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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

A microgravity isolation mount

The design and preliminary testing of a system for isolating microgravity sensitive payloads from spacecraft vibrational and impulsive disturbances is discussed. The Microgravity Isolation Mount (MGIM) concept consists of a platform which floats almost freely within a limited volume inside the spacecraft, but which is constrained to follow the spacecraft in the long term by means of very weak springs. The springs are realized magnetically and form part of a six degree of freedom active magnetic suspension system. The latter operates without any physical contact between the spacecraft and the platform itself. Power and data transfer is also performed by contactless means. Specifications are given for the expected level of input disturbances and the tolerable level of platform acceleration. The structural configuration of the mount is discussed and the design of the principal elements, i.e., actuators, sensors, control loops and power/data transfer devices are described. Finally, the construction of a hardware model that is being used to verify the predicted performance of the MGIM is described.

Jones, D. I.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Evaluation of display and control concepts for a terminal configured vehicle in final approach in a windshear environment

A revised treatment of nonrandom inputs was incorporated in the model. Response behavior was observed for two display configurations (a pictorial EADI presentation and a flight-director configuration requiring use of a panel-mounted airspeed indicator), two control configurations (attitude and velocity control wheel steering), and two shear environments, each of which contained a head-to-tail shear and a vertical component. In general, performance trends predicted by the model were confirmed experimentally. Experimental and analytical results both indicated superiority to the EADI display with respect to regulation of height and airspeed errors. Velocity steering allowed tighter regulation of height errors, but control parameters had little influence on airspeed regulation. Model analysis indicated that display-related differences could be ascribed to differences in the quality of speed-related information provided by the two displays.

Levison, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Definition study of the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A) antenna on the second space shuttle mission (OFT-2)

A definition is derived for an antenna configuration fixed-mounted high in the payload bay on the hybrid OFT-2 pallet which is compatible with Orbiter interface requirements. Tests showed that the combination of the selected panels and the designed corporate feed meets SIR-A performance requirement of 33 db gain. The effects of Orbiter structure proximity on performance were determined by scale model tests to be negligible. The potential for improved performance during subsequent reflights includes a multiple-beam capability and dual polarization.

Nitschke, H. A.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Definition study of the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A /SIR-A/ antenna on the second Space Shuttle mission /OFT-2/

The study resulted in the definition of an antenna configuration fixed-mounted high in the payload bay on the hybrid OFT-2 pallet which is compatible with Orbiter interface requirements. Tests showed that the combination of the selected panels and the designed corporate feed will meet the SIR-A performance requirement of 33 dB gain. The effects of Orbiter structure proximity on performance were determined by scale model tests to be negligible. The potential for improved performance during subsequent reflights includes a multiple-beam capability and dual polarization.

Nitschke, H. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Application of advanced technologies to small, short-haul transport aircraft

The performance and economic benefits available by incorporation of advanced technologies into the small, short haul air transport were assessed. Low cost structure and advanced composite material, advanced turboprop engines and new propellers, advanced high lift systems and active controls; and alternate aircraft configurations with aft mounted engines were investigated. Improvements in fuel consumed and aircraft economics (acquisition cost and direct operating cost) are available by incorporating selected advanced technologies into the small, short haul aircraft.

Coussens, T. G.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Solar rotation measurements at Mount Wilson. II - Systematic instrumental effects and the absolute rotation rate

Possible sources of systematic error in solar Doppler rotational velocities are examined. Scattered light is shown to affect the Mount Wilson solar rotation results, but this effect is not enough to bring the spectroscopic results in coincidence with the sunspot rotation. Interference fringes at the spectrograph focus at Mount Wilson have in two intervals affected the rotation results. It has been possible to correlate this error with temperature and thus correct for it. A misalignment between the entrance and exit slits is a possible source of error, but for the Mount Wilson slit configuration, the amplitude of this effect is negligibly small. Rapid scanning of the solar image also produces no measurable effect.

