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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

Polymer Infused Composite Metal Foam as a Potential Aircraft Leading Edge Material

The leading edge of the aircraft wings must be free from three-dimensional disturbances caused by insect adhesion, ice accretion, and particle wear in order to improve flight performance, safety, and fuel efficiency of the aircraft. An innovative solution was explored in this work by infusing stainless steel composite metal foam (SS CMF) with a hydrophobic epoxy resin system. S-S CMF was made with 100% stainless steel using a powder metallurgy technique. The infused epoxy filled the macro- and microporosities, unique to SS CMF’s structure, creating a product with a density similar to that of aluminum. The contact angle, wear rate, erosion resistance, and insect adhesion of the novel infused composite metal foam were measured and compared to aluminum, epoxy and stainless steel. The infusion process was determined to fill up to 88% of the pores within the SS CMF and was found to reduce wettability and insect residue accretion. The contact angle of the infused SS CMF was 43% higher than its parent material, stainless steel, and 130% higher than aluminum. Insect residue maximum height and areal coverage were reduced by 60 and 30%, respectively, compared to aluminum. Grit blast experiments to simulate erosion resulted in a greater roughness increase for aluminum than for the parent epoxy resin or the resin-infused SS CMF. These results suggest that the durability and performance of infused SS CMF was superior compared to aluminum, which is the current leading edge material of choice. Based on the promising results under relevant wear and erosion conditions, it is concluded that the infused SS CMF can offer a potential tailored replacement to aluminum leading edge material.

Jacob C. Marx↗
NASA NTRS1983

Long life nickel electrodes for a nickel-hydrogen cell. I Initial performance

In order to develop a long life nickel electrode for a Ni/H2 cell, an investigation was begun to study the effects of sinter structure and active material loading level on the long life performance of nickel electrodes. This paper is a report on the initial performance of these electrodes as a part of an accelerated life test program. Seven different types of nickel plaques were made which included three levels of both their mechanical strength and median pore size. These plaques were impregnated with three levels of active material loading. The resultant electrodes were tested by a 200-cycle stress test which was conducted in flooded electrolyte, and also for initial performance in a Ni/H2 boiler plate cell. An interesting and unexpected observation was that an increased initial utilization of the active material was due more to its complete discharge to the lower average oxidation state than its increased charge acceptance in the charged state.

Lim, H. S.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Explicit Pore Pressure Material Model in Carbon-Cloth Phenolic

An explicit material model that uses predicted pressure in the pores of a carbon-cloth phenolic (CCP) composite has been developed. This model is intended to be used within a finite-element model to predict phenomena specific to CCP components of solid-fuel-rocket nozzles subjected to high operating temperatures and to mechanical stresses that can be great enough to cause structural failures. Phenomena that can be predicted with the help of this model include failures of specimens in restrained-thermal-growth (RTG) tests, pocketing erosion, and ply lifting

Gutierrez-Lemini, Danton↗
NASA NTRS1989

Video image selection studies of granules, pores, and penumbral flows near a large sunspot

The results of applying modern ground-based optical techniques using data obtained from high-resolution videotapes to the study of solar granulation are addressed. The average lifetime of granules is found to be 16 min, with larger granules having longer lifetimes. Two percent of granules explode, and the probability of a granule being hit by exploding granules at least once is 10 percent. A big exploding event covers about 10 granules. Many small pores change their size and darkness in less than a time scale of 60 min. The integrated darkness of one pore appears to be oscillating with a period of about 30 min. There are clear inflows of both bright and dark penumbra fibrils toward the umbra, from the outer edge of the penumbra. Outflow from the outer edge of penumbra is confirmed. This flow pattern may be related to the moving magnetic features and the moat structure surrounding the sunspots.

