The Origin of Mercury

Mercury’s unusually high mean density has always been attributed to special circumstances that occurred during the formation of the planet or shortly thereafter, and due to the planet’s close proximity to the Sun. The nature of these special circumstances is still being debated and several scenarios, all proposed more than 20 years ago, have been suggested. In all scenarios, the high mean density is the result of severe fractionation occurring between silicates and iron. It is the origin of this fractionation that is at the centre of the debate: is it due to differences in condensation temperature and/or in material characteristics (e.g. density, strength)? Is it because of mantle evaporation due to the close proximity to the Sun? Or is it due to the blasting off of the mantle during a giant impact? In this paper we investigate, in some detail, the fractionation induced by a giant impact on a proto-Mercury having roughly chondritic elemental abundances. We have extended the previous work on this hypothesis in two significant directions. First, we have considerably increased the resolution of the simulation of the collision itself. Second, we have addressed the fate of the ejecta following the impact by computing the expected reaccretion timescale and comparing it to the removal timescale from gravitational interactions with other planets (essentially Venus) and the Poynting–Robertson effect. To compute the latter, we have determined the expected size distribution of the condensates formed during the cooling of the expanding vapor cloud generated by the impact. We find that, even though some ejected material will be reaccreted, the removal of the mantle of proto-Mercury following a giant impact can indeed lead to the required long-term fractionation between silicates and iron and therefore account for the anomalously high mean density of the planet. Detailed coupled dynamical–chemical modeling of this formation mechanism should be carried out in such a way as to allow explicit testing of the giant impact hypothesis by forthcoming space missions (e.g. MESSENGER and BepiColombo).     

弓激波前内透射离子动力学横场流静电不稳定性

本文讨论了地球弓激波前内背景电子速度分布函数为平顶形式时的透射离子横场流静电不稳定性.结果表明,在超临界(Alfvén Mach数M_A>3)准垂直激波区(激波法向与行星际磁场之间的夹角75°)情况下,透射离子流产生的静电不稳定性增长率峰值要比电子速度为Maxwell分布时更加显著,并满足动力学性质.     

非硅氧化物的滤出及其机理探讨

 采用B核磁共振仪,激光拉曼光谱仪,隧道扫描显微镜及各种化学分析等方法,较系统地研究了沥滤温度、时间和酸液浓度对拉制的钠硼硅玻璃纤维纯度的影响。结果表明,高钝超细SiO_2,纤维可以用酸沥滤法获得;揭示了纤维中非硅氧化物沥出的规律;并初步探讨了沥滤机理,认为沥滤过程主要是B~(3+)和N~+与H~+发生交换扩散的过程。     

航空发动机进气畸变诱导叶片振动的研究

介绍了进气畸变导致的叶片振动响应的一般分析方法 ,讨论了引起叶片振动响应的周向总压畸变导致的激振力谐波的计算方法 ,并结合某型发动机叶片试验结果和计算结果进行对比 ,对叶片在周向总压进气畸变条件下的振动响应进行了分析和讨论     

10cm氙离子推力器变推力特性研究

非重力阻尼的连续、快速、高精度补偿是实现重力梯度测量卫星精细重力场测量的关键技术之一,直接影响到整星工程任务的成败。针对重力梯度测量卫星在轨飞行期间对电推进系统宽范围连续变推力能力的应用需求,分析了10cm氙离子推力器推力调节响应特性。在此基础上,通过对阳极电流、励磁电流和阳极流率等推力高敏感响应参量的组合调节,开展了推力调节试验研究,验证了10cm氙离子推力器宽范围连续变推力调节能力,获得了1～20mN范围内的推力调节性能及其变化规律。试验结果表明：在采用地面供电、供气设备条件下,10cm氙离子推力器能够在100～597W的功率范围内实现0.98～20.29mN的推力宽范围调节,比冲175～3500s,推力分辨率优于50μN。研究为建立10cm氙离子电推进系统的推力控制数学模型及调节控制算法奠定基础。     

离子注入抑制摩擦温升的研究

 离子注入抑制摩擦表面的温升,是减少粘着磨损、提高摩擦副耐磨性的新途径。本文采用离子注入技术抑制航空柱塞泵配流副试件摩擦表面的温升,获得显著的效果。当逐级改变负载时,离子注入试件摩擦表面的温度平均下降３５℃；当逐级改变润滑油流率时,试件表面温度平均下降４６℃。并初步探讨了离子注入抑制摩擦温升的机理。     