Labonte, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Test techniques for cryogenic wind tunnels

Some of the testing techniques developed for transonic cryogenic tunnels are presented. Techniques are emphasized which required special development or were unique because of the opportunities offered by cryogenic operation. Measuring the static aerodynamic coefficients normally used to determine component efficiency is discussed. The first topic is testing of two dimensional airfoils at transonic Mach numbers and flight values of Reynolds number. Three dimensional tests of complete configurations and sidewall mounted wings are also described. Since flight Reynolds numbers are of interest, free transition must be allowed. A discussion is given of wind tunnel and model construction effects on transition location. Time dependent phenomena, fluid mechanics, and measurement techniques are examined. The time dependent, or unsteady, aerodynamic test techniques described include testing for flutter, buffet, and oscillating airfoil characteristics. In describing non-intrusive laser techniques, discussions are given regarding optical access, seeding, forward scatter lasers, two-spot lasers, and laser holography. Methods of detecting transition and separation are reported and a new type of skin friction balance is described.

Lawing, Pierce L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Aerodynamic testing in cryogenic nitrogen gas - A precursor to testing in superfluid helium

Testing techniques for transonic cryogenic tunnels using nitrogen as the test fluid are presented. The measurement of static aerodynamic coefficients used to determine component efficiency is discussed, focusing on tests of two-dimensional airfoils at transonic Mach numbers. Also, three-dimensional tests of complete configurations and sidewall mounted wings are examined. Consideration is given to time-dependent phenomena, fluid mechanics, nonintrusive laser techniques, the detection of transition and separation, and testing for flutter, buffet, and oscillating airfoil characteristics.

Lawing, Pierce L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Progress toward synergistic hypermixing nozzles

Mean flow measurements were obtained for air-to-air mixing downstream of swept and unswept ramp wall mounted hypermixing nozzle configurations. Aside from the sweep of the ramps, the two nozzle configurations studied are identical. The nozzles inject three parallel supersonic jets at a 15 deg angle (relative to the wind tunnel wall) into a supersonic freestream. Mach number and volume fraction distributions in a transverse plane 11.1 nozzle heights downstream from the nozzle exit plane were measured. Data are presented for a freestream Mach number of three at a matched static pressure condition and also at underexpanded static pressure condition (pressure ratio = 5). Surface oil flow visualization was used to study the near wall flow behavior. The results indicate that the swept ramp injectors produce stronger and larger vortex pairs than the unswept ramp injectors. The increased interaction between the swept ramp model's larger vortex pairs yields better mixing characteristics for this model.

Davis, D. O.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Progress toward synergistic hypermixing nozzles

Mean flow measurements have been obtained for air-to-air mixing downstream of swept and unswept ramp wall-mounted hypermixing nozzle configurations. Aside from the sweep of the ramps, the two nozzle configurations investigated are identical. The nozzles inject three parallel supersonic jets at a 15-deg angle (relative to the wind tunnel wall) into a supersonic freestream. Mach number and volume fraction distributions in a transverse plane 11.1 nozzle heights downstream from the nozzle exit plane were measured. Data are presented for a freestream Mach number of three at a matched static pressure condition and also at an underexpanded static pressure condition (pressure ratio equal to 5). Surface oil flow visualization was used to investigate the near-wall flow behavior. The results indicate that the swept ramp injectors produce stronger and larger vortex pairs than the unswept ramp injectors. The increased interaction between the swept ramp model's larger vortex pairs yields better mixing characteristics for this model.

Davis, D. O.↗
NASA NTRS1947

Wind-Tunnel Tests of a 0.182-Scale Model of an F4U-1 Airplane with External Stores

Tests were made in the Langley 7- by 10-foot tunnel on a 0.182-scale model of an F4U-1 airplane with external stores. This paper is concerned mainly with presenting the data obtained in this investigation and with a comparison of some of these data with flight-test results determining the feasibility of estimating flight buffet Mach number from tunnel data. The results of this investigation indicate that the incremental drag coefficient due to external stores may be used to estimate the maximum Mach number that the F4U-1 airplane may reach in flight when it is equipped with external stores. This estimation is conservative for the five configurations investigated by mounts varying from 0 to 10 percent of the flight limit Mach number. The free-stream tunnel Mach number corresponding to sonic flow over the lower surface of the wing in the region of the store is a good indication of the lower limit of buffet in flight of the F4U-1 airplane when equipped with external stores. The fluctuations of total pressure over the horizontal tail are not sufficiently large (maximum of 1 percent q(sub o) to cause buffeting of the airplane.

