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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1979

The Physiological Basis for Spacecraft Environmental Limits

This document is intended to provide a description of the physiological effects that determine the environmental limits required in spacecraft. The existing limits for operational environments are described in terms of acceptable physiological changes. Tolerance limits are discussed for exposures to environmental factors during unusual or contingency situations. Where environmental limits may be required but do not presently exist or where additional research is required to refine existing limits, these research needs are specified.

J M Waligora↗
NASA NTRS1979

Lubricant limiting shear stress effect on EHD film thickness

A Grubin-like EHD inlet analysis utilizing a non-linear viscous fluid model with a limiting shear stress is reported. The shear rheological equation requirs only a low shear stress viscosity and the limiting shear stress both functions of pressure. Values employed for these properties are taken from measurements on typical lubricants. Reductions of EHD film thickness are found to be up to 40 percent compared with the standard Grubin prediction for typical operating conditions. Slide-roll ratio, limiting shear stress dependence on pressure, and atmospheric pressure value of limiting shear stress are new variables required to determine film thickness with the first two being more important than the last. The EHD film thickness is reduced by increasing slide-roll ratio and/or decreasing the pressure dependence of the limiting shear stress.

Gecim, B.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Use of the Charge/Discharge (C/D) ratio to aument voltage limit (V sub T) charge control in the ERBS spacecraft

A 50-ampere hour nickel cadmium cell test pack was operated in a power profile simulating the orbit of the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS). The objective was to determine the ability of the temperature compensated voltage limit (V sub T) charge control system to maintain energy balance in the half sine wave-type current profile expected of this mission. The four-cell pack (50 E) was tested at the Naval Weapons Support Center (NWSC) at Crane, Indiana. The ERBS evaluation test consisted of two distinct operating sequences, each having a specific purpose. The first phase was a parametric test involving the effect of V sub T level, temperature, and Beta angle on the charge/discharge (C/D) ratio, an indicator of the amount of overcharge. The second phase of testing made use of the C/D ratio limit to augment the V sub T charge limit control. When the C/D limit was reached, the current was switched from the taper mode to a C/67 (0.75 A) trickle charge. The use of an ampere hour integrator limiting the overcharge to a C/67 rate provided a fine tuning of the charge control technique which eliminated the sensitivity problems noted in the initial operating sequence.

Halpert, G.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Limit on possible narrow rings around Jupiter

An upper limit to the optical depth of the Jovian ring at high spatial resolution, determined from stellar occultation data, is reported. The spatial resolution of the observation is limited to about 13 km in Jupiter's equatorial plane by the projection of the Fresnel zone on the equatorial plane in the radial direction. At this resolution, the normal optical depth limit is about 0.008. This limit applies to a strip in the Jovian equatorial plane that crosses the orbits of Amalthea, 1979J1, 1979J3, and the ring. An upper limit on the number density of kilometer-size boulders has been set at one per 11.000 sq km in the equatorial plane.

Dunham, E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Chemolithotrophy and physiology of bacterial nutrient limitation

An overview of the physiology of chemolithotrophic bacteria, particularly the thiobacilli, was presented. In these bacteria unique physiological traits are expressed during nutrient limited growth. Different physiological types of chemolithotrophs, pathways of sulfur oxidation, and electron transport in the thiobacilli, problems encountered by chemolithotrophs in the generation of reducing power, and some explanations of the phenomenon of obligate chemolithotrophy were considered. Mixotrophy in the thiobacilli has been studied extensively both under nutrient excess and limitation. In nature, bacteria usually grow under nutrient limitation. Yet the bulk of our knowledge of microbial metabolic function is derived from bacteria grown in laboratory batch cultures containing a great abundance of nutrients. Microbial behavior in these two types of environments can be very different, indicating the need for basing an understanding of microbial ecology on studies that rely on cultivation of microorganisms under nutrient limitation. Nutrient limited bacteria differ in several ways from those growing in large quantities of nutrients. They have different surface structures and make a much fuller use of their metabolic potential, especially by the synthesis of unique pathways of catabolic enzymes.

