practices. Our approach uses a set of over 50 independent variables that are shared between the data sets, allowing us to train a model on the SERL data and use it to analyse the relationship between energy consumption and the opinions, motivations, and daily practices of survey respondents. Results show that electricity consumption is influenced by a broader range of factors compared to gas. Household energy use is best explained by physical dwelling characteristics, socio-demographic variables, and certain behavioural and attitudinal measures. Notably, pro-environmental attitudes, frugality, and conscientiousness correlate with lower energy use, while income and consumerism are linked to higher consumption. We discuss how these findings can inform efforts to decarbonise home energy use in the UK.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Quantifying the Dynamics of Protein Self-Organization Using Deep Learning Analysis of Atomic Force Microscopy Data

The dynamics of protein self-assembly on the inorganic surface and the resultant geometric patterns are visualized using high-speed atomic force microscopy. The time dynamics of the classical macroscopic descriptors such as 2D fast Fourier transforms, correlation, and pair distribution functions are explored using the unsupervised linear unmixing, demonstrating the presence of static ordered and dynamic disordered phases and establishing their time dynamics. Here, the deep learning (DL)-based workflow is developed to analyze detailed particle dynamics and explore the evolution of local geometries. Finally, we use a combination of DL feature extraction and mixture modeling to define particle neighborhoods free of physics constraints, allowing for a separation of possible classes of particle behavior and identification of the associated transitions. Overall, this work establishes the workflow for the analysis of the self-organization processes in complex systems from observational data and provides insight into the fundamental mechanisms.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Evidence for a chemical clock in oscillatory formation of UiO-66

Chemical clocks are often used as exciting classroom experiments, where an induction time is followed by rapidly changing colours that expose oscillating concentration patterns. This type of reaction belongs to a class of nonlinear chemical kinetics also linked to chaos, wave propagation and Turing patterns. Despite its vastness in occurrence and applicability, the clock reaction is only well understood for liquid-state processes. Here we report a chemical clock reaction, in which a solidifying entity, metal–organic framework UiO-66, displays oscillations in crystal dimension and number, as shown by X-ray scattering. In rationalizing this result, we introduce a computational approach, the metal–organic molecular orbital methodology, to pinpoint interaction between the tectonic building blocks that construct the metal–organic framework material. In this way, we show that hydrochloric acid plays the role of autocatalyst, bridging separate processes of condensation and crystallization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Photometric Characterization of the Dark Energy Camera

We characterize the variation in photometric response of the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) across its 520 Mpix science array during 4 years of operation. These variations are measured using high signal-to-noise aperture photometry of >10 7 stellar images in thousands of exposures of a few selected fields, with the telescope dithered to move the sources around the array. A calibration procedure based on these results brings the rms variation in aperture magnitudes of bright stars on cloudless nights down to 2–3 mmag, with <1 mmag of correlated photometric errors for stars separated by ≥20''. On cloudless nights, any departures of the exposure zeropoints from a secant airmass law exceeding 1 mmag are plausibly attributable to spatial/temporal variations in aperture corrections. These variations can be inferred and corrected by measuring the fraction of stellar light in an annulus between 6'' and 8'' diameter. Key elements of this calibration include: correction of amplifier nonlinearities; distinguishing pixel-area variations and stray light from quantum-efficiency variations in the flat fields; field-dependent color corrections; and the use of an aperture-correction proxy. The DECam response pattern across the 2° field drifts over months by up to ±9 mmag, in a nearly wavelength-independent low-order pattern. Here, we find no fundamental barriers to pushing global photometric calibrations toward mmag accuracy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Disordering, clustering, and laning transitions in particle systems with dispersion in the Magnus term

