A Preliminary Theoretical Calculation of A Propulsion System for the Hydrobomb Unit
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Joseph Charyk↗
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Diffusion Quantum Monte Carlo Calculation of the Austenite and Martensite Phases of NiTi
NiTi is a promising material for smart and active technologies due to its exhibition of the shape memory effect, superelasticity, and biocompatibility. The shape memory effect is tied to the reversible transition between the austenite and martensite phases. A major research direction is to alloy NiTi with Zr, Hf, Pd, Pt, etc., in order to tune the martensitic transition temperature (MTT). Modeling the MTT from first principles is challenging because the lattice dynamics is complicated by anharmonicity and various low-energy structures. Using density functional theory, the energy difference between the austenite and martensite phases of NiTi varies by up to 100 meV/atom depending on the choice of density functional, which is of the same order of the energy difference itself. Consequently, free energy calculations with different functionals can result in estimates of the MTT that vary by several hundred K. Using diffusion quantum Monte Carlo, we calculated the energy difference between the B2 and B19' structures of NiTi to be 70.9 +- 2.5 meV/atom.
Kevin K Ly↗
Calculations of the Moon's Thermal History at Different Concentrations of Radioactive Elements, Taking Into Account Differentiation on Melting
Calculations of the thermal history of the moon were carried out by solving the thermal conductivity equation for the case in which the heat sources are the long-lived radioactive elements Th, U, and K 40 . The concentrations of these elements were adjusted to give four variations of the heat flow: 1.35 x 10 -8 and 0.91 x 10 -6 cal cm -2 s -1 (I and I**), 0.61 x 10 -6 (variant II, the terrestrial mixture of Lyubimova and Starkova), and 0.236 x 10 -6 (variant III, the chondrite model of Urey and MacDonald). In the same calculations, we considered layering of the differentiated material with transport to the surface of the radioactive elements after the temperature of the layer rose to 200 K above the melting temperature, which is considered in five variants that differ in the amount of transported radioactive elements: 100 percent ( n = 1), 80 percent n = 0.8), 40 percent, 20 percent ( n = 0.6, 0.4, 0.2). During fusion the heat capacity and heat conductivity were changed. We considered two variants of an initially cold (273 K) and hot (900 K) Moon. Calculations show that the interior of the Moon was heated to melting during the first 0.7 to 2.3 x 10 9 years. The maximum fusion involved practically the entire Moon to a distance from 15 to 45 km beneath the surface, and started 3.5 to 4.0 x 10 9 years ago (I, I**), or 2.5 to 3.0 x 10 9 years ago (II, III) and continued for 1 to 2 x 10 9 years. Today the Moon is cooling. The current thickness of the solid crust is from 150 to 200 km and the heat flow exceeds the stationary value 1.5 fold. Apparently the most realistic variant is II (terrestrial mixture) for an initially hot Moon, and gives, regardless of the moderate concentration of radioactive elements, a heat flow of 0.9 to 0.95 x 10 -6 cal cm -2 s -1 , which agrees with the radioastronomical measurements of Troitsky and Krotikov and with the Apollo 15 data.
