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Characterization Progress of an Absorption Laser Differential Interferometer

An absorption laser differential interferometer (A-LDI) system can be used to provide simultaneous, colinear measurements of flow properties (pressure, temperature, concentration, velocity) and flow fluctuations. Further characterization work on the absorption aspect of the system is provided in this paper, including characterization of the laser operating parameters, comparisons of two etalons of different free spectral range, and the further evaluation of a fixed-wavelength absorption measurement that can be used to obtain absorption and LDI measurements with the same sampling rate. A 0.4 GHz etalon was demonstrated to provide sufficient fringe peaks at low modulation depths to be used for the low-pressure testing characteristic of hypersonic wind tunnel facilities. The use of a 3 GHz etalon as a low-cost relative wavemeter was tested and validated. Data taken with the fixed-wavelength strategy in a sub-atmospheric test cell using 100% O 2 was successful and will allow absorption and LDI data to be acquired simultaneously, colinearly, and at the same sampling rate, yielding a truly simultaneous measurement of the flow density fluctuations and the flow mean density.

Joshua M. Weisberger↗

NASA NTRS1978

Observations of two distinct populations of bow shock ions in the upstream solar wind

Observations upstream of the earth's bow shock with the LASL/MPI fast plasma experiments on ISEE 1 and 2 reveal the presence of two distinct and mutually exclusive populations of low energy (no more than 40 keV) ions apparently accelerated at the bow shock. The first of these, the 'reflected' population, is characterized by (1) sharply peaked spectra seldom extending much above about 10 keV/ion and (2) relatively collimated flow coming from the direction of the shock. On the other hand, the 'diffuse' ions are distinguished by relatively flat energy spectra above about 10 keV and broad angular distributions. They are by far the most commonly observed upstream ion event. A close causal association is suggested between the diffuse ion population in the upstream solar wind and energetic plasma ions observed within the magnetosheath.

Gosling, J. T.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Characterizing NWP Model Errors Using Doppler-Lidar Measurements of Recurrent Regional Diurnal Flows: Marine-Air Intrusions into the Columbia-River Basin

Ground-based Doppler-lidar instrumentation provides atmospheric wind data at dramatically improved accuracies and spatial/temporal resolutions. These capabilities have provided new insights into atmospheric flow phenomena, but they also should have a strong role in NWP model improvement. Insight into the nature of model errors can be gained by studying recurrent atmospheric flows, here a regional summertime diurnal sea breeze and subsequent marine-air intrusion into the arid interior of Oregon-Washington, where these winds are an important windenergy resource. These marine intrusions were sampled by three scanning Doppler lidars in the Columbia-River Basin as part of the Second Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP2), using data from summer 2016. Lidar time-height cross sections of wind speed identified eight days when the diurnal-flow cycle, (peak wind speeds at midnight, afternoon minima) was obvious and strong. Eight-day composite time-height cross sections of lidar wind speeds are used to validate those generated by the operational NCEP-HRRR model. HRRR simulated the diurnal wind cycle, but produced errors in the timing of onset and significant errors due to a premature nighttime demise of the intrusion flow, producing low-bias errors of 6 m s-1 . Day-to-day and in the composite, whenever a marine intrusion occurred, HRRR made these same errors. The errors occurred under a range of gradient wind conditions indicating that they resulted from the misrepresentation of physical processes within a limited region around the measurement locations. Because of their generation within a limited geographical area, field-measurement programs can be designed to find and address the sources of these NWP errors.

Banta, Robert M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Solar cycle variations of electron density and temperature in the Venusian nightside ionosphere

