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At least 145 records · Page 8

Observations on Fluidization, Particle Entrainment, Sublimation, and Evaporation During Tests Using Hydrated Regolith Simulants .

The presence of water ice in permanently shadowed regions on the lunar surface may enable a sustained human presence on the Moon with minimal need for consumables. In order to successfully extract water from lunar regolith, there are a few physical behaviors that should be accounted for when designing systems to handle icy regolith samples. Many of these behaviors have been observed and recorded in the process of testing ISRU technologies.

A. Paz↗

Simulations and observations of cloudtop processes

Turbulent entrainment at zero mean shear stratified interfaces has been studied extensively in the laboratory and theoretically for the classical situation in which density is a passive tracer of the mixing and the turbulent motions producing the entrainment are directed toward the interface. It is the purpose of the numerical simulations and data analysis to investigate these processes and, specifically, to focus on the following questions: (1) Can local cooling below cloudtop play an important role in setting up convective circulations within the cloud, and bringing about entrainment; (2) Can Cloudtop Entrainment Instability (CEI) alone lead to runaway entrainment under geophysically realistic conditions; and (3) What are the important mechanisms of entrainment at cloudtop under zero or low mean shear conditions.

Siems, S. T.↗

A mechanism for crustal recycling on Venus

Entrainment of lower crust by convective mantle downflows is proposed as a crustal recycling mechanism on Venus. The mechanism is characterized by thin sheets of crust being pulled into the mantle by viscous flow stresses. Finite element models of crust/mantle interaction are used to explore tectonic conditions under which crustal entrainment may occur. The recycling scenarios suggested by the numerical models are analogous to previously studied problems for which analytic and experimental relationships assessing entrainment rates have been derived. We use these relationships to estimate crustal recycling rates on Venus. Estimated rates are largely determined by (1) strain rate at the crust/mantle interface (higher strain rate leads to greater entrainment); and (2) effective viscosity of the lower crust (viscosity closer to that of mantle lithosphere leads to greater entrainment). Reasonable geologic strain rates and available crustal flow laws suggest entrainment can recycle approximately equal 1 cu km of crust per year under favorable conditions.

Lenardic, A.↗

Mechanisms Controlling the Interannual Variation of Mixed Layer Temperature Averaged over the Nino-3 Region

The present study examines processes governing the interannual variation of MLT in the eastern equatorial Pacific.Processes controlling the interannual variation of mixed layer temperature (MLT) averaged over the Nino-3 domain (5 deg N-5 deg S, 150 deg-90 deg W) are studied using an ocean data assimilation product that covers the period of 1993-2003. The overall balance is such that surface heat flux opposes the MLT change but horizontal advection and subsurface processes assist the change. Advective tendencies are estimated here as the temperature fluxes through the domain's boundaries, with the boundary temperature referenced to the domain-averaged temperature to remove the dependence on temperature scale. This allows the authors to characterize external advective processes that warm or cool the water within the domain as a whole. The zonal advective tendency is caused primarily by large-scale advection of warm-pool water through the western boundary of the domain. The meridional advective tendency is contributed to mostly by Ekman current advecting large-scale temperature anomalies through the southern boundary of the domain. Unlike many previous studies, the subsurface processes that consist of vertical mixing and entrainment are explicitly evaluated. In particular, a rigorous method to estimate entrainment allows an exact budget closure. The vertical mixing across the mixed layer (ML) base has a contribution in phase with the MLT change. The entrainment tendency due to the temporal change in ML depth is negligible compared to other subsurface processes. The entrainment tendency by vertical advection across the ML base is dominated by large-scale changes in upwelling and the temperature of upwelling water. Tropical instability waves (TIWs) result in smaller-scale vertical advection that warms the domain during La Nina cooling events. However, such a warming tendency is overwhelmed by the cooling tendency associated with the large-scale upwelling by a factor of 2. In summary, all the balance terms are important in the MLT budget except the entrainment due to lateral induction and temporal variation in ML depth. All three advective tendencies are primarily caused by large-scale and low-frequency processes, and they assist the Nino-3 MLT change.

eastern equatorial Pacific↗

The Closure of the Ocean Mixed Layer Temperature Budget using Level-Coordinate Model Fields

