Code UG Weekly Notes 12-19-01

Physical Sciences Division
Weekly Highlights for Week Ending 12/19/2001

*** Indicates item is appropriate for the HQ senior staff and may appear
on the OBPR Web site: http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov

GENERAL

MATERIALS SCIENCE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR RECEIVES AWARDS FROM AMERICAN
CERAMIC SOCIETY: Dr. Delbert E. Day, University of Missouri, Rolla Curators’
Professor Emeritus of Ceramic Engineering, was honored at the American
Ceramic Society’s Pacific Rim meeting in Maui, Hawaii, 11/4-8/2001, for
his groundbreaking research on glass applications in two very different
fields: hazardous materials and biomedical applications. Dr. Day received
the George W. Morey Award from the society’s Glass and Optical Materials
Division in recognition of his research on iron phosphate glasses, a new
class of materials for safely encapsulating hazardous and radioactive
wastes, and also the Samuel Geijsbeek Award from the Pacific Coast Section
of the society for his development of novel glasses and materials for
biomedical applications. Professor Day is well known for his development
of microscopic glass beads, which can be irradiated and injected into
a patient to treat liver cancer and other forms of cancer. His NASA research
project is entitled, "Kinetics of Nucleation and Growth in Glass
Forming Melts in Microgravity," projected for flight in the Low Gradient
Furnace insert within the Materials Science and Research Rack – 1.

EDUCATION and OUTREACH

REDUCED GRAVITY STUDENT FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM PROPOSAL REVIEW:
The Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program Proposal Review
was held at Johnson Space Center (JSC) on 11/30/2001. Attendees were Laura
Hood for JSC, John McQuillen for Glenn Research Center (GRC), Dr. Don
Reiss for Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Christine Hoffman,
the KC-135 program coordinator at JSC. Dr. Donn Sickorez, the University
Affairs Officer at JSC, chaired the meeting. The final selection meeting
was held via teleconference on 12/4/2001. Out of 79 proposals submitted,
54 university teams were accepted for the 2002 program. The complete list
of selected proposals is posted on the program’s web site: http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov/activeteams.cfm

ELECTROSTATIC LEVITATOR (ESL) FACILITY PERFORMS STUDIES FOR NASA GRADUATE
RESEARCHER PROGRAM PROJECT: The Marshall Space Flight Center’s ESL performed
studies for Melissa Wert, a graduate student of Dr. Robert J. Bayuzick
of Vanderbilt University, 11/5-6/2001. NASA’s Graduate Student Researcher
Program sponsors the project, which examines the effects of dilute amounts
of oxygen on nucleation in zirconium (Zr) using undercooling experiments.
The ESL team obtained more than 810 melt cycles for seven specimens of
Zr, representing three different purity levels. The average sample undercooling
was 315 C. Data obtained supports the statistical analysis of nucleation
phenomena in these materials.

ISS FLIGHT PROGRAM

MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH PROGRAM OFFICE (MRPO) PAYLOAD OPERATIONS STATUS
ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) UF1 STAGE: After a successful
landing of ISS Flight UF1 on Monday, December 17, 2001, payload operations
for Week 1 of Increment 4 has started in earnest. MRPO payloads dealing
with experiments on cell science, structural biology and have been activated
and are functioning nominally. The study of colloids is continuing and
the acceleration measurements are progressing normally. The study of plant
growth and the investigation on the zeolite materials will begin later
in the increment.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) PAYLOADS MANIFESTING: ISS has released
contingency middeck lockers on the 11A flight (September 2002), that has
greatly increased the MRPO science compliment. A total of eight Microgravity
Research Program Office (MRPO) payloads have been accommodated including
four from the Space Products Development office, and four supporting the
Microgravity Research effort.

MICROGRAVITY SCIENCE GLOVEBOX (MSG) FLIGHT RACK: Testing is continuing
at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on the MSG Flight Rack with the completion
of additional verification test requirements. An issue in work is the
redesign of the locking pins for the video drawer. New pins should be
received by 12/10/01 from the European Space Agency. All test operations
are on schedule to posture the MSG Program Office to turn over the Flight
Rack to KSC on 12/20/01. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Systems Test
Group personnel successfully installed an IBM Laptop running the Payloads
and Components Real-Time Automated Test System Software on the MSG external
Mil-Std-1553 databus between the MSG and Payload Rack Checkout Unit. This
will permit ground personnel to monitor MSG Health and Status in both
ground testing and flight operations.

