Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “modelling studies”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Transport and photochemical modeling. Studies of atmospheric species

A program of research studies related to the photochemistry, radiative transfer, and dynamics of the stratosphere is described. Investigations were conducted in two broad areas: (1) studies of the stratospheric processes and their response to external perturbations, and (2) analysis of satellite measurements in conjunction with theoretical models. Contemporary one dimensional photochemical, radiative-convective model was used to assess the impact of perturbations such as solar flux variability, increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, chlorofluoromethanes and other greenhouse gases. Data from satellite experiments such as LIMS and SBUV, were used along with theoretical models to develop a climatology of trace species in the stratosphere. The consistency of contemporary ozone photochemistry was examined in the light of LIMS data. Research work also includes analysis of stratospheric nitrogen dioxide distributions from different satellite experiments, investigation of the wintertime latitudinal gradients in NO2, estimation of the stratospheric odd nitrogen level and its variability, and studies related to the changes in ozone in the Antarctic, and mid latitude Southern Hemisphere.

Natarajan, M.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Source and Variability of Formaldehyde (HCHO) at Northern High Latitude: an Integrated Satellite, Aircraft, and Model Study

Here we use satellite observations of formaldehyde (HCHO)vertical column densities (VCD) from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), aircraft measurements, combined with a nested regional chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem at 0.5°×0.625° resolution), to understand the variability and sources of summertime HCHO better in Alaska. We first evaluate GEOS-Chem with in-situ airborne measurements during Atmospheric Tomography Mission 1 (ATom-1) aircraft campaign. We show reasonable agreement between observed and modeled HCHO, isoprene, monoterpenes and the sum of methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein (MVK+MACR) in continental boundary layer. In particular, HCHO profiles show spatial homogeneity in Alaska, suggesting a minor contribution of biogenic emissions to HCHO VCD. We further examine the TROPOMI HCHO product in Alaska summer, reprocessed by GEOS-Chem model output for a priori profiles and shape factors. For the year with low wildfire activity (e.g.,2018), we find that HCHO VCDs are largely dominated by background HCHO (58-71%), with minor contributions from wildfires (20-32%) and biogenic VOC emissions (8-10%). For the year with intense wildfires (e.g.,2019), summertime HCHO VCD is dominated by wildfire emissions (50-72%), with minor contributions from background (22-41%) and biogenic VOCs (6-10%). In particular, the model indicates a major contribution of wildfires from direct emissions of HCHO, instead of secondary production of HCHO from oxidation of larger VOCs. We find that the column contributed by biogenic VOC is often small and below the TROPOMI detection limit, in part due to the slow HCHO production from isoprene oxidation under low NOx conditions. This work highlights challenges for quantifying HCHO and its precursors in remote pristine regions.

HCHO↗
NASA NTRS1981

Ozone photochemistry and OH - A two-dimensional model study

Recent measurements of key HO(x) reaction rates are presented which imply that OH concentrations at altitudes below 30 km are lower than those predicted by current photochemical models. The consequences of the lower OH abundances are examined with respect to calculated perturbations of ozone by added nitrogen oxides, chlorine, and water vapor. Consideration is also given to the perturbation of stratospheric ozone by continuing release of chlorofluoromethanes in light of the new HO(x) reaction rates. The ozone loss is found to be reduced by about 25% compared with earlier estimates, mainly because the reduced OH abundance below 30 km slows the reaction between OH and HCl.

Whitten, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Modeling Study of Planetary Waves in the Mesosphere Lower Thermosphere (MLT)

For comparison with measurements from the TIMED satellite and coordinated ground based observations, we present results from our Numerical Spectral Model (NSM) that incorporates the Doppler Spread Parameterization (Hines, 1997) for small-scale gravity waves (GWs). We discuss the planetary waves (PWs) that are purely generated by dynamical interactions, i.e., without explicitly specifying excitation sources related for example to tropospheric convection or topography. With tropospheric heating that reproduces the observed zonal jets near the tropopause and the accompanying reversal in the latitudinal temperature variation, which is conducive to baroclinic instability, long period PWs are produced that propagate up into the stratosphere to affect the wave driven equatorial oscillations (QBO and SAO) extending into the upper mesosphere. The PWs in the model that dominate higher up in the MLT region, however, are to a large extent produced by instabilities under the influence of the zonal circulation and temperature variations in the middle atmosphere and they are amplified by GW interactions. Three classes of PWs are generated there. (1) Rossby waves that slowly propagate westward but are carried by the zonal mean (m = 0) winds to produce eastward and westward propagating PWs respectively in the winter and summer hemispheres below 80 km. Depending on the zonal wave number and magnitudes of the zonal winds under the influence of the equatorial oscillations, the PWs typically have periods between 2 and 20 days and their horizontal wind amplitudes can exceed 40 m/s in the lower mesosphere. (2) Rossby gravity waves that propagate westward at low latitudes, having periods around 2 days for zonal wave numbers m = 2 to 4. (3) Eastward propagating equatorial Kelvin waves generated in the upper mesosphere with periods between 2 and 3 days for m = 1 & 2. The seasonal variations of the PWs reveal that the largest wind amplitudes tend to occur below 80 km in the winter hemisphere, but above that altitude in the summer hemisphere to approach magnitudes as large as 50 m/s.

