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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 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Water-Resistant Container Testing: A426-7, A426-25, and A426-50 Container Designs

The purpose of this report is to detail the results of water ingress testing conducted on the A426-7, A426-25, and A426-50 Mini-Pot container designs and discuss these results against the water-resistant container requirements of TA55-AP-522 and PA-RD-01009. The A426 design series is a proposed commercially off the shelf inner container option for material storage inside of a glovebox and/or as an approved nonhermetically sealed inner of an approved packaging configuration inside of an approved outer container as listed in PA-RD-01022. The A426-25 and A426-50 are shaped similar to an ointment jar, made of 316L stainless steel, and utilize a threaded lid for closure and containment. The A426-7 container is shaped similar to a vial, made of 316L stainless steel, and utilizes a threaded lid for closure and containment. See Figure 1 and Table 1-3 for a summary of the container specifications. For more details on the container design, see Section 1.4.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Acoustic Particle Velocity Measurements around a Tidal Current Turbine

Quantifying the underwater sound produced by tidal turbines is essential both to understand their potential environmental impacts and to understand how that sound might interfere with the intended application of the turbine (e.g., powering acoustic monitoring systems). In this project, we measured the sound radiated by a small-scale crossflow tidal turbine. The turbine was deployed from October 2023 to March 2024 in the tidal channel at the entrance to Sequim Bay, WA. Acoustic measurements were made with three different sensor packages: a commercial-off-the-shelf vector sensor (operated by PNNL), a vector sensor array (operated by Integral Consulting), and drifting hydrophones (operated by UW). Acoustic recordings from the three sensors highlight changes in the turbine acoustic signature over the course of a tidal cycle and throughout the 6-month turbine deployment. Our results also highlight the utility of acoustic vector sensors for localizing sound attributable to marine energy devices in acoustically complex environments.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2026

Reference Hardware and Software Architecture for a Solenoid Pulser for Scientific Instrumentation at the National Ignition Facility

High current, high voltage solenoid pulser power systems for the generation of magnetic fields in a solenoid is not a radical or new concept. Despite being a cornerstone of scientific and weapons research for over 100 years, a commercial off the shelf unit easily configurable for a broad set of applications has yet to appear on the open market. Pulser systems are instead designed for specific target requirements. For gigawatt to terawatt systems, this is unavoidable. For megawatt systems however, many hundreds of thousands of dollars are wasted designing pulser systems from the ground up for clients, when it is possible to simply architect a modular system once that can have its capacitors swapped for many possible target applications. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is one such institution that would benefit from such a system, having bought such pulsers for several imaging systems. Ideally, all such a system would require is only a bachelors-level circuit analysis to find the correct capacitor values, as well as a written procedure to calibrate the software to correctly deliver the voltages required by the application. In this work, systems architecture and software engineering techniques are used to design and analyze such a system. Such a design, it is the hope of this author, will be used in scientific and engineering purposes in the future to build solenoid pulsers at the National Ignition Facility and other institutions to drastically cut development costs of scientific instrumentation.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

ER4047 Filler Wire Development - Initial Studies

This report describes the results of bead on pipe welding trials for the purpose of evaluating commercial off the shelf (COTS) 0.047” ER4047 filler material vendors for down selection of the of best candidate filler material for future Gas-metal Arc Welding (GMAW) development efforts. Four candidate COTS ER4047 filler wires were evaluated during this work - Astrolite, Alcotec, Hobart, and Lincoln. The storage condition of each of these filler wires was documented and visual inspection was performed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Powering the Woods Hole X-Spar Buoy with Ocean Wave Energy—A Control Co-Design Feasibility Study

Despite its success in measuring air–sea exchange, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) X-Spar Buoy faces operational limitations due to energy constraints, motivating the integration of an energy harvesting apparatus to improve its deployment duration and capabilities. This work explores the feasibility of an augmented, self-powered system in two parts. Part 1 presents the collaborative design between X-Spar developers and wave energy researchers translating user needs into specific functional requirements. Based on requirements like desired power levels, deployability, survivability, and minimal interference with environmental data collection, unsuitable concepts are pre-eliminated from further feasibility study consideration. In part 2, we focus on one of the promising concepts: an internal rigid body wave energy converter. We apply control co-design methods to consider commercial of the shelf hardware components in the dynamic models and investigate the concept’s power conversion capabilities using linear 2-port wave-to-wire models with concurrently optimized control algorithms that are distinct for every considered hardware configuration. During this feasibility study we utilize two different control algorithms, the numerically optimal (but acausal) benchmark and the optimized damping feedback. We assess the sensitivity of average power to variations in drive-train friction, a parameter with high uncertainty, and analyze stroke limitations to ensure operational constraints are met. Our results indicate that a well-designed power take-off (PTO) system could significantly extend the WEC-Spar’s mission by providing additional electrical power without compromising data quality.

