Detonation engine fed by acetylene–oxygen mixture

The advantages of a constant volume combustion cycle as compared to constant pressure combustion in terms of thermodynamic efficiency has focused the search for advanced propulsion on detonation engines. Detonation of acetylene mixed with oxygen in various proportions is studied using mathematical modeling. Simplified kinetics of acetylene burning includes 11 reactions with 9 components. Deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) is obtained in a cylindrical tube with a section of obstacles modeling a Shchelkin spiral; the DDT takes place in this section for a wide range of initial mixture compositions. A modified ka-omega turbulence model is used to simulate flame acceleration in the Shchelkin spiral section of the system. The results of numerical simulations were compared with experiments, which had been performed in the same size detonation chamber and turbulent spiral ring section, and with theoretical data on the Chapman–Jouguet detonation parameters.     

Survival of dormant organisms after long-term exposure to the space environment

The RF SRC—Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, developed Biorisk hardware to study the effects of long-term exposure of dormant forms of various organisms to outer space and used it to complete a series of experiments on the Russian Module (RM) of the International Space Station (ISS).The experiments were performed using prokaryotes (Bacillus bacteria) and eukaryotes (Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Cladosporium fungi), as well as spores, dormant forms of higher plants, insects, lower crustaceans, and vertebrates. The biological samples were housed in two containers that were exposed to outer space for 13 or 18 months. The results of the 18-month experiment showed that, in spite of harsher temperature than in the first study, most specimens remained viable.These experiments provided evidence that not only bacterial and fungal spores but also dormant forms of organisms that reached higher levels of evolutionary development had the capability to survive a long-term exposure to outer space. This observation suggests that they can be transferred on outer walls of space platforms during interplanetary missions.     

Improvement of conventional combustion chamber structure in order to enhance GTE ecological indicators

The test results of a conventional combustion chamber with the improved structure are presented. The concentration of toxic substance emissions is reduced as compared with combustion chambers of the similar type.     

Limits of flanging process feasibility to create thin-wall conical shells

In this paper, a process of flanging to create thin-walled axisymmetrical shells with the shape of truncated cone is analyzed. Also presented are some dependences that make it possible to determine the relative depth of a formed piece at the given piece-blank thickness ratio.     

The ‘soot line’: Destruction of presolar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the terrestrial planet-forming region of disks

Interstellar material is highly processed when subjected to the physical conditions that prevail in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks, the potential birthplace of habitable planets. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are abundant in the interstellar medium, and they have also been observed in the disks around young stars, with evidence for some modification in the latter. Using a chemical model developed for sooting flames, we have investigated the chemical evolution of PAHs in warm (1000–2000 K) and oxygen-rich (C/O < 1) conditions appropriate for the region where habitable planets may eventually form. Our study focuses on (1) delineating the conditions under which PAHs will react and (2) identifying the key reaction pathways and reaction products characterizing this chemical evolution. We find that reactions with H, OH and O are the main pathways for destroying PAHs over disk timescale at temperatures greater than about 1000 K. In the process, high abundances of C₂H₂ persist over long timescales due to the kinetic inhibition of reactions that eventually drive the carbon into CO, CO₂ and CH₄. The thermal destruction of PAHs may thus be the cause of the abundant C₂H₂ that has been observed in disks. We propose that protoplanetary disks have a ‘soot line’, within which PAHs are irreversibly destroyed via thermally-driven reactions. The soot line will play an important role, analogous to that of the ‘snow line’, in the bulk carbon content of meteorites and habitable planets.     