Entrainment is an important element of the mixed layer mass, heat, and temperature budgets. Conventional procedures to estimate entrainment heat advection often do not permit the closure of heat and temperature budgets because of inaccuracies in its formulation. In this study a rigorous approach to evaluate the effect of entrainment using the output of a general circulation model (GCM) that does not have an explicit prognostic mixed layer model is described. The integral elements of the evaluation are 1) the rigorous estimates of the temperature difference between mixed layer water and entrained water at each horizontal grid point, 2) the formulation of the temperature difference such that the budget closes over a volume greater than one horizontal grid point, and 3) the apparent warming of the mixed layer during the mixed layer shoaling to account for the weak vertical temperature gradient within the mixed layer. This evaluation of entrainment heat advection is compared with the estimates by other commonly used ad hoc formulations by applying them in three regions: the north-central Pacific, the Kuroshio Extension, and the Nino-3 areas in the tropical Pacific. In all three areas the imbalance in the mixed layer temperature budget by the ad hoc estimates is significant, reaching a maximum of about 4 K yr(exp -1).

temperature gradient↗

Apollo Sample 64455: Petrologic and Geochemical Characterization of a Glass-Coated Impact Melt Rock

Introduction and Background: Impact melts are a key product of the impact cratering process. Impact melts can turbulently entrain pre-existing rock fragments, and melt part of those entrained materials until thermal equilibrium is achieved [1–3]. Lunar impact melt rocks are valuable for determining the precise ages of basin-forming and cratering events, which anchor the cratering chronology and dynamics of the entire solar system [4, and references therein]. Additionally, entrained clasts can inform on the petrology and age of crustal materials that predate the melt-forming impact. In lithologies where no pristine samples are available, entrained materials may hold the record of endogenous lunar volatiles, provided we can untangle their impact histories as high temperature impact melt can heat the clasts and may alter their native volatiles or isotopic signatures [5–6]. Here, we characterize an Apollo 16 sample, 64455,70B, in an effort to understand the physical, microstructural, and geochemical consequences of impact melt contact metamorphism. We acquired optical light and x-ray maps of the sample, as well as quantitative analyses via electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). These tasks allow us to better understand the interaction between impact melts and entrained clasts, ultimately closing knowledge gaps in high-temperature impact processing on planetary surfaces. Sample Description: Sample 64455 is an oblong crystalline rock encased in glass to form an egg-like shape [7–8]. The impact melt coating has altered the outer (1 to 2 mm) rind of the crystalline rock and has preserved schlieren. The interior crystalline rock is likely a crystalline impact melt rock based on its bulk Ir content of 2.25 parts per billion [9]. The composition of the impact melt glass rind cannot be solely derived from the crystalline interior, the glassy rind is more aluminous and less magnesian [10]. Neither the crystalline interior nor the glassy rind were radiometrically age dated, although several studies investigated its cosmogenic isotopes and exposure ages, which reveal the sample was exposed on the lunar surface for ~1–2 Ma [11–13]. Preliminary Results: The interior crystalline rock consists primarily of plagioclase with interstitial pyroxene and olivine. Plagioclase grains are zoned and compositions range from An97–89, while pyroxene compositions generally range from En68Fs19Wo13 to En82Fs15Wo3 and olivine are Fo77 to Fo85. Minor phases include Fe-Ni metal, Ca-phosphates, a K- and Si-rich phase, sulfides, and Fe-phosphides. The glass rind contains approximately 44 wt.% SiO2, 25 wt.% Al2O3, 6 wt.% FeO, 8 wt.% MgO, and 14 wt.% CaO, with other oxides at <1 wt.% each, although the composition of the glass becomes more variable closest to the crystalline rock. The rind consists of rounded plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine crystals with interstitial melt. In some locations, the rounded crystals are surrounded by closely-packed, blade-like crystals, <5 µm in width. These results indicate that the crystalline interior has partially melted where in contact with the high-temperature impact melt and while further investigation is needed, pyroxene may have preferentially melted relative to olivine and plagioclase. Future Work: We plan to conduct electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) mapping in order to determine crystallinity and crystal orientation. Next using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data in conjunction with EBSD and EPMA information, we will model the diffusion of moderately volatile elements between the melt and remnant crystals.

A C Stadermann↗

Hydrogen film cooling investigation

Effects of flow turning, flow acceleration, and supersonic flow on film cooling were determined experimentally and correlated in terms of an entrainment film cooling model. Experiments were conducted using thin walled metal test sections, hot nitrogen mainstream gas, and ambient hydrogen or nitrogen as film coolants. The entrainment film cooling model relates film cooling effectiveness to the amount of mainstream gases entrained with the film coolant in a mixing layer. The experimental apparatus and the analytical model used are described in detail and correlations for the entrainment fraction and film coolant-to-wall heat transfer coefficient are presented.