MICROGRAVITY SCIENCE GLOVEBOX (MSG) INVESTIGATIONS: Marshall Space Flight
Center (MSFC) Systems Test Group personnel received the Structure of Paramagnetic
Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions (INSPACE) from the Glenn Research
Center (GRC) for MSG compatibility and environmental testing. GRC personnel
are on-site during the week of 12/17/01 to assist in testing. The Solidification
Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA) and Pore Formation and Mobility
Experiment (PFM) are in environmental testing. The Glovebox Integrated
Microgravity Isolation Technology Investigation (g-LIMIT) is in the final
stages of repair and should be ready for environmental testing 12/10/01.

SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

CROSS DISCIPLINE:

PAPER ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES: A paper, entitled "Vapor Transport Growth of Organic
Solids in Microgravity and Unit Gravity: Some Comparisons and Results
to Date," by Maria I. Zugrav, University of Alabama in Huntsville
(UAH), William E. Carswell (UAH/MSFC), Glen B. Haulenbeek (UAH), Mohan
Sanghadasa (UAH), Sue K. O’Brien (UAH), Bohgdan C. Ghita (UAH), and William
E. Gathings (UAH), has been accepted for publication in the Annals of
the New York Academy of Sciences. The paper describes and explains how
new technology was developed on the ground as a direct result of unexpected
results obtained in microgravity. The technology centers around the preparation
of bulk materials for nonlinear optical applications using a novel vapor
transport process for thin film deposition. The paper describes the space
and ground experiments and results that led to this new process.

BIOTECHNOLOGY:

BIOLOGICAL CRYSTALLIZATION PAYLOAD FOR UF-1/STS-108: The biological crystallization
payload for UF-1/STS-108 consisted of twelve Protein Crystallization Apparatus
for Microgravity (PCAM) cylinders, housed in two Single-Locker Thermal
Enclosure Systems (STES). Each PCAM device contains nine trays, each having
seven individual experiment chambers, for a total of 378 samples per STES.
Three of the PCAM units were assigned to Principal Investigator, Dr. Daniel
C. Carter, and Co-Investigator, Dr. Mark Wardell, New Century Pharmaceuticals,
Inc., for the NRA 97-HEDS-02-137 approved proposal, entitled "Protein
Crystal Growth Facility-based Microgravity Hardware: Science and Applications."
These investigations focused on albumin, which has applications in biochemistry
and improved drug delivery and efficacy for a broad base of pharmaceuticals,
and on human antithrombin III, which has applications for therapy for
stroke.

COOL CRYSTALS – A PHYSICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL STUDY: Dr. Edward Snell, Universities
Space Research Associates /Marshall Space Flight Center (USRA)/(MSFC),
Principal Investigator of this study, presented an invited talk on the
thermal imaging of cryocooled crystals at a combined seminar of the European
Molecular Biology Laboratory, Institute Laue Langevin, and European Synchrotron
Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, on 11/15/2001. He also presented
the same talk at the Daresbury Synchrotron Radiation Source, UK, on 11/19/2001,
also by invitation. Co-Investigators on the project are Dr. Russell Judge
(UAH/MSFC) and Dr. Mark van der Woerd (USRA/MSFC).

INTEGRATION OF SYNCHROTRON-BASED CRYSTAL QUALITY MEASUREMENTS AND MACROMOLECULAR
STRUCTURE DETERMINATION: Dr. Gloria Borgstahl (University of Toledo),
NRA Principal Investigator, was featured in the Cleveland Blade and three
local television stations in Toledo as part of her crystallization experiments
in the Associate Investigator program due to fly on the UF-1 mission to
the International Space Station. She will also be interviewed on National
Public Radio.

MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION IN IN VITRO CELLULAR & DEVELOPMENTAL
BIOLOGY: A paper, entitled "Effect of Serum from Chickens Treated
with Clenbuterol on Myosin Accumulation, beta-Adrenergic Receptor Population,
and Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate Synthesis in Embryonic Skeletal Muscle
Cell Cultures," by Ronald B. Young/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC),
Kristin Y. Bridge/University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH), Andrew J. Wuethrich,
and Deana L. Hancock, has been accepted for publication in In Vitro Cellular
& Developmental Biology. The work is the result of collaborative research
with Dr. Deana Hancock of Eli Lilly Research Laboratories in Greenfield,
Indiana. The study was designed to test the widely accepted hypothesis
that clenbuterol increases muscle protein content by changing the cyclic
adenosine monophosphate concentration in muscle cells. This hypothesis
was found to be invalid; therefore, a new hypothesis must be developed
to explain how clenbuterol causes muscle hypertrophy.