DORIS geodesy: A dynamic determination of geocentre location

Geoscience Australia contributed a multi-satellite, multi-year weekly time series to the International DORIS Service combined submission for the construction of International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2008 (ITRF2008). This contributing solution was extended to a study of the capability of DORIS to dynamically estimate the variation in the geocentre location. Two solutions, comprising different constraint configurations of the tracking network, were undertaken. The respective DORIS satellite orbit solutions (SPOT-2, SPOT-4, SPOT-5 and Envisat) were verified and validated by comparison with those produced at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), DORIS Analysis Centre, for computational consistency and standards. In addition, in the case of Envisat, the trajectories from the GA determined SLR and DORIS orbits were compared. The results for weekly dynamic geocentre estimates from the two constraint configurations were benchmarked against the geometric geocentre estimates from the IDS-2 combined solution. This established that DORIS is capable of determining the dynamic geocentre variation by estimating the degree one spherical harmonic coefficients of the Earth’s gravity potential. It was established that constrained configurations produced similar results for the geocentre location and consequently similar annual amplitudes. For the minimally constrained configuration Greenbelt–Kitab, the mean of the uncertainties of the geocentre location were 2.3, 2.3 and 7.6 mm and RMS of the mean uncertainties were 1.9, 1.2 and 3.5 mm for the X, Y and Z components, respectively. For GA_IDS-2_Datum constrained configuration, the mean of the uncertainties of the geocentre location were 1.7, 1.7 and 6.2 mm and RMS of the mean uncertainties were 0.9, 0.7 and 2.9 mm for the X, Y and Z components, respectively. The mean of the differences of the two DORIS dynamic geocentre solutions with respect to the IDS-2 combination were 1.6, 4.0 and 5.1 mm with an RMS of the mean 21.2, 14.0 and 31.5 mm for the Greenbelt–Kitab configuration and 4.1, 3.9 and 4.3 mm with an RMS 8.1, 9.0 and 28.6 mm for the GA_IDS-2_Datum constraint configuration. The annual amplitudes for each component were estimated to be 5.3, 10.8 and 11.0 mm for the Greenbelt–Kitab configuration and 5.3, 9.3 and 9.4 mm for the GA_IDS-2_Datum constraint configuration. The two DORIS determined dynamic geocentre solutions were compared to the SLR determined dynamic solution (which was determined from the same process of the GA contribution to the ITRF2008 ILRS combination) gave mean differences of 3.3, −4.7 and 2.5 mm with an RMS of 20.7, 17.5 and 28.0 mm for the X, Y and Z components, respectively for the Greenbelt–Kitab configuration and 1.1, −5.4 and 4.4 mm with an RMS of 9.7, 13.3 and 24.9 mm for the GA_IDS-2_Datum configuration. The larger variability is reflected in the respective amplitudes. As a comparison, the annual amplitudes of the SLR determined dynamic geocentre are 0.9, 1.0 and 6.8 mm in the X, Y and Z components. The results from this study indicate that there is potential to achieve precise dynamically determined geocentre from DORIS.     

Modeling of helicopter behavior dynamics under the controlling action of the stabilization and control system

A possibility of evaluating dynamic response of a mechanical system to controlling actions of the automatic stabilization and control system is considered on the basis of a numerical experiment. Examples of design analysis are presented for a light-weight helicopter in which an autopilot is part of the control system. The finite element analysis is used in this paper.     

Intensification of heat exchange on the convex surface of an annular channel with continuous flow swirling

In this paper, the results of an experimental study concerning average heat transfer in an annular channel with flow swirling by an endless screw and spherical grooves on the convex surface are presented. Also analyzed is the heat and hydraulic efficiency of grooves application under conditions being considered.     

Biomedical problems of EVA support during manned space flight to Mars

Current projects of manned missions to Mars are aimed to their realization in the second-third decades of this century. The purpose of this paper is to determine and review the main biomedical problems, that require a first and foremost decision for safety support of extravehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crewmembers of the Mars expedition. To a number of such problems the authors of the paper attribute a creation of adequate EVA equipment intended, first, for assembly of interplanetary spacecraft on the Earth orbit, performance of maintenance operations and scientific researches on the external surface of spacecraft during interplanetary flight and, secondly, for work on the Mars surface. New generation of space suits with low weight, high mobility and acceptable risk of decompression sickness must be as a central component of EVA equipment. The program for preparation to a Mars expedition also has to include special investigations in order to design the means and methods for a reliable protection of crew against space radiation, to elaborate the approach to medical monitoring and primary medical care during autonomous space mission, to maintain good health condition of crewmembers during EVA under the Mars gravity (0.38 g) after super long-term flight in weightlessness.     

The Radarsat Antarctic Mapping Mission

The Radarsat Earth-observation satellite was launched on November 4, 1995 aboard a Delta 2 rocket. Equipped with a sophisticated synthetic aperture radar (SAR), Radarsat can produce images of extraordinary clarity even through clouds, smog, haze, smoke, and darkness. The SAR has a variety of operating modes. It can be adjusted to produce swathes between 35 and 500 km in width, with ground resolutions from 100 m to as low as eight. In addition, the beam can be steered at angles up to 49° from the satellite's nadir vector, giving it the unique ability to image areas it is not directly overflying. In exchange for the launch, CSA agreed to provide NASA with access to the SAR data, and to execute a 180° yaw-around of Radarsat twice during its lifetime to map the Antarctic continent. Preliminary results from the first of these Antarctic Mapping Missions, dubbed AMM-1, are presented