Rousar, D. C.↗

Investigation of performance limits in axial groove heat pipes

The entrainment-shear performance limit which occurs in axial groove heat pipes was investigated and explained. In the existing heat pipe literature the entrainment heat flux limit is defined as the condition where the Weber number is greater than or equal to one. In this analysis, the critical value for the entrainment Weber number is found to be 2 pi less than or equal to 3 pi. Perhaps more important to the heat pipe designer than the entrainment performance limit is the prediction of the performance degradation due to vapor-liquid shearing stress which is also described. Preliminary qualitative experiments were conducted to observe the shear. stress wave formation phenomena. The equations presented may be used to predict and minimize the vapor-liquid shear stress performance effects that occur in axial groove and puddle flow artery heat pipes.

Feldman, K. T.↗

Solar and stellar radio spikes - Limits on the saturation of the electron-cyclotron maser

The solar millisecond radio 'spikes' have been explained in terms of X-mode radiation generated by a maser near the electron gyrofrequency, acting on fast coronal electrons with a loss cone. This maser is a phenomenon described by quasi-linear theory. It is sensitive to the small first-relativistic correction to the gyrofrequency. Thus, it might be disrupted rather easily by nonlinear effects. The maximum radiation density that can be reached before the radiation entrains (phase-locks) the electrons and saturates the maser is discussed. If the observed durations of solar radio spikes are a measure of the rate of scattering into the loss-cone, then the inferred energy density is at least two orders of magnitude less than the energy density at which entrainment sets in. Also, maser emission from auroral kilometric radiation does not reach wave energies critical for electron entrainment. Maser emissions from flare stars, however, show 3-4 orders of magnitude higher radio fluxes and brightness temperatures than for the solar case and are likely to be saturated by entrainment.

Wentzel, Donat G.↗

Thrust Augmentation of a Shrouded Nozzle

The test seeks to find the effectiveness of thrust augmentation due to air entrainment at the rocket nozzle exit. Shrouds are attached to the primary nozzle to entrain the ambient air for further expansion. Compressed air is used to simulate a propellant in the primary flow; therefore, combustion and afterburning are excluded. Perfect expansion is used in the primary (unshrouded) nozzle to further rule out the suspicion that the shrouds simply act as a nozzle extension in the event that thrust augmentation is observed. The goal is to find the effectiveness of thrust augmentation as the result of air entrainment alone. Thrust and flow data are recorded for different shrouds at over, fully, and under-expanded conditions. Recorded mass flow rate data will be used to calculate the entrainment rate. Results of this experiment will be verified with a computer code.

Liou, Larry↗

Thermocapillary Flow and Aggregation of Bubbles on a Solid Wall

During the electrolytic evolution of oxygen bubbles forming on a vertically oriented transparent tin oxide electrode, bubbles were found to be mutually attractive. The mechanism of the aggregation had never been explained satisfactorily until Guelcher et al. attributed it to thermocapillary flow. The gradient of surface tension of the liquid at the bubble's surface, which was established because of reaction heat and ohmic heat loss at the electrode wall, drives flow of the liquid adjacent to each bubble; the bubble "pumps" fluid along its surface away from the wall. Fluid flows toward the bubble to conserve mass and entrains nearby bubbles in the flow pattern. The same logic would apply when two bubbles of equal size are adjacent to each other on a warm wall. Each bubble drives thermocapillary flow and hence entrains the other in its flow pattern, which drives the aggregation. Our objective here is to perform experiments where the temperature gradient at the wall is well known and controlled. The theory can be quantitatively tested by studying aggregation of bubble pairs of equal size, and by varying system parameters such as temperature gradient, bubble size and fluid viscosity. The results are then compared with the theory in a quantitatively rigorous manner. We demonstrate that the theory without adjustable parameters is capable of quantitatively modeling the rate of aggregation of two bubbles. The equations governing the thermocapillary flow around a single stationary bubble on a heated or cooled wall in a semi-infinite domain were solved. Both Reynolds number and Marangoni number were much less than unity. The critical result is that liquid in the vicinity of a warm wall flows toward a stationary collector bubble. Consequently the thermocapillary flow around the stationary bubble entrains another bubble toward itself. The bubbles undergo hindered translation parallel to the wall with velocity U while the fluid flow field is described with u. Two velocities were equated by using a wall hindrance parameter q: U = qu [1] which shows the velocity of bubble is proportional to the entraining velocity. The hindrance parameter q can experimentally be measured independently. q can also be calculated by solving the equations of motion for a bubble translating parallel to a solid wall. The experimental cell is cylindrical with an ID of 10 cm and consists of a 1 cm deep main cell filled with silicone oil and flanked by two thermal reservoirs. The upper thermal reservoir was heated and the lower thermal reservoir was cooled so that the bubbles aggregate. Two types of silicone oil (eta = 0.02 and 0.50 Pa s) were used. Two equal sized air bubbles were injected into the cell with a syringe. The center-to-center distance of bubbles was observed through a microscope. Bubble radius ranged from 0.40 mm to 0.65 mm and the temperature gradients along with the cell ranged from 1400 to 5000 K/m. The bubbles aggregated when heat flows from the wall to the fluid. The velocities of bubbles were in the range of 1 - 10 microns/s. The separation r decreased more quickly when the temperature gradient was higher, bubble size was larger, and the oil viscosity was lower. r decreased more rapidly as the bubbles approached each other. Dimensionless time was arbitrarily set to be zero when the dimensionless center-to-center distance between the bubbles was 4. All the bubble trajectories fall onto one line, especially in the range of dimensionless distance from 4 to 3. This means the relative movement of the bubble pair is proportional to the temperature gradient and bubble size and it is inversely proportional to the viscosity of the oil. This result strongly suggests that the thermocapillary flow-based aggregation mechanism is correct. A value of q can be estimated by fitting the scaled data to Eq. [1]. A best fit value of q was obtained as q = 0.26 with a standard deviation of 0.03. Independent experimental results for q for a 0.5 mm radius bubble, give values of q in the range 0.11 to 0.23. The value of q obtained from solving the equations of motion reveals q has values in the range 0.23 - 0.30. Since the full scale of possible values of q is zero to one, the maximum deviation of independently determined values of q from the best fit value was 15% of this full scale. Thus reasonable quantitative agreement between theory and experiment has been obtained.