We numerically examine a two-dimensional system of repulsively interacting particles with dynamics that are governed by both a damping term and a Magnus term. The magnitude of the Magnus term has one value for half of the particles and a different value for the other half of the particles. In the absence of a driving force, the particles form a triangular lattice, while when a driving force is applied, we find that there is a critical drive above which a Magnus-induced disordering transition can occur even if the difference in the Magnus term between the two particle species is as small as one percent. The transition arises due to the different Hall angles of the two species, which causes their motion to decouple at the critical drive. At higher drives, the disordered state can undergo both species and density phase separation into a density-modulated stripe that is oriented perpendicular to the driving direction. We observe several additional phases that occur as a function of drive and Magnus force disparity, including a variety of density-modulated diagonal-laned phases. In general, we find a much richer variety of states compared to systems of oppositely driven overdamped Yukawa particles. Here, we discuss the implications of our work for skyrmion systems, where we predict that even for small skyrmion dispersities, a drive-induced disordering transition can occur along with clustering phases and pattern-forming states.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1981

Preflight reentry heat transfer analysis of Space Shuttle

Preflight predictions of the structural temperature distributions during entry are compared with data from the initial Shuttle flight. Finite element thermal analysis programming was used to model the heat flow on Shuttle structures and actual gas properties of air were employed in the analyses of aerodynamic heating. Laminar, separated, and turbulent heat fluxes were calculated for varying locations on the craft using velocity-attitude and angle-of-attack projections taken from the nominal STS-1 trajectory. Temperature time histories of the first flight are compared with laminar and turbulent flow assumptions and an unpredicted rapid cooling 1800 sec into entry is credited to inaccurate assumptions of structural heat dissipative properties or flow conditions in that time phase of the flight; additional discrepancies in descriptions of heating of the upper fuselage are attributed to a lack of knowledge of the complex flow patterns existing over that area of the Shuttle body.

Ko, W. L.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Channel Networks on Large Fans: Refining Analogs for the Ridge-forming Unit, Sinus Meridiani

Stream channels are generally thought of as forming within confined valley settings, separated by interfluves. Sinuous ridges on Mars and Earth are often interpreted as stream channels inverted by subsequent erosion of valley sides. In the case of the ridge-forming unit (RFU), this interpretation fails to explain the (i) close spacing of the ridges, which are (ii) organized in networks, and which (iii) cover large areas (approximately 175,000 km (exp 2)). Channel networks on terrestrial fans develop unconfined by valley slopes. Large fans (100s km long) are low-angle, fluvial features, documented worldwide, with characteristics that address these aspects of the RFU. Ridge patterns Channels on large fans provide an analog for the sinuous and elongated morphology of RFU ridges, but more especially for other patterns such as subparallel, branching and crossing networks. Branches are related to splays (delta-like distributaries are rare), whose channels can rejoin the main channel. Crossing patterns can be caused by even slight sinuosity splay-related side channels often intersect. An avulsion node distant from the fan apex, gives rise to channels with slightly different, and hence intersecting, orientations. Channels on neighboring fans intersect along the common fan margin. 2. Network density Channels are the dominant feature on large terrestrial fans (lakes and dune fields are minor). Inverted landscapes on subsequently eroded fans thus display indurated channels as networks of significantly close-spaced ridges. 3. Channel networks covering large areas Areas of individual large terrestrial fans can reach >200,000 km 2 (105-6 km 2 with nested fans), providing an analog for the wide area distribution of the RFU.

Wilkinson, Justin↗
NASA NTRS2014

Coupled CFD-Thermal Analysis of Erosion Patterns Resulting from Nozzle Wedgeouts on the SRTMV-N2

The objective of this analysis was to study the effects of the erosion patterns from the introduction of nozzle flaws machined into the nozzle of the SRTMV-N2 (Solid Rocket Test Motor V Nozzle 2). The SRTMV-N2 motor was a single segment static subscale solid rocket motor used to further develop the RSRMV (Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor V Segment). Two flaws or "wedgeouts" were placed in the nozzle inlet parallel to the ply angles of that section to study erosion effects. One wedgeout was placed in the nose cap region and the other placed in the inlet ring on the opposite side of the bondline, separated 180 degrees circumferentially. A coupled CFD (Computational Fluid Analysis)-thermal iterative analytical approach was utilized at the wedgeouts to analyze the erosion profile during the burn time. The iterative CFD thermal approach was applied at five second intervals throughout the motor burn. The coupled fluid thermal boundary conditions were derived from a steady state CFD solution at the beginning of the interval. The derived heat fluxes were then applied along the surface and a transient thermal solution was developed to characterize the material response over the specified interval. Eroded profiles of each of the nozzle's wedgeouts and the original contour were created at each of the specified intervals. The final iteration of the erosion profile showed that both wedgeouts were "washedout," indicating that the erosion profile of the wedgeout had rejoined the original eroded contour, leaving no trace of the wedgeouts post fire. This analytical assessment agreed with post-fire observations made of the SRTMV-N2 wedgeouts, which noted a smooth eroded contour.

