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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

Performance of multimirror quartzline lamps in a high-pressure, underwater environment

Multimirror Quartzline Lamps are extremely versatile and effective for nonconventional imaging requirements such as high-speed photo and video instrumentation and high-magnification imaging. The lamps' versatility though, is not limited to conventional environments. Many research experiments and projects require a high pressure environment. Continuous photographic data acquisition in a high-pressure vessel requires wall penetrations and creates design problems as well as potential failure sites. Underwater photography adds the extra consideration of a liquid. This report expands upon the basic research presented in, Performance of Multimirror Quartzline Lamps in High-Pressure Environments, (NASA-TM-83793, Ernie Walker and Howard Slater, 1984). The report provides information to professional industrial, scientific, and technical photographers as well as research personnel on the survivability of lighting a multimirror quartzline lamp in a nonconventional high-pressure underwater environment. Test results of lighted ELH 300 W multimirror quartzline lamps under high-pressure conditions are documented and general information on the lamps' intensity (footcandle output), cone of light coverage, approximate color temperature is provided. Continuous lighting considerations in liquids are also discussed.

Slater, Howard A.↗

Models of clumpy photodissociation regions

FIR fine structure line and submillimeter line emissions important in the cooling of photodissociation regions (PDRs) as they would arise in clumpy regions are investigated with a simple two-component model for clumpy PDRs consisting of high-density clumps embedded in a lower density interclump medium. The effects of varying the densities of the clump and interclump material in a self-consistent manner are studied. It is found that, while the clump filling factor moderately affects the penetration of the UV field, the density of the interclump material is the most important factor in determining the penetration of the UV field. Observational evidence for the effects of clumpiness in PDRs is found in the spatially extended C II and C I forbidden line emissions which reveal the extent of the UV penetration, and in the observed high intensities of the high CO transitions which indicate the presence of high-density clumps.

Meixner, M.↗

Three-dimensional culture of rat calvarial osteoblasts in porous biodegradable polymers

Neonatal rat calvarial osteoblasts were cultured in 90% porous, 75:25 poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) foam scaffolds for up to 56 days to examine the effects of the cell seeding density, scaffold pore size, and foam thickness on the proliferation and function of the cells in this three-dimensional environment. Osteoblasts were seeded at either 11.1 x 10(5) or 22.1 x 10(5) cells per cm2 onto PLGA scaffolds having pore sizes in the range of 150-300 or 500-710 microm with a thickness of either 1.9 or 3.2 mm. After 1 day in culture, 75.6 and 68.6% of the seeded cells attached and proliferated on the 1.9 mm thick scaffolds of 150-300 microm pore size for the low and high seeding densities, respectively. The number of osteoblasts continued to increase throughout the study and eventually leveled off near 56 days, as indicated by a quantitative DNA assay. Osteoblast/foam constructs with a low cell seeding density achieved comparable DNA content and alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity after 14 days, and mineralization results after 56 days to those with a high cell seeding density. A maximum penetration depth of osseous tissue of 220+/-40 microm was reached after 56 days in the osteoblast/foam constructs of 150-300 microm pore size initially seeded with a high cell density. For constructs of 500-710 microm pore size, the penetration depth was 190+/-40 microm under the same conditions. Scaffold pore size and thickness did not significantly affect the proliferation or function of osteoblasts as demonstrated by DNA content, ALPase activity, and mineralized tissue formation. These data show that comparable bone-like tissues can be engineered in vitro over a 56 day period using different rat calvarial osteoblast seeding densities onto biodegradable polymer scaffolds with pore sizes in the range of 150-710 microm. When compared with the results of a previous study where similar polymer scaffolds were seeded and cultured with marrow stromal cells, this study demonstrates that PLGA foams are suitable substrates for osteoblast growth and differentiated function independent of cell source.

