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At least 19 records

Marin County Wildfires Ii: Improving Fire Suppression Modeling to Inform Fire Prevention and Suppression Decisions in Marin County, Ca

A future of increased wildfires requires greater integration of spatial analysis and local knowledge of emergency responders. We examine the application of a Potential Operational Delineations (PODs) framework for strategic pre-fire planning in Marin County. PODs are spatial units for wildfire management that combine predictive modeling and local firefighter expertise to identify potential control locations as unit boundaries and assess the difficulty of suppression within units. Additionally, this project explores the integration of road networks and social vulnerability to assess environmental justice in evacuation safety. This project constitutes a novel application of the PODs framework as it integrates expertise from Marin County senior firefighters with a Fireline Location Model (FLM) to achieve POD definition and uses a Suppression Difficulty Score (SDS) to rank each POD. The FLM uses network analysis and hydrologic modeling to identify key roads and ridgelines as boundaries and combines them with expert knowledge, in the form of workshops, to construct PODs. Once identified, PODs are classified using SDS, which includes processed inputs such as LiDAR-derived aboveground biomass, ECOSTRESS Evaporative Stress Index, land use cover type from Sentinel-2 Imagery, and a digital elevation model. Environmental justice for evacuation safety incorporated three key road metrics such as connectivity, travel area, and exit capacity, the Social Vulnerability Index from the Center for Disease Control, and cell coverage to determine a final Evacuation Difficulty Score. Results indicate a strong link between road networks as primary POD boundaries, with ridgelines and waterways as secondary and tertiary locations. Specifically, we find 78.5% of expertise-identified POD boundaries align with FLM-determined boundaries. More validation is needed to support this process; however, initial results signal a feasible framework to integrate expertise and spatial analysis in local level strategic fire planning

Wildfire modeling↗

Evaluation of CO2, N2 and He as Fire Suppression Agents in Microgravity

The U.S. modules of the International Space Station use gaseous CO2 as the fire extinguishing agent. This was selected as a result of extensive experience with CO2 as a fire suppressant in terrestrial applications, trade studies on various suppressants, and experiments. The selection of fire suppressants and suppression strategies for NASA s Lunar and Martian exploration missions will be based on the same studies and normal-gravity data unless reduced gravity fire suppression data is obtained. In this study, the suppressant agent concentrations required to extinguish a flame in low velocity convective flows within the 20-sec of low gravity on the KC-135 aircraft were investigated. Suppressant gas mixtures of CO2, N2, and He with the balance being oxygen/nitrogen mixtures with either 21% or 25% O2 were used to suppress flames on a 19-mm diameter PMMA cylinder in reduced gravity. For each of the suppressant mixtures, limiting concentrations were established that would extinguish the flame at any velocity. Similarly, concentrations were established that would not extinguish the flame. The limiting concentrations were generally consistent with previous studies but did suggest that geometry had an effect on the limiting conditions. Between the extinction and non-extinction limits, the suppression characteristics depended on the extinguishing agent, flow velocity, and O2 concentration. The limiting velocity data from the CO2, He, and N2 suppressants were well correlated using an effective mixture enthalpy per mole of O2, indicating that all act via O2 displacement and cooling mechanisms. In reduced gravity, the agent concentration required to suppress the flames increased as the velocity increased, up to approximately 10 cm/s (the maximum velocity evaluated in this experiment). The effective enthalpy required to extinguish flames at velocities of 10 cm/s is approximately the same as the concentrations in normal gravity. A computational study is underway to further evaluate these findings.