Zirin, Harold↗
NASA NTRS2001

Filtration Combustion in Smoldering and SHS

Smolder waves and SHS (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis) waves are both examples of filtration combustion waves propagating in porous media. Smoldering combustion is important for the study of fire safety. Smoldering itself can cause damage, its products are toxic and it can also lead to the more dangerous gas phase combustion which corresponds to faster propagation at higher temperatures. In SHS , a porous solid sample, consisting of a finely ground powder mixture of reactants, is ignited at one end. A high temperature thermal wave, having a frontal structure, then propagates through the sample converting reactants to products. The SHS technology appears to enjoy a number of advantages over the conventional technology, in which the sample is placed in a furnace and "baked" until it is "well done". The advantages include shorter synthesis times, greater economy, in that the internal energy of the reactions is employed rather than the costly external energy of the furnace, purer products, simpler equipment and no intrinsic limitation on the size of the sample to be synthesized as exists in the conventional technology. When delivery of reactants through the pores to the reaction site is an important aspect of the combustion process, it is referred to as filtration combustion. The two types of filtration combustion have a similar mathematical formulation, describing the ignition, propagation and extinction of combustion waves in porous media. The goal in each case, however, is different. In smoldering the desired goal is to prevent propagation, whereas in SHS the goal is to ensure propagation of the combustion wave, leading to the synthesis of desired products. In addition, the scales in the two areas of application differ. Smoldering generally occurs at lower temperatures and propagation velocities than in SHS nevertheless, the two applications have much in common so that what is learned fit make application can be used to advantage in the other. In porous media, melting often occurs ahead of the propagating combustion wave. In certain cases there is so much melting that the porous solid structure is destroyed, e.g., by melting and a suspension arises, consisting of a liquid bath containing solid particles and/or gas bubbles. The resulting combustion wave is referred to as a liquid flame. We have considered a number of problems involving filtration combustion. Here, we describe four such studies: (A) rapid buoyant filtration combustion waves; (B) diffusion driven combustion waves; (C) rapidly propagating liquid flames in gravitational fields; and (D) gas-phase influence on liquid flames in gravitational fields.

Matkowsky, Bernard J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Sintered plaque characteristics

The structural transformations occurring during sintering, the fabrication of a slurry produced sintered plaque, are detailed. Degradation of the positive electrode in performance in cycling in a nickel hydrogen battery were traced to the quality of the sintered plaque. Electrode degradation was found to be a limiting factor in the battery cycle life. Details of microstructural characterization and distribution of pores, examination of plastic flow during shrinkage, and observations of the rounding of nickel powder particles during the slurry process are presented.

Vaidyanathan, H.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Light-modulated abundance of an mRNA encoding a calmodulin-regulated, chromatin-associated NTPase in pea

A CDNA encoding a 47 kDa nucleoside triphosphatase (NTPase) that is associated with the chromatin of pea nuclei has been cloned and sequenced. The translated sequence of the cDNA includes several domains predicted by known biochemical properties of the enzyme, including five motifs characteristic of the ATP-binding domain of many proteins, several potential casein kinase II phosphorylation sites, a helix-turn-helix region characteristic of DNA-binding proteins, and a potential calmodulin-binding domain. The deduced primary structure also includes an N-terminal sequence that is a predicted signal peptide and an internal sequence that could serve as a bipartite-type nuclear localization signal. Both in situ immunocytochemistry of pea plumules and immunoblots of purified cell fractions indicate that most of the immunodetectable NTPase is within the nucleus, a compartment proteins typically reach through nuclear pores rather than through the endoplasmic reticulum pathway. The translated sequence has some similarity to that of human lamin C, but not high enough to account for the earlier observation that IgG against human lamin C binds to the NTPase in immunoblots. Northern blot analysis shows that the NTPase MRNA is strongly expressed in etiolated plumules, but only poorly or not at all in the leaf and stem tissues of light-grown plants. Accumulation of NTPase mRNA in etiolated seedlings is stimulated by brief treatments with both red and far-red light, as is characteristic of very low-fluence phytochrome responses. Southern blotting with pea genomic DNA indicates the NTPase is likely to be encoded by a single gene.

NASA Discipline Number 40-50↗
NASA NTRS2008

Fabricating Nanodots using Lift-Off of a Nanopore Template

A process for fabricating a planar array of dots having characteristic dimensions of the order of several nanometers to several hundred nanometers involves the formation and use of a thin alumina nanopore template on a semiconductor substrate. The dot material is deposited in the nanopores, then the template is lifted off the substrate after the dots have been formed. This process is expected to be a basis for development of other, similar nanofabrication processes for relatively inexpensive mass production of nanometerscale optical, optoelectronic, electronic, and magnetic devices. Alumina nanopore templates are self-organized structures that result from anodization of aluminum under appropriate conditions. Alumina nanopore templates have been regarded as attractive for use in fabricating the devices mentioned above, but prior efforts to use alumina nanopore templates for this purpose have not been successful. One reason for the lack of success is that the aspect ratios (ratios between depth and diameter) of the pores have been too large: large aspect ratios can result in blockage of deposition and/or can prevent successful lift-off. The development of the present process was motivated partly by a requirement to reduce aspect ratios to values (of the order of 10) for which there is little or no blockage of deposition and attempts at lift-off are more likely to be successful. The fabrication process is outlined.

