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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 19 records

Systems level polarization modeling of multispectral space sensors

The 2-percent polarization sensitivity specification in many of NASA's Earth Observing System sensors has motivated Santa Barbara Research Center (SBRC) to develop computer programs that model the polarization characteristics of optical systems. In support of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer program, SBRC has developed an analytical tool which unites the completed 3D lens design and coating designs to accurately predict an optical system's polarization characterization compensators, nonnormal incidence reflection and transmission from dichroic beam splitters and protected silver mirrors are analyzed without the need for proprietary coating prescriptions. The phenomenon of diattenuation and phase change are treated using the Jones matrix formalism.

Wells, Conrad↗

Investigation of the effects of external current systems on the MAGSAT data utilizing grid cell modeling techniques

Refinements to the modeling procedure developed to compute the magnetic fields at satellite orbit due to current distributions in the ionosphere and magnetosphere are described. The modeling technique utilizes a linear current element representation of the large scale space current system. A model polar current system is presented and magnetic field perturbations resulting from this system are computed along two hypothetical satellite orbits.

Klumpar, D. M.↗

Earth observing system instrument pointing control modeling for polar orbiting platforms

An approach to instrument pointing control performance assessment for large multi-instrument platforms is described. First, instrument pointing requirements and reference platform control systems for the Eos Polar Platforms are reviewed. Performance modeling tools including NASTRAN models of two large platforms, a modal selection procedure utilizing a balanced realization method, and reduced order platform models with core and instrument pointing control loops added are then described. Time history simulations of instrument pointing and stability performance in response to commanded slewing of adjacent instruments demonstrates the limits of tolerable slew activity. Simplified models of rigid body responses are also developed for comparison. Instrument pointing control methods required in addition to the core platform control system to meet instrument pointing requirements are considered.

Briggs, H. C.↗

Ice Growth Model for Polar Water Capture Systems

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is essential to NASA’s goal of sustainable and cost-effective missions to the Moon and beyond. Water has become a particular source of interest since its discovery in the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the Moon. This water exists as ice bound within the regolith, so one mode of capture is heating to sublimation temperatures and capturing at very low pressure. It then can be stored in ice form and transported out of the PSR and to a sunlit ridge, where processes such as electrolysis can be performed[2]. An understanding of frost growth dynamics under rarefied conditions is necessary for successful water capture and storage due to transient thermal properties of frost. A Diffusion-Limited Aggregation (DLA) approach was taken to analytically model bulk thermal conductivity changes of the growing frost layer under varying wall temperatures and frost layer porosities. The model utilizes well-known correlations for effective thermal conductivity and records the values as the frost layer thickness increases. This thermal conductivity can be applied to a known temperature change and be used to evaluate heat flux through the combined frost layer and tank wall for either a flat plate or cylindrical geometry. An experiment is described that will evaluate this model using one-dimensional frost growth on a horizontal, flat plate under low-pressure. The ice growth will be measured using a millimeter-scale photogrammetry camera system and a load cell measured transient mass growth.

In situ Resource Utilization↗

Ice Growth Model for Polar Water Capture Systems

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is essential to NASA’s goal of sustainable and cost-effective missions to the Moon and beyond. Water has become a particular source of interest since its discovery in the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of the Moon. This water exists as ice bound within the regolith, so one mode of capture is heating to sublimation temperatures and capturing at very low pressure. It then can be stored in ice form and transported out of the PSR and to a sunlit ridge, where processes such as electrolysis can be performed[2]. An understanding of frost growth dynamics under rarefied conditions is necessary for successful water capture and storage due to transient thermal properties of frost. A Diffusion-Limited Aggregation (DLA) approach was taken to analytically model bulk thermal conductivity changes of the growing frost layer under varying wall temperatures and frost layer porosities. The model utilizes well-known correlations for effective thermal conductivity and records the values as the frost layer thickness increases. This thermal conductivity can be applied to a known temperature change and be used to evaluate heat flux through the combined frost layer and tank wall for either a flat plate or cylindrical geometry. An experiment is described that will evaluate this model using one-dimensional frost growth on a horizontal, flat plate under low-pressure. The ice growth will be measured using a millimeter-scale photogrammetry camera system and a load cell measured transient mass growth.

ice growth↗

Prediction of rain effects on earth-space communication links operating in the 10 to 35 GHz frequency range

This paper reviews the effects of precipitation on earth-space communication links operating the 10 to 35 GHz frequency range. Emphasis is on the quantitative prediction of rain attenuation and depolarization. Discussions center on the models developed at Virginia Tech. Comments on other models are included as well as literature references to key works. Also included is the system level modeling for dual polarized communication systems with techniques for calculating antenna and propagation medium effects. Simple models for the calculation of average annual attenuation and cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) are presented. Calculation of worst month statistics are also presented.

Stutzman, Warren L.↗

UAH mathematical model of the variable polarity plasma ARC welding system calculation

Significant advantages of Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (VPPA) welding process include faster welding, fewer repairs, less joint preparation, reduced weldment distortion, and absence of porosity. A mathematical model is presented to analyze the VPPA welding process. Results of the mathematical model were compared with the experimental observation accomplished by the GDI team.

