Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “DC programming”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11

Parabolic Flight Investigation for Advanced Exercise Concept Hardware Hybrid Ultimate Lifting Kit (HULK)

Long-duration space flight poses many hazards to the health of the crew. Among those hazards is the physiological deconditioning of the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems due to prolonged exposure to microgravity. To combat this erosion of physical condition space flight may take on the crew, the Human Research Program (HRP) is charged with developing Advanced Exercise Concepts to maintain astronaut health and fitness during long-term missions, while keeping device mass, power, and volume to a minimum. The goal of this effort is to preserve the physical capability of the crew to perform mission critical tasks in transit and during planetary surface operations. The HULK is a pneumatic-based exercise system, which provides both resistive and aerobic modes to protect against human deconditioning in microgravity. Its design targeted the International Space Station (ISS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) high level performance characteristics and provides up to 600 foot pounds resitive loading with the capability to allow for eccentric to concentric (E:C) ratios of higher than 1:1 through a DC motor assist component. The device's rowing mode allows for high cadence aerobic activity. The HULK parabolic flight campaign, conducted through the NASA Flight Opportunities Program at Ellington Field, resulted in the creation of device specific data sets including low fidelity motion capture, accelerometry and both inline and ground reaction forces. These data provide a critical link in understanding how to vibration isolate the device in both ISS and space transit applications. Secondarily, the study of human exercise and associated body kinematics in microgravity allows for more complete understanding of human to machine interface designs to allow for maximum functionality of the device in microgravity.

countermeasures↗

Selected winglet and mixed flow long duct nacelle development for DC-10 derivative aircraft

The high speed cruise drag effects of the installation of winglets and a wing tip extension and a mixed flow long duct nacelle are investigated. The winglet program utilized a 4.7 percent semispan model in an eight foot transonic wind tunnel. Winglets provided approximately twice the cruise drag reduction of wing tip extensions for about the same increase in bending moment at the wing-fuselage juncture. The long duct nacelle interference drag program utilized the same model, without the winglets, in the 11 foot transonic wind tunnel. The long duct nacelle, installed in the same position as the current short duct nacelle and with the current production symmetric pylon, was a relatively low risk installation. A pylon with an addition small rearward fairing was also tested and showed some drag reduction potential over the current pylon.

Taylor, A. B.↗

DRAW: Dynamic Routes for Arrivals in Weather

Presentation to National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) describing the Dynamic Routes for Arrivals in Weather (DRAW) concept and technology of the ATD-3 (Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration-3) program. This presentation is a part of a NASA-NATCA technical interchange meeting for ATD-3 at NATCA HQ in Washington DC.

Weather↗

Exploring our Changing Planet through NASA’s Earth Information Center and Novel Methods for Earth Science Communication

In June 2023, NASA unveiled the Earth Information Center (EIC), an interagency initiative which invites the global community to explore how our planet is changing through interactive installations, captivating visualizations, and novel storytelling. Existing in both physical and virtual space, the EIC serves as a gateway to actionable information collected through an expanding fleet of Earth observing satellites and sensors. The EIC features data driven visualizations, near real-time information, immersive experiences, and curated stories that highlight the applications of publicly available data to address environmental challenges across nine thematic areas: agriculture, biodiversity, disasters, greenhouse gases, air quality, sea level rise, sustainable energy, water resources, and wildfires. Designed by an interdisciplinary team, EIC exhibits are developed to reach a wide base of end-users across multiple learning modalities. During the first year of operation, the inaugural location of the EIC at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, welcomed an estimated 24,000 visitors, hosted over 145 tours for domestic and international organizations, supported NASA’s Earth Day 2024 programming, and led six STEM programs for diverse student communities. With lessons learned from the first year of being open to the public and a variety of novel science communication tools in development, the EIC is expanding the mission’s reach by collaborating with museums and visitor centers. Through these collaborations, we aim to inform a broader demographic about the unprecedented changes observed in Earth’s climate and inspire communities to learn more about their one and only home, planet Earth.

Nicole Ramberg-Pihl↗

Refan program. Phase 1: Summary report

The Refan Program is aimed at a large reduction in aircraft approach and takeoff noise in the vicinity of airports caused by the JT3D-powered 707's and DC-8's and the JT8D-powered 727's, 737's and DC-9's. These aircraft represent a major part of the existing commercial fleet. The noise reductions can be achieved by engine and nacelle modifications in the form of aircraft retrofit kits. Engine turbomachinery noise is reduced by replacing the current two-stage fan with a larger single-stage fan and by nacelle acoustic treatment. Jet noise is reduced by the reduction on jet velocity caused by additional turbine work extraction to drive the larger bypass fan. The predicted net effect of these modifications on installed performance is large noise reductions on both approach and takeoff, increased takeoff thrust, decreased takeoff field length, and maintained or improved aircraft range depending on the amount of acoustic treatment included. The Refan Program is being conducted in two phases under contracts with one engine and two airframe companies. Results of the Phase I work are summarized in this report which describes the refan nacelle configurations studied, the airplane modifications required to install the nacelles, and the resulting airplane performance and noise reductions predicted for all five aircraft.