Yang, Eui-Hyeok↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Production and Characterization of Additively Manufactured Radiator Panels with Integral Branching Heat Pipes for High-Temperature Heat Rejection

Emerging concepts for fission surface power and nuclear electric propulsion necessitate lightweight, mechanically robust, and thermally efficient heat rejection radiators. State-of-the-art intermediate-temperature (~400 K) composite radiator assemblies have been developed based on titanium-water heat pipes bonded to metal, graphite, and carbon-fiber-based panels. NASA has identified a need for new radiator concepts that can operate at even higher temperatures (500 – 600 K), minimize thermal resistances and thermal stress failures at bond interfaces, and approach areal densities of 2 – 3 kg m -2 . To meet these needs, our team is developing additively manufactured (AM) radiator panels with integral branching wicking heat pipe networks. Water is selected as the working fluid for this temperature range. Based on simulations and thermal vacuum experiments, these branching embedded heat pipe networks can efficiently distribute heat over panels for finned surface efficiencies of η f >70% at T H = 500 K input heat. This paper first presents laser powder-bed fusion AM strategies to produce embedded porous structures for wicking heat pipes in Inconel 718 and titanium alloys (commercially pure and Ti-6Al-4V alloys). Post-build chemical and thermal treatments are described that yield hydrophilic wicking surfaces for operation with water. Transient rate-of-rise experiments with water and acetone are reported that yield estimates for AM wick porosity (ϵ), permeability (K), and effective pore radius (r pore ). Based on the wick characterization results, small prototype radiator panels (75 × 125 mm) with integrated heat pipe networks were manufactured. Heat rejection performance data are presented from cold thermal vacuum testing, with heat input temperatures up to ~510 K. Future efforts will focus on improving heat pipe performance, optimizing radiator mass, and evaluating larger panels to assess scalability.

thermal management↗
NASA NTRS2024

Production and Characterization of Additively Manufactured Radiator Panels With Integral Branching Heat Pipes for High-Temperature Heat Rejection

Emerging concepts for fission surface power and nuclear electric propulsion necessitate lightweight, mechanically robust, and thermally efficient heat rejection radiators. State-of-the-art intermediate-temperature (~400 K) composite radiator assemblies have been developed based on titanium-water heat pipes bonded to metal, graphite, and carbon-fiber-based panels. NASA has identified a need for new radiator concepts that can operate at even higher temperatures (500 – 600 K), minimize thermal resistances and thermal stress failures at bond interfaces, and approach areal densities of 2 – 3 kg m -2 . To meet these needs, our team is developing additively manufactured (AM) radiator panels with integral branching wicking heat pipe networks. Water is selected as the working fluid for this temperature range. Based on simulations and thermal vacuum experiments, these branching embedded heat pipe networks can efficiently distribute heat over panels for finned surface efficiencies of η f >70% at T H = 500 K input heat. This paper first presents laser powder-bed fusion AM strategies to produce embedded porous structures for wicking heat pipes in Inconel 718 and titanium alloys (commercially pure and Ti-6Al-4V alloys). Post-build chemical and thermal treatments are described that yield hydrophilic wicking surfaces for operation with water. Transient rate-of-rise experiments with water and acetone are reported that yield estimates for AM wick porosity (ϵ), permeability (K), and effective pore radius ( r pore ). Based on the wick characterization results, small prototype radiator panels (75 × 125 mm) with integrated heat pipe networks were manufactured. Heat rejection performance data are presented from cold thermal vacuum testing, with heat input temperatures up to ~510 K. Future efforts will focus on improving heat pipe performance, optimizing radiator mass, and evaluating larger panels to assess scalability.

nuclear electric propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1988

The influence of high thermal gradient casting, hot isostatic pressing and alternate heat treatment on the structure and properties of a single crystal nickel base superalloy

A development program has been conducted to improve the cyclic properties of the PWA 1480 single-crystal superalloy by reducing or entirely eliminating casting porosity at fatigue-initiation sites, through the use of improved casting process parameters and HIPing; potential mechanical property improvements in a high-pressure hydrogen environment were also sought in alternatives to the standard coating and heat-treatment cycle. High thermal gradient casting was found to yield a reduction in overall casting porosity density and pore sizes. The most dramatic mechanical property improvement resulted from HIPing.

