Thermomechanical analysis of the space shuttle tile thermal protection system (TPS) subjected to damage is conducted using the finite element method. The thermal and structural response of the damaged configurations are compared with the undamaged configuration to determine the relative effects of damage on the thermal protection capability and the induced thermal stresses in the TPS. The TPS i...

Thermomechanical analysis of the space shuttle tile thermal protection system (TPS) subjected to damage is conducted using the finite element method. The thermal and structural response of the damaged configurations are compared with the undamaged configuration to determine the relative effects of damage on the thermal protection capability and the induced thermal stresses in the TPS. The TPS i...

BACKGROUND Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a new minimally invasive technique to kill undesirable tissue in a non-thermal manner. In order to maximize the benefits from an IRE procedure, the pulse parameters and electrode configuration must be optimized to achieve complete coverage of the targeted tissue while preventing thermal damage due to excessive Joule heating. METHODS We develope...

A series of experiments were conducted in vivo using Yucatan miniature pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) to determine thermal damage thresholds to the skin from 1319-nm continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser irradiation. Experiments employed exposure durations of 0.25, 1.0, 2.5, and 10 s and beam diameters of ∼0.6 and 1 cm. Thermal imagery data provided a time-dependent surface temperature response from the la...

Soon after launch, the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), one of the focal plane instruments on the Chandra X-ray Observatory, suffered radiation damage from exposure to soft protons during passages through the Earth’s radiation belts. Current operations require ACIS to be protected during radiation belt passages to prevent this type of damage, but there remains a much slower and more gr...

The laser-induced damage of mixtures of Sc2O3, HfO2, Al2O3 with SiO2 has been characterized in the infrared for both nanosecond and subpicosecond pulses. Laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) are reported and discussed versus band gap for different compositions. The distributions versus fluence of nanosecond damage precursor densities are extracted fitting damage probability curves. Two model...