O I Ornatskaya↗
A Machine Learning Framework for Error Compensation in Radiative Transfer Calculations
Radiative heat transfer influences the amount of heat flux transferred to the surface of the hypersonic vehicle, which is essential to evaluate the performance of thermal protection systems. The radiative heat flux is found to be computationally prohibitive while accounting for the variation in spatial, angular, and spectral domains. A new methodology has been recently developed to alleviate the cost of computation in the spectral domain by constructing flow-agnostic reduced-order models (ROMs). The developed spectral ROM databases provide grouping strategies that account for non-equilibrium absorption and emission as well as interaction between disparate species due to spectral overlap in associated radiative processes. However, the developed ROMs need to be optimized for a specific combination of interacting gas species and would need to re-calibrated in case individual species are added/omitted. In this work, we use various machine learning (ML) techniques to approximate the radiative intensities determined by a ROM optimized for a specific gas mixture. The ML model relies on the ROM databases developed for a single species which ignores any spectral overlap. Thus, radiation evaluation starts with a simple summation of radiative intensities predicted using these non-calibrated ROMs for the contributing species. The ML framework then provides a correction to account for the interplay in the frequency, i.e., emission of photons by one species and absorption by another, and yields mixture-specific radiation fields. Once trained on the individual ROM databases, the ML framework offers instantaneous corrections that serves as a time/cost effective alternative to the optimization of ROMs for a specific gas mixture. The ML framework is trained on both the high fidelity and ROM evaluated line of sight (LOS) data from Orion, Stardust, and FIRE II cases to obtain a general purpose correction model for earth re-entry scenarios when radiation contributions from both atomic nitrogen and atomic oxygen are considered. A geometric length scale parameter is used in the training process to account for errors introduced in the ROM databases as a consequence of high optical thickness. The efficacy of the ML framework is underscored through extensive analysis of train and test errors with respect to all the re-entry scenarios. The applicability of such an ML framework was further corroborated by embedding it in a state-of-the-art US3D - NERO system for determining the radiative heat flux transferred to the hypersonic vehicle surface.
Radiation↗
A Case Study of View-Factor Rectification Procedures for Diffuse-Gray Radiation Enclosure Computations
The view factors which are used in diffuse-gray radiation enclosure calculations are often computed by approximate numerical integrations. These approximately calculated view factors will usually not satisfy the important physical constraints of reciprocity and closure. In this paper several view-factor rectification algorithms are reviewed and a rectification algorithm based on a least-squares numerical filtering scheme is proposed with both weighted and unweighted classes. A Monte-Carlo investigation is undertaken to study the propagation of view-factor and surface-area uncertainties into the heat transfer results of the diffuse-gray enclosure calculations. It is found that the weighted least-squares algorithm is vastly superior to the other rectification schemes for the reduction of the heat-flux sensitivities to view-factor uncertainties. In a sample problem, which has proven to be very sensitive to uncertainties in view factor, the heat transfer calculations with weighted least-squares rectified view factors are very good with an original view-factor matrix computed to only one-digit accuracy. All of the algorithms had roughly equivalent effects on the reduction in sensitivity to area uncertainty in this case study.
Robert P Taylor↗
Interpretation of Various Radiation Backgrounds Observed in the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Experiments Carried on the Apollo Missions and Implications for Diffuse Gamma-Ray Measurements
Since the report of a preliminary analysis of cosmic gamma-ray measurements made during the Apollo 15 mission, an improved calculation of the spallation activation contribution has been made including the effects of short-lived spallation fragments, which can extend the correction to 15 MeV. In addition, a difference between Apollo 15 and 16 data enables an electron bremsstrahlung contribution to be calculated. A high level of activation observed in a crystal returned on Apollo 17 indicates a background contribution from secondary neutrons. These calculations and observations enable an improved extraction of spurious components and suggest important improvements for future detectors.
C S Dyer↗
First-Principles Investigation of Phase Transitions in RuNb, RuTa, and Ru-Nb-Ta Ultrahigh Temperature Shape Memory Alloys
Ultrahigh temperature shape memory alloys (UHT-SMAs) have transition temperatures above 600 C, and they have found applications for sensing and actuating devices in aerospace industry. Among very few such UHT-SMAs currently known are Ru-based alloys such as RuNb and RuTa, whose martensite structures and phase transitions are totally different from those of NiTi-based SMAs and were poorly understood. In this work, we carried out a systematical study of RuNb using first-principles total energy calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The transition paths and mechanisms in cubic → tetragonal →monoclinic transitions are revealed. and the transition sequence and martensitic transition temperatures are determined (MTTs) by evaluating the Gibbs free energies using thermodynamic integration. The calculated MTTs are in very good agreement with the experimental data. We found that the monoclinic phase at the second transition has the 𝑃21/m symmetry instead of experimentally identified 𝑃2/m. Our calculations demonstrate that RuTa has very similar phase transitions to those of RuTa. Furthermore, we studied the Ru0.5Nb0.25Ta0.25 ternary. Our results can explain the measured significant drop of MTT (~ 200 C) in the second transition for Ru0.5Nb0.25Ta0.25 compared with those of RuNb and RuTa, while in the first transition its MTT is between MTTs of RuNb and RuTa. The insights gained by this study and the verified ab initio methods for accurate MTT calculations can be applied to fast screen and quantitatively design novel UHT-SMAs having similar properties with desirable MTTs and much reduced cost.