Ables, Catherine↗
NASA NTRS2019

A Comparison of Two Terminal Area Detect and Avoid Well Clear Definitions

Technical requirements are currently under development for a detect and avoid system (DAA) that would support the operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) within the National Airspace System (NAS). Such a system would aid UAS operators in maintaining sufficient separation, or "well clear", from other aircraft in their vicinity. The first set of technical standards for a UAS DAA system (referred to as "Phase 1" requirements) was limited to UAS operations transiting through Class D, E, and G airspace to, or from, Class A (or special-use) airspace. Explicitly out of scope of the Phase 1 requirements was the operation of UAS within terminal airspace in the NAS. Fern, Rorie, Roberts and Monk (2018) explored the application of a Phase 1 DAA system within Class D terminal airspace in a human-in-the-loop simulation. The results of the study demonstrated a poor fit of the Phase 1 DAA well clear (DWC) definition to these terminal operations. The original DWC definition was designed for the en-route environment and could not account for the complex, tightly-choreographed nature of traffic typically found near an airport. The interaction of the en-route DWC definition and the terminal area traffic led to excessive DAA alerting against safely-separated traffic. The frequent alerting quickly degraded pilots' ability to discriminate between encounters where a maneuver was or was not necessary. This resulted in slower response times, higher rates of losses of DAA well clear, and more severe losses of DAA well clear than had been observed in previous DAA research (e.g., Rorie et al., 2017). The current paper reports on a follow-on study to Fern et al. (2018) that tested two DWC definitions designed to accommodate standard terminal area operating procedures, such as traffic in the downwind leg of a VFR traffic pattern while the UAS is on final. The two definitions utilized identical horizontal and vertical thresholds but differed in whether or not Tau (a function that takes into account the closure rate of two aircraft) was included as a part of the DWC hazard zone. The "Tau" DWC candidate definition nominally extended the DWC hazard zone by 15 seconds in the direction of the intruder aircraft, while the "No Tau" DWC candidate definition did not extend the DWC hazard zone. The results of this follow-on study indicated that both candidate definitions improved pilot and DAA system performance relative to Fern et al (2018). Pilot response times and rates of losses of DWC returned to levels comparable to earlier research in the en-route environment. Several important differences between the two DWC candidate definitions, however, are also discussed.

Terminal Area↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Natural Language Processing for Extracting Rich Disease Data Aligned To Satellite Meteorological Data

Global climate change is redefining our understanding of how diseases spread. In Sri Lanka, vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever, encephalitis, and leptospirosis historically surged during the monsoon seasons when temperatures were high enough for mosquito eggs to hatch. Unfortunately, due to rising temperatures and more erratic rainfall patterns, mosquito eggs can now hatch year-round and are increasingly unpredictable, leading to an alarmingly increasing number of hospitalizations and deaths. More data is needed to adapt our response to these diseases in an increasingly warmer world. In the contemporary landscape, a wealth of disease information is available, yet accessibility remains limited due to unstructured data formats such as PDFs. Therefore, converting unstructured disease reports into structured formats is necessary for effectively leveraging data. This paper introduces a comprehensive framework for collecting unstructured disease reports and transforming them into analyzable formats. By creating separate models tailored to each data format, we can ensure accuracy compared to general models. These straightforward models enhance accessibility and empower other researchers to use our tools. The returned structured data can then be harnessed for analysis, statistical purposes, and informing evidence-based public health interventions, thus facilitating more informed decision-making in healthcare. We deploy this framework to produce geospatial data for Sri Lanka and Brazil for many different conditions and align these data with satellite environmental data, providing for the first time a structured, aligned powerful dataset for disease modeling.