Ruff, Gary A.↗

Definition of experiments to investigate fire suppressants in microgravity

Defined and justified here are the conceptual design and operation of a critical set of experiments expected to yield information on suppressants and on suppressant delivery systems under realistic spacecraft-fire conditions (smoldering). Specific experiment parameters are provided on the solid fuel (carbon), oxidants (habitable spacecraft atmospheres), fuel/oxidant supply, mixing mode, and rate (quiescent and finite; ventilated and replenishable), ignition mode, event, and reignition tendency, fire-zone size, fire conditions, lifetime, and consequences (toxicity), suppressants (CO2, H2O, N2) and suppressant delivery systems, and diagnostics. Candidate suppressants were identified after an analysis of how reduced gravity alters combustion, and how these alterations may influence the modes, mechanisms, and capacities of terrestrial agents to suppress unwanted combustion, or fire. Preferred spacecraft suppression concepts included the local, near-quiescent application of a gas, vapor, or mist that has thermophysical fire-suppression activity and is chemically inert under terrestrial (normal gravity) combustion conditions. The scale, number, and duration (about 1 hour) of the proposed low-gravity experiments were estimated using data not only on the limitations imposed by spacecraft-carrier (Shuttle or Space Station Freedom) accommodations, but also data on the details and experience of standardized smolder-suppression experiments at normal gravity. Deliberately incorporated into the conceptual design was sufficient interchangeability for the prototype experimental package to fly either on Shuttle now or Freedom later. This flexibility is provided by the design concept of up to 25 modular fuel canisters within a containment vessel, which permits both integration into existing low-gravity in-space combustion experiments and simultaneous testing of separate experiments to conserve utilities and time.

Reuther, James J.↗

Spacecraft Fire Suppression: Testing and Evaluation

The objective of this project is the testing and evaluation of the effectiveness of a variety of fire suppressants and fire-response techniques that will be used in the next generation of spacecraft (Crew Exploration Vehicle, CEV) and planetary habitats. From the many lessons learned in the last 40 years of space travel, there is common agreement in the spacecraft fire safety community that a new fire suppression system will be needed for the various types of fire threats anticipated in new space vehicles and habitats. To date, there is no single fire extinguishing system that can address all possible fire situations in a spacecraft in an effective, reliable, clean, and safe way. The testing conducted under this investigation will not only validate the various numerical models that are currently being developed, but it will provide new design standards on fire suppression that can then be applied to the next generation of spacecraft extinguishment systems. The test program will provide validation of scaling methods by conducting small, medium, and large scale fires. A variety of suppression methods will be tested, such as water mist, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen with single and multiple injection points and direct or distributed agent deployment. These injection methods cover the current ISS fire suppression method of a portable hand-held fire extinguisher spraying through a port in a rack and also next generation spacecraft units that may have a multi-point suppression delivery system built into the design. Consideration will be given to the need of a crew to clean-up the agent and recharge the extinguishers in flight in a long-duration mission. The fire suppression methods mentioned above will be used to extinguish several fire scenarios that have been identified as the most relevant to spaceflight, such as overheated wires, cable bundles, and circuit boards, as well as burning cloth and paper. Further testing will be conducted in which obstructions and ventilation will be added to represent actual spacecraft conditions (e.g., a series of cards in a card rack).

Abbud-Madrid, Angel↗

Jet Noise Suppression

The objectives of this chapter are to review and summarize the jet noise suppression technology, to provide a physical and theoretical model to explain the measured jet noise suppression characteristics of different concepts, and to provide a set of guidelines for evolving jet noise suppression designs. The underlying principle for all jet noise suppression devices is to enhance rapid mixing (i.e., diffusion) of the jet plume by geometric and aerothermodynamic means. In the case of supersonic jets, the shock-cell broadband noise reduction is effectively accomplished by the elimination or mitigation of the shock-cell structure. So far, the diffusion concepts have predominantly concentrated on jet momentum and energy (kinetic and thermal) diffusion, in that order, and have yielded better noise reduction than the simple conical nozzles. A critical technology issue that needs resolution is the effect of flight on the noise suppression potential of mechanical suppressor nozzles. A more thorough investigation of this mechanism is necessary for the successful development and design of an acceptable noise suppression device for future high-speed civil transports.