SECOND INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP OF X-RAY DAMAGE TO CRYSTALLINE BIOLOGICAL
SAMPLE: NASA Principal Investigators were represented at the Second International
Workshop on X-ray Damage to Crystalline Biological Samples, held at the
Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, 12/1-2/2001. Invited
speakers included Dr. Edward Snell, Universities Space Research Associates/Marshall
Space Flight Center (USRA/MSFC), talking about infrared imaging of cooled
crystals, and Lief Hanson (for Principal Investigator Gerald Bunick, Oak
Ridge National Laboratory), talking about helium cryo-cooling. The workshop
brought together representatives from academic institutions, government
laboratories, and industry from the US, Japan, Britain, Germany and France.
NASA Principal Investigators, Dr. Gloria Borgstahl (University of Toledo)
and Dr. Robert Thorne (Cornell University), also attended. The workshop
established collaborative teams to tackle key areas highlighted from the
discussions in a coordinated

COMBUSTION SCIENCE:

HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING OF FLAME SPREAD OVER SOLID FUEL SURFACES USING
ADAPTIVE FABRY-PEROT FILTERS: The objective of this work, led by T. Rawlins
of Physical Sciences, is to develop an instrument (AIRIS, or Adaptive
InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer) for spectrally-resolved imaging of important
combustion species in the mid-infrared region. The instrument is based
on a Fabry-Perot interferometer in low order coupled to an infrared focal
plane array camera; the low order operation ensures that the interferometer
acts as a narrow bandpass filter. One mirror of the Fabry-Perot unit can
translate so that the wavelength passed by the filter can be tuned electronically.
In this manner a data cube can be swept out consisting of an x-y spatial
image with wavelength as the 3rd axis. The PI has recently developed a
set of experimental and computational procedures for evaluating the optical
properties of the Fabry-Perot mirror sets. The mirror set for the 3.5-5
mm region were shown to have experimentally determined properties such
as finesse and Free Spectral Range that were well predicted by the optical
model. A mirror set in the 2-3 mm band which was obtained for use on a
different contract had somewhat degraded performance compared to prediction.
The reasons for the degraded performance are under investigation so that
a better set can be specified and obtained for the NASA effort.

QUANTITATIVE INTERPRETATION OF OPTICAL EMISSION SENSORS FOR MICROGRAVITY
EXPERIMENTS: Dr. Greg Smith of the Molecular Physics Laboratory of SRI
International leads this ground-based project to develop optical emission
sensor strategies for microgravity combustion experiments. The specific
goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate quantitative relationships
between flame emission measurements and flame properties. Recent measurements
focused on measurements of chemiluminescence in 7 new flames. These results
include calibrated camera images of OH*, CH*, and C2* emissions (where
appropriate), which after Abel inversion will provide absolute excited
state concentrations and spatial profiles to further test the mechanism.
Rich and stoichiometric ethane-air and ethylene-air flames were added
to validate the mechanism for higher hydrocarbon fuels and verify the
chosen reaction scheme. A methane-N2O flame was investigated, because
it contains a large concentration of O atoms which should produce enhanced
CH* signal if the C2H + O (not O2) reaction is responsible as hypothesized.
Hydrogen flames in N2O or O2 oxidizer, seeded with minor amounts of methane,
were examined in order to investigate the temperature dependence of the
chemiluminescence reactions, since the N2O oxidizer flames are much hotter.
Modeling studies for mechanism improvement are underway, including LIF
observations of ground state CH and C2 precursors of the emissions. The
excited state concentration results are shown in the table.

Flame OH* (cm-3) CH* C2* t(CH*) (ns) t(C2*)
CH4-air []=1.07 1.63e8 0.96e7 1.26e6
C2H6-air []=1.02 2.02e8 5.86e7 4.12e6 82 48
C2H6-air []=1.28 2.18e8 12.1e7 15.6e6 62 45
C2H4-air []=1.02 2.53e8 7.67e7 6.74e6 85 43
C2H4-air []=1.28 2.80e8 16.6e7 21.6e6 72 46
CH4-N2O []=1.07 6.26e8 9.58e7
H2-air 5% CH4 []=1.8 0.10e8(.022) 0.011e7
H2-N2O 5% CH4 []=1.8 1.10e8 0.11e7