Electrolytic Passivation of Nitinol Shape Memory Alloy in Different Electrolytes

The corrosion behavior of the nitinol alloy was studied in various corrosion media of different Cl–ion concentrations. The results demonstrate that the Cl–ion concentration has significant influences on the corrosion behavior of the nitinol alloy. In order to enhance the corrosion resistance, protective films were generated on the surface of the nitinol alloy by means of the electrochemical passivation method, for which five different electrolytic solutions were investigated. The surface analysis indicates full growth of all samples pas-sivated in the different electrolytic solutions with layers, however, showing different morphological features. Without any defects like micro-cracks and pores, the surface of the samples passivated in the molybdate solution turns out smoother and denser than those pas-sivated in other solutions. It is shown that the electro-chemical passivation will reduce Ni content but increase Ti content in the surface, reaching the Mole ratio of Ti:Ni=9.01:1 on the outermost surface. Potentiodynamic polarization test demonstrates that the samples electrochemically passivated in the molybdate solution present a significant increase in breakdown potential due to titanium enrichment on the outermost surface.     

超磁致伸缩材料及其在航空航天工业中的应用

介绍了超磁致伸缩材料在国内外发展状况,系统地比较了该材料各种制备方法的优缺点及其适用领域,采用真空感应熔炼和真空区熔定向凝固方法制备出 Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe1.95 超磁致伸缩合金,用 X-射线及光学金相分析了该合金的凝固组织形貌、微观结构和晶体择优生长方向。结果表明,该合金的铸态组织为树枝状的Mg Cu2 型 ( Tb,Dy) Fe2 和富稀土相两相结构。本实验条件下,该合金定向凝固形态为胞状晶和树枝晶,其晶体生长择优取向分别为〈1 1 0〉和〈1 1 2〉方向。同时介绍了超型磁致伸缩材料在航空航天工业中的应用前景     

H_∞滤波算法及其在GPS/SINS组合导航系统中的应用

 在对 H∞ 估计问题进行数学描述的基础上,建立了一种 H∞ 次优滤波算法的迭代方程。定性讨论了H∞滤波算法与传统 Kalman滤波器的关系,通过在 GPS/SINS组合系统中的实际应用进一步从精度、鲁棒性等性能指标方面对 H∞ 滤波和 Kalman滤波算法进行了比较。仿真结果表明,在理想条件下,Kalman滤波方法具有较高的精度;但是,当系统模型和外部干扰统计特性发生变化时,H∞ 滤波算法明显具有良好的鲁棒性能,同时,估计精度也较高,有效地克服了 Kalman滤波器存在的局限性。     

MESSENGER: Exploring Mercury’s Magnetosphere

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission to Mercury offers our first opportunity to explore this planet’s miniature magnetosphere since the brief flybys of Mariner 10. Mercury’s magnetosphere is unique in many respects. The magnetosphere of Mercury is among the smallest in the solar system; its magnetic field typically stands off the solar wind only ∼1000 to 2000 km above the surface. For this reason there are no closed drift paths for energetic particles and, hence, no radiation belts. Magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause may erode the subsolar magnetosphere, allowing solar wind ions to impact directly the regolith. Inductive currents in Mercury’s interior may act to modify the solar wind interaction by resisting changes due to solar wind pressure variations. Indeed, observations of these induction effects may be an important source of information on the state of Mercury’s interior. In addition, Mercury’s magnetosphere is the only one with its defining magnetic flux tubes rooted beneath the solid surface as opposed to an atmosphere with a conductive ionospheric layer. This lack of an ionosphere is probably the underlying reason for the brevity of the very intense, but short-lived, ∼1–2 min, substorm-like energetic particle events observed by Mariner 10 during its first traversal of Mercury’s magnetic tail. Because of Mercury’s proximity to the sun, 0.3–0.5 AU, this magnetosphere experiences the most extreme driving forces in the solar system. All of these factors are expected to produce complicated interactions involving the exchange and recycling of neutrals and ions among the solar wind, magnetosphere, and regolith. The electrodynamics of Mercury’s magnetosphere are expected to be equally complex, with strong forcing by the solar wind, magnetic reconnection, and pick-up of planetary ions all playing roles in the generation of field-aligned electric currents. However, these field-aligned currents do not close in an ionosphere, but in some other manner. In addition to the insights into magnetospheric physics offered by study of the solar wind–Mercury system, quantitative specification of the “external” magnetic field generated by magnetospheric currents is necessary for accurate determination of the strength and multi-polar decomposition of Mercury’s intrinsic magnetic field. MESSENGER’s highly capable instrumentation and broad orbital coverage will greatly advance our understanding of both the origin of Mercury’s magnetic field and the acceleration of charged particles in small magnetospheres. In this article, we review what is known about Mercury’s magnetosphere and describe the MESSENGER science team’s strategy for obtaining answers to the outstanding science questions surrounding the interaction of the solar wind with Mercury and its small, but dynamic, magnetosphere.