autonomous systems↗
DOE OSTI2022

Underwater Noise Measurements around a Tidal Turbine in a Busy Port Setting

Acoustic emissions from current energy converters remain an environmental concern for regulators because of their potential effects on marine life and uncertainties about their effects stemming from a lack of sufficient observational data. Several recent opportunities to characterize tidal turbine sound emissions have begun to fill knowledge gaps and provide a context for future device deployments. In July 2021, a commercial-off-the-shelf hydrophone was deployed in a free-drifting configuration to measure underwater acoustic emissions and characterize a 25 kW-rated tidal turbine at the University of New Hampshire’s Living Bridge Project in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Sampling methods and analysis were performed in alignment with the recently published IEC 62600-40 Technical Specification for acoustic characterization of marine energy converters. Results from this study indicate acoustic emissions from the turbine were below ambient sound levels and therefore did not have a significant impact on the underwater noise levels of the project site. As a component of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Triton Field Trials (TFiT) described in this Special Issue, this effort provides a valuable use case for the IEC 62600-40 Technical Specification framework and further recommendations for cost-effective technologies and methods for measuring underwater noise at future current energy converter project sites.

tidal turbine↗
NASA NTRS1990

Systems Engineering and Integration (SE and I)

The issue of technology advancement and future space transportation vehicles is addressed. The challenge is to develop systems which can be evolved and improved in small incremental steps where each increment reduces present cost, improves, reliability, or does neither but sets the stage for a second incremental upgrade that does. Future requirements are interface standards for commercial off the shelf products to aid in the development of integrated facilities; enhanced automated code generation system slightly coupled to specification and design documentation; modeling tools that support data flow analysis; and shared project data bases consisting of technical characteristics cast information, measurement parameters, and reusable software programs. Topics addressed include: advanced avionics development strategy; risk analysis and management; tool quality management; low cost avionics; cost estimation and benefits; computer aided software engineering; computer systems and software safety; system testability; and advanced avionics laboratories - and rapid prototyping. This presentation is represented by viewgraphs only.

Chevers, ED↗
NASA NTRS1991

Expert system decision support for low-cost launch vehicle operations

Progress in assessing the feasibility, benefits, and risks associated with AI expert systems applied to low cost expendable launch vehicle systems is described. Part one identified potential application areas in vehicle operations and on-board functions, assessed measures of cost benefit, and identified key technologies to aid in the implementation of decision support systems in this environment. Part two of the program began the development of prototypes to demonstrate real-time vehicle checkout with controller and diagnostic/analysis intelligent systems and to gather true measures of cost savings vs. conventional software, verification and validation requirements, and maintainability improvement. The main objective of the expert advanced development projects was to provide a robust intelligent system for control/analysis that must be performed within a specified real-time window in order to meet the demands of the given application. The efforts to develop the two prototypes are described. Prime emphasis was on a controller expert system to show real-time performance in a cryogenic propellant loading application and safety validation implementation of this system experimentally, using commercial-off-the-shelf software tools and object oriented programming techniques. This smart ground support equipment prototype is based in C with imbedded expert system rules written in the CLIPS protocol. The relational database, ORACLE, provides non-real-time data support. The second demonstration develops the vehicle/ground intelligent automation concept, from phase one, to show cooperation between multiple expert systems. This automated test conductor (ATC) prototype utilizes a knowledge-bus approach for intelligent information processing by use of virtual sensors and blackboards to solve complex problems. It incorporates distributed processing of real-time data and object-oriented techniques for command, configuration control, and auto-code generation.

Szatkowski, G. P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mission Operations Support Area (MOSA) for ground network support

The Mission Operations Support Area (MOSA) has been designed utilizing numerous commercial off the shelf items allowing for easy maintenance and upgrades. At its inception, all equipment was at the forefront of technology. The system was created to provide the operator with a 'State of the Art' replacement for equipment that was becoming antiquated and virtually impossible to repair because new parts were no longer available. Although the Mini-NOCC provided adequate support to the Network for a number of years, it was quickly becoming ineffectual for higher data rate and non-standard missions. The MOSA will prove to be invaluable in the future as more and more missions require Ground Network support.