Sams, E. W.↗

Space Station Power System issues

A number of attractive options are available for the Space Station Power System. These include a photovoltaic system or solar dynamic system for power generation, batteries or fuel cells for energy storage and ac or dc for power management and distribution. These options are being explored during the present preliminary design and definition phase of the Space Station Program. Final selections are presently targeted for January 1986.

Forestieri, A. F.↗

Report on studies of space to earth microwave power transmission systems

The studies reported include a preliminary analysis, conceptual design, technical and economic evaluation, and planning for a technology development, a ground demonstration, and an orbital test program. The concept investigated involves a transmitting antenna in geosynchronous orbit which beams microwave power to a ground antenna where it is rectified to DC power. The amplitron and the klystron are considered as devices for converting DC power to RF power at microwave frequencies.

Edwards, A., Jr.↗

Measurement of Reactive Nitrogen Compounds over the Tropical Pacific

This report covers the Tropospheric Trace Gas and Airborne Measurement Group's (TTGAMG) participation in the NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment (GTE) Pacific Exploratory Mission: Tropics A (PEM-TA) field measurement program. With other university and NASA centers, the Georgia Institute of Technology Airborne Laser Induced Fluorescence Experiment (GITALIFE) was deployed on the NASA Ames DC-8 aircraft for the measurement of NO and NO2 One of the PEM-TA objectives was to collect the data and interpret the fast photo-chemical processes taking place in the remote and relatively pristine environment over Hawaii, Tahiti, Easter Island, New Zealand, and Fiji.

Sandholm, Scott↗

Real-Time On-Board Airborne Demonstration of High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments (HOPS)

The project called High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments (HOPS) has been funded by NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) program since April, 2012. The HOPS team recently completed two flight campaigns during the summer of 2014 on two different aircrafts with two different science instruments. The first flight campaign was in July, 2014 based at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, VA on the NASA's HU-25 aircraft. The science instrument that flew with HOPS was Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) CarbonHawk Experiment Simulator (ACES) funded by NASA's Instrument Incubator Program (IIP). The second campaign was in August, 2014 based at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in Palmdale, CA on the NASA's DC-8 aircraft. HOPS flew with the Multifunctional Fiber Laser Lidar (MFLL) instrument developed by Excelis Inc. The goal of the campaigns was to perform an end-to-end demonstration of the capabilities of the HOPS prototype system (HOPS COTS) while running the most computationally intensive part of the ASCENDS algorithm real-time on-board. The comparison of the two flight campaigns and the results of the functionality tests of the HOPS COTS are presented in this paper.

Beyon, Jeffrey Y.↗

Preliminary Survey of Icing Conditions Measured During Routine Transcontinental Airline Operation

Icing data collected on routine operations by four DC-4-type aircraft equipped with NACA pressure-type icing-rate meters are presented as preliminary information obtained from a statistical icing data program sponsored by the NACA with the cooperation of many airline companies and the United States Air Force. The program is continuing on a much greater scale to provide large quantities of data from many air routes in the United States and overseas. Areas not covered by established air routes are also being included in the survey. The four aircraft which collected the data presented in this report were operated by United Air Lines over a transcontinental route from January through May, 1951. An analysis of the pressure-type icing-rate meter was satisfactory for collecting statistical data during routine operations. Data obtained on routine flight icing encounters from.these four instrumented aircraft, although insufficient for a conclusive statistical analysis, provide a greater quantity and considerably more realistic information than that obtained from random research flights. A summary of statistical data will be published when the information obtained daring the 1951-52 icing season and that to be obtained during the 1952-53 season can be analyzed and assembled. The 1951-52 data already analyzed indicate that the quantity, quality, and range of icing information being provided by this expanded program should afford a sound basis for ice-protection-system design by defining the important meteorological parameters of the icing cloud.

Perkins, Porter J.↗

Development of a magnetically suspended momentum wheel

An engineering model of a magnetically suspended momentum wheel was designed, fabricated, and tested under laboratory conditions. The basic unit consisted of two magnet bearings, a sculptured aluminum rotor, brushless dc spin motor, and electronics. The magnet bearings, utilizing rare-earth cobltrat-samarium magnets were active radially and passive axially. The results of the program showed that momentum wheels with magnetic bearings are feasible and operable, and that magnetic bearings of this type are capable of being used for applications where high capacity, high stiffness, and low power consumption are required. The tests performed developed criteria for improved performance for future designs.

Hamilton, S. B.↗

Composite aircraft structures

In late 1975, the Aircraft Energy Efficiency (ACEE) program was initiated by NASA in order to accelerate the development of selected technologies which showed promise for substantial improvements in the fuel efficiency of commercial transport aircraft. A description is presented of the status of the composite structure development programs which form one of the six sections of the ACEE program. Six aircraft components are currently being developed under NASA contract by three major transport manufacturers. The components include the upper aft rudder of the Douglas DC-10, the inboard ailerons of the Lockheed L-1011, the elevators of the Boeing 727, the vertical stabilizers for the Lockheed L-1011 and Douglas DC-10, and the horizontal stabilizers of the Boeing 737. It is found that the composite components show a high potential for achieving cost comparability with the metal parts they are designed to replace.

