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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 145 records · Page 8
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NASA NTRS1980

Tidal dissipation, orbital evolution, and the nature of Saturn's inner satellites

Estimates of tidal damping times of the orbital eccentricities of Saturn's inner satellites place constraints on some satellite rigidities and dissipation functions Q. These constraints favor rock-like rather than ice-like properties for Mimas and probably Dione. Photometric and other observational data are consistent with relatively higher densities for these two satellites, but require lower densities for Tethys, Enceladus, and Rhea. This leads to a nonmonotonic density distribution for Saturn's inner satellites, apparently determined by different mass fractions of rocky materials. In spite of the consequences of tidal dissipation for the orbital eccentricity decay and implications for satellite compositions, tidal heating is not an important contributor to the thermal history of any Saturnian satellite.

Peale, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Climate sensitivity from fluctuation dissipation - Some simple model tests

Leith has suggested that climatic response to change in external forcing parameters of the climate system may be estimated via the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT). The method, which uses the natural fluctuations of the atmosphere to probe its dynamics, is tested here using a twenty-variable truncation model of the barotropic vorticity equation. Dissipative terms are added to the equations, so that the model is pushed away from the region where it is expected to satisfy the FDT. It is found that, even though the FDT is no longer satisfied in every detail, the FDT continues to provide an excellent estimate of the climatic sensitivity of the model.

Bell, T. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Comments on the dissipation of hydromagnetic surface waves

A recent paper by Wentzel, which claims to calculate a plasma heating rate due to dissipation of surface waves in an ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluid, is found to be in error in interpretation. A well-established general theorem pertaining to the conservative ideal MHD fluid requires that the normal mode calculated by Wentzel be oscillatory in time. Within ideal MHD, dissipation and plasma heating are therefore impossible.

Lee, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Small-scale dissipative processes in stellar atmospheres

The outer atmospheres of stars must be heated by some non-thermal energy flux to produce chromospheres and coronae. Processes are discussed which convert the non-thermal energy flux of organized, macroscopic motions into random, microscopic (thermal) motions. Recent advances in the description of the chromosphere velocity field suggest that the acoustic waves observed there transmit very little energy, and hence are probably incapable of heating the upper chromosphere and corona. The apparent failure of this long held mechanism and the growing appreciation of the importance of strong magnetic fields in the chromosphere and corona have led to hypotheses of heating by the dissipation of currents (both oscillatory and quasi-steady). This follows discoveries in laboratory and ionospheric plasmas and work on solar flares, that instabilities can concentrate currents into thin high current density filaments where they dissipate rapidly.

Leibacher, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The dissipation of inhomogeneous magnetic fields and the problem of coronae. I - Dislocation and flattening of flux tubes. II - The dynamics of dislocated flux

Attention is given to the dynamical dissipation arising in a magnetic field extending up through a tenuous atmosphere when an elemental flux tube in the field (1) is displaced from its equilibrium position and/or (2) is inflated by an internal fluid pressure different from the external fluid pressure. It is pointed out that as a consequence the tension in the lines of force of the ambient field flattens the dislocated tube so that the thickness of the tube decreases without limit and that the local field gradients increase rapidly with the passage of time until destroyed by one or more dissipative effects. The magnetic energy of a dislocated flux tube is therefore soon converted into thermal energy no matter how low the molecule resistivity of the fluid. Some formal illustrations of local conditions along a misaligned flux tube are presented, showing the simultaneous onset of diffusion, fluid motion, and hydromagnetic wave propagation. The examples demonstrate that the total effect is complicated and subject only to estimation, rather than formal calculation, at the present time.

Parker, E. N.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A study of the viscous dissipation and surface loading on a vibrating surface

The energy dissipated by viscosity at the edge of a vibrating flat plate is calculated and compared to the radiated acoustic energy. A correction to the Kirchhoff integral estimate of the noise is derived. For Helmholtz number of order unity and smaller the dissipation can be comparable to or greater than the acoustic energy. A viscous compressible theory of the load distribution on a vibrating two dimensional body is developed. First it is shown that load calculations based on potential theory and the Newmann uniqueness condition (continuity of potential or pressure on the surface) are not in agreement with experiment or the more correct viscous theory. For a flat plate airfoil the eigensolution of potential theory is indeterminant while viscous theory yields a unique solution that has square root singularities at the edges. It is also shown that for compact surfaces the far field acoustics depend only on the magnitude of the eigensolutions of potential theoy and so will be uniquely determined by the viscous theory. It is suggested that the general viscous theory of vibrating surfaces with cross sectional geometry will lead to results in agreement with expermentally measured load distributions.