Mengel, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS2017

The dependence of the oceans MOC on mesoscale eddy diffusivities: A model study

The dependence of the depth and strength of the ocean's global meridional overturning cells (MOC) on the specification of mesoscale eddy diffusivity (K) is explored in two ocean models. The GISS and MIT ocean models are driven by the same prescribed forcing fields, configured in similar ways, spun up to equilibrium for a range of K 's and the resulting MOCs mapped and documented. Scaling laws implicit in modern theories of the MOC are used to rationalize the results. In all calculations the K used in the computation of eddy-induced circulation and that used in the representation of eddy stirring along neutral surfaces, is set to the same value but is changed across experiments. We are able to connect changes in the strength and depth of the Atlantic MOC, the southern ocean upwelling MOC, and the deep cell emanating from Antarctica, to changes in K.

Global ocean↗
NASA NTRS2026

Hybrid Modeling Study on Grain Evolution in the Metal Welding Process and Its Potential Lunar Application

Metal is most commonly used structural material in a wide range of spacecraft, and welding is the principal method for joining metal components into functional systems. However, conducting welding experiments under extreme environments—such as microgravity or vacuum conditions in space—is prohibitively expensive and experimentally challenging. To overcome these limitations, multi-physics computational welding models provide a cost-effective and versatile alternative. In this work, the authors have developed a coupled thermal (fluid) microstructure simulation framework to model metal welding under varying gravity conditions. The framework integrates a mixed-mode heat transfer formulation (conduction, convection, and radiation) with molten pool fluid dynamics, enabling accurate prediction of temperature fields and weld-pool geometry. A grain growth model is further incorporated to capture the spatial and temporal evolution of microstructure, including grain size distribution and morphological transitions during solidification. This approach provides detailed insight into molten pool evolution and grain-level microstructure development throughout the welding process. By explicitly parameterizing environmental conditions, the model supports extrapolation to off-Earth manufacturing scenarios such as welding on the lunar surface. Tantalum—chosen in this study due to its high melting point, oxidation resistance, and mechanical stability at elevated temperatures—serves as the material system for model demonstration. Beyond Tantalum, the integrated multi-physics framework offers broad applicability for predictive welding simulations of various structural and refractory metals or alloys used in extreme terrestrial or extraterrestrial environments.

kinetic Monte Carlo (SPPARKS)↗
NASA NTRS1994

Model study of multiple polar cap arcs: Occurrence and spacing

A new scenario for the formation of multiple polar cap arcs is proposed based on the results from a time-dependent electrodynamic model of polar cap arcs developed by Zhu et al. (1993). The results suggest that the appearance of multiple polar cap arcs may not be due to multiple structures in the magnetospheric source region, but instead, may primarily be determined by the coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere system in which the ionosphere plays an active role. It was found that with the same magnetospheric driver, a strong ionospheric background convection and an ionospheric background Hall conductance in the range of from 0.5 to 1.5 mho favor the occurrence of multiple polar cap arcs. It was also found that the spacing between individual arcs is highly correlated with the ratio of the enhanced Hall and Pedersen conductances (i.e., the hardness of the primary magnetospheric precipitation), which is allowed to vary in the model runs. A harder precipitation causes a wider spacing. In the modelings, the spacing ranged from about 20 kilometers to about 60 kilometers when the precipitation hardness increased.

Zhu, L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A one-dimensional modeling study of carbonaceous haze effects on the springtime Arctic environment

The effect of carbonaceous Arctic haze on the surface energy balance was investigated using a specially developed one-dimensional three-component numerical model which accounts for the transfer of IR and solar radiation through the atmosphere, turbulent mixing within the boundary layer, and heat conduction through snow-capped sea ice. The results of calculations indicate that, when haze is present, the surface temperature increases, provided the relative humidity through the column does not change. The increase is due to an increase in the absorbed radiation at the surface.