Zhigang Wu↗
The Chemical Composition of the Cores of the Terrestrial Planets and the Moon
Using models of the quasi-chemical theory of solutions, the activity coefficients of silicon are calculated in the melts Fe-Si, Ni-Si, and Fe-Ni-Si. The calculated free energies of solution of liquid nickel and silicon in liquid iron in the interval 0 to 1400 kbar and 1500 to 4000 K, shows that Fe-Ni-Si alloy is stable under the conditions of the outer core of the Earth and the cores of the terrestrial planets. The oxidation-reduction conditions are studied, and the fugacity of oxygen in the mantles of the planets and at the core-mantle boundary are calculated. The mechanism of reduction of silicon is analyzed over a broad interval of P and T. The interaction between the matter of the core and mantle is studied, resulting in the extraction of silicon from the mantle and its solution in the material of the core. It is concluded that silicon can enter into the composition of the outer core of the Earth and Venus, but probably does not enter into the composition of the cores of Mercury, Mars, and the Moon, if in fact the latter possesses one.
O L Kuskov↗
Lunar Electrical Conductivity, Permeability and Temperature From Apollo Magnetometer Experiments
Magnetometers have been deployed at four Apollo sites on the Moon to measure remanent and induced lunar magnetic fields. Measurements from this network of instruments have been used to calculate the electrical conductivity, temperature, magnetic permeability, and iron abundance of the lunar interior. The measured lunar remanent fields range from 3 gammas (γ) minimum at the Apollo 15 site to 327 γ maximum at the Apollo 16 site. Simultaneous magnetic field and solar plasma pressure measurements show that the remanent fields at the Apollo 12 and 16 sites interact with, and are compressed by, the solar wind. Remanent fields at Apollo 12 and Apollo 16 are increased 16 γ and 32 γ, respectively, by a solar plasma bulk pressure increase of 1.5 x 10 -7 dynes/cm 2 . Global lunar fields due to eddy currents, induced in the lunar interior by magnetic transients, have been analyzed to calculate an electrical conductivity profile for the Moon. From nightside magnetometer data in the solar wind it has been found that deeper than 170 km into the Moon the conductivity rises from 3 x 10 -4 mhos/m to 10 -2 mhos/m at 1000-km depth. Recent analysis of data obtained in the geomagnetic tail, in regions free of complicating plasma effects, yields results consistent with nightside values. Conductivity profiles have been used to calculate the lunar temperature for an assumed lunar material of olivine. In the outer layer (~ 170 km thick) the temperature rises to 110° C, after which it gradually increases with depth to 1500° C at a depth of ~ 1000 km. Simultaneous measurements by magnetometers on the lunar surface and in orbit around the moon are used to construct a whole-moon hysteresis curve, from which the global lunar magnetic permeability is determined to be μ = 1.012 ± 0.006. The corresponding global induced dipole moment is 2 x 10 18 gauss-cm 3 for typical inducing fields of 10 -4 gauss in the lunar environment. Lunar free iron abundance corresponding to the global permeability is determined to be 2.5 ± 2.0 wt. %. Total iron abundance (sum of iron in the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states) is calculated for two assumed compositional models of the lunar interior. For a free iron/orthopyroxene lunar composition the total iron content is calculated to be 12.8 ± 1.0 wt. %; for a free iron/olivine composition, total iron content is 5.5 ± 1.2 wt. %. Other lunar models with an iron core and with a shallow iron-rich layer are also discussed in light of the measured global lunar permeability. Velocities and thicknesses of the Earth's magnetopause and bow shock have been estimated from simultaneous magnetometer measurements. Average speeds are determined to be about 50 km/s for the magnetopause and 70 km/s for the bow shock, although there are large variations in the measurement for any particular boundary crossing. Corresponding measured boundary thicknesses average about 2300 km for the magnetopause and 1400 km for the bow shock.