Yates, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Dissipation due to obliquity-induced tides in a Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic body

A calculation is conducted regarding the local and total dissipation rate of mechanical energy for an incompressible, Kelvin-Voigt body in a circular orbit with finite obliquity. The considered material is characterized by a shear modulus and a viscosity. Of the two parameters, only the shear modulus is known. An investigation is conducted regarding the variation of the total dissipation rate with viscosity. For small values of the viscosity the Kelvin-Voigt material approximates the behavior of an elastic solid. In this range, results for the earth-moon system are similar to those obtained by Peale and Cassen (1978) using a modified form of the elastic solution. For large values of the viscosity the results are qualitatively different from those in the 'elastic' range, as viscous effects dominate the material response.

Vanarsdale, W. E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Dissipation of ionospheric irregularities by wave-particle and collisional interactions

The nonlinear dissipation of plasma irregularities aligned parallel to an ambient magnetic field is studied numerically using a model which employs both wave-particle and collisional diffusion. A wave-particle diffusion coefficient derived from a local theory of the universal drift instability is used. This coefficient is effective in regions of nonzero plasma gradients and produces triangular-shaped irregularities with spectra which vary as f to the -4th, where f is the spatial frequency. Collisional diffusion acts rapidly on the vertices of the irregularities to reduce their amplitude. The simultaneous action of the two dissipative processes is more efficient than collisions acting alone. In this model, wave-particle diffusion mimics the forward cascade process of wave-wave coupling.

Bernhardt, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Electrical Dissipation Measurement of Polymer Phase Transitions

Technique measures solid/solid, glass/rubber, and liquid/liquid transition temperatures in polymers having dipole moments. Technique based on change in dipole packing that occurs with each transition and measured as change in electrical dissipation factor. Change in dipole packing occuring with each transition sensed by effect on dissipation factor.

Long, E. R., R↗
NASA NTRS1983

Direct coronal heating from dissipation of magnetic field

The visible corona of the Sun appears to be heated by direct dissipation of magnetic fields. The magnetic fields in the visible corona are tied at both ends to the photosphere where the active convection continually rotates and shuffles the footpoints in a random pattern. The twisting and wrapping of flux tubes about each other produce magnetic neutral sheets in a state of dynamical nonequilibrium such that the current sheets become increasingly concentrated with the passage of time. Dissipation of the high current densities takes place regardless of the high electrical conductivity of the fluid. The convection on the feet of the lines of force at the surface of the Sun goes directly (within a matter of 10 to 20 hours) into heat in the corona. The rate of doing work seems adequate to supply the necessary 10 to the 7th power ergs/square cm. sec for the active corona.

Parker, E. N.↗
NASA NTRS1985

On the importance of viscous dissipation in Io

A model of Io is presented that consists of an elastic inner core, a low strength asthenosphere, and a thin elastic outer shell. The middle layer is ssumed to posses negligible shear strength and to be characterized by a Newtonian viscosity. The fluid in the viscous layer is forced to circulate mainly by the tidal distortion in the outer shell, modeled here as a variation in the distortion amplitude. As a result, heat is generated in the fluid by viscous dissipation. There are three important unconstrained parameters in the model: the fluid viscosity, the thickness of the fluid layer, and the degree to which the distortion of the outer shell is affected by the fluid viscosity. For a wide range of these model parameters viscous heating can generate just as much or even more heat than does elastic dissipation is the outer shell. The model suggests that much of Io's heat flow may be generated below the outer shell and could provide a source of energy for any silicate volcanism on the satellite.