The return of periapsis to low altitudes during the Summer and Fall of 1992 provided a unique opportunity for the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) to make in situ measurements in the Venusian ionosphere at much lower levels of solar activity (F10.7 approx. equals 120) than existed when periapsis was at low altitudes in 1979 and 1980 (F10.7 approx. equals 220). We present the observations of electron density (N(sub e)) and temperature (T(sub e)) made by the Orbiter Electron Temperature Probe (OETP) during the Entry Period. Empirical models of the N(sub e) and T(sub e) height variations are presented and compared with similar models based on OETP measurements made at solar maximum. The median N(sub e) at the ionospheric peak (approx. 140 km) was essentially unchanged from its solar maximum value, but the ionosphere was increasingly depleted at higher altitudes, reaching a factor of 7 lower densities at 200 km. T(sub e) was lower by almost a factor of 2 at 140 km but was rather significantly enhanced at higher altitudes; exceeding its solar maximum values by a factor of 1.3 at 200 km and a factor of 2 at 500 km. In general these results support the earlier conclusions that the nightside upper ionosphere is depleted at lower levels of solar activity by a reduction of the nightward ion flow. The lack of N(sub e) variation near the peak (between solar maximum and entry) suggests that nightward ion transport does not play as large a role in the peak formation as does local ion production by energetic particles. The decrease does local ion production by energetic particles. The decrease in T(sub e) at low altitudes suggests that the low densities of the upper ionosphere at the time of PVO entry could no longer support the conduction of heat from the dayside ionosphere, thus allowing the lower nightside ionosphere to cool by collisions with ions and neutrals, and by heat conduction to the cooler regions below.

Theis, Robert F.↗

DOE OSTI2020

A Durable, Inexpensive and Scalable Redox Flow Battery Based on Iron Sulfate and Anthraquinone Disulfonic Acid

A new redox flow battery system based on iron sulfate and anthraquinone disulfonic acid (AQDS) is shown here to have excellent electrical performance, capacity retention, and chemical durability. While these redox couples, iron(II)/iron(III) and AQDS are well known individually, their combination in a redox flow battery is shown here for the first time to provide unique benefits for large-scale energy storage. Based on iron sulfate, a waste product of the steel industry, the active materials cost for this battery is anticipated to be $66/kWh. Cycling studies of over 500 cycles in the symmetric cell configuration show a negligibly low capacity fade rate of 7.6 × 10 −5 % per cycle. This symmetric cell also shows a notably high average coulombic efficiency of 99.63%. Using a graphite felt electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), we could achieve a peak power density of 194 mW cm −2 . The major voltage losses are ascribed to the ohmic resistance of the electrode and electrolyte. Despite the lower cell voltage of the system relative to the vanadium flow battery, the iron–AQDS flow battery system presents a good prospect for simultaneously meeting the demanding requirements of cost, durability and scalability for large-scale sustainable energy storage.

Yang, Bo↗

NASA NTRS1982

Observations and interpretation of the line profiles of excited H2 in Orion

The profiles of the V=1-0 S(1) line of H2 in the Orion molecular cloud show a variation from the center of the emission region where the profiles are broad and have extended blue wings, to the periphery where the profiles are narrow and have a peak at the velocity of the molecular cloud. These observations can be understood by a model of a radially expanding supersonic flow of gas colliding with the surrounding molecular cloud. It is concluded that the high velocity emission originates in the flow and the low velocity emission originates in the molecular cloud. Density variations in the flow and the surrounding cloud are necessary to explain the detailed line profiles and morphology.

Geballe, T. R.↗

NASA NTRS1985

End-wall and profile losses in a low-speed axial flow compressor rotor

The blade-to-blade variation of relative stagnation pressure losses in the tip region inside the rotor of a single-stage, axial-flow compressor, is presented and interpreted in this paper. The losses are measured at two flow coefficients (one at the design point and the other at the near peak pressure rise point) to discern the effect of blade loading on the end-wall losses. The tip clearance losses are found to increase with an increase in the pressure rise coefficient. The losses away from the tip region and near the hub regions are measured downstream. The losses are integrated and interpreted in this paper.