Fritzemeier, L. G.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Arcus: The Soft X-ray Grating Explorer

Arcus provides high-resolution soft X-ray spectroscopy in the 12-50 Å bandpass with unprecedented sensitivity, including spectral resolution > 2500 and effective area > 250 cm2. The three top science goals for Arcus are (1) to measure the effects of structure formation imprinted upon the hot baryons that are predicted to lie in extended halos around galaxies, (2) to trace the propagation of outflowing mass, energy, and momentum from the vicinity of the black hole to extragalactic scales as a measure of their feedback, and (3) to explore how stars form and evolve. Arcus uses the same 12 m focal length grazing-incidence Silicon Pore X-ray Optics (SPOs) that ESA has developed for the Athena mission; the focal length is achieved on orbit via an extendable optical bench. The focused X-rays from these optics are diffracted by high-efficiency Critical-Angle Transmission (CAT) gratings, and the results are imaged with flight-proven CCD detectors and electronics. Combined with the high-heritage NGIS LEOStar-2 spacecraft and launched into 4:1 lunar resonant orbit, Arcus provides high sensitivity and high efficiency observing of a wide range of astrophysical sources.

Randall K Smith↗
NASA NTRS2005

Alluvial Fans on Dunes in Kaiser Crater Suggest Niveo-Aeolian and Denivation Processes on Mars

On Earth, cold region sand dunes often contain inter-bedded sand, snow, and ice. These mixed deposits of wind-driven snow, sand, silt, vegetal debris, or other detritus have been termed Niveo-aeolian deposits. These deposits are often coupled with features that are due to melting or sublimation of snow, called denivation features. Snow and ice may be incorporated into dunes on Mars in three ways. Diffusion of water vapour into pore spaces is the widely accepted mechanism for the accretion of premafrost ice. Additional mechanisms may include the burial by sand of snow that has fallen on the dune surface or the synchronous transportation and deposition of snow, sand and ice. Both of these mechanisms have been reported for polar dunes on Earth. Niveo-aeolian deposits in polar deserts on Earth have unique morphologies and sedimentary structures that are generally not found in warm desert dunes. Recent analysis of MOC-scale data have found evidence for potential niveo-aeolian and denivation deposits in sand dunes on Mars.

Bourke, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Portable Electron Microscopy for ISS and Beyond

Advances in space exploration have evolved in lockstep with key technology advances in diverse fields such as materials science, biological science, and engineering risk management. Research in these areas, where structure and physical processes come together, can proceed rapidly in part due to sophisticated ground-based analytical tools that help re-searchers develop technologies and engineering processes that push frontiers of human space exploration. Electron microscopes (EM) are an example of such a workhorse tool, lending a unique blend of strong optical scattering, high native resolution, large depth of focus, and spectroscopy via characteristic X-ray emission, providing exquisite high-magnification structural imaging and chemical analysis. Ground-based EM’s have been essential in NASA research for many years. In particular, in mineralogy and petrology, EM is used to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system, particularly rocky bodies. In microbiology, EM has helped visualize the architecture of tissues and cells. In engineering/materials science, EM has been used to characterize particulate debris in air and water samples, determine pore sizes in ceramics/catalysts, understand the nature of fibers, determine composition and morphology of new and existing materials, and characterize micro-textures of vapor deposited films. EM is highly effective at investigating a wide variety of nanoscale materials/biomaterials at the core of many of NASA’s inquiries. Despite exquisite optical performance and versatility, EM’s are traditionally large, heavy, and have high power consumption. They are also expensive so they tend to be housed at universities and large research institutions, or at major industrial laboratory sites with support staff, supplies, and skilled operators. Since most organizations cannot support their own EM, samples are often sent to these large institutions and service centers to be imaged, at great expense and of-ten with delay of weeks to months for complex analyses. Complexity, high cost, and maintenance associated with collecting EM image data has until now severely limited fields in which EM is used. Making EM accessible outside constrained terrestrial laboratory environments will bring EM’s performance and versatility to a much broader range of scientific and engineering endeavors, including in space.