P Dyal↗
Mechanics of Preloaded Bolt Tensile Loading With Focus on Load Introduction Factor
The bolt tensile and joint separation loads are directly influenced by the locations at which the external loads enter the clamped members of a preloaded bolted joint (PBJ) and the associated load-paths through the joint. This physical load introduction mechanism affecting the bolt tensile loading is typically represented in the bolt tensile load equation, in part, by a load introduction factor (LIF), which was shown by H.M. Lee of Marshall Spaceflight Center to be a natural product of the bolt tensile load equation using a linear spring stiffness model. This LIF, being a function of load-path stiffness, has subsequently been denoted as the stiffness-based LIF (SBLIF), providing a framework to calculate the LIF using whatever load-path stiffness approximations are appropriate. Expanding upon the work of Lee, it is shown that the SBLIF and the joint stiffness factor are functions of the stiffnesses of the same load-paths and regions within a PBJ, and thus they should not be treated as independent variables. Mathematical expressions for the SBLIF are presented. Comparisons are shown between the analytically calculated SBLIF, the analytically calculated geometric LIF (GLIF), which is a simple clamped-member thickness ratio, the experimentally derived LIF, and the LIF determined by finite element analysis (FEA). Using experiment and FEA as a benchmark, the SBLIF, using traditional load-path stiffness approximations, enables a more accurate prediction of bolt tensile loading than the GLIF, although it can be unconservative near joint separation. The GLIF generally attributes more of the externally applied tensile load to the bolt than does the SBLIF, potentially resulting in heavier and/or more costly bolted joints. Mathematical relationships between the SBLIF and the GLIF are developed. Supplemental material is provided in the appendixes where the historical practice of using the joint compressive stiffness in place of the joint tensile stiffness is evaluated. The appendixes include step-by-step examples demonstrating the calculation of the SBLIF using traditional stiffness approximations and conclude with the development of the joint diagram in terms of the SBLIF, culminating into formulas for the key features of a joint diagram, which is useful for programming.
Load Path↗
Analysis of Developing Laminar Flows in Circular Pipes Using a Higher-Order Finite-Difference Technique
A higher-order finite-difference technique is developed to calculate the developing-flow field of steady incompressible laminar flows in the entrance regions of circular pipes. Navier-Stokes equations governing the motion of such a flow field are solved by using this new finite-difference scheme. This new technique can increase the accuracy of the finite-difference approximation, while also providing the option of using unevenly spaced clustered nodes for computation such that relatively fine grids can be adopted for regions with large velocity gradients. The velocity profile at the entrance of the pipe is assumed to be uniform for the computation. The velocity distribution and the surface pressure drop of the developing flow then are calculated and compared to existing experimental measurements reported in the literature. Computational results obtained are found to be in good agreement with existing experimental correlations and therefore, the reliability of the new technique has been successfully tested.
Herbert J Gladden↗
RTE: A Computer Code for Rocket Thermal Evaluation
The numerical model for a rocket thermal analysis code (RTE) is discussed. RTE is a comprehensive thermal analysis code for thermal analysis of regeneratively cooled rocket engines. The input to the code consists of the composition of fuel/oxidant mixture and flow rates, chamber pressure, coolant temperature and pressure. dimensions of the engine, materials and the number of nodes in different parts of the engine. The code allows for temperature variation in axial, radial and circumferential directions. By implementing an iterative scheme, it provides nodal temperature distribution, rates of heat transfer, hot gas and coolant thermal and transport properties. The fuel/oxidant mixture ratio can be varied along the thrust chamber. This feature allows the user to incorporate a non-equilibrium model or an energy release model for the hot-gas-side. The user has the option of bypassing the hot-gas-side calculations and directly inputting the gas-side fluxes. This feature is used to link RTE to a boundary layer module for the hot-gas-side heat flux calculations.
