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Acoustical tests of full scale fans for jet engines are presented. The fans are described and some aerodynamic operating data are given. Far field noise around the fan was measured for a variety of configurations over a range of operating conditions. Complete results of one third octave band analysis are presented in tabular form. Power spectra and sideline perceived noise levels are included.
This slide presentation reviews the concept of a Plasmoid Thruster that is capable of operating in several different modes. A plasmoid is a compact plasma structure with an integral magnetic field, that may be categorized according to the relative strength of the poloidal and toroidal magnetic fields. A plasmoid thruster would operate by repetitively producing plasmoids that are accelerated to high velocity. The process is inductive, and the magnetic structure of the plasmoid suppresses thermal and mass losses, and improves detachment of the exhaust. The Drive and Bias circuits, the gas distribution, the pre-ionization stage, and the operation sequence are detailed. The advantages of the Plasmoid thruster and the research and technology required for development of this form of propulsion is reviewed.
Overall, the MSL TDS Field Test campaign was very successful. TDS was shown to perform extremely well over the required operational envelope. Early BB TDS field tests uncovered a number of issues, but none that invalidated the TDS design or implementation. EM TDS tests uncovered minor things of interest, but nothing of concern. Value of testing hardware in the field was demonstrated and significantly contributed to the overall TDS V&V effort. Over the 5-plus year field test campaign, numerous lessons were learned that will inform future field test efforts.
This final technical report describes work conducted by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) for the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) on development of the second generation (Gen-2) Proteus™ membrane modules and a pre-combustion membrane process for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture from an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant for power generation (award number DE-FE0031632). The work was conducted from October 1, 2018 through March 30, 2022. The overall goal of this project was to bring a Gen-2 version of the H2-selective Proteus membrane to bench-scale module (component) testing with real syngas. MTR was assisted in this project by Susteon, a technology development company with extensive experience in gasification processes, and the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), who provided the host site for the slipstream field testing. This report details the work conducted to optimize the Gen-2 Proteus membrane and develop modules capable of operation at 200°C; demonstrate membrane module performance processing coal-derived syngas during a field test at EERC; and optimize integration of a dual-membrane process into an IGCC with carbon capture. Work for this project included membrane optimization and scale-up, module component screening and fabrication of high-temperature lab- and bench-scale modules, design and fabrication of a bench-scale field test membrane skid, operation of the field test skid processing coal-derived syngas at EERC, and a detailed techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the MTR dual-membrane process for IGCC power plant pre-combustion CO 2 capture. This project validated recent membrane technology advancements, mitigates risk in future scale-up activities, and moved the membrane pre-combustion capture technology from TRL-4 to TRL-5. Key results for each major task are discussed in the report.
In November 2014 two in-air 1.5 m CHESS Compact Undulator (CCU) magnets built by KYMA S.R.l. were installed in Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) in canted arrangement and after few days of commissioning their regular operation started. CCU magnets are compact, lightweight and cost efficient devices. They have very stable magnetic field integrals independent of deflection parameter value. This feature greatly simplifies the storage ring operation. The CCU concept was developed at Cornell in 2011 and the first 1 m in-vacuum CCU magnet was beam-tested in 2012. The article presents CCU concept and some details of the design. It describes also the layout of CCUs installation in CESR, their performance and characteristics. The current status of operation and future plans are discussed as well. Presently, at CHESS two CCU magnets provide radiation for 5 out of 11 experimental stations.