Silvers, H. Norman↗
NASA NTRS2009

Boundary Layer Transition Protuberance Tests at NASA JSC Arc-Jet Facility

A series of arc-jet tests in support of the Shuttle Orbiter Boundary Layer Transition flight experiment was conducted in the Channel Nozzle of the NASA Johnson Space Center Atmospheric Reentry Materials and Structures Facility. The boundary layer trip was a protrusion of a certain height and geometry fabricated as part of a 6"x6" tile insert, a special test article made of the Boeing Rigid Insulation tile material and coated with the Reaction Cured Glass used for the bottom fuselage tiles of the Space Shuttle Orbiter. A total of five such tile inserts were manufactured: four with the 0.25-in. trip height, and one with the 0.35-in. trip height. The tile inserts were interchangeably installed in the center of the 24"x24" variable configuration tile array mounted in the 24"x24" test section of the channel nozzle. The objectives of the test series were to demonstrate that the boundary layer trip can safely withstand the Space Shuttle Orbiter flight-like re-entry environments and provide temperature data on the protrusion surface, surfaces of the nearby tiles upstream and downstream of the trip, as well as the bond line between the tiles and the structure. The targeted test environments were defined for the tip of the protrusion, away from the nominal surface of the tile array. The arc jet test conditions were approximated in order to produce the levels of the free stream total enthalpy at the protrusion height similar to those expected in flight. The test articles were instrumented with surface, sidewall and bond line thermocouples. Additionally, Tempilaq temperature-indicating paint was applied to the nominal tiles of the tile array in locations not interfering with the protrusion trip. Five different grades of paint were used that disintegrate at different temperatures between 1500 and 2000 deg F. The intent of using the paint was to gauge the RCG-coated tile surface temperature, as well as determine its usefulness for a flight experiment. This paper provides an overview of the channel nozzle arc jet, test articles and test conditions, as well as the results of the arc-jet tests including the measured temperature response of the test articles, their pre- and post-test surface scans, condition of the thermal paint, and continents on the protrusion tip heating achieved in tests compared to the computational fluid dynamics predictions.

Larin, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Recent Advancements in the Infrared Flow Visualization System for the NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnels

The following details recent efforts undertaken at the NASA Ames Unitary Plan wind tunnels to design and deploy an advanced, production-level infrared (IR) flow visualization data system. Highly sensitive IR cameras, coupled with in-line image processing, have enabled the visualization of wind tunnel model surface flow features as they develop in real-time. Boundary layer transition, shock impingement, junction flow, vortex dynamics, and buffet are routinely observed in both transonic and supersonic flow regimes all without the need of dedicated ramps in test section total temperature. Successful measurements have been performed on wing-body sting mounted test articles, semi-span floor mounted aircraft models, and sting mounted launch vehicle configurations. The unique requirements of imaging in production wind tunnel testing has led to advancements in the deployment of advanced IR cameras in a harsh test environment, robust data acquisition storage and workflow, real-time image processing algorithms, and evaluation of optimal surface treatments. The addition of a multi-camera IR flow visualization data system to the Ames UPWT has demonstrated itself to be a valuable analyses tool in the study of new and old aircraft/launch vehicle aerodynamics and has provided new insight for the evaluation of computational techniques.