Non-NASA Center↗

Exploration planning in the context of human exploration and development of the Moon

It is widely believed that the next step beyond low Earth orbit in attaining the United States' stated goal of 'Expanding human presence beyond the Earth' should be to reestablish a lunar capability, building on the Apollo program, and preparing the way for eventual human missions to Mars. The Moon offers important questions in planetary and Earth science, can provide a unique platform for making astronomical observations of high resolution and sensitivity, and can be in the development path for unlocking resources of the inner solar system to support space activities and return benefits to Earth. NASA's Office of Exploration has undertaken the planning of future lunar exploration missions with the assistance of the Solar System Exploration Division in matters dealing with the quality of scientific data and the manner in which it will be made available to the scientific community. The initial elements of the proposed program include the Lunar Scout missions, which consist of two small identical spacecraft in polar orbit around the Moon, which can accomplish most of the objectives associated with previous proposals for Lunar Polar Orbiters. These missions would be followed by 'Artemis' landers, capable of emplacing up to 200 kg payloads anywhere on the Moon. In addition, the exploration program must incorporate data obtained from other missions, including the Galileo lunar flybys, the Clementine high orbital observations, and Japanese penetrator missions. In the past year, a rather detailed plan for a 'First Lunar Outpost (FLO)' which would place 4 astronauts on the lunar surface for 45 days has been developed as a possible initial step of a renewed human exploration program. In the coming year, the FLO concept will be reviewed and evolved to become more highly integrated with planning for the initial human exploration of Mars, which could come perhaps 5 years after the reestablishment of lunar capability. Both programs could benefit from the common development of systems and subsystems, where that is sensible from a performance perspective.

Duke, Michael B.↗

Electrostatic Discharge Induced in Packaging by Space Radiation

Radiation belts around Planets have sufficient high energy electron flux to penetrate spacecraft skins and statically charge insulators inside the electronic boxes. For example, geosynchronous-orbit Earth spacecraft require 100 mils aluminum shielding to sufficiently attenuate the fast electron flux. Electrons are stopped and accumulate slowly in the insulated materials to produce strong electric fields. Typically the field strength achieves a threshold for occasional spontaneous discharge in the insulating material. The field strength remains high yet pulsing is infrequent. Charge can leak off if the insulator is sufficiently leaky. The conductivity of insulators is usually controlled by mobile ions such as H and OH in ground service. In space the mobile ions are eventually out-gassed. The resistivity of several insulators is known to increase over three decades after exposure to vacuum for several months. Insulators in space were seen to pulse more frequently as they aged.

Frederickson, A. R.↗

High efficiency tantalum-based ceramic composite structures

Tantalum-based ceramics are suitable for use in thermal protection systems. These composite structures have high efficiency surfaces (low catalytic efficiency and high emittance), thereby reducing heat flux to a spacecraft during planetary re-entry. These ceramics contain tantalum disilicide, molybdenum disilicide and borosilicate glass. The components are milled, along with a processing aid, then applied to a surface of a porous substrate, such as a fibrous silica or carbon substrate. Following application, the coating is then sintered on the substrate. The composite structure is substantially impervious to hot gas penetration and capable of surviving high heat fluxes at temperatures approaching 3000.degree. F. and above.

Stewart, David A.↗

A two-dimensional, iterative solution for the jet flap

A solution is presented for the jet-flapped wing in two dimensions. The main flow is assumed to be inviscid and incompressible. The flow inside the jet is considered irrotational and the upper and lower boundaries between the jet and free stream are assumed to behave as vortex sheets which allow no mixing. The solution is found to be in satisfactory agreement with two dimensional experimental results and other theoretical work for intermediate values of momentum coefficient, but the regions of agreement vary with jet exit angle. At small values of momentum coefficient, the trajectory for the jet, as computed by this method, has more penetration than that of other available data, while at high values of moment coefficient this solution results in less penetration of the jet into the main flow.