Shattered pellet injection (SPI) has been selected as the baseline technology for the disruption mitigation (DM) system for ITER. Typical SPI utilizes cryogenic cooling to desublimate low pressure (<100 mbar) gases onto a cold zone within a pipe gun barrel, forming a cylindrical pellet. Pellets are dislodged from the barrel and accelerated using either a gas driven mechanical punch or high-pressure light-gas delivered by a fast-opening valve. SPI technology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is currently deployed and operational on DIII-D, JET, and KSTAR. These SPI systems are used in experiments for physics scaling to ITER thermal mitigation and runaway electron dissipation/avoidance. The pellet sizes used for these machines are in the range of 4 to 12.5 mm in diameter with length to diameter ratios (L/D) of ~1.5. The current plan for ITER SPI is to utilize pellets that are 28.5 mm in diameter with an L/D of ~2. Furthermore, the large pellet sizes, high steady-state magnetic fields, and limitations of operating in a radiation environment render much of the current technology unusable. In addition to technology improvements, a deeper understanding of pellet material properties, formation, and release is being developed for implementation in future SPI designs, specifically ITER.
The formation/precipitation and deposition of pipeline solids, such as gas hydrates, asphaltenes, and waxes have long plagued production fields. Given the vast differences in chemistries of these solids, any current prevention or mitigation strategy, particularly for cases in which multiple issues are a concern, is likely to involve an extensive assortment of chemical additives that are both costly and add complexity to the system. Surface treatments (coatings), on the other hand, present a relatively viable option for management strategies. A chemically and physically robust surface treatment with the ability to address deposition issues for multiple pipeline solids could not only decrease the operating expenditures for a field through material cost savings and obviation of downstream separation, but could also simplify produced fluids by eliminating additional chemicals from the mixture. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of a particular surface treatment as part of a solids management strategy. This work used an omniphobic surface treatment to probe its effects on gas hydrate, asphaltene, and wax deposition. Specifically, an interfacial tensiometer (IFT) collected contact angle measurements for wettability studies. High-pressure rocking cells studied gas hydrate nucleation and deposition. A bench-scale flow loop quantified the deposition of oil and asphaltenes after a set time period. Finally, a mechanical shear device measured the adhesion force of wax deposits on untreated/treated surfaces. Static contact angle results showed that the omniphobic surface treatment had reduced surface interaction with water droplets in air, altering from the complete wetting on corroded surfaces to slightly hydrophobic conditions of greater than 100°. In addition, rocking-cell tests indicated that these omniphobic surface treatments may prevent gas hydrate deposition for up to 72 hours. The gas hydrate rocking-cell tests also demonstrated possible increases in induction time and occasional elimination of hydrate nucleation with the surface treatment. Finally, the surface treatment application, which also decreased surface roughness, showed that crude oil and asphaltene particles deposition, as well as the shear required to remove solidified wax deposits, could be reduced by a large factor. Overall, promising results were recorded for all major flow-assurance solids in the presence of the surface treatment.
Abstract The formation/precipitation and deposition of pipeline solids, such as gas hydrates, asphaltenes, and waxes have long plagued production fields. Given the vast differences in chemistries of these solids, any current prevention or mitigation strategy, particularly for cases where multiple issues are a concern, is likely to involve an extensive assortment of undefined chemical additives that are both costly and add complexity to the system. Surface treatments (coatings), on the other hand, present a relatively new viable option for management strategies. A chemically and physically robust surface treatment with the ability to address deposition issues for multiple pipeline solids could not only decrease the operating expenditures for a field through material cost savings and obviation of downstream separation, but could also simplify produced fluids by eliminating additional chemicals from the mixture. The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of a particular surface treatment as part of a solids management strategy. This work utilizes an omniphobic surface treatment to probe its effects on gas hydrate, asphaltene, and wax deposition. Specifically, high pressure rocking cells are employed to study gas hydrate nucleation and deposition. A bench-scale flowloop filled with crude oil and heptane is used to quantify the deposition of crude oil and asphaltenes after a set time period. Lastly, a mechanical shear device measures the adhesion force of wax deposits on untreated/treated surfaces. The gas hydrate rocking cell tests demonstrate an increase in induction time and occasional elimination of hydrate nucleation with the surface treatment. Moreover, the same apparatus indicates that the critical shear to avoid hydrate deposition may be lowered in the presence of the surface treatment compared to untreated pristine carbon steel coupons. A custom-built asphaltene flowloop then establishes that this surface treatment is effective in dramatically reducing the deposition of the aliphatic components of a crude oil, with a moderate reduction in the asphaltene fraction. Finally, mechanical adhesion force measurements for solidified paraffin wax display trends in agreement with the asphaltene results. The surface treatment on both pristine and corroded surfaces is able to reduce the adhesion of wax deposits to values below a pristine, untreated surface.