Hung, R. J.↗

Integrated Data Modeling and Simulation on the Joint Polar Satellite System Program

The Joint Polar Satellite System is a modern, large-scale, complex, multi-mission aerospace program, and presents a variety of design, testing and operational challenges due to: (1) System Scope: multi-mission coordination, role, responsibility and accountability challenges stemming from porous/ill-defined system and organizational boundaries (including foreign policy interactions) (2) Degree of Concurrency: design, implementation, integration, verification and operation occurring simultaneously, at multiple scales in the system hierarchy (3) Multi-Decadal Lifecycle: technical obsolesce, reliability and sustainment concerns, including those related to organizational and industrial base. Additionally, these systems tend to become embedded in the broader societal infrastructure, resulting in new system stakeholders with perhaps different preferences (4) Barriers to Effective Communications: process and cultural issues that emerge due to geographic dispersion and as one spans boundaries including gov./contractor, NASA/Other USG, and international relationships.

Roberts, Christopher J.↗

Representations of the Stratospheric Polar Vortices in Versions 1 and 2 of the Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry-Climate Model (GEOS CCM)

This study will document the behavior of the polar vortices in two versions of the GEOS CCM. Both versions of the model include the same stratospheric chemistry, They differ in the underlying circulation model. Version 1 of the GEOS CCM is based on the Goddard Earth Observing System, Version 4, general circulation model which includes the finite-volume (Lin-Rood) dynamical core and physical parameterizations from Community Climate Model, Version 3. GEOS CCM Version 2 is based on the GEOS-5 GCM that includes a different tropospheric physics package. Baseline simulations of both models, performed at two-degree spatial resolution, show some improvements in Version 2, but also some degradation, In the Antarctic, both models show an over-persistent stratospheric polar vortex with late breakdown, but the year-to-year variations that are overestimated in Version I are more realistic in Version 2. The implications of this for the interactions with tropospheric climate, the Southern Annular Mode, will be discussed. In the Arctic both model versions show a dominant dynamically forced variabi;ity, but Version 2 has a persistent warm bias in the low stratosphere and there are seasonal differences in the simulations. These differences will be quantified in terms of climate change and ozone loss. Impacts of model resolution, using simulations at one-degree and half-degree, and changes in physical parameterizations (especially the gravity wave drag) will be discussed.

Pawson, S.↗

On Using SysML, DoDAF 2.0 and UPDM to Model the Architecture for the NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Ground System (GS)

The JPSS Ground System is a lIexible system of systems responsible for telemetry, tracking & command (TT &C), data acquisition, routing and data processing services for a varied lIeet of satellites to support weather prediction, modeling and climate modeling. To assist in this engineering effort, architecture modeling tools are being employed to translate the former NPOESS baseline to the new JPSS baseline, The paper will focus on the methodology for the system engineering process and the use of these architecture modeling tools within that process, The Department of Defense Architecture Framework version 2,0 (DoDAF 2.0) viewpoints and views that are being used to describe the JPSS GS architecture are discussed. The Unified Profile for DoOAF and MODAF (UPDM) and Systems Modeling Language (SysML), as ' provided by extensions to the MagicDraw UML modeling tool, are used to develop the diagrams and tables that make up the architecture model. The model development process and structure are discussed, examples are shown, and details of handling the complexities of a large System of Systems (SoS), such as the JPSS GS, with an equally complex modeling tool, are described

Hayden, Jeffrey L.↗

Combining Earth System Modeling and Machine Learning to Investigate Volcanic Sulfate Deposition in Polar Ice Cores

Volcanic eruptions emit large amounts of sulfur dioxide (SO2), water, and other chemicals into the atmosphere, both in the troposphere and the stratosphere. Most of the SO2 is converted to sulfate aerosol, which is eventually deposited following long-range transport. The deposits from large eruptions are potentially detectable in ice cores, but there are many cases in which sulfate layers have not been linked to their source volcanoes. As volcanoes can act as significant shocks to the global climate system, we are interested in locating these eruptions in order to increase understanding of the volcanic record. To narrow down the search, we performed 140 simulations of volcanic eruptions using the GISS ModelE Earth system model. We varied the latitude, longitude, Julian day, plume top, plume bottom, and injected SO2 and H2O amounts using a Latin hypercube sampling approach, and analyzed correlations between these parameters and sulfate depositions at ice core sites in Antarctica and Greenland. Using machine learning and parameter estimation, we generated probability distributions and maximum likelihood estimates for the parameters given sulfate deposition data, which can predict latitude with some skill. We find that the volcano latitude and SO2 content are best correlated with sulfate depositions at each pole, while longitude, Julian day, and H2O have small or insignificant effects. Plume altitude and thickness are important because they determine how much of the SO2 is injected into the stratosphere, which has implications for sulfur transport and lifetimes.