Mohammad H N Naraghi↗
Battery simulation program
Computer program calculates spacecraft battery energy at specific times dictated by input sequence of recharge, discharge, and no activity phases. Recharge phases are assumed during times not specified, unless batteries are fully charged. Warnings are printed when energy falls below specified level. Program assumes two identical batteries.
Abreu, A.↗
Resistor Extends Life Of Battery In Clocked CMOS Circuit
Addition of fixed resistor between battery and clocked complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) circuit reduces current drawn from battery. Basic idea to minimize current drawn from battery by operating CMOS circuit at lowest possible current consistent with use of simple, fixed off-the-shelf components. Prolongs lives of batteries in such low-power CMOS circuits as watches and calculators.
Wells, George H., Jr.↗
Planets and Satellites of the Outer Solar System, Asteroids, and Comets
The cosmogenic significance of outer solar system objects is evaluated with emphasis on planets and larger satellites of greatest biological interest; comets, asteroids, and the smaller satellites are also discussed. Principal physical and rudimentary photometric data for the five outer planets are presented in tables. Sufficient information on planetary motions is included for most calculations in physical planetology.
Ray L Newburn, Jr↗
Reliability Models and Demonstration of a Fault-Tolerant Motor Concept for Vertical Takeoff and Landing Vehicles
This report documents the completion of the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology Project Annual Performance Indicator 24-3.2.4.1: “Apply and document reliability prediction for high reliability motor concept.” Two modeling tools were completed for calculation of reliability of fault-tolerant (FT) motors, and key FT operations of a modular FT motor were demonstrated experimentally. The two models are complementary tools for the stakeholder and user community. Both models employ Markov chain theory. The first model is a time-homogeneous Markov chain model, and the second is a time-inhomogeneous Markov-Weibull model. This report’s main sections are as follows: 1.0 Introduction, 2.0 Theory, 3.0 Motor Reliability Models, 4.0 Validation of FT Operation by Hardware Demonstration, and 5.0 Concluding Remarks. Novel contributions to the field include development of a modular FT motor concept for electrified vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) application, solution methods to solve the reliability calculations, development of figures of merit, and the introduction of “linked chains” to formulate a building-block approach for time-inhomogeneous Markov-Weibull modeling of motor reliability. Example case studies have been completed, and results are provided and discussed herein. A four-module FT motor concept was developed to a preliminary-design level of detail. This eVTOL FT motor concept was designed for galvanic, magnetic, and thermal isolation of stator winding faults. The reliability of the concept motor was calculated using a time-inhomogeneous Markov chain model. Employing average failure rate as a metric, 570 times greater reliability was achieved as compared to a baseline motor without fault tolerance. A demonstrator motor was built and tested. The testing demonstrated the key features of FT operation and validated the essential premises of the FT motor concepts presented herein. The experiments included successful demonstration of the feasibility of the following four key FT features: (1) terminal open-circuit operation, (2) thermal isolation after fault, (3) terminal short-circuit operation, and (4) internal short-circuit operation. These works indicate that FT modular motor drives offer promise for addressing the daunting reliability gap that electric aircraft propulsor drives are facing relative to the best conventional motor drive technology that is available today.
Electric Motor↗
Nickel Hydrogen Battery Expert System
The Nickel Cadmium Battery Expert System-2, or 'NICBES-2', which was used by the NASA HST six-battery testbed, was subsequently converted into the Nickel Hydrogen Battery Expert System, or 'NICHES'. Accounts are presently given of this conversion process and future uses being contemplated for NICHES. NICHES will calculate orbital summary data at the end of each orbit, and store these files for trend analyses and rules-generation.
Johnson, Yvette B.↗
Battery model for electrical power system energy balance
A model to simulate nickel-cadmium battery performance and response in a spacecraft electrical power system energy balance calculation was developed. The voltage of the battery is given as a function of temperature, operating depth-of-charge (DOD), and battery state-of-charge. Also accounted for is charge inefficiency. A battery is modeled by analysis of the results of a multiparameter battery cycling test at various temperatures and DOD's.
Hafen, D. P.↗