The study of galactic and faint extragalactic extended sources and peculiar ultraviolet objects by a very wide field of view camera, operated in the ultraviolet photometric and spectrometric modes is discussed. The photometric mode is direct photography through filters for observation of the following sources: (1) large scale distribution of ultraviolet radiation in the Milky Way; (2) diffusion of the galactic light above the galactic plane and in front of the large absorbing clouds; (3) the optical emission of the interstellar matter; (4) stars, and starlike objects with diameters less than 3 arc minutes. In the spectrometric mode (nebular spectrograph) the light from the center of the photometric field is concentrated on a slit covering 10 degrees by 10 arc minutes on the sky.
Incom is reporting on success in its DOE SBIR Phase I feasibility demonstration of our ability to optimize and characterize the magnetic field insensitivity of Large Area Picosecond Photon Detectors (LAPPDs) which we manufacture, this was accomplished principally by decreasing MCP pore sizes. LAPPDs are cost-effective ultra-high time precision imaging quantum photodetectors that incorporate Incom’s unique large-area ALD- (Atomic Layer Deposition) GCA- (Glass Capillary Array) MCPs (Microchannel Plates). Several applications of LAPPDs, including for potential upgrades to existing DoE NP detectors or as part of proposed designs for future DoE NP experiments (including at the future EIC Electron Ion Collider) will require LAPPD operation in strong magnetic fields. We are improving and verifying the performance of LAPPDs in strong magnetic fields both by modifying their internal construction and most importantly by modifying their constituents by using smaller-pore MCPs; we and others have shown that this improves magnetic field insensitivity in MCP-PMTs like our LAPPD. We have begun a series of magnetic field tests at Argonne National Laboratory on 6 x 6cm MCP-PMTs constructed at ANL using Incom MCPs, and on 20 x 20cm LAPPDs constructed at Incom again using Incom MCPs, each in a series of devices containing MCPs of ever smaller pore diameters, from 20μ to 10μ to 5μ; in addition to improving magnetic field insensitivity, smaller pores will improve LAPPD timing and thus benefit physics performance in future DoE NP detectors, including at the EIC.
This report presents computational analyses that simulate the structural response of caverns at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) West Hackberry site. The cavern field comprises 22 caverns. Five caverns (6, 7, 8, 9, 11) were acquired from industry and have unusual shapes and a history dating back to 1946. The other 17 caverns (101-117) were leached according to SPR standards in the mid-1980s and have tall cylindrical shapes. The history of the caverns and their shapes are simulated in a three-dimensional geomechanics model of the site that predicts deformations, strains, and stresses. Future leaching scenarios corresponding to oil drawdowns using fresh water are also simulated by increasing the volume of the caverns. Cavern pressures are varied in the model to capture operational practices in the field. The results of the finite element model are interpreted to provide information on the current and future status of subsidence, well integrity, and cavern stability. The most significant results in this report are relevant to Cavern 6. The cavern is shaped like a bowl with a large ceiling span and is in close proximity to Cavern 9. The analyses predict tensile stresses at the edge of the ceiling during repressurization of Cavern 6 following workover conditions. During a workover the cavern is at low pressure to service a well. The wellhead pressures are atmospheric. When the workover is complete, the cavern is repressurized. The resulting elastic stresses are sufficient to cause tension around the edge of the large ceiling span. With time, these stresses relax to a compressive state because of salt creep. However, the potential for salt fracture and propagation exists, particularly towards Cavern 9. With only 200 feet of salt between the caverns, the operational consequences must be examined if the two caverns become connected. A critical time may be during a workover of Cavern 9 in part because of the operational vulnerabilities, but also because dilatant damage is predicted under the ledge that forms the lower lobe in the cavern. The remaining caverns have no significant issues regarding cavern stability and may be safely enlarged during subsequent oil drawdowns. Predicted well strains and subsidence are significant and consequently future remedial actions may be necessary. These predicted well strains certainly suggest appropriate monitoring through a well-logging program. Subsidence is currently being monitored.