Matin, A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A thermal-capillary mechanism for a growth rate limit in edge-defined film-fed growth of silicon sheets

Capillarity, acting to set the shape of the melt/gas interfaces, and heat transfer can interact to cause limits to steady-state growth of thin silicon sheets by the Edge-Defined Film-Fed Growth (EFG) method. A finite-element/Newton solution method for a two-dimensional thermal-capillary model of EFG is used to show that limiting values of pull rate exist beyond which steady-state growth is impossible. The pull rate limit is also predicted by a one-dimensional heat transfer model valid when the die sides and menisci are almost parallel and when the thermal conductivities of melt, crystal, and die are all equal. Both the one- and two-dimensional heat transfer models show that heat loss from the melt is dominated by conduction into the crystal and slow heat release to the ambient along the length of the ribbon. The limiting pull rate results from the reduced efficiency of conduction through the melt caused by the curvature of the meniscus which increases height of the die top above the level of the melt. Thermal-capillary limits are predicted for both positive and negative pressure differences across the meniscus.

Thomas, P. D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Observation of millimeter-wave oscillations from resonant tunneling diodes and some theoretical considerations of ultimate frequency limits

Recent observations of oscillation frequencies up to 56 GHz in resonant tunneling structures are discussed in relation to calculations by several authors of the ultimate frequency limits of these devices. It is found that calculations relying on the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation give limits well below the observed oscillation frequencies. Two other techniques for calculating the upper frequency limit were found to give more reasonable results. One method employs the solution of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation obtained by Kundrotas and Dargys (1986); the other uses the energy width of the transmission function for electrons through the double-barrier structure. This last technique is believed to be the most accurate since it is based on general results for the lifetime of any resonant state. It gives frequency limits on the order of 1 THz for two recently fabricated structures. It appears that the primary limitation of the oscillation frequency for double-barrier resonant-tunneling diodes is imposed by intrinsic device circuit parameters and by the transit time of the depletion layer rather than by time delays encountered in the double-barrier region.

Sollner, T. C. L. G.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Upper limit on the intrinsic magnetic field of Venus

A data set of 18,000 low-altitude nightside vector measurements from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) magnetometer is used to establish a new upper limit on the intrinsic dipolar magnetic moment of Venus. Various techniques are used to search for coherence in the magnetic observations which might be attributable to such an intrinsic field, with negative results. A similar search is conducted for surface magnetism, that is, geographically correlated magnetic features, also with negative results. The present study represents the best limits that PVO observations can provide and is limited by the amount of low-altitude nightside data available. New upper limit to the magnetic moment is 8.4 x 10 to the 10th T/cu m or about 10 to the -5th of the terrestrial magnetic moment. This is a factor of four lower than the previous upper limit.

Phillips, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The effects of sinusoidal interference on the second-order carrier tracking loop preceded by a bandpass limiter in the Block 4 receiver

Drop-lock relationships for the second-order phase-locked loop are derived when the carrier and a sinusoidal signal lie within the predetection filter bandwidth of the Block 4 receiver. Limiter suppression factors are calculated when a bandpass hard limiter is used to maintain constant total power at the loop. The parameters of interest are the interference-to-signal power ratio (ISR), the input signal-to-noise power ratio (NSR), and the interference signal frequency offset from carrier delta f. Limiter suppression caused by the combined effects of the noise and the interference signal accounts for the variability in the drop-lock threshold for given values of the input SNR and ISR parameters. Going beyond earlier published work that focused on the limiter's effect on the drop-lock threshold; an account is made for the limiter action in the interference mode and an overall imporvement is provided in the prediction accuracy of the drop-lock model.