A laser induced fluorescence (LIF) system was used to provide profiles
of ground state CH and C2(a) concentrations and excited state quenching
rates in the flames. A set of chemiluminescence height profiles obtained
with concurrent height scans of ground state CH LIF confirm the camera
results, which are generally higher above the burner than model predictions.
CH(A) quenching measurements in the new flames agree with those predicted
from the model loss rates. LIF quenching measurements of Swan band C2(d-a)
were made in the various low pressure flames to provide the decay information
needed in the mechanism and to deduce excited state C2(d) production rate
parameters from the emission data. In addition, C2(a) concentrations in
the methane, ethane, and ethylene flames determined in this LIF work can
serve to validate the mechanism chemistry for C2H, with which C2 is in
partial equilibrium. The C2H precursor to CH* must be correct for a proper
determination of the production rate constant to be made. Good quenching
rates, height profiles, and relative amounts were obtained, but absolute
concentrations will be uncertain because low signal levels required operation
at a band head (2-0 or 3-1 at 438nm) with partial saturation of the transition.

FLUID PHYSICS:

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGER INSTALLED AT GRC: A new compact Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) apparatus has been installed in the basement of Building
77 at NASA GRC. It consists of a 2,673 Gauss permanent magnet weighing
1-ton and associated electronics and software developed by New Mexico
Resonance and built by NMR, MR Technology and Aster Enterprises. Nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR) is well known for its subfield, magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) in clinical medicine. However, NMR is used in areas ranging
from physics to oil exploration to fisheries. NMR’s strong point, besides
its non-invasive capability, is its ability to measure many different
parameters. Clinical MRI measures the spatial distribution of protons
in mobile molecules such as in soft tissue but MRI is also possible to
display the distribution of protons’ mobility or even velocity (for example,
in flowing blood or cerebral spinal fluid). It has also been applied for
studies of solid-liquid multiphase flow, granular flow, porous media flow
and characterization, gas imaging, and gas flow. At GRC the unit will
be used primarily for studying flow of granular media, flow in porous
media and interdisciplinary biological systems. This instruments was developed
under the Advanced Technology Development program funded through Code
UG.

ACCELERATED STOKESIAN DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS: Fluid physics PI Prof John
Brady (Cal Tech) presented a new implementation of the conventional Stokesian
Dynamics (SD) algorithm, called accelerated Stokesian Dynamics (ASD).
The equations governing the motion of N particles suspended in a viscous
fluid at low particle Reynolds number are solved accurately and efficiently,
including all hydrodynamic interactions, but with a significantly lower
computational cost of O(N ln N). The main differences from the conventional
SD method lie in the calculation of the many-body long-range interactions,
where the Ewald-summed wave-space contribution is calculated as a Fourier
transform sum and in the iterative inversion of the now sparse resistance
matrix. The new method is applied to problems in the rheology of both
structured and random suspensions, and accurate results are obtained with
much larger numbers of particles. With access to larger N, the high-frequency
dynamic viscosities and short-time self-diffusivities of random suspensions
for volume fractions above the freezing point are now studied. The ASD
method opens up an entire new class of suspension problems that can be
investigated, including particles of non-spherical shape and a distribution
of sizes, and the method can readily be extended to other low-Reynolds-number-
flow problems. The results are reported in the following paper:
Asimina Sierou and John F. Brady, "Accelerated Stokesian Dynamics
simulations," J. Fluid Mech. (2001), vol. 448, pp. 115-146.

MOTION OF A DROP IN A VERTICAL TEMPERATURE GRADIENT AT SMALL MARANGONI
NUMBER THE CRITICAL ROLE OF INERTIA: Fluid physics investigators Prof.
R. Subramanian (Clarkson) and Dr. R. Balasubramaniam (CWRU/NCMRFC) have
developed a novel analytical solution for a drop of liquid moving in another
liquid. When a drop moves in a uniform vertical temperature gradient under
the combined action of gravity and thermocapillarity at small values of
the thermal Peclet number, it is shown that inclusion of inertia is crucial
in the development of an asymptotic solution for the temperature field.
If inertia is completely ignored, use of the method of matched asymptotic
expansions, employing the Peclet number (known as the Marangoni number)
as the small parameter, leads to singular behaviour of the outer temperature
field. The origin of this behaviour can be traced to the interaction of
the slowly decaying Stokeslet, arising from the gravitational contribution
to the motion of the drop, with the temperature gradient field far from
the drop. When inertia is included, and the method of matched asymptotic
expansions is used, employing the Reynolds number as a small parameter,
the singular behaviour of the temperature field is eliminated. A result
is obtained for the migration velocity of the drop that is correct to
O(Re^2* log Re). The results are reported in the following paper:
Lu Zhang, R. Shankar Subramanian, and R. Balasubramaniam, "Motion
of a drop in a vertical temperature gradient at small Marangoni number
the critical role of inertia," J. Fluid Mech. (2001), vol. 448, pp.
197-211, 2001