Vosteen, L. F.↗

A low-power, high-efficiency Ka-band TWTA

A NASA-sponsored program is described for developing a high-efficiency low-power TWTA operating at 32 GHz and meeting the requirements for the Cassini Mission to study Saturn. The required RF output power of the helix TWT is 10 watts, while the dc power from the spacecraft is limited to about 30 watts. The performance level permits the transmission to earth of all mission data. Several novel technologies are incorporated into the TWT to achieve this efficiency including an advanced dynamic velocity taper characterized by a nonlinear reduction in pitch in the output helix section and a multistage depressed collector employing copper electrodes treated for secondary electron-emission suppression. Preliminary program results are encouraging: RF output power of 10.6 watts is obtained at 14-mA beam current and 5.2-kV helix voltage with overall TWT efficiency exceeding 40 percent.

Curren, A. N.↗

Computer aided nonlinear electrical networks analysis

Techniques used in simulating an electrical circuit with nonlinear elements for use in computer-aided circuit analysis programs are described. Elements of the circuit include capacitors, resistors, inductors, transistors, diodes, and voltage and current sources (constant or time varying). Simulation features are discussed for dc, ac, and/or transient circuit analysis. Calculations are based on the model approach of formulating the circuit equations. A particular solution of transient analysis for nonlinear storage elements is described.

Slapnicar, P.↗

Development of Miniaturized Optimized Smart Sensors (MOSS) for space plasmas

The cost of space plasma sensors is high for several reasons: (1) Most are one-of-a-kind and state-of-the-art, (2) the cost of launch to orbit is high, (3) ruggedness and reliability requirements lead to costly development and test programs, and (4) overhead is added by overly elaborate or generalized spacecraft interface requirements. Possible approaches to reducing costs include development of small 'sensors' (defined as including all necessary optics, detectors, and related electronics) that will ultimately lead to cheaper missions by reducing (2), improving (3), and, through work with spacecraft designers, reducing (4). Despite this logical approach, there is no guarantee that smaller sensors are necessarily either better or cheaper. We have previously advocated applying analytical 'quality factors' to plasma sensors (and spacecraft) and have begun to develop miniaturized particle optical systems by applying quantitative optimization criteria. We are currently designing a Miniaturized Optimized Smart Sensor (MOSS) in which miniaturized electronics (e.g., employing new power supply topology and extensive us of gate arrays and hybrid circuits) are fully integrated with newly developed particle optics to give significant savings in volume and mass. The goal of the SwRI MOSS program is development of a fully self-contained and functional plasma sensor weighing 1 lb and requiring 1 W. MOSS will require only a typical spacecraft DC power source (e.g., 30 V) and command/data interfaces in order to be fully functional, and will provide measurement capabilities comparable in most ways to current sensors.

Young, D. T.↗

Phoretic Force Measurement for Microparticles Under Microgravity Conditions

This theoretical and experimental investigation of the collisional interactions between gas molecules and solid and liquid surfaces of microparticles involves fundamental studies of the transfer of energy, mass and momentum between gas molecules and surfaces. The numerous applications include particle deposition on semiconductor surfaces and on surfaces in combustion processes, containerless processing, the production of nanophase materials, pigments and ceramic precursors, and pollution abatement technologies such as desulfurization of gaseous effluents from combustion processes. Of particular emphasis are the forces exerted on microparticles present in a nonuniform gas, that is, in gaseous surroundings involving temperature and concentration gradients. These so-called phoretic forces become the dominant forces when the gravitational force is diminished, and they are strongly dependent on the momentum transfer between gas molecules and the surface. The momentum transfer, in turn, depends on the gas and particle properties and the mean free path and kinetic energy of the gas molecules. The experimental program involves the particle levitation system shown. A micrometer size particle is held between two heat exchangers enclosed in a vacuum chamber by means of ac and dc electric fields. The ac field keeps the particle centered on the vertical axis of the chamber, and the dc field balances the gravitational force and the thermophoretic force. Some measurements of the thermophoretic force are presented in this paper.

Davis, E. J.↗

The HP 85192B EEFet3 GaAs FET Nonlinear Model Used in the High Efficiency Microwave Power Amplifier (HEMPA)

Most nonlinear circuit analysis programs that exist today were designed primarily for transient analysis. By incorporating more accurate models in simulation programs, accurate predictions of GaAs field effect transistors (FET) behavior can be accomplished. However, should the designer need to simulate GaAs FETs that operate at high DC-to-RF conversion efficiencies, a more sophisticated model is needed. A relevant and appropriate method is called harmonic-balance, as described by Quere et al.

Sims, William Herbert, III↗

Advanced composite vertical stabilizer for DC-10 transport aircraft

The structural design configuration for the Composite Vertical Stabilizer is described and the structural design, analysis, and weight activities are presented. The status of fabrication and test activities for the development test portion of the program is described. Test results are presented for the skin panels, spar web, spar cap to cover, and laminate properties specimens. Engineering drawings of vertification test panels and root fittings, rudder support specimens, titanium fittings, and rear spar specimen analysis models are included.

Stephens, C. O.↗