Airlines are extremely sensitive to the amount of dollars spent on maintaining the external engine hardware in the field. Analysis reveals that many problems revolve around a central issue, reliability. Fuel and oil leakage due to seal failure and electrical fault messages due to wire harness failures play a major role in aircraft delays and cancellations (D&C's) and scheduled maintenance. Correcting these items on the line requires a large investment of engineering resources and manpower after the fact. The smartest and most cost effective philosophy is to build the best hardware the first time. The only way to do that is to completely understand and model the operating environment, study the field experience of similar designs and to perform extensive testing.
This paper describes results from radiation testing conducted on low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf, full high-definition (HD) resolution (1920 x 1080 p), complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera sensors. The purpose of the testing was to evaluate the sensors' suitability for use in the Calcine Retrieval Project by determining their image quality and life expectancy while operating in an ionizing radiation field of 20.0 Gy/h. The two camera sensors tested were the Axis FA1105 and Axis FA1125. These commercial camera sensors were designed for retail security surveillance and have no radiation-hardened (rad-hard) components. In addition to radiation testing, the sensors' field-of-view, resolution, and low-light image quality were tested at several target distances to ensure they meet project requirements. Testing was divided into two phases. During Phase 1, four FA1105 sensors and four FA1125 sensors were tested simultaneously without any shielding in radiation fields of 25.5 Gy/h and 49.3 Gy/h. In Phase 2, three FA1105 and five FA1125 sensors were shielded by 22.2 mm of lead and tested simultaneously in radiation fields of 26.8 Gy/h, 52.3 Gy/h, 143.0 Gy/h, 200.7 Gy/h, 404.6 Gy/h, and 2,317.5 Gy/h. Dose rate values were established using film dosimetry readings. Apertures in the shielding allowed for a 40-degree field of view while shielding all parts of the sensor except for directly in front of the CMOS sensor array. All testing was conducted at the Idaho Accelerator Center in Pocatello, Idaho, using a 450 keV X-ray generator. Sensor images were automatically captured at regular intervals throughout the testing for qualitative evaluation by the test team. Film dosimetry was placed near the sensors to record actual dose totals. The 450 keV setting generates X-ray radiation with an energy level close to the primary gamma energy level produced by the Cesium-137 isotope in the calcine, which is 662 keV. Results from Phase 1 indicate the sensors failed at an average cumulative dose of 226.3 Gy. For a given 20.0 Gy/h field this results in a mean time to failure (MTTF) of 11.3 hours. Recorded images from all sensors showed minimal image degradation due to radiation-induced noise. When the sensors finally failed, the failure mode was an abrupt loss of video. The image went black suggesting some other component in the sensor head besides the CMOS sensor array was responsible for the failure. During a portion of Phase 1 testing, a commercial, rad-hard camera was irradiated in the 25.5 Gy/h field along with the eight Axis FA series sensors. Image quality from the FA series sensors significantly outperformed the image quality of the rad-hard camera in radiation-induced noise tolerance, image resolution, and dynamic range. During Phase 2 testing, all sensors produced excellent images in radiation fields as high as 404.6 Gy/h. One FA1125 sensor was tested at the highest dose rate of 2,317.5 Gy/h. At this dose rate, the image was color shifted