Earth system models↗

Polarization in massive X-ray binaries. I - A low-inclination model for Cygnus X-1

The possibility that variable linear polarization in massive X-ray binaries is produced by electron scattering in an asymmetric stellar wind is investigated. The stellar wind is asymmetric because of the gravitational field of the secondary (X-ray source). The degree of asymmetry and the magnitude of the linear polarization are controlled by the degree to which the primary star fills its Roche lobe. For the well-observed X-ray binary Cyg X-1, the present model can produce the correct magnitude for the polarization. Provided that the inclination of the system is less than about 20 deg, the present model should also predict the correct phase dependence of the polarization. Modifications to the model are described which would enable it to apply to systems with higher inclination.

Friend, D. B.↗

Quantifying Chemical Ozone Loss in the Arctic Stratosphere with GEOS-STRATCHEM Data Assimilation System

A faithful representation of polar stratospheric chemistry in models and its connection with dynamical variability is essential for our understanding of the evolution of the ozone layer in a changing climate and during the projected continuing decline of ozone depleting substances in the atmosphere. We use a new configuration of the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System with a stratospheric chemistry model to study ozone depletion in the Arctic polar stratosphere during the exceptionally cold (in the stratosphere) winters 2015/2016 and 2010/2011.

Arctic↗

[Overview of the GSFC Effort to Build Microwave Detectors for CMB Polarization]

Filled arrays of bolometers are currently being employed for use in astronomy from the far-infrared through millimeter portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Because of the large range of wavelengths for which such detectors are applicable, the size of a pixel (p) relative to the wavelength (lambda) will vary according to the specific application of a given available technology. As the pixel size becomes comparable to a wavelength of the absorbed radiation, correlations in the radiation field at the pixel can affect the imaging properties of the system independent of the correlations introduced by the front-end optics. We study the dependence of image fidelity and induced polarization on the size of the pixel by employing a formalism in which diffraction due to the pixel boundary is treated by propagating the second-order statistical correlations of the radiation field through a model optical system. We construct simulated polarized images of square pixels for various ratios of p lambda. For the limit in which few modes are supported by the pixel (p lambda lesssiml), we find that the diffraction due to the pixel edges is non-negligible and hence must be considered along with the telescope diffraction pattern in modeling the ultimate spatial resolution of an imaging system. For the case in which the pixel is over-moded (p lambda ggl), the geometric limit is approached as expected. This technique provides a quantitative approach to understand and optimize the imaging properties of planar detectors in the few-mode limit.

Chuss, David↗

PolarMERRA: A collaborative effort for NASA’s polar reanalysis

The polar atmosphere is often poorly represented in global models, adversely impacting analyses in these regions and forecasts on much larger scales. PolarMERRA is an initiative that brings together the modeling expertise from NASA’s global modeling and assimilation office (GMAO) and observational expertise from NASA’s Cryospheric sciences lab to assess and improve the representation of polar processes in the NASA’s modelling system in preparation for upcoming and next generation reanalyses. Model improvements in resolution, physics, and data assimilation have been guided by assessment of model skill in the polar regions. Preliminary results from a novel validation framework indicate a reduction in near surface air temperature, turbulent fluxes, and precipitation biases.

Chelsea Parker↗

Sea ice concentrations in the Canada Basin during 1988 - Comparisons with other years and evidence of multiple forcing mechanisms

Results from a study of special sensor microwave imager data and visible band DMSP-OLS imagery show a large area of reduced ice concentration in the Canada Basin during summer 1988. Drifting buoys, surface pressure fields, output from the Polar Ice Prediction System sea ice model, and other meteorological data used to examine processes responsible for development of the reduced ice concentrations are discussed. It is noted that, while ice divergence in the summer offers a partial explanation, the model indicates that there are other factors which play contributing roles. Among these factors are the anomalously warm atmospheric conditions, generally clear skies in June and July, extensive fracturing of the pack ice in spring and anomalous advection of oceanic heat. It is found that the second and third of these effects may occur in most years. It is concluded that, although the extent and magnitude of the concentration reductions during 1988 are unusual, these recurring factors tend to predispose the pack ice in the Canada Basin to decay.

Serreze, Mark C.↗

The Land Ice Representation in the NASA Goddard Seasonal Forecasting System

Models used in seasonal forecasting systems have aimed for a level of sophistication comparable to Earth system models by incorporating complex physical processes, including those relevant to the polar regions. Here, we examine the polar surface climate in version 3 of the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Sub-seasonal to Seasonal prediction system (GEOS S2S v3). The model is composed of the ⅟₂̊ resolution Jason4.0version of the GEOS AGCM and the MOM5 ocean model at ⅟₄̊ resolution. The GEOSS2S model incorporates interactive aerosols and two-moment cloud microphysics. As compared to version 2, the model incorporates improved radiative transfer and are designed diurnal cycle atmosphere-ocean interface layer. This study aims to understand how the version 3 model compares with version 2, and with contemporary Earth system models.

Richard I Cullather↗