Woods, Robert D.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Knowledge-based commodity distribution planning

This paper presents an overview of a Decision Support System (DSS) that incorporates Knowledge-Based (KB) and commercial off the shelf (COTS) technology components. The Knowledge-Based Logistics Planning Shell (KBLPS) is a state-of-the-art DSS with an interactive map-oriented graphics user interface and powerful underlying planning algorithms. KBLPS was designed and implemented to support skilled Army logisticians to prepare and evaluate logistics plans rapidly, in order to support corps-level battle scenarios. KBLPS represents a substantial advance in graphical interactive planning tools, with the inclusion of intelligent planning algorithms that provide a powerful adjunct to the planning skills of commodity distribution planners.

Saks, Victor↗
NASA NTRS1994

Analytical Design Package (ADP2): A computer aided engineering tool for aircraft transparency design

The Analytical Design Package (ADP2) is being developed as a part of the Air Force Frameless Transparency Program (FTP). ADP2 is an integrated design tool consisting of existing analysis codes and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software. The objective of the ADP2 is to develop and confirm an integrated design methodology for frameless transparencies, related aircraft interfaces, and their corresponding tooling. The application of this methodology will generate high confidence for achieving a qualified part prior to mold fabrication. ADP2 is a customized integration of analysis codes, CAE software, and material databases. The primary CAE integration tool for the ADP2 is P3/PATRAN, a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software tool. The open architecture of P3/PATRAN allows customized installations with different applications modules for specific site requirements. Integration of material databases allows the engineer to select a material, and those material properties are automatically called into the relevant analysis code. The ADP2 materials database will be composed of four independent schemas: CAE Design, Processing, Testing, and Logistics Support. The design of ADP2 places major emphasis on the seamless integration of CAE and analysis modules with a single intuitive graphical interface. This tool is being designed to serve and be used by an entire project team, i.e., analysts, designers, materials experts, and managers. The final version of the software will be delivered to the Air Force in Jan. 1994. The Analytical Design Package (ADP2) will then be ready for transfer to industry. The package will be capable of a wide range of design and manufacturing applications.

Wuerer, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

GRTS operations monitor/control system

An Operations Monitor/Control System (OMCS) was developed to support remote ground station equipment. The ground station controls a Tracking Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) relocated to provide coverage in the tracking system's zone of exclusion. The relocated satellite significantly improved data recovery for the Gamma Ray Observatory mission. The OMCS implementation, performed in less than 11 months, was mission critical to TDRS drift operations. Extensive use of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) hardware and software products contributed to implementation success. The OMCS has been operational for over 9 months with no significant problems. This paper will share our experiences in OMCS development and integration.

Rohrer, Richard A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Re-engineering Nascom's network management architecture

The development of Nascom systems for ground communications began in 1958 with Project Vanguard. The low-speed systems (rates less than 9.6 Kbs) were developed following existing standards; but, there were no comparable standards for high-speed systems. As a result, these systems were developed using custom protocols and custom hardware. Technology has made enormous strides since the ground support systems were implemented. Standards for computer equipment, software, and high-speed communications exist and the performance of current workstations exceeds that of the mainframes used in the development of the ground systems. Nascom is in the process of upgrading its ground support systems and providing additional services. The Message Switching System (MSS), Communications Address Processor (CAP), and Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) Automated Control System (MACS) are all examples of Nascom systems developed using standards such as, X-windows, Motif, and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Also, the Earth Observing System (EOS) Communications (Ecom) project is stressing standards as an integral part of its network. The move towards standards has produced a reduction in development, maintenance, and interoperability costs, while providing operational quality improvement. The Facility and Resource Manager (FARM) project has been established to integrate the Nascom networks and systems into a common network management architecture. The maximization of standards and implementation of computer automation in the architecture will lead to continued cost reductions and increased operational efficiency. The first step has been to derive overall Nascom requirements and identify the functionality common to all the current management systems. The identification of these common functions will enable the reuse of processes in the management architecture and promote increased use of automation throughout the Nascom network. The MSS, CAP, MACS, and Ecom projects have indicated the potential value of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and standards through reduced cost and high quality. The FARM will allow the application of the lessons learned from these projects to all future Nascom systems.