towards red and contained a significant amount radiation-induced noise. The sensor did not fail and was producing usable imagery after one hour, at which time the test was ended due to allotted beam-time at the test facility. Eighteen hours after X-rays were shut off, the sensor image returned to normal color and all eight sensors continued to operate without any visible, permanent image degradation. For Phase 2 testing, it was not possible to establish a MTTF since none of the shielded sensors failed during the allotted test time. However, given the highest cumulative dose of 4,142.1 Gy received by a shielded FA1125 sensor, a minimum life expectancy of 207 hours (8.6 days) is predicted while operating in a 20.0 Gy/h field. Test results indicate the radiation tolerance of the FA series sensor's CMOS array, along with the small form factor, full HD image quality, wide dynamic range, and Ethernet standard makes it suitable for short-term use in monitoring and visually documenting waste remediation efforts for the Calcine Retrieval Project at the INL. The sensor's low-cost of about $140 US, compared to commercial rad-hard cameras costing between $5,000 and $7,000 US each, allow them to be used as an affordable, disposable resource for many short-duration, radioactive waste remediation efforts where decontamination of an expensive, commercial rad-hard camera is undesirable or not possible. (authors)
Satellite data summary images and analysis plots from the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE), which were initially prepared in the field at the Honiara Operations Center, are now available on the Internet via World Wide Web browsers such as Mosaic. These satellite data summaries consist of products derived from the Japanese Geosynchronous Meteorological Satellite IR data: a time-size series of the distribution of contiguous cold cloudiness areas, weekly percent high cloudiness (PHC) maps, and a five-month time-longitudinal diagram illustrating the zonal motion of large areas of cold cloudiness. The weekly PHC maps are overlaid with weekly mean 850-hPa wind calculated from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) global analysis field and can be viewed as an animation loop. These satellite summaries provide an overview of spatial and temporal variabilities of the cloud population and a large-scale context for studies concerning specific processes of various components of TOGA COARE.
Permanent magnets can provide static magnetic fields without power supplies or feed lines, offering a simpler alternative to conventional electromagnets in tokamaks. This work examines permanent magnet arrays (PMAs) for edge localized mode (ELM) control in double-null (DN) configurations, where traditional RMP coils exhibit limited effectiveness. Linear plasma response calculations using IPEC assess high-field-side (HFS) permanent magnet placement, benchmarking performance against DIII-D low-field-side (LFS) internal coils (I-coils) while evaluating engineering constraints. Modeling results demonstrate that HFS permanent magnet configurations generate HFS plasma response amplitudes more than 5 times larger than conventional I-coil systems. While other resonant response metrics show comparable or reduced response relative to I-coils, the combination of conventional RMP systems and permanent magnets is expected to provide enhanced performance. Operational impact assessments of persistent magnetic fields, including sideband field effects and startup/ramp-up compatibility, reveal acceptable performance within established operational boundaries. This analysis establishes PMAs as a technically viable approach for DN ELM control with reductions in system complexity, motivating further experimental validation on existing tokamak facilities.