Lakshminarayana, B.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Mesoscale evaluation of AMPS using AWARE radar observations of a wind and precipitation event over the Ross Island region of Antarctica

Surface, upper-air, and radar observations are used to assess the performance of the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS) in simulating the mesoscale aspects of a wind and precipitation event over the Ross Island region of Antarctica that spanned January 16–20, 2016. The observations, collected during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE), provide a unique dataset for evaluating AMPS, especially the radar observations that facilitate a three-dimensional depiction of winds and precipitation. Comparisons of AMPS forecast data with surface meteorology, balloon-sounding, and profiling radar observations at and above sites near McMurdo Station reveal a mixture of similarities and differences. A generally southerly flow is evident at low levels in both the AMPS simulations and observed Doppler radial velocities. AMPS winds are comparable to those observed at the surface and aloft in terms of magnitude, direction, and timing but the strongest simulated southerly flow is displaced eastward relative to the observations. AMPS-simulated reflectivity over the broader Ross Island region is more limited in areal extent and smaller in magnitude than observed by a scanning Doppler radar. Three episodes of surface precipitation are observed near McMurdo Station over the five-day event with peak rates of ~3 mm h -1 and a total accumulation of ~22 mm. However, AMPS produces no surface precipitation at that location over the five-day event due to a low-level dry bias in the forecasts. Herein, the results show the first observationally based three-dimensional understanding of meteorology in the Ross Island region.

AMPS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Mahakala: A Python-based Modular Ray-tracing and Radiative Transfer Algorithm for Curved Spacetimes

We introduce Mahakala, a Python-based, modular, radiative ray-tracing code for curved spacetimes. We employ Google's JAX framework for accelerated automatic differentiation, which can efficiently compute Christoffel symbols directly from the metric, allowing the user to easily and quickly simulate photon trajectories through non-Kerr spacetimes. JAX also enables Mahakala to run in parallel on both CPUs and GPUs. Mahakala natively uses the Cartesian Kerr–Schild coordinate system, which avoids numerical issues caused by the pole in spherical coordinate systems. We demonstrate Mahakala's capabilities by simulating 1.3 mm wavelength images (the wavelength of Event Horizon Telescope observations) of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of low-accretion rate supermassive black holes. The modular nature of Mahakala allows us to quantitatively explore how different regions of the flow influence different image features. We show that most of the emission seen in 1.3 mm images originates close to the black hole and peaks near the photon orbit. We also quantify the relative contribution of the disk, forward jet, and counterjet to 1.3 mm images.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1979

Kinetic energy budgets in areas of convection

Synoptic scale budgets of kinetic energy are computed using 3 and 6 h data from three of NASA's Atmospheric Variability Experiments (AVE's). Numerous areas of intense convection occurred during the three experiments. Large kinetic energy variability, with periods as short as 6 h, is observed in budgets computed over each entire experiment area and over limited volumes that barely enclose the convection and move with it. Kinetic energy generation and transport processes in the smaller volumes are often a maximum when the enclosed storms are near peak intensity, but the nature of the various energy processes differs between storm cases and seems closely related to the synoptic conditions. A commonly observed energy budget for peak storm intensity indicates that generation of kinetic energy by cross-contour flow is the major energy source while dissipation to subgrid scales is the major sink. Synoptic scale vertical motion transports kinetic energy from lower to upper levels of the atmosphere while low-level horizontal flux convergence and upper-level horizontal divergence also occur. Spatial fields of the energy budget terms show that the storm environment is a major center of energy activity for the entire area.

Fuelberg, H. E.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Ferroelectric Emission Cathodes for Low-Power Electric Propulsion

Low- or no-flow electron emitters are required for low-power electric thrusters, spacecraft plasma contactors, and electrodynamic tether systems to reduce or eliminate the need for propellant/expellant. Expellant-less neutralizers can improve the viability of very low-power colloid thrusters, field emission electric propulsion devices, ion engines, Hall thrusters, and gridded vacuum arc thrusters. The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is evaluating ferroelectric emission (FEE) cathodes as zero expellant flow rate cathode sources for the applications listed above. At GRC, low voltage (100s to approx. 1500 V) operation of FEE cathodes is examined. Initial experiments, with unipolar, bipolar, and RF burst applied voltage, have produced current pulses 250 to 1000 ns in duration with peak currents of up to 2 A at voltages at or below 1500 V. In particular, FEE cathodes driven by RF burst voltages from 1400 to 2000 V peak to peak, at burst frequencies from 70 to 400 kHz, emitted average current densities from 0.1 to 0.7 A/sq cm. Pulse repeatability as a function of input voltage has been initially established. Reliable emission has been achieved in air background at pressures as high as 10(exp -6) Torr.