Emery, Christopher A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

A modeling study of SO(x)-NO(x)-hydrocarbon plumes and their transport to the background troposphere

The behavior of a complex urban plume and its transport to the background troposphere are analyzed in terms of a model including sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbon (HC) photochemistry. A reaction mechanism consisting of 73 NO(x), SO(x) and HC reactions is employed in a model taking account of plume dilution, entrainment, deposition and the development of a diurnal mixing layer from a ground-based nocturnal inversion. When simulation results are compared with field measurements of the urban plumes leaving St. Louis and Milwaukee, and a power plant within the Milwaukee plume, the predicted concentration profiles of NO(x), SO2 and O3 are found to be in close agreement with the measurement, although agreement with the rate of transformation of SO2 to SO4(2-) is less good. Simulations made for a hypothetical urban location under a range of background concentrations and initial HC concentrations show particulate sulfate concentrations to depend strongly on the HC/NO(x) ratio, indicating that the homogeneous gas-phase transformation may occur at night.

Balko, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Modeling Study of Mesospheric Planetary Waves: Genesis and Characteristics

In preparation for the measurements from the TIMED mission and coordinated ground based observations, we discuss results for the planetary waves (PWs) that appear in our Numerical Spectral Model (NSM). The present model accounts for a tropospheric heat source in the zonal mean (m = 0), which reproduces qualitatively the observed zonal jets near the tropopause and the accompanying reversal in the latitudinal temperature variations. We discuss the PWs that are solely generated internally, i.e., without the explicit excitation sources related to tropospheric convection or topography. Our analysis shows that PWs are not produced when the zonally averaged heat source into the atmosphere is artificially suppressed, and that the PWs generally are significantly weaker when the tropospheric source is not applied. Instabilities associated with the zonal mean temperature, pressure and wind fields, which still need to be explored, are exciting PWs that have amplitudes in the mesosphere comparable to those observed. Three classes of PWs are generated in the NSM. (1) Rossby waves, (2) Rossby gravity waves propagating westward at low latitudes, and (3) Eastward propagating equatorial Kelvin waves. A survey of the PWs reveals that the largest wind amplitudes tend to occur below 80 km in the winter hemisphere, but above that altitude they occur in the summer hemisphere where the amplitudes can approach 50 meters per second. It is shown that the non-migrating tides in the mesosphere, generated by non-linear coupling between migrating tides and PWs, are significantly larger for the model with the tropospheric heat source.

Mayr, H. G.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Impacts of Climate Change on Surface Ozone and Intercontinental Ozone Pollution: A Multi-Model Study

The impact of climate change between 2000 and 2095 SRES A2 climates on surface ozone (O)3 and on O3 source-receptor (S-R) relationships is quantified using three coupled climate-chemistry models (CCMs). The CCMs exhibit considerable variability in the spatial extent and location of surface O3 increases that occur within parts of high NOx emission source regions (up to 6 ppbv in the annual average and up to 14 ppbv in the season of maximum O3). In these source regions, all three CCMs show a positive relationship between surface O3 change and temperature change. Sensitivity simulations show that a combination of three individual chemical processes-(i) enhanced PAN decomposition, (ii) higher water vapor concentrations, and (iii) enhanced isoprene emission-largely reproduces the global spatial pattern of annual-mean surface O3 response due to climate change (R2 = 0.52). Changes in climate are found to exert a stronger control on the annual-mean surface O3 response through changes in climate-sensitive O3 chemistry than through changes in transport as evaluated from idealized CO-like tracer concentrations. All three CCMs exhibit a similar spatial pattern of annual-mean surface O3 change to 20% regional O3 precursor emission reductions under future climate compared to the same emission reductions applied under present-day climate. The surface O3 response to emission reductions is larger over the source region and smaller downwind in the future than under present-day conditions. All three CCMs show areas within Europe where regional emission reductions larger than 20% are required to compensate climate change impacts on annual-mean surface O3.

Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry↗
NASA NTRS1995

A mesoscale modeling study of the atmospheric circulation of high southern latitudes

The meteorology of high southern latitudes during winter is simulated using a cloud-free version of The Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model version 4 (MM4) with a 100-km horizontal resolution. Comparisons between idealized simulations of Antarctic with MM4 and with the mesoscale model of Parish and Waight reveal that both models produce similarly realistic velocity fields in the boundary layer. The latter model tends to produce slightly faster drainage winds over East Antarctica. The intensity of the katabatic winds produced by MM4 is sensitive to parameterizations of boundary layer fluxes. Two simulations performed with MM4 using analyses from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for June 1988 as initial and boundary conditions. A simulation of the period from 000 UTC 2 June to 0000 UTC 8 June produces realistic synoptic phenomena including ridge development over East Antarctica, frontogenesis over the Amundsen Sea, and a katabatic surge over the Ross Ice Shelf. The simulated time-averaged fields for June 1988, particularly that of a 500-hPa height, are in good agreement with time-averaged fields analyzed by the ECMWF. The results of the simulations provide detailed features of the Antarctic winter boundary layer along the steeply sloping terrain. Highest boundary layer wind speeds averaged over the month-long simulation are approximately 20 m/s. The lack of latent heating in the simulations apparently results in some bias in the results. In particular, the cloud-free version of MM4 underpredicts the intensity of lows in the sea level pressure field.

Hines, K. M.↗
NASA NTRS1956

The Near Noise Field of Static Jets and Some Model Studies of Devices for Noise Reduction

An experimental study is presented of the pressure fluctuations near jet exhaust streams made during unchoked operation of a turbojet engine and a 1-inch-diameter high-temperature model jet and during choked operation of various sizes of model jets with unheated air. The tests for unchoked operation indicate a random spectrum of rather narrow band width which varies in frequency content with axial position along the jet. Pressure surveys from the model tests along lines parallel to the 15 degree jet boundary indicate that the station of greatest pressure fluctuations is determined by the jet velocity and the radial distance, with a tendency of the maximum to shift downstream as either parameter is increased. From model tests the magnitude of the fluctuations appears to increase as about the second power of jet velocity at points just outside the jet boundary and as increasingly higher powers of jet velocity as distance from the boundary is increased. A laboratory method of noise reduction with model jets was found to produce large decreases in the magnitude of the lower-frequency components of the spectra and thereby also to reduce the total radiated energy. Choked operation of model jets with unheated air indicates the appearance of a discrete-frequency component of very large magnitude. Shadowgraph records of the flow show that this condition is associated with the appearance of flow formations suggestive of partly formed toroidal vortices in the vicinity of the shocks. Elimination of these formations is found to eliminate the discrete component and thereby to reduce the overall noise level.

Lassiter, Leslie W↗
NASA NTRS2000

Modeling Studies of the Effects of Tropical Rainfall on Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions and Oceanic Hydrological Cycle

This research project is a joint effort of UMD/JCESS, NASA/GSFC, NOAA/PMEL and LDEO, with UMD/JCESS being the leader and LDEO being responsible for coupled modeling. Although the project as a whole is for three years, the LDEO part was terminated at the end of the second year because of a shift of focus. The detailed description of the whole project and the effort made at LDEO have been given in the two joint annual reports and the two annual reports from LDEO. Here we only provide a brief summary of what we have done here at LDEO and a list of publications that resulted partly from this project.

Chen, Dake↗
NASA NTRS1997

Observational and Modeling Studies of Clouds and the Hydrological Cycle

Our approach involved validating parameterizations directly against measurements from field programs, and using this validation to tune existing parameterizations and to guide the development of new ones. We have used a single-column model (SCM) to make the link between observations and parameterizations of clouds, including explicit cloud microphysics (e.g., prognostic cloud liquid water used to determine cloud radiative properties). Surface and satellite radiation measurements were used to provide an initial evaluation of the performance of the different parameterizations. The results of this evaluation will then used to develop improved cloud and cloud-radiation schemes, which were tested in GCM experiments.

Somerville, Richard C. J.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Experimental Design for Pre-Clinical Animal Model Study in Microgravity

The Rodent Research program at NASAs Ames Research Center (ARC) has pioneered a new research capability on the International Space Station in less than four years and has progressed toward translating research to the ISS utilizing commercial rockets, collaborating with academia and science industry, and training crew for research purposes on-orbit. Animal models are the foundation of pre-clinical research to understand human diseases and evaluate new therapeutics. Advancement in alleviating ground diseases such as muscle atrophy and osteoporosis can come from the study of similar conditions that are known to occur as a result of exposure to the spaceflight environment. During the completion of the flight phase of two missions, our practices, hardware and operations evolved from tested to developed standards, which successfully translated the studies from ground to space. Results from these studies contribute to the science community via both the primary investigation and banked samples that are shared in publicly available data repository such as GeneLab. Every completed mission sets a foundation to build and design greater complexity into future research and answer questions about common human diseases on ground and in space. Here, we present methods developed for the translation of a rodent experiment to the ISS including a description of hardware and kits available for investigators and a discussion of operational constraints.

Rodent Research↗