Engineering Papers⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Brown, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Brown, R..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

The novel Mechanical Ventilator Milano for the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper presents the Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM), a novel intensive therapy mechanical ventilator designed for rapid, large-scale, low-cost production for the COVID-19 pandemic. Free of moving mechanical parts and requiring only a source of compressed oxygen and medical air to operate, the MVM is designed to support the long-term invasive ventilation often required for COVID-19 patients and operates in pressure-regulated ventilation modes, which minimize the risk of furthering lung trauma. The MVM was extensively tested against ISO standards in the laboratory using a breathing simulator, with good agreement between input and measured breathing parameters and performing correctly in response to fault conditions and stability tests. The MVM has obtained Emergency Use Authorization by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in healthcare settings during the COVID-19 pandemic and Health Canada Medical Device Authorization for Importation or Sale, under Interim Order for Use in Relation to COVID-19. Furthermore, following these certifications, mass production is ongoing and distribution is under way in several countries. The MVM was designed, tested, prepared for certification, and mass produced in the space of a few months by a unique collaboration of respiratory healthcare professionals and experimental physicists, working with industrial partners, and is an excellent ventilator candidate for this pandemic anywhere in the world

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Implementation of a Wollaston interferometry diagnostic on OMEGA EP

Here, a Wollaston interferometer is presented for use in measuring the electron density of plasma plumes created in experiments on the OMEGA EP laser system. The diagnostic is installed as an additional arm on the 4ω probe system, a suite of diagnostics that share a 10 ps pulse of 263 nm laser light captured by an imaging system at f /4. The interferometer utilizes a Wollaston prism to create two angularly separated beams from a single input probe beam, split at any angle between 0° and 90°. This configuration is implemented uniquely such that fringe spacing may be altered independently of field of view, magnification, and imaging resolution, from a range of 17 to 76 μm/fringe. The region of overlap between the two beams forms a total field of view of approximately 1.2 × 1.6 mm at the target chamber center with an imaging resolution of 5 μm. Using this configuration, here it is shown that plasma density may be accurately characterized over a range of 3 × 10 18 –1 × 10 20 cm -3 .

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS2017

The 2015-2016 SEPMAP Program at NASA JSC: Science, Engineering, and Program Management Training

The Systems Engineering Project Management Advancement Program (SEPMAP) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is an employee development program designed to provide graduate level training in project management and systems engineering. The program includes an applied learning project with engineering and integrated science goals requirements. The teams were presented with a task: Collect a representative sample set from a field site using a hexacopter platform, as if performing a scientific reconnaissance to assess whether the site is of sufficient scientific interest to justify exploration by astronauts. Four teams worked through the eighteen-month course to design customized sampling payloads integrated with the hexacopter, and then operate the aircraft to meet sampling requirements of number (≥ 5) and mass (≥ 5g each). The "Mars Yard" at JSC was utilized for this purpose. This project activity closely parallels NASA plans for the future exploration of Mars, where remote sites will be reconnoitered ahead of crewed exploration.

Graham, L.↗
DOE OSTI2017

High fluid shear strain causes injury in silver shark: Preliminary implications for Mekong hydropower turbine design

Fluid shear arises when two bodies of water, travelling at different velocities, intersect. Fish entrained at the interface of these two water masses will experience shear stress; which can be harmful. The stress magnitude is dependent on waterbody mass and velocity; with the fish impact largely related to body size. Elevated shear stress occurs where rapidly flowing water passes near spillways, across screens, within turbine draft tubes or other passage routes. A flume was used to determine critical tolerances of silver shark (Balantiocheilos melanopterus) to different shear stress rates generated by a high velocity jet. Fish experienced higher levels of injury and mortality as shear stress was increased. Excessive shear forces had damaging impacts on fish. Mortality occurred at shear levels higher that 600/s. It is important that developers should attempt to model potential shear profiles expected during turbine passage in selected designs. These data will be critical to determine potential impacts on fish. If the likelihood of adverse impact is high, then alternative designs which have lower shear stress could be explored.

hydro power plants↗
DOE OSTI2014

Polarimetry diagnostic on OMEGA EP using a 10-ps, 263-nm probe beam

A polarimetry diagnostic was built and characterized for magnetic-field measurements in laser-plasma experiments on the OMEGA EP laser. This diagnostic was built into the existing 4ω (263-nm) probe system that employs a 10-ps laser pulse collected with an f/4 imaging system. The diagnostic measures the rotation of the probe beam's polarization. The polarimeter uses a Wollaston prism to split the probe beam into orthogonal polarization components. Spatially localized intensity variations between images indicate polarization rotation. Magnetic fields can be calculated by combining the polarimetry data with the measured plasma density profile obtained from angular filter refractometry.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS2012

Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope WFIRST

In December 2010, NASA created a Science Definition Team (SDT) for WFIRST, the Wide Field Infra-Red Survey Telescope, recommended by the Astro 2010 Decadal Survey as the highest priority for a large space mission. The SDT was chartered to work with the WFIRST Project Office at GSFC and the Program Office at JPL to produce a Design Reference Mission (DRM) for WFIRST. Part of the original charge was to produce an interim design reference mission by mid-2011. That document was delivered to NASA and widely circulated within the astronomical community. In late 2011 the Astrophysics Division augmented its original charge, asking for two design reference missions. The first of these, DRM1, was to be a finalized version of the interim DRM, reducing overall mission costs where possible. The second of these, DRM2, was to identify and eliminate capabilities that overlapped with those of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (henceforth JWST), ESA's Euclid mission, and the NSF's ground-based Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (henceforth LSST), and again to reduce overall mission cost, while staying faithful to NWNH. This report presents both DRM1 and DRM2.