Kovaleski, Scott D.↗

NASA NTRS2016

A Study of Heat Transfer and Flow Characteristics of Rising Taylor Bubbles

Practical application of flow boiling to ground- and space-based thermal management systems hinges on the ability to predict the systems heat removal capabilities under expected operating conditions. Research in this field has shown that the heat transfer coefficient within two-phase heat exchangers can be largely dependent on the experienced flow regime. This finding has inspired an effort to develop mechanistic heat transfer models for each flow pattern which are likely to outperform traditional empirical correlations. As a contribution to the effort, this work aimed to identify the heat transfer mechanisms for the slug flow regime through analysis of individual Taylor bubbles.An experimental apparatus was developed to inject single vapor Taylor bubbles into co-currently flowing liquid HFE 7100. The heat transfer was measured as the bubble rose through a 6 mm inner diameter heated tube using an infrared thermography technique. High-speed flow visualization was obtained and the bubble film thickness measured in an adiabatic section. Experiments were conducted at various liquid mass fluxes (43-200 kgm2s) and gravity levels (0.01g-1.8g) to characterize the effect of bubble drift velocityon the heat transfer mechanisms. Variable gravity testing was conducted during a NASA parabolic flight campaign.Results from the experiments showed that the drift velocity strongly affects the hydrodynamics and heat transfer of single elongated bubbles. At low gravity levels, bubbles exhibited shapes characteristic of capillary flows and the heat transfer enhancement due to the bubble was dominated by conduction through the thin film. At moderate to high gravity, traditional Taylor bubbles provided small values of enhancement within the film, but large peaks in the wake heat transfer occurred due to turbulent vortices induced by the film plunging into the trailing liquid slug. Characteristics of the wake heat transfer profiles were analyzed and related to the predicted velocity field. Results were compared and shown to agree with numerical simulations of colleagues from EPFL, Switzerland.In addition, a preliminary study was completed on the effect of a Taylor bubble passing through nucleate flow boiling, showing that the thinning thermal boundary layer within the film suppressed nucleation, thereby decreasing the heat transfer coefficient.

capillary flow↗

DOE OSTI2021

Retrospective Analysis of Backwater Habitat Availability Using Remote Sensing

Low-velocity channel-margin habitats serve as important nursery habitats for the endangered Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) in the middle Green River between Jensen and Ouray, Utah. These habitats, known as backwaters, are associated with emergent sandbars, and are shaped and reformed annually by peak flows. Our recent knowledge about backwater characteristics and dynamics that is summarized in the synthesis report (Grippo et al. 2015) was based on detailed annual survey data from a relatively small sample of backwaters that were collected from 2003 to 2014 and reach-wide evaluations of backwater surface area based on manual interpretation of aerial and satellite imagery. Methods that bridge the gap between the detailed surveys from a small number of backwaters and the reach-wide assessment of their surface area would enable an assessment of the availability of backwater habitats that meet the minimum depth requirements for suitable habitat for Colorado pikeminnow. In 2015 Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) tested three regression models—linear, multiple, and partial least square (PLS) regression models—for estimating backwater depth using National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery collected in July 2006 that covered the Jensen-Ouray reach of the Green River (Hamada and LaGory 2016). The results suggested that a PLS regression model showed high correlation with the reference depth (R 2 = 0.69) and had the most unbiased and consistent estimate of backwater depth. The results also indicated that the PLS model would provide reasonable estimates of the amount of habitat providing a minimum suitable depth of 30 cm for young-of-the-year Colorado pikeminnow, even though absolute depth estimates may be uncertain for backwater areas deeper than approximately 40 cm. The study also provided insights regarding the amount and the selection of calibration and validation (cal-val) data needed for improving the accuracy of depth prediction.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Coupling Remote Sensing and Sonar Measurements to Estimate Availability of Suitable Backwater Nursery Habitat for Colorado Pikeminnow

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1976

On the emission mechanism in high current hollow cathode arcs

Large hollow cathodes have been operated in a magnetoplasmadynamic arc over wide ranges of current and mass flow, with orifice current densities and mass fluxes encompassing those encountered in low current steady state hollow cathode arcs. Detailed cathode interior measurements of current and potential distributions show that maximum current penetration into the cathode is about one diameter axially upstream from the tip, with peak inner surface current attachment up to one cathode diameter upstream of the tip. The spontaneous attachment of peak current upstream of the cathode tip is suggested as a criterion for characteristic hollow cathode operation. This empirical criterion was verified by experiment.