Ross, M. N.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Dynamic fission instability of dissipative protoplanets

Analytical and numerical approaches are taken to consider if a rapidly rotating, viscous protoearth would have lost mass by a fission process and thereby given birth to the moon. The fast rotation is assumed as the source of the instability in the dissipative liquid protoearth. Governing hydrodynamic equations are defined for the evolution of the protoearth. Account is taken of viscous dissipation, the pressure equation of state for the atmospheric material sent on a ballistic trajectory, and the effective viscosity. The results indicate that dynamic fission was probably not the process by which the protomoon came into existence.

Boss, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The stability of dissipative magnetohydrodynamic shear flow in a parallel magnetic field

The linear stability properties of dissipative field-aligned shear flow are described analytically. The results are used to calculate the decay bounds of linearized perturbations occurring in unbounded planes of Couette flow in a parallel magnetic field. It is shown that the perturbations associated with small-amplitude localized disturbances may take the form of rolls along the shear, and exhibit ordinary potential decay, while misaligned perturbations exhibit enhanced decay in the presence of dissipation. A decay criterion is established for MHD shear flow in an accretion disk on the basis of the analytical results.

Lerner, J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Space plasma turbulent dissipation - Reality or myth?

A prevalent approach to understanding magnetospheric dynamics is to combine a hydromagnetic description of the large scale magnetic structure and convection flows with a locally determined anomalous dissipation which develops in boundary layers. Three problems (nose and tail reconnection, auroral field-aligned currents, and diffuse auroral precipitation) are critically examined to test the validity of this theoretical philosophy. Although the expected plasma wave turbulence is observed for each case, the concept of local anomalous dissipation fails to provide an adequate or complete description of the phenomenae.

Coroniti, F. V.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A numerical simulation of barotropic instability. III - Wave-wave interaction in the presence of dissipation

A fully nonlinear model of barotropic instability including dissipation is used to investigate the evolution of the integrated enstrophy and vorticity. The dissipation independent limits on the integrated enstrophy and the long period oscillation in the integrated enstrophy found by Schoeberl and Lindzen are verified. The enstrophy oscillations are similar to those previously noted for two-dimensional Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities. They are produced by advection of the vorticity back and forth across the region of instability by the largest scale wave. A simple expression that accurately estimates the period of these oscillations is derived using the saturation theory.

Schoeberl, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A theoretical comparison of internal gravity wave propagation and dissipation in high and low temperature thermospheres Implications for orbiting spacecraft

In this paper the propagation and dissipation characteristics of a number of individual internal gravity waves are discussed and compared by using a multilayer, time-averaged model in which the waves lose energy due to viscous, thermal conduction and ion-drag dissipation. From this both the height and horizontal distance (from an assumed 'source') at which the waves achieve a maximum density amplitude may be determined. Such calculations are performed for both a very hot and a very cold thermosphere, and the subsequent differences in the wave characteristics and their relation to the control of orbiting spacecraft for each of these is discussed.

Hickey, M. P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Effects from equation of state and rheology in dissipative heating in compressible mantle convection

The effects of compressibility on mantle convection are considered, incorporating the effects of equations of state and rheology in the dissipative heating term of the energy equation. The ways in which compression may raise the interior mantle temperature are explicitly demonstrated, and it is shown how this effect can be used to constrain some of the intrinsic parameters associated with the equation of state in the mantle. It is concluded that the coupling between variable viscosity and equation of state in dissipative heating is potentially an important mechanism in mantle convection. These findings emphasize that rheology, equation of state, and radiogenic heating are all linked to each other by nonlinear thermomechanical couplings.

Yuen, David A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Reynolds-stress and dissipation rate budgets in a turbulent channel flow

The budgets for the Reynolds stresses and for the dissipation rate of the turbulence kinetic energy are computed using direct simulation data of a turbulent channel flow. The budget data reveal that all the terms in the budget become important close to the wall. For inhomogeneous pressure boundary conditions, the pressure-strain term is split into a return term, a rapid term, and a Stokes term. The Stokes term is important close to the wall. The rapid and return terms play different roles depending on the component of the term. A split of the velocity pressure-gradient term into a redistributive term and a diffusion term is proposed, which should be simpler to model. The budget data is used to test existing closure models for the pressure-strain term, the dissipation rate, and the transport rate. In general, further work is needed to improve the models.

Mansour, N. N.↗