Open Source Open Science↗
DOE OSTI2019

Phototrophic Lactate Utilization by Rhodopseudomonas palustris Is Stimulated by Coutilization with Additional Substrates

The phototrophic purple nonsulfur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris is known for its metabolic versatility and is of interest for various industrial and environmental applications. Despite decades of research on R. palustris growth under diverse conditions, patterns of R. palustris growth and carbon utilization with mixtures of carbon substrates remain largely unknown. R. palustris readily utilizes most short-chain organic acids but cannot readily use lactate as a sole carbon source. Here we investigated the influence of mixed-substrate utilization on phototrophic lactate consumption by R. palustris. We found that lactate was simultaneously utilized with a variety of other organic acids and glycerol in time frames that were insufficient for R. palustris growth on lactate alone. Thus, lactate utilization by R. palustris was expedited by its coutilization with additional substrates. Separately, experiments using carbon pairs that did not contain lactate revealed acetate-mediated inhibition of glycerol utilization in R. palustris. This inhibition was specific to the acetate-glycerol pair, as R. palustris simultaneously utilized acetate or glycerol when either was paired with succinate or lactate. Overall, our results demonstrate that (i) R. palustris commonly employs simultaneous mixed-substrate utilization, (ii) mixed-substrate utilization expands the spectrum of readily utilized organic acids in this species, and (iii) R. palustris has the capacity to exert carbon catabolite control in a substrate-specific manner. IMPORTANCE. Bacterial carbon source utilization is frequently assessed using cultures provided single carbon sources. However, the utilization of carbon mixtures by bacteria (i.e., mixed-substrate utilization) is of both fundamental and practical importance; it is central to bacterial physiology and ecology, and it influences the utility of bacteria as biotechnology. Here we investigated mixed-substrate utilization by the model organism Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Using mixtures of organic acids and glycerol, we show that R. palustris exhibits an expanded range of usable carbon substrates when provided substrates in mixtures. Specifically, coutilization enabled the prompt consumption of lactate, a substrate that is otherwise not readily used by R. palustris. Additionally, we found that R. palustris utilizes acetate and glycerol sequentially, revealing that this species has the capacity to use some substrates in a preferential order. These results provide insights into R. palustris physiology that will aid the use of R. palustris for industrial and commercial applications.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1975

Separation of the strain components for use in strainrange partitioning

Two methods are presented for separating the inelastic strain components of a complex hysteresis loop so that strainrange partitioning formulas can be applied to accurately determine cyclic life at elevated temperatures. These methods are required only if lower bounds established by strainrange partitioning concepts have been deemed inadequate in the establishment of expected lifetime. In one method, rapid loading and unloading is applied in the tensile and compressive half to isolate the plastic strain. In the second method, the creep is measured at a discrete number of points along the hysteresis loop by combining load-control tests into the general pattern of strain cycling under arbitrary temperature. Both methods are shown to give good results.

Manson, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Separation of the strain components for use in Strainrange Partitioning

Two methods are presented for separating the inelastic strain components of a complex hysteresis loop so that Strainrange Partitioning formulas can be applied to accurately determine cyclic life at elevated temperatures. These methods are required only if lower bounds established by Strainrange Partitioning concepts have been deemed inadequate in the establishment of expected lifetime. In one method rapid loading and unloading is applied in the tensile and compressive half to isolate the plastic strain. In the second method the 'creep' is measured at a discrete number of points along the hysteresis loop by combining load-control tests into the general pattern of strain cycling under arbitrary temperature. Both methods are shown to give good results.