Infrared Thermography↗
NASA NTRS2017

Unreported Emission Lines of Rb, Ce, La, Sr, Y, Zr, Pb and Se Detected Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Information on emission lines for major and minor elements is readily available from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as part of the Atomic Spectra Database. However, tabulated emission lines are scarce for some minor elements and the wavelength ranges presented on the NIST database are limited to those included in existing studies. Previous work concerning minor element calibration curves measured using laser-induced break-down spectroscopy found evidence of Zn emission lines that were not documented on the NIST database. In this study, rock powders were doped with Rb, Ce, La, Sr, Y, Zr, Pb and Se in concentrations ranging from 10 percent to 10 parts per million. The difference between normalized spectra collected on samples containing 10 percent dopant and those containing only 10 parts per million were used to identify all emission lines that can be detected using LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) in a ChemCam-like configuration at the Mount Holyoke College LIBS facility. These emission spectra provide evidence of many previously undocumented emission lines for the elements measured here.

LIBS↗
NASA NTRS2018

A Physics-Based Approach to Urban Air Mobility

High-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for multi-rotor vehicles have been carried out. The three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes equations are solved on overset grids employing high order accurate schemes, dual-time stepping, and a hybrid turbulence model using NASA's CFD code Over- flow. The vehicles studied consist of small to medium sized drones, and bigger vehicles for future Urban Air Mobility (UAM) applications. The performances for different configurations and rotor mounting are calculated in hover and in forward flight. Understanding the complex flows and the interactions between rotors and with other elements will help design the future multi-rotor vehicles to be quieter, safer, and more efficient.

Urban↗
NASA NTRS2018

Mid-Fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of the Elytron 4S UAV Concept

The Elytron 4S Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Concept was developed to combine the advantages of fixed- and rotary-wing technology. The 4S Concept is a box-wing configuration with rotors mounted on a centrally located tiltwing. The UAV is intended to be capable of both conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and is envisioned to excel in UAV performance because of the combined efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft and the hover and VTOL capabilities of regular drones or quadcopters. A mid-fidelity Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) approach using Rotorcraft CFD (RotCFD) is performed to analyze and characterize the performance of the aircraft. The flow field is coupled with a rotor model based on blade-element momentum theory to model the 4S UAV rotors. Turbulence is modeled using a realizable k- turbulence model with special wall function. The code is used to generate aerodynamic forces and moments on the body at cruise conditions, and during VTOL. The results and their uncertainties are characterized, and an angle- of-attack and sideslip sweep are computed, both with and without rotors on. Simulations are compared with the wind tunnel tests in the 7- by 10-Foot U.S. Army Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center, performed in 2017. Results show promising comparison with experimental data, despite a late change in rotor size and rudder size of the physical model that cause the expected deviations from the simulation. A slight change in the net thrust value, when rotors are modeled, is observed because of the rotor diameter increase on the physical model. A noticeable difference in the directional stability was observed because of the increased rudder surface and added strakes. These changes were implemented to improve on the design as simulated, which is observed in the results. The simulation results paved the way to the first successful flight of the UAV Concept.

Koning, Witold J. K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Hybrid Electric Turboprop Commercial Freighter (HETCOF) Market Study

The dedicated air cargo and freight market has the potential to be a critical early pathway for emerging technologies in low to zero emission propulsion. This study analyzes the cargo aviation market to understand current market trends and future market viability of a mid-sized all-electric or hybrid-electric concept aircraft. While cargo aviation’s overall emissions footprint is small relative to commercial passenger aviation, it remains an important and challenging transportation sector to decarbonize. Past research has focused on small, less than 19-seat electrified aircraft propulsion concepts that could serve both passenger and air cargo markets. This study extends the electrified market space into larger aircraft classes, considering if a purpose-built large hybrid electric turboprop freighter can compete in the market currently served primarily by conversion narrowbody freighters. Specifically, this paper focuses on the mid-sized cargo market with payload ranges of 40,000-50,000lbs, and an all-electric range potential up to 750 miles. The concept aircraft is based on a 4-engine turboprop configuration, with wing mounted battery packs and an aft cargo door to allow for standardized palletization. The market analysis indicates broad market coverage with 73% of the existing mid-sized cargo network within the range of 750 miles. A breakeven analysis of operating and capital costs shows potential for market competition; however, this would require additional energy and acquisition cost savings from the concept aircraft. Evidence from the breakeven analysis also points to higher rates of aircraft utilization being a critical path to lowering costs and increasing cost effectiveness.

Hybrid Electric↗