Green, J.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Interim Report

The New Worlds, New Horizons (NWNH) in Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010 Decadal Survey prioritized the community consensus for ground-based and space-based observatories. Recognizing that many of the community s key questions could be answered with a wide-field infrared survey telescope in space, and that the decade would be one of budget austerity, WFIRST was top ranked in the large space mission category. In addition to the powerful new science that could be accomplished with a wide-field infrared telescope, the WFIRST mission was determined to be both technologically ready and only a small fraction of the cost of previous flagship missions, such as HST or JWST. In response to the top ranking by the community, NASA formed the WFIRST Science Definition Team (SDT) and Project Office. The SDT was charged with fleshing out the NWNH scientific requirements to a greater level of detail. NWNH evaluated the risk and cost of the JDEM-Omega mission design, as submitted by NASA, and stated that it should serve as the basis for the WFIRST mission. The SDT and Project Office were charged with developing a mission optimized for achieving the science goals laid out by the NWNH re-port. The SDT and Project Office opted to use the JDEM-Omega hardware configuration as an initial start-ing point for the hardware implementation. JDEM-Omega and WFIRST both have an infrared imager with a filter wheel, as well as counter-dispersed moderate resolution spectrometers. The primary advantage of space observations is being above the Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs, scatters, warps and emits light. Observing from above the atmosphere enables WFIRST to obtain precision infrared measurements of the shapes of galaxies for weak lensing, infrared light-curves of supernovae and exoplanet microlensing events with low systematic errors, and infrared measurements of the H hydrogen line to be cleanly detected in the 1<z<2 redshift range important for baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) dark energy measurements. The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), Herschel, Spitzer, and Wide-field Infrared Sur-vey Explorer (WISE) are all space missions that have produced stunning new scientific advances by going to space to observe in the infrared. This interim report describes progress as of June 2011 on developing a requirements flowdown and an evaluation of scientific performance. An Interim Design Reference Mission (IDRM) configuration is presented that is based on the specifications of NWNH with some refinements to optimize the design in accordance with the new scientific requirements. Analysis of this WFIRST IDRM concept is in progress to ensure the capability of the observatory is compatible with the science requirements. The SDT and Project will continue to refine the mission concept over the coming year as design, analysis and simulation work are completed, resulting in the SDT s WFIRST Design Reference Mission (DRM) by the end of 2012.

Green, J.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Hubble 2006: Science Year in Review

The 10 science articles selected for this years annual science report exemplify the range of Hubble research from the Solar System, across our Milky Way, and on to distant galaxies. The objects of study include a new feature on Jupiter, binaries in the Kuiper Belt, Cepheid variable stars, the Orion Nebula, distant transiting planets, lensing galaxies, active galactic nuclei, red-and-dead galaxies, and galactic outflows and jets. Each narrative strives to construct the readers understanding of the topics and issues, and to place the latest research in historical, as well as scientific, context. These essays reveal trends in the practice of astronomy. More powerful computers are permitting astronomers to study ever larger data sets, enabling the discovery of subtle effects and rare objects. (Two investigations created mosaic images that are among the largest produced to date.) Multiwavelength data sets from ground-based telescopes, as well as other great observatories Spitzer and Chandraare increasingly important for holistic interpretations of Hubble results. This yearbook also presents profiles of 12 individuals who work with Hubble, or Hubble data, on a daily basis. They are representative of the many students, scientists, engineers, and other professions who are proudly associated with Hubble. Their stories collectively communicate the excitement and reward of careers related to space science and technology.

Hubble space telescope↗
NASA NTRS2002

Intra-Engine Trace Species Chemistry

Prompted by the needs of downstream plume-wake models, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Aerodyne Research Incorporated (ART) initiated a collaborative effort, with funding from the NASA AEAP, to develop tools that would assist in understanding the fundamental drivers of chemical change within the intra-engine exhaust flow path. Efforts have been focused on the development of a modeling methodology that can adequately investigate the complex intra-engine environment. Over the history of this project, our research has increasingly pointed to the intra-engine environment as a possible site for important trace chemical activity. Modeling studies we initiated for the turbine and exhaust nozzle have contributed several important capabilities to the atmospheric effects of aviation assessment. These include a more complete understanding of aerosol precursor production, improved initial conditions for plume-wake modeling studies, and a more comprehensive analysis of ground-based test cell and in-flight exhaust measurement data. In addition, establishing a physical understanding of important flow and chemical processes through computational investigations may eventually assist in the design of engines to reduce undesirable species.

Waitz, Ian A.↗