Ruggier, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

HEAO 3 upper limits to pulsed gamma-ray emission from PSR 1509 - 58 and PSR 0833 - 45

This paper reports upper limits to the 50 keV-10 MeV gamma-ray pulsations from PSR 1509 - 58 and PSR 0833 - 45 (Vela) made with the HEAO 3 gamma-ray spectrometer. The 2 sigam upper limit to the 50 - 300 keV flux from PSR 1509 - 58 is 6.9 x 10 to the -6th photons/sq cm per sec per keV. Combined with the best-fit X-ray spectrum, this limit suggests there is a break in the spectrum below about 100 keV. This upper limit is not stringent enough, however, to distinguish between thermal and nonthermal models for the source of the X-ray emission. The 2 sigma upper limit to the 3.2 - 10 MeV flux from PSR 0833 - 45 is 4.9 x 10 to the -8th photons/sq cm per sec per keV.

Ulmer, M. P.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Developing acceptance limits for measured bearing wear of the Space Shuttle Main Engine high pressure oxidizer turbopump

The probabilistic design approach currently receiving attention for structural failure modes has been adapted for obtaining measured bearing wear limits in the Space Shuttle Main Engine high-pressure oxidizer turbopump. With the development of the shaft microtravel measurements to determine bearing health, an acceptance limit was neeed that protects against all known faiure modes yet is not overly conservative. This acceptance criteria limit has been successfully determined using probabilistic descriptions of preflight hardware geometry, empirical bearing wear data, mission requirements, and measurement tool precision as an input for a Monte Carlo simulation. The result of the simulation is a frequency distribution of failures as a function of preflight acceptance limits. When the distribution is converted into a reliability curve, a conscious risk management decision is made concerning the acceptance limit.

Genge, Gary G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Luminosity limit for alpha-viscosity accretion disks

The existence of a luminosity limit for alpha-viscosity physically thin accretion disks around black holes is established, using a new formulation of the radiation equation bridging optically thick and thin regimes. For alpha close to unity, this limit can be lower than the Eddington limit. Physically, this limit is due to the combined effects of gas and radiation pressure which become too large to satisfy vertical hydrostatic balance at intermediate optical depths for sufficiently high luminosities. This effect was overlooked in previous treatments using only the optically thin or thick limits of the radiative equation.

Liang, Edison P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The He I 2.06 microns/Br-gamma ratio in starburst galaxies - An objective constraint on the upper mass limit to the initial mass function

The use of the He I 2.06 microns/Br-gamma ratio as a constraint on the massive stellar population in star-forming galaxies is developed. A theoretical relationship between the He I 2.06 microns/Br-gamma ratio and the effective temperature of the exciting star in H II regions is derived. The effects of collisional excitation and dust within the nebula on the ratio are also considered. It is shown that the He I 2.06 microns/Br-gamma ratio is a steep function of the effective temperature, a property which can be used to determine the upper mass limit of the initial mass function (IMF) in galaxies. This technique is reliable for upper mass limits less than about 40 solar masses. New near-infrared spectra of starburst galaxies are presented. The He I 2.06 microns/Br-gamma ratios observed imply a range of upper mass limits from 27 to over 40 solar masses. There is also evidence that the upper mass limit is spatially dependent within a given galaxy. These results suggest that the upper mass limit is not a uniquely defined parameter of the IMF and probably varies with local physical conditions.

Doyon, Rene↗
NASA NTRS1993

On the accuracy of limiters and convergence to steady state solutions

This paper addresses the practical problem of obtaining convergence to steady state solutions when limiters are used in conjunction with upwind schemes on unstructured grids. The base scheme forms a gradient and limits it by imposing monotonicity conditions in the reconstruction stage. It is shown by analysis in one dimension that such an approach leads to various schemes meeting TVD requirements in one dimension. It is further shown that these formally second order accurate schemes are less than second order accurate in practice because of the action of the limiter function in smooth regions of the solution. Modifications are proposed to the limiter that restore the second order accuracy. In multiple dimensions these schemes produce steady state solutions that are monotone and devoid of oscillations. However, convergence stalls after a few orders of reduction in the residual. With the modified limiter, on the other hand, it is shown that converged steady state solutions can be obtained.