Gliebe, P. R.↗

Suppression of antigen-specific lymphocyte activation in modeled microgravity

Various parameters of immune suppression are observed in lymphocytes from astronauts during and after a space flight. It is difficult to ascribe this suppression to microgravity effects on immune cells in crew specimens, due to the complex physiological response to space flight and the resultant effect on in vitro immune performance. Use of isolated immune cells in true and modeled microgravity in immune performance tests, suggests a direct effect of microgravity on in vitro cellular function. Specifically, polyclonal activation of T-cells is severely suppressed in true and modeled microgravity. These recent findings suggest a potential suppression of oligoclonal antigen-specific lymphocyte activation in microgravity. We utilized rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactors as an analog of microgravity for cell cultures to analyze three models of antigen-specific activation. A mixed-lymphocyte reaction, as a model for a primary immune response, a tetanus toxoid response and a Borrelia burgdorferi response, as models of a secondary immune response, were all suppressed in the RWV bioreactor. Our findings confirm that the suppression of activation observed with polyclonal models also encompasses oligoclonal antigen-specific activation.

NASA Discipline Cell Biology↗

Fire Suppression and Response

This report is concerned with the following topics regarding fire suppression:What is the relative effectiveness of candidate suppressants to extinguish a representative fire in reduced gravity, including high-O2 mole fraction, low -pressure environments? What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of physically acting and chemically-acting agents in spacecraft fire suppression? What are the O2 mole fraction and absolute pressure below which a fire cannot exist? What effect does gas-phase radiation play in the overall fire and post-fire environments? Are the candidate suppressants effective to extinguish fires on practical solid fuels? What is required to suppress non-flaming fires (smoldering and deep seated fires) in reduced gravity? How can idealized space experiment results be applied to a practical fire scenario? What is the optimal agent deployment strategy for space fire suppression?

Ruff, Gary A.↗

Altered Gene Expressions and Cytogenetic Repair Efficiency in Cells with Suppressed Expression of XPA after Proton Exposure

Cellular responses to damages from ionizing radiation (IR) exposure are influenced not only by the genes involved in DNA double strand break (DSB) repair, but also by non- DSB repair genes. We demonstrated previously that suppressed expression of several non-DSB repair genes, such as XPA, elevated IR-induced cytogenetic damages. In the present study, we exposed human fibroblasts that were treated with control or XPA targeting siRNA to 250 MeV protons (0 to 4 Gy), and analyzed chromosome aberrations and expressions of genes involved in DNA repair. As expected, after proton irradiation, cells with suppressed expression of XPA showed a significantly elevated frequency of chromosome aberrations compared with control siRNA treated (CS) cells. Protons caused more severe DNA damages in XPA knock-down cells, as 36% cells contained multiple aberrations compared to 25% in CS cells after 4Gy proton irradiation. Comparison of gene expressions using the real-time PCR array technique revealed that expressions of p53 and its regulated genes in irradiated XPA suppressed cells were altered similarly as in CS cells, suggesting that the impairment of IR induced DNA repair in XPA suppressed cells is p53-independent. Except for XPA, which was more than 2 fold down regulated in XPA suppressed cells, several other DNA damage sensing and repair genes (GTSE1, RBBP8, RAD51, UNG and XRCC2) were shown a more than 1.5 fold difference between XPA knock-down cells and CS cells after proton exposure. The possible involvement of these genes in the impairment of DNA repair in XPA suppressed cells will be further investigated.

Zhang, Ye↗

Cold-flow acoustic evaluation of a small scale, divergent, lobed nozzle for supersonic jet noise suppression

A supersonic jet noise suppressor was tested with cold flow for acoustic and thrust characteristics at nozzle- to atmospheric-pressure ratios of 1.5 to 4.0. Jet noise suppression and spectral characteristics of the divergent, lobed, suppressor (DLS) nozzle with and without an ejector are presented. Suppression was obtained at nozzle pressure ratios of 2.5 to 4.0. The largest, maximum-lobe, sound pressure level suppression with a hard-wall ejector was 14.6 decibels at a nozzle pressure ratio of 3.5. The thrust loss was 2 percent. In general, low-frequency jet noise was suppressed, leaving higher frequencies essentially unchanged. Without the ejector the nozzle showed a thrust loss of 11 percent together with slightly poorer noise suppression.