Kasumi, Hiroki↗

Unsteady Ejector Performance: an Experimental Investigation Using a Pulsejet Driver

An experimental investigation is described in which thrust augmentation and mass entrainment were measured for a variety of simple cylindrical ejectors driven by a gasoline-fueled pulsejet. The ejectors were of varying length, diameter, and inlet radius. Measurements were also taken to determine the effect on performance of the distance between pulsejet exit and ejector inlet. Limited tests were also conducted to determine the effect of driver cross-sectional shape. Optimal values were found for all three ejector parameters with respect to thrust augmentation. This was not the case with mass entrainment, which increased monotonically with ejector diameter. Thus, it was found that thrust augmentation is not necessarily directly related to mass entrainment, as is often supposed for ejectors. Peak thrust augmentation values of 1.8 were obtained. Peak mass entrainment values of 30 times the driver mass flow were also observed. Details of the experimental setup and results are presented. Preliminary analysis of the results indicates that the enhanced performance obtained with an unsteady jet (primary source) over comparably sized ejectors driven with steady jets is due primarily to the structure of the starting vortex-type flow associated with the former.

Paxson, Daniel E.↗

Use of Novel Light Sources and Melatonin Delivery Systems in the Maintenance of Temporal Organization of Physiological and Behavioral Circadian Rhythms

The synchronization of physiological and behavioral rhythms are controlled by an endogenous biological clock. It is generally accepted that environmental lighting is the strongest entrainer of this clock. The pineal gland is an important physiological transducer of environmental lighting via systemic melatonin secretion. We have used a novel light source using light emitting diode (LED) technology to entrain circadian rhythms in rats, and propose a novel percutaneous exogenous melatonin delivery system to entrain rat rhythms. We used 5 groups of Sprague-Dawley rats (175-350 g; N = 8/group) and showed normal entrainment of gross locomotor activity, feeding, and drinking circadian rhythms at light intensities varying from 80 lux to 0.1 lux (22.4 to 0.03 sq cm). To improve the delivery of melatonin across the skin stratum corneum it was formulated in a suitable vehicle in a transdermal drug delivery system. Various saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were used E, akin penetration enhancers. Our best vehicle formulation was achieved with a combination-of ethano1:water (60:40) along with 5% oleic acid as the enhancer. This formulation mixture was studied using Franz diffusion cell (0.636 sq cm diffusional area) and 1 cu cm dorsal skin isolated from Sprague Dawley rats. Our results showed that oleic acid in combination with the water ethanol mixture improved the flux of melatonin by more than 18 fold. The lag time for melatonin permeation was 2-3 hrs and the peak concentrations were achieved in 8-10 hrs. Our approaches in the future will involve the use of our transdermal melatonin delivery system and under the influence of LED light and microgravity.

Winget, C. M.↗