Venkatakrishnan, V.↗
NASA NTRS1945

The Effect of Compression Ratio on Knock Limits of High-Performance Fuels in a CFR Engine II : Blends of 2,2,3-Trimethylpentane with 28-R

The knock-limited performance of blends of 0,50; and 100 percent by volume of 2,2,3-trimethylpentane in 28-R fuel determined with a modified F-4 engine at three sets of conditions varying from severe to mild at each of three compression ratios (6.0, 8.0, and 10.0). A comparison of the knock-limited performance of 2,2,3-trimethylpentane with that of triptane (2,2,3-trimethylbutane) is included. The knock-Limited performance of 2,2,3-trimethylpontane was usually more sensitive to either compression ratio or inlet-air temperature than 28-R fuel, but the ratio of the knock-limited indicated mean effective pressure of a given blend containing 2,2,3-trimethypentane and 28-R to the indicated mean effective pressure of 28-R alone was not greatly affected by compression ratio if the engine operating conditions were mild. Although 2,2,3-trimethylpentane in general had a lower knock-limited performance than triptane, the characteristics of the two fuels were somewhat similar.

FUELS, ANTIKNOCK↗
NASA NTRS1996

Upper Limit of Weights in TAI Computation

The international reference time scale International Atomic Time (TAI) computed by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) relies on a weighted average of data from a large number of atomic clocks. In it, the weight attributed to a given clock depends on its long-term stability. In this paper the TAI algorithm is used as the basis for a discussion of how to implement an upper limit of weight for clocks contributing to the ensemble time. This problem is approached through the comparison of two different techniques. In one case, a maximum relative weight is fixed: no individual clock can contribute more than a given fraction to the resulting time scale. The weight of each clock is then adjusted according to the qualities of the whole set of contributing elements. In the other case, a parameter characteristic of frequency stability is chosen: no individual clock can appear more stable than the stated limit. This is equivalent to choosing an absolute limit of weight and attributing this to to the most stable clocks independently of the other elements of the ensemble. The first technique is more robust than the second and automatically optimizes the stability of the resulting time scale, but leads to a more complicated computatio. The second technique has been used in the TAI algorithm since the very beginning. Careful analysis of tests on real clock data shows that improvement of the stability of the time scale requires revision from time to time of the fixed value chosen for the upper limit of absolute weight. In particular, we present results which confirm the decision of the CCDS Working Group on TAI to increase the absolute upper limit by a factor of 2.5. We also show that the use of an upper relative contribution further helps to improve the stability and may be a useful step towards better use of the massive ensemble of HP 507IA clocks now contributing to TAI.

Thomas, Claudine↗
NASA NTRS1997

Force Limited Vibration Testing Monograph

The practice of limiting the shaker force in vibration tests was investigated at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1990 after the mechanical failure of an aerospace component during a vibration test. Now force limiting is used in almost every major vibration test at JPL and in many vibration tests at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and at many aerospace contractors. The basic ideas behind force limiting have been in the literature for several decades, but the piezo-electric force transducers necessary to conveniently implement force limiting have been available only in the last decade. In 1993, funding was obtained from the NASA headquarters Office of Chief Engineer to develop and document the technology needed to establish force limited vibration testing as a standard approach available to all NASA centers and aerospace contractors. This monograph is the final report on that effort and discusses the history, theory, and applications of the method in some detail.

Scharton, Terry D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Bevel Gear Driver and Method Having Torque Limit Selection

Methods and apparatus are provided for a torque driver including an axially displaceable gear with a biasing assembly to bias the displaceable gear into an engagement position. A rotatable cap is provided with a micrometer dial to select a desired output torque. An intermediate bevel gear assembly is disposed between an input gear and an output gear. A gear tooth profile provides a separation force that overcomes the bias to limit torque at a desired torque limit. The torque limit is adjustable and may be adjusted manually or automatically depending on the type of biasing assembly provided. A clutch assembly automatically limits axial force applied to a fastener by the operator to avoid alteration of the desired torque limit.

Cook, Joseph S., Jr.↗