Huff, R. G.↗

EBF noise suppression and aerodynamic penalties

Acoustic tests were conducted at model scale to determine the noise produced in the flyover and sideline planes at reduced separation distances between the nozzle exhaust plane and the flaps of an under-the-wing (UTW) externally blown flap (EBF) configuration in its approach attitude. Tests were also made to determine the noise suppression effectiveness of two types of passive devices which were located on the jet impingement surfaces of the configuration. In addition, static aerodynamic performance data were obtained to evaluate the penalties produced by these suppression devices. Broadband low frequency noise reductions were achieved by reducing the separation distance between the nozzle and flaps. However, mid and high frequency noise was produced which exceeded that of the reference configuration. Two passive noise suppression devices located on the flaps produced moderate to large noise reductions at reduced separation distances. Consideration of the static aerodynamic performance data obtained for the configurations tested suggests that specific broadband noise suppression characteristics may be obtained through a trade-off with aerodynamic performance penalties by the careful selection of suppression devices.

Mckinzie, L. J., Jr.↗

An analytical technique for predicting the characteristics of a flexible wing equipped with an active flutter-suppression system and comparison with wind-tunnel data

An analytical technique for predicting the performance of an active flutter-suppression system is presented. This technique is based on the use of an interpolating function to approximate the unsteady aerodynamics. The resulting equations are formulated in terms of linear, ordinary differential equations with constant coefficients. This technique is then applied to an aeroelastic model wing equipped with an active flutter-suppression system. Comparisons between wind-tunnel data and analysis are presented for the wing both with and without active flutter suppression. Results indicate that the wing flutter characteristics without flutter suppression can be predicted very well but that a more adequate model of wind-tunnel turbulence is required when the active flutter-suppression system is used.

Abel, I.↗

Forward velocity effects on fan noise and the suppression characteristics of advanced inlets as measured in the NASA-Ames 40 by 80 foot wind tunnel

Forward velocity effects on the forward radiated fan noise and on the suppression characteristics of three advanced inlets relative to a baseline cylindrical inlet were measured in the NASA Ames Research Center 40 x 80 foot Wind Tunnel. A modified JT15D turbofan engine in a quiet nacelle was the source of fan noise; the advanced inlets were a Conventional Takeoff/Landing (CTOL) hybrid inlet, a Short Takeoff/Landing (STOL) hybrid inlet, and a treated deflector inlet. Also measured were the static to flight effects on the fan noise of canting the baseline inlet 4 deg downward to simulate typical wing mounted turbofan engines. The CTOL hybrid inlet suppressed the high tip speed fan noise as much as 18 PNdB on a 61 m (200 ft) sideline scaled to a CF6 size engine while the STOL hybrid inlet suppressed the low tip speed fan noise as much as 13 PNdB on a 61 m (200 ft) sideline scaled to a OCSEE size engine. The deflector inlet suppressed the high tip speed fan noise as much as 13 PNdB at 61 m (200 ft) overhead scaled to a CF6 size engine. No significant changes in fan noise suppression for the CTOL and STOL hybrid inlets occurred for forward velocity changes above 21 m/s (68 ft/s) or for angle of attack changes up to 15 deg. However, changes in both forward velocity and angle of attack changed the deflector inlet noise unpredictably due to the asymmetry of the inlet flow field into the fan.