Manson, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Review of historical monitoring data on Techa River contamination

The Mayak Production Association was the first Russian site for the production and separation of plutonium. The extensive increase in plutonium production during 1948-1955, as well as the absence of reliable waste-management technology, resulted in significant releases of liquid radioactive effluent into the rather small Techa River. This resulted in chronic external and internal exposure of about 30,000 residents of riverside communities; these residents form the cohort of an epidemiologic investigation. Analysis of the available historical monitoring data indicates that the following reliable data sets can be used for reconstruction of doses received during the early periods of operation of the Mayak Production Association: Temporal pattern of specific beta activity of river water for several sites in the upper Techa region since July 1951; average annual values of specific beta activity of river water and bottom sediments as a function of downstream distance for the whole river since 1951; external gamma-exposure rates near the shoreline as a function of downstream distance for the whole Techa River since 1952; and external gamma-exposure rate as a function of distance from the shoreline for several sites in the upper and middle Techa since 1951.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
DOE OSTI2016

Monitoring and Control of Chemical Composition of InGaN Layers During MOCVD

This Department of Energy SBIR Phase II grant targets the inefficiency of the epitaxial processes used to deposit wide band-gap semiconductor thin films that are an essential part of the next generation high-brightness LEDs for solid state lighting. Non-uniformity of the layers over a single wafer and non-repeatability over the wafers in a single batch, separate batches and separate reactors are some of the primary source of reduced manufacturing yield. The team performed extensive research, development and validation of an in-situ spectroscopic optical monitoring and epitaxial process control system. The system monitors the LED thin films as they grow on the individual wafers inside the epitaxial reactor, records the signal in a broad spectral range and processes the information to retrieve essential film quality parameters and their variation over a single wafer, all the wafers in a batch and multiple batches. A novel software algorithm is implemented, which performs real-time spectral pattern recognition and displays any abnormalities or differences in the deposition, which is used by the engineer to optimize the epitaxial process. The project resulted in the optimization of the LED film growth and improvement of its uniformity and repeatability, reducing the cost of the final LED devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1986

Measurement of radial and latitudinal gradients of cosmic ray intensity during the decreasing phase of sunspot cycle 21

The cosmic ray radial and latitudinal gradients during the 1981-1984 decreasing phase of sunspot cycle 21 are investigated based on data from Voyagers 1 and 2, with a detector threshold of not less than 70 MeV/nuc, and IMP-8, with a detector threshold of not less than 35 MeV/nuc. During the interval, the heliolongitudinal separation between the Voyager spacecraft changed from about 4 to 26 deg, and comparison of the 26-day means of the cosmic ray intensities obtained show that the data is consistent on the average with a long-term zero latitudinal gradient. Comparison at 1 AU of Voyager and IMP-8 data illustrate that the radial gradient decreased over this period at the rate of about 0.4 percent per AU per year, reaching a value of about 2.0 percent/AU between 16 and 22 AU, and a value of about 0.6 percent/AU between 16 and 22 AU, a pattern which would locate both Voyagers during 1977 outside the principal cosmic ray modulation at solar minimum within 22 AU.

Venkatesan, D.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Abundance ratios of oxygen, neon, and magnesium in solar active regions and flares: The FIP effect

Relative abundances of oxygen, neon, and magnesium have been derived for a sample of nine solar active regions, flares, and an erupting prominance by combining plots of the ion differential emission measures. The observations were photographed in the 300-600 A range by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) spectroheliograph on Skylab. Methods for deriving the Mg/Ne abundance ratio-which measures the separation between the low- first ionization potential (FIP) and high-FIP abundnace plateaus-have been described in previous papers. In this paper we describe the spectroscopic methods for deriving the O/Ne abundance ratio, which gives the ratio between two high-FIP elements. The plot of the O/Ne ratio versus the Mg/Ne ratio in the sample of nine Skylab events is shown. The variation in the Mg/Ne ratio by a factor of 6 is associated with a much smaller range in the O/Ne ratio. This is broadly consistent with the presence of the standard FIP pattern of abundances in the outer atmosphere of the Sun. However, a real change in the relative abundances of oxygen and neon by a factor of 1.5 cannot be excluded.

Widing, K. G.↗