Drake, Brian C.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Robotic tape library system level testing at NSA: Present and planned

In the present of declining Defense budgets, increased pressure has been placed on the DOD to utilize Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) solutions to incrementally solve a wide variety of our computer processing requirements. With the rapid growth in processing power, significant expansion of high performance networking, and the increased complexity of applications data sets, the requirement for high performance, large capacity, reliable and secure, and most of all affordable robotic tape storage libraries has greatly increased. Additionally, the migration to a heterogeneous, distributed computing environment has further complicated the problem. With today's open system compute servers approaching yesterday's supercomputer capabilities, the need for affordable, reliable secure Mass Storage Systems (MSS) has taken on an ever increasing importance to our processing center's ability to satisfy operational mission requirements. To that end, NSA has established an in-house capability to acquire, test, and evaluate COTS products. Its goal is to qualify a set of COTS MSS libraries, thereby achieving a modicum of standardization for robotic tape libraries which can satisfy our low, medium, and high performance file and volume serving requirements. In addition, NSA has established relations with other Government Agencies to complete this in-house effort and to maximize our research, testing, and evaluation work. While the preponderance of the effort is focused at the high end of the storage ladder, considerable effort will be extended this year and next at the server class or mid range storage systems.

Shields, Michael F.↗
NASA NTRS1995

An adaptable product for material processing and life science missions

The Experiment Control System II (ECS-II) is designed to make available to the microgravity research community the same tools and mode of automated experimentation that their ground-based counterparts have enjoyed for the last two decades. The design goal was accomplished by combining commercial automation tools familiar to the experimenter community with system control components that interface with the on-orbit platform in a distributed architecture. The architecture insulates the tools necessary for managing a payload. By using commercial software and hardware components whenever possible, development costs were greatly reduced when compared to traditional space development projects. Using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components also improved the usability documentation, and reducing the need for training of the system by providing familiar user interfaces, providing a wealth of readily available documentation, and reducing the need for training on system-specific details. The modularity of the distributed architecture makes it very amenable for modification to different on-orbit experiments requiring robotics-based automation.

Wassick, Gregory↗
NASA NTRS1996

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) Flight Dynamics Simulations Using MATLAB (R)

This paper describes a study to verify onboard attitude control laws in the coarse Sun-pointing (CSP) mode by simulation and to develop procedures for operational support for the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission. SOHO was launched on December 2, 1995, and the predictions of the simulation were verified with the flight data. This study used a commercial off the shelf product MATLAB(tm) to do the following: Develop procedures for computing the parasitic torques for orbital maneuvers; Simulate onboard attitude control of roll, pitch, and yaw during orbital maneuvers; Develop procedures for predicting firing time for both on- and off-modulated thrusters during orbital maneuvers; Investigate the use of feed forward or pre-bias torques to reduce the attitude handoff during orbit maneuvers - in particular, determine how to use the flight data to improve the feed forward torque estimates for use on future maneuvers. The study verified the stability of the attitude control during orbital maneuvers and the proposed use of feed forward torques to compensate for the attitude handoff. Comparison of the simulations with flight data showed: Parasitic torques provided a good estimate of the on- and off-modulation for attitude control; The feed forward torque compensation scheme worked well to reduce attitude handoff during the orbital maneuvers. The work has been extended to prototype calibration of thrusters from observed firing time and observed reaction wheel speed changes.

Headrick, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Heuristic Modeling for TRMM Lifetime Predictions

Analysis time for computing the expected mission lifetimes of proposed frequently maneuvering, tightly altitude constrained, Earth orbiting spacecraft have been significantly reduced by means of a heuristic modeling method implemented in a commercial-off-the-shelf spreadsheet product (QuattroPro) running on a personal computer (PC). The method uses a look-up table to estimate the maneuver frequency per month as a function of the spacecraft ballistic coefficient and the solar flux index, then computes the associated fuel use by a simple engine model. Maneuver frequency data points are produced by means of a single 1-month run of traditional mission analysis software for each of the 12 to 25 data points required for the table. As the data point computations are required only a mission design start-up and on the occasion of significant mission redesigns, the dependence on time consuming traditional modeling methods is dramatically reduced. Results to date have agreed with traditional methods to within 1 to 1.5 percent. The spreadsheet approach is applicable to a wide variety of Earth orbiting spacecraft with tight altitude constraints. It will be particularly useful to such missions as the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission scheduled for launch in 1997, whose mission lifetime calculations are heavily dependent on frequently revised solar flux predictions.

Jordan, P. S.↗