Moore, M. T.↗

Recent results about fan noise: Its generation, radiation and suppression

Fan noise including its generation, radiation characteristics, and suppression by acoustic treatment is studied. In fan noise generation, results from engine and fan experiments, using inflow control measures to suppress noise sources related to inflow distortion and turbulence, are described. The suppression of sources related to inflow allows the experiments to focus on the fan or engine internal sources. Some of the experiments incorporated pressure sensors on the fan blades to sample the flow disturbances encountered by the blades. From these data some inferences can be drawn about the origins of the disturbances. Also, hot wire measurements of a fan rotor wake field are presented and related to the fan's noise signature. The radiation and the suppression of fan noise are dependent on the acoustic modes generated by the fan. Fan noise suppression and radiation is described by relating these phenomena to the mode cutoff ratio parameter. In addition to its utility in acoustic treatment design and performance prediction, cutoff ratio was useful in developing a simple description of the radiation pattern for broadband fan noise. Some of the findings using the cutoff ratio parameter are presented.

Feiler, C. E.↗

Is suppression of bone formation during simulated weightlessness related to glucocorticoid levels

To investigate the hypothesis that suppression of bone formation in the suspended rat model was the result of increased levels of corticosterone, experiments were performed on young, growing, male rats exposed either to 4 C or suspended for two weeks. Rats suspended on the model system, designed to simulate certain aspects of spaceflight, gained weight at a rate at least equal to control animals but still showed a significant suppression of bone formation within 7 days. Cold-exposed rats gained less weight than their corresponding control group and did not demonstrate any suppression of bone formation. These findings suggest: (1) tail suspension is less stressful than previously used harness systems; (2) suspension in young, rapidly growing rats causes a significant suppression of cortical bone formation; (3) cold exposure does not alter bone formation rate in rats of a similar age and strain to those suspended in this study; and (4) suppression of bone formation provoked by unloading the rear limbs is not due solely to sustained stimulation of the pituitary-adrenal system.

Morey-Holton, E. R.↗

Active flutter suppression - Control system design and experimental validation

The synthesis and experimental validation of an active flutter suppression controller for the Active Flexible Wing wind-tunnel model is presented. The design is accomplished with traditional root locus and Nyquist methods using interactive computer graphics tools and with extensive use of simulation-based analysis. The design approach uses a fundamental understanding of the flutter mechanism to formulate a simple controller structure to meet stringent design specifications. Experimentally, the flutter suppression controller succeeded in simultaneous suppression of two flutter modes, significantly increasing the flutter dynamic pressure despite errors in flutter dynamic pressure and flutter frequency in the mathematical model. The flutter suppression controller was also successfully operated in combination with a roll maneuver controller to perform flutter suppression during rapid rolling maneuvers.

Waszak, Martin R.↗

Design and experimental validation of a flutter suppression controller for the active flexible wing

The synthesis and experimental validation of an active flutter suppression controller for the Active Flexible Wing wind tunnel model is presented. The design is accomplished with traditional root locus and Nyquist methods using interactive computer graphics tools and extensive simulation based analysis. The design approach uses a fundamental understanding of the flutter mechanism to formulate a simple controller structure to meet stringent design specifications. Experimentally, the flutter suppression controller succeeded in simultaneous suppression of two flutter modes, significantly increasing the flutter dynamic pressure despite modeling errors in predicted flutter dynamic pressure and flutter frequency. The flutter suppression controller was also successfully operated in combination with another controller to perform flutter suppression during rapid rolling maneuvers.

Waszak, Martin R.↗

Flutter suppression for the Active Flexible Wing - Control system design and experimental validation

The synthesis and experimental validation of a control law for an active flutter suppression system for the Active Flexible Wing wind-tunnel model is presented. The design was accomplished with traditional root locus and Nyquist methods using interactive computer graphics tools and with extensive use of simulation-based analysis. The design approach relied on a fundamental understanding of the flutter mechanism to formulate understanding of the flutter mechanism to formulate a simple control law structure. Experimentally, the flutter suppression controller succeeded in simultaneous suppression of two flutter modes, significantly increasing the flutter dynamic pressure despite errors in the design model. The flutter suppression controller was also successfully operated in combination with a rolling maneuver controller to perform flutter suppression during rapid rolling maneuvers.

Waszak, M. R.↗