MATERIALS SCIENCE:

QUENCH MODULE INSERT (QMI): The interim QMI breadboard furnace was completed
and checked out on 11/21/01. An aluminum Sample Ampoule Cartridge Assembly
(SACA) was installed and processed 11/29/01. The sample was extracted
on 11/30/01 and the thermal data evaluated. One anomaly detected during
the processing run was attributed to voids in the sample. A second sample
ready for installation was disassembled and x-rayed to verify that voids
were not in the raw aluminum. That sample was installed 12/3/01 and is
being processed. All testing is monitored by thermal and design engineering
personnel using Payloads and Components Real Time Automated Test System
(PACRATS) Software developed by Marshall Space Flight Center. Two more
SACA samples are planned using the interim breadboard furnace. Fabrication
is in progress on the next rebuild of the breadboard furnace. Once a satisfactory
thermocouple attachment method is developed, the furnace will be reassembled
and tested.

THE ROLE OF CONVECTION AND GROWTH COMPETITION ON PHASE SELECTION IN MICROGRAVITY
(LODESTARS): Members of the LODESTARS investigation team visited the Marshall
Space Flight Center (MSFC) Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) facility 11/13-11/16/2001.
The studies supported the Flight Definition Experiment of Professor Merton
C. Flemings, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The ESL team obtained
more than 45 melt cycles for 15 different samples from two alloy systems.
Experiments produced numerous double recalescence events. The MIT high-speed
camera recorded approximately 20 files of different spontaneous nucleation
events at 40,500 frames per second.

STUDIES OF NUCLEATION AND GROWTH, SPECIFIC HEAT AND VISCOSITY OF UNDERCOOLED
MELTS OF QUASICRYSTALS AND POLYTETRAHEDRAL-PHASE-FORMING ALLOYS (QUASI):
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Electrostatic Levitator (ESL)
facility produced data to support the Flight Definition Experiment of
Dr. Kenneth F. Kelton, Washington University, St. Louis. Members of this
investigation team visited MSFC, 11/26-30/2001, to work with the ESL team
in producing 280 melt cycles. Specimens studied include more than 30 different
samples from five alloy systems: TiZrNi, TiZr, TiFe, Ti FeSiO, and TiZrNiAg.
The ESL provided data for the phase diagram of the systems and information
needed to determine the composition of alloys for the flight experiment.

STRUCTURAL FLUCTUATION AND THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MOLTEN II-VI
COMPOUNDS: A paper, entitled "Viscosity Relaxation in Molten HgZnTe,"
by Y. W. Kim, J. K. Baird, University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH),
Ching-Hua Su and S. L. Lehoczky Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), has
been accepted for publication in the journal, Physics and Chemistry of
Liquids. The measured viscosities of isothermal HgZnTe liquid have shown
relaxation characteristics that required tens of hours before a steady
viscous state can be achieved. Since group VI elements tend to polymerize
when molten, the experimental data were interpreted in terms of the kinetics
of formation and decomposition reaction of Te atom chains. Dr. Ching-Hua
Su is the Principal Investigator of the ground-based research.

PAPER PRESENTED AT MATERIALS RESEARCH SOCIETY MEETING: Dr. Shen Zhu,
Universities Space Research Associates/Marshall Space Flight Center (USRA/MSFC)
presented a paper, entitled "Orientational Growth of Carbon Nanotube
by Thermal CVD," at the Materials Research Society Fall 2001 meeting
in Boston, MA, 11/26-30/2001. The authors of the presentation were S.
Zhu (USRA), C.-H. Su (MSFC), J. C. Cochrane (USRA), S. Gorti (MSFC), S.
Lehoczky (MSFC ), Y. Cui (Fisk U.), and A. Burger (Fisk U.). The effects
of various temperatures, pressures, and gas concentrations in growth of
carbon nanotubes using thermal chemical vapor deposition were discussed.
The nanotube-diameter distribution mainly depended on the growth-temperatures.
The growth rate and nanotube forms were primarily controlled by growth
pressure and gas sources, respectively. It was also found that the substrate
surface direction affected the growth orientation of carbon nanotubes.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Additional meetings and symposia can be found at: http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/ugml/ugmltext.htm

January 23-24, 2002, Microgravity Research Team/Program Management Review
(MRT/PMR) Face-to-Face Meeting at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
CA

February 20-21, 2002, Microgravity Research Team/Program Management Review
(MRT/PMR) Telecon