Herold, A. C.↗

Highly Structured Plasma Density and Associated Electric and Magnetic Field Irregularities at Sub-Auroral, Middle, and Low Latitudes in the Topside Ionosphere Observed with the DEMETER and DMSP Satellites

Detailed observations of the plasma structure and irregularities that characterize the topside ionosphere at sub-auroral, middle, and low-latitudes are gathered with probes on the DEMETER and DMSP satellites. In particular, we present DEMETER observations near 700 km altitude that reveal: (1) the electric field irregularities and density depletions at mid-latitudes are remarkably similar to those associated with equatorial spread-F at low latitudes; (2) the mid-latitude density structures contain both depletions and enhancements with scale lengths along the spacecraft trajectory that typically vary from 10's to 100's of km; (3) in some cases, ELF magnetic field irregularities are observed in association with the electric field irregularities on the walls of the plasma density structures and appear to be related to finely-structured spatial currents and/or Alfven waves; (4) during severe geomagnetic storms, broad regions of nightside plasma density structures are typically present, in some instances extending from the equator to the subauroral regions; and (5) intense, broadband electric and magnetic field irregularities are observed at sub-auroral latitudes during geomagnetic storm periods that are typically associated with the trough region. Data from successive DEMETER orbits during storm periods in both the daytime and nighttime illustrate how enhancements of both the ambient plasma density, as well as sub-auroral and mid-latitude density structures, correlate and evolve with changes in the Dst. The DEMETER data are compared with near simultaneous observations gathered by the DMSP satellites near 840 km. The observations are related to theories of sub-auroral and mid-latitude plasma density structuring during geomagnetic storms and penetration electric fields and are highly germane to understanding space weather effects regarding disruption of communication and navigation signals in the near-space environment.

Pfaff, Robert F.↗

Sonic Boom Ocean Penetration: Noise Metric Comparison and Initial Focusing Results

The purpose of the present research is to determine the impact by sonic boom noise penetration into the ocean. Since the 1994 LaRC High Speed Research Program Sonic Boom Workshop several new results have been obtained. This talk reviews these results, and emphasizes the two most important findings. The first major result is an improved understanding of the noise spectra of the penetrating sonic boom. It was determined that weighted sound exposure levels decrease with deeper ocean depths significantly faster than unweighted sound exposure levels. This is because low frequencies penetrate the ocean deeper than high frequencies. Several noise metrics were used including peak, SEL, C-SEL, A-SEL, and PLdB, and results are given for all. These results are important because they show that the sonic boom noise impact on marine life a few meters below the ocean surface may be significantly lower using weighted sound levels than if one were to measure the impact using unweighted levels. The other major finding is the first estimate of the worst case peak levels produced by a penetrating sonic boom being focused by a sinusoidal ocean surface. The method of analysis chosen was computational, a time domain finite difference algorithm. The method is outlined and then example results are presented. For rounded sonic boom waveforms incident on a sinusoidal ocean surface, it is shown that the percentage increase or decrease in pressure is only occasionally larger than 10%, rarely 25%. These fluctuations indicate, under the assumptions already given, that any increase or decrease in sound level underwater due to focusing or defocusing should be small, less than 3 dB.

Sparrow, Victor W.↗

Bremsstrahlung in the atmosphere at satellite altitudes

Transport calculations have been made to determine the emission of bremsstrahlung by electrons in the atmosphere and the penetration of this radiation to high altitudes where it can be detected by satellite-borne instruments. The calculations were done assuming uniform wide-area precipitation into the atmosphere of an electron flux isotropic over the downward hemisphere. The intensity and energy spectrum of the bremsstrahlung have been obtained for the case of incident monoenergetic electron beams at energies between 20 keV and 2 MeV, for incident electron beams with exponential spectra with e-folding energies between 5 and 200 keV.

Seltzer, S. M.↗

Apollo light flash investigations

The visual phenomenon of light flashes resulting from high energy, heavy cosmic rays penetrating the command module structure and crewmembers' eyes is investigated. Light flash events observed during dedicated sessions on Apollo 15, 16, 17 are described along with a Monte Carlo simulation of the exposure of an astronaut to cosmic radiation during a mission. Results of the Apollo Light Flash Moving Emulsion Detector experiment developed for Apollo 16 and 17 to obtain a direct record of incident cosmic ray particles are correlated with crewmembers' reports of light flashes.

