Index to NASA Tech Briefs, 1972

Abstracts of 1972 NASA Tech Briefs are presented. Four indexes are included: subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief number

Applications of aerospace technology in the public sector

Current activities of the program to accelerate specific applications of space related technology in major public sector problem areas are summarized for the period 1 June 1971 through 30 November 1971. An overview of NASA technology, technology applications, and supporting activities are presented. Specific technology applications in biomedicine are reported including cancer detection, treatment and research; cardiovascular diseases, diagnosis, and treatment; medical instrumentation; kidney function disorders, treatment, and research; and rehabilitation medicine

Development & Testing of Novel Atmospheric Chemistry Technologies

Atmospheric aerosols play an important role in global atmospheric chemistry and climate and have a detrimental impact on human health. Advancements in measurement technologies allow for better monitoring of atmospheric composition and dynamics, creating better predictive models and understanding of atmospheric chemistry and physics. Gas and particle atmospheric oxidation is poorly understood. In order to create a better understanding of atmospheric oxidation, the following equipment was developed: 1) a Potential Aerosol Mass: PAM) flow reaction chamber was developed to create reproducible steady-state oxidation of organic species in a controlled laboratory setting, 2) a custom combustion chamber for introduction of realistic single source samples, and 3) a Thermal desorption Aerosol Gas chromatograph: TAG) for hourly speciation of hundreds of semi-volatile and non-volatile organic compounds. Development and construction of the Combustion Chamber, PAM Chamber, and TAG system are discussed as well as preliminary applications of this equipment. These instruments allow for the study of primary organic aerosol: POA) and secondary organic aerosol: SOA) formation. Due to the lack of knowledge concerning organic aerosol source chemical profiles and subsequent chemical evolution in the atmosphere, these studies are crucial for furthering the understanding of atmospheric chemistry and in developing accurate atmospheric models

Design and development of a particulate emission monitor

In the last two decades, numerous studies have revealed that atmospheric particulates and especially those emitted by diesel engined vehicles pose a serious health and environmental hazard. This thesis describes the design and development of a co-axial capacitance transducer as well as the ancillary solids dispersion production unit for the on-line measurement of particulates concentration in air in real time basis. The primary application of the device is as a particulate monitor for diesel engine exhausts although the reported experimental results also evaluate and establish its feasibility for monitoring solids/gas dispersions during their pneumatic conveying. Briefly, the transducer comprises two different diameter metallic cylindrical electrodes placed co-axially within one another so that an annulus is formed. The latter constitutes the sensing volume of the capacitance transducer following the application of a voltage between the two electrodes. The principle of the operation of the device relies on the fact that the effective dielectric constant of a solids-gas dispersion driven between the electrodes is proportional to the concentration of the entrained solids. In practice therefore, the concentration of a test powder is determined by measuring capacitance and referring to a previously prepared calibration chart. The feasibility and reliability of the transducer have been verified by conducting a series of experiments investigating its performance characteristics in response to changes in a number of design and operating parameters in conjunction with different powders of various size, density, and electrical properties. The design parameters investigated include variations in electrode diameters, length and separation distance. The various operating parameters on the other hand deal with changes in air relative humidity (8 - 78 %), temperature (20 °C - 100 °C), flow velocity (6.5 - 15 ms-1), solids flow pattern (e.g. from homogeneous to slug flow) as well as variations in the frequency of the applied voltage (1-100 kHz). The results indicate that the transducer's sensitivity increases with a decrease in the separation distance between the two cylindrical electrodes, whereas the electrodes' length has no profound effect on it. On the other hand, the effective dielectric constant, ϵeff of all solids-gas dispersions tested was found to be directly proportional to the solids concentration and unaffected by variations in air humidity, air velocity, electric field frequency, and solids flow regime. However, ϵeff for dispersions of insulating powders, in contrast to that of conducting powders, was found to be dependent on the respective dielectric constant of the solid particles as well as their size. Furthermore, in the case of mixtures of two insulating powders simultaneously dispersed in air, ϵeff was found to be dependent not only to the total solids concentration but also on the volumetric ratio of the two powders in the mixture. The transducer's baseline capacitance (zero solids concentration) varied linearly with the average surface temperature of the cylindrical electrodes. Finally, a 'temperature capacitor coefficient' was calculated in order to account for the effect of temperature on capacitance. This was found to be in close agreement with the coefficient of thermal expansion of the electrodes' material of construction (c.f. 0.0001/°C with 0.00012/°C)

NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 29)

Abstracts are provided for 115 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1986 through June 1986. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent application

Lessons Learned from Oil Pipeline Natech Accidents and Recommendations for Natech Scenario Development - Final Report

Natural hazards can impact oil transmission pipelines with potentially adverse consequences on the population and the environment. They can also cause significant economic impacts to pipeline operators. Currently, there is only limited historical information available on the dynamics of natural hazard impact on pipelines and Action A6 of the EPCIP 2012 Programme aimed at shedding light on this issue. This report presents the findings of the second year of the study that focused on the analysis of onshore hazardous liquid transmission pipeline natechs, with special emphasis on natural hazard impact and damage modes, incident consequences, and lessons learned for scenario building. Due to the limited amount of data available on European pipeline natech incidents, the study was supplemented with information from U.S. pipeline natech incidents.JRC.G.5-Security technology assessmen

Aeronautical Engineering: A special bibliography with indexes, supplement 48

This special bibliography lists 291 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in August 1974