On March 9-11, 2022, NASA’s System-Wide Safety Wildland Firefighting Operations Workshop engaged the broader wildland firefighting management ecosystem in a safety-oriented discussion via a virtual platform. This enabled a better understanding of how NASA and community expertise can be leveraged in the safe development of current and future firefighting systems and operations. The goals of the workshop were to: (1) identify and prioritize the top safety-oriented risks, gaps in capabilities, and emerging technologies to enhance wildland firefighting for both near-term and far-term concepts, with a specific focus on aviation operations and (2) engage the stakeholder community in defining emergent safety-oriented scope, roles, responsibilities, and procedures for agents undergoing increasingly complex wildland firefighting operations in information-rich, but uncertain environments. Workshop participants were solicited from wildland firefighting stakeholders across government, industry, and academia. All levels of government were engaged, as NASA sought attendees from federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies. Industry participants from traditional wildland firefighting domains such as data visualization and equipment manufacturers were invited, and corporate attendees from novel application domains such as aerial robotics and autonomous systems were present as well. The top three findings were as follows: (1) Enhancing situation awareness is a safety priority, especially in the use of aerial assets; (2) Timely access to information along with data fusion and integrated displays will enhance safety-critical decision-making both inside and outside aviation contexts; and (3) Tailorable standards and common operating pictures in the field will enhance inter-agency cooperation in the wildland firefighting lifecycle and enable the optimal use of limited resources such as aerial assets. The workshop helped inform NASA of the relevant safety-related wildland firefighting concerns and aided the broader ecosystem in understanding the potential safety-oriented role NASA might play in this community. Increased engagement with crucial governmental stakeholders (e.g., U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, etc.) along with industry partners in cutting- edge information -centric domains is a fundamental next step. Additionally, the workshop findings will help define the first of a series of operationally challenging demonstrations, held in concert with strategic ecosystem partners, known as the Safety Demonstrator Series for NASA’s System-Wide Safety project. The first demonstration is set in the wildland firefighting application domain and will: (1) examine high risk operational scenarios to reduce their overall risk via services, functions or capabilities that act as risk mitigators (or transfer that risk to automated systems better able to tolerate it) and (2) explore novel tools and technologies that will enhance safety margins by enabling non-traditional or neoteric operational paradigms.
There are currently many large-field surveys that are operational and are being planned including the powerful Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time. These surveys will increase the number and diversity of transients dramatically. However, for some transients, like supernovae (SNe), we can gain more understanding by directed observations (e.g., shock breakout and γ-ray detections) than by simply increasing the sample size. For example, the initial emission from these transients can be a powerful probe of these explosions. Upcoming ground-based detectors are not ideally suited to observing the initial emission (shock emergence) of these transients. These observations require a large field-of-view X-ray mission with a UV follow-up within the first hour of shock breakout. The emission in the first 1 hr to even 1 day provides strong constraints on the stellar radius and asymmetries in the outer layers of stars, the properties of the circumstellar medium (e.g., inhomogeneities in the wind for core-collapse SNe and accreting companions in thermonuclear SNe), and the transition region between these two areas. This paper describes a simulation for the number of SNe that could be seen by a large field-of-view lobster-eye X-ray and UV observatory.
Low-density cosmic voids gravitationally lens the cosmic microwave background (CMB), leaving a negative imprint on the CMB convergence |$\kappa$|. This effect provides insight into the distribution of matter within voids, and can also be used to study the growth of structure. We measure this lensing imprint by cross-correlating the Planck CMB lensing convergence map with voids identified in the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (DES Y3) data set, covering approximately 4200 deg|$^2$| of the sky. We use two distinct void-finding algorithms: a 2D void-finder that operates on the projected galaxy density field in thin redshift shells, and a new code, Voxel, which operates on the full 3D map of galaxy positions. We employ an optimal matched filtering method for cross-correlation, using the Marenostrum Institut de Ciències de l’Espai N-body simulation both to establish the template for the matched filter and to calibrate detection significances. Using the DES Y3 photometric luminous red galaxy sample, we measure |$A_\kappa$|, the amplitude of the observed lensing signal relative to the simulation template, obtaining |$A_\kappa = 1.03 \pm 0.22$| (|$4.6\sigma$| significance) for Voxel and |$A_\kappa = 1.02 \pm 0.17$| (|$5.9\sigma$| significance) for 2D voids, both consistent with Lambda cold dark matter expectations. We additionally invert the 2D void-finding process to identify superclusters in the projected density field, for which we measure |$A_\kappa = 0.87 \pm 0.15$| (|$5.9\sigma$| significance). The leading source of noise in our measurements is Planck noise, implying that data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, South Pole Telescope and CMB-S4 will increase sensitivity and allow for more precise measurements.