W. Zachary Osborne↗

Apollo-Soyuz pamphlet no. 2: X-rays, gamma-rays

The nature of high energy radiation and its penetration through earth's atmosphere is examined with emphasis on X-rays, gamma rays, and cosmic radiation and the instruments used in their detection. The history of radio astronomy and the capabilities of the Uhuru satellite are summarized. The ASTP soft X-ray experiment (MA-048) designed to study the spectra in the range from 0.1 to 10 keV and survey the background over a large section of the sky is described, as well as the determination of SMC C-1 as an X-ray pulsar. The crystal activation experiment (MA-151) used to measure the radioactive isotopes created by cosmic rays in crystals used for gamma ray detectors is also discussed.

Page, L. W.↗

Experimental and analytical determination of gear tooth temperatures with oil jet lubrication

Gear tooth average and instantaneous surface temperatures were measured with a fast response infrared radiometric microscope, while operating at arious speeds, loads and oil jet pressures. Increased oil jet pressure had a significant effect on both average and peak surface temperatures at all test conditions, increasing the speed at constant load and increasing the load at constant speed causes a significant rise in average and peak surface temperatures of gear teeth. A gear tooth temperature analysis was conducted by a finite element method combined with a calculated heat input and oil jet impingment depth with estimated heat transfer coefficients based on the experimental data. It is concluded that oil jet pressures required for adequate cooling at high load and speed conditions must be high enough to get full penetration depth of the teeth.

Townsend, D. P.↗

An EPR methodology for measuring the London penetration depth for the ceramic superconductors

The use is discussed of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) as a quick and easily accessible method for measuring the London penetration depth, lambda for the high T(sub c) superconductors. The method utilizes the broadening of the EPR signal, due to the emergence of the magnetic flux lattice, of a free radical adsorbed on the surface of the sample. The second moment, of the EPR signal below T(sub c) is fitted to the Brandt equation for a simple triangular lattice. The precision of this method compares quite favorably with those of the more standard methods such as micro sup(+)SR, Neutron scattering, and magnetic susceptibility.

Rakvin, B.↗

Introduction to the Ulysses encounter with Jupiter

The Ulysses spacecraft encountered Jupiter in February 1992, passing within 6.31 radii of the planet. For approximately 8 days it was inside the Jovian magnetosphere, and for several days before and after that, Ulysses was in the interaction regions formed by the solar wind (the magnetosheath and boundary layer). The inbound trajectory was at an approximately 1000 LT and the outbound trajectory was at 1800 LT, that is, dusk, a unique feature of the flight path. Three regions interior to the magnetosphere were identified as on previous missions both inbound and outbound. In addition, the spacecraft twice penetrated a cusplike region at high latitude in the inner magnetosphere. Following closest approach, Ulysses traversed the Io plasma torus in basically a north-south direction. Although Ulysses is a heliospheric mission, the experiments were suited to an investigation of Jupiter's magnetosphere and have returned much new information. This introduction to the accompanying articles by the Ulysses investigators provides basic information on the experiments, the spacecraft, and the trajectory. In addition, the scientific context of the encounter is reviewed on the basis of the preliminary analyses of the Ulysses observations and a rudimentary comparison with the earlier Pioneer and Voyager results. Some important scientific questions raised by the encounter, along with some tentative answers, are presented.

Smith, Edward J.↗

Flame-Resistant Composite Materials For Structural Members

Matrix-fiber composite materials developed for structural members occasionally exposed to hot, corrosive gases. Integral ceramic fabric surface layer essential for resistance to flames and chemicals. Endures high temperature, impedes flame from penetrating to interior, inhibits diffusion of oxygen to interior where it degrades matrix resin, resists attack by chemicals, helps resist erosion, and provides additional strength. In original intended application, composite members replace steel structural members of rocket-launching structures that deteriorate under combined influences of atmosphere, spilled propellants, and rocket exhaust. Composites also attractive for other applications in which corrosion- and fire-resistant structural members needed.

Spears, Richard K.↗