Krishnan, M.↗

DOE OSTI2020

River Plume Liftoff Dynamics and Surface Expressions

The water surface expression of liftoff and its dependence on discharge are examined using numerical simulations with the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). Liftoff is the process by which buoyant river water separates from the bed and flows over denser saltwater. During low-discharge conditions liftoff occurs in the river and is accompanied by a change in the surface slope. During high-discharge conditions liftoff occurs outside the mouth and generates a ridge on the water surface. The location and height of the ridge can be described by analytical equations in terms of discharge, shelf slope, and river mouth aspect ratio. The offshore distance and height of the ridge are proportional to the river discharge and vary inversely with river mouth aspect ratio. For steep shelf slopes liftoff occurs close to the river mouth and generates a large ridge. The ridge is modified, but not eliminated, by the presence of tides. The water surface slope change at the ridge peak is large enough to be detected by the upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) altimeter and can be used to identify the liftoff location during high discharge. However, during low discharge the water surface slope change at the liftoff location is too small to be detected by SWOT. These results indicate that remote measurements of the presence or absence of the ridge may be useful to distinguish between low and high flows, and remote measurements of the ridge location or height could be used to estimate freshwater discharge.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS1993

Nearly steady flows in GONG prototype data

Doppler velocity images obtained with the GONG prototype instrument were analyzed to measure the nearly steady photospheric flows. The data consists of 88 images each of velocity, intensity, and modulation obtained at 20:00 UT on 88 days from July 1992 to February 1994. Each velocity image was temporally filtered to remove the p-mode oscillations, masked to exclude active regions, and then analyzed using spherical harmonics and orthogonal functions as described by Hathaway (1992). The spectral coefficients show very consistent results for the entire time interval with some evidence of year-to-year variations. The rotation profile agrees well with previous results and exhibits a north-south asymmetry that reverses sign during the 20 month interval. The residual rotation velocities exhibit structures with amplitudes of approximately 5 m/s that may be related to torsional oscillations. The meridional circulation is directed from the equator toward the poles with a peak velocity in the photosphere of approximately 50 m/s. The higher order components are very weak but indicate a divergent flow from the mid-latitudes (opposite that found for the June 1989 data). The convective limb shift is well fit by a 3rd order polynomial. The convection spectrum has a prominent peak at spherical harmonic degrees of l approximately 150 with very little signal in the low degree modes. Analysis of this signal shows that there is no evidence for giant cell convection at the level of approximately 10 m/s for all modes up to l = 32.

Hathaway, David H.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Hinode Observations of the Onset Stage of a Solar Filament Eruption

We use Hinode X-Ray Telescope (XRT) and Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) filtergraph (FG) Stokes-V magnetogram observations, to study the early onset of a solar eruption that includes an erupting filament that we observe in TRACE EUV images. The filament undergoes a slow rise for at least 20 min prior to its fast eruption and strong soft X-ray flaring; such slow rises have been previously reported, and the new Hinode data elucidate the physical processes occurring during this period. XRT images show that during the slow-rise phase, a soft X-ray (SXR) sigmoid forms from apparent reconnection low in the sheared core field traced by the filament, and there is a low-level intensity peak in both EUV and SXRs during the slow rise. MDI and SOT FG/V magnetograms show that the pre-eruption filament is along a neutral line between opposing-polarity enhanced network cells, and the SOT magnetograms show that these opposing fields are flowing together and canceling for at least six hours prior to eruption. From the MDI data we measure the canceling network fields to be approx. 40 G, and we estimate that approx. 10(exp 19) Mx of flux canceled during the five hours prior to eruption; this is only approx. 5% of the total flux spanned by the eruption and flare, but apparently its tether-cutting cancellation was enough to destabilize the sigmoid field holding the filament and resulted in that field's eruption.

Sterling, Alphonse C.↗