Own, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Molecular Simulations in Astrobiology

One of the main goals of astrobiology is to understand the origin of cellular life. In the absence of any record of the earliest ancestors of contemporary cells, protocells, the most direct way to test our understanding of their characteristics is to construct laboratory models of protocells. Such efforts, currently underway in the NASA Astrobiology Program, are accompanied by computational studies aimed at explaining self-organization of simple molecules into ordered structures and developing designs of molecules that are capable of performing protocellular functions. Many of these functions, such as importing nutrients, capturing and storing energy, and responding to changes in the environment, are carried out by proteins bound to membranes. We use computer simulations to address the following, questions about these proteins: (1) How do small proteins (peptides) organize themselves into ordered structures at water-membrane interfaces and insert into membranes? (2) How do peptides aggregate to form membrane-spannin(y structures (e.g., channels)? (3) By what mechanisms do such aggregates perform their functions? The simulations are performed using the molecular dynamics (MD) method. In this method, Newton's equations of motion for each atom in the system are solved iteratively. At each time step, the forces exerted on each atom by the remaining atoms are evaluated by dividing them into two parts. Short-range forces are calculated directly in real space while long-range forces are evaluated in reciprocal space, usually using a particle-mesh algorithm which is of order O(NlnN). Currently, a time step of 2 femtoseconds is typically used, thereby making studies of problems occurring on multi-nanosecond time scales (10(exp 6) - 10(exp 8) time steps) accessible. To address a broader range of problems, simulations need to be extended by three orders of magnitude. Such an extension requires both algorithmic improvements and codes scalable to a large number of parallel processors. Work in this direction is in progress. Two specific series of simulations that demonstrate how peptides self-organize and function in membranes are discussed. In one series of simulations, it was shown that nonpolar peptides, disordered in water, translocate to the nonpolar interior of the membrane and, simultaneously, fold into two different helical structures, which remain in equilibrium. Once in the membrane, the peptides can readily change their orientation, especially in response to local electric fields. This structural and orientational flexibility of peptides with changing conditions may have provided a mechanism of transmitting signals between the environment and the interior of the protocell. In another series of simulations, the mechanism by which a simple protein channel efficiently mediates proton transport across membranes was investigated. This process is a key step in cellular bioenergetics. In the channel under study, proton transport is gated by four histidines that occlude the channel pore. The simulations demonstrate that protons move through the gate by a "shuttle" mechanism, wherein one histidine is protonated on the extracellular side and, subsequently, the proton bound on the opposite side is released.

Pohorille, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS1991

Multilayer ceramic oxide solid electrolyte for fuel cells and electrolysis cells

A unitary layered ceramic structure is disclosed which comprises co-sintered layers. The co-sintered structure comprises a sintered central layer of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) which is about 8 mole percent yttria and having a density of at least about 95% of theoretical, and sintered outer layers of strontium lanthanum manganite (LSM) having the approximate molecular composition La.sub.0.8 Sr.sub.0.2 MnO.sub.3, having a density from about 50 to about 60% of theoretical, and having interconnected porosity from about 40 to 50% with an interconnected pore diameter from about one micron to about five microns. The sintered central layer is sandwiched by and bonded and sintered to the outer layers and is essentially free of significant amounts of manganese. A process for making the unitary composition-of-matter is also disclosed which involves tape casting a LSM tape and then on top thereof casting a YSZ tape. The process comprises presintering LSM powder at 1250.degree. F., crushing the presintered commercially available LSM powder, forming a slurry with the crushed LSM, a binder and solvent, tape casting the slurry and allowing the slurry to air dry. A mixture of commercially available submicron size particle YSZ powder is milled with a dispersant and solvent to disperse the YSZ particles thereby forming a dispersed YSZ slurry. The YSZ slurry is then tape cast on the dried LSM tape. If desired, a third layer of LSM can be cast on top of the dried YSZ layer. After drying the composite LSM/YSZ and LSM/YSZ/LSM tapes are fired at 1300.degree. C. No migration of manganese into the YSZ layer was observed with scanning electron microscope/edax in the sintered multilayer tape.

Schroeder, James E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Multilayer ceramic oxide solid electrolyte for fuel cells and electrolysis cells and method for fabrication thereof

An unitary layered ceramic structure is disclosed which comprises co-sintered layers. The co-sintered structure comprises a sintered central layer of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) which is about 8 mole percent yttria and having a density of at least about 95% of theoretical, and sintered outer layers of strontium lanthanum manganite (LSM) having the approximate molecular composition La.sub.0.8 Sr.sub.0.2 MnO.sub.3, having a density from about 50 to about 60% of theoretical, and having interconnected porosity from about 40 to 50% with an interconnected pore diameter from about one micron to about five microns. The sintered central layer is sandwiched by and bonded and sintered to the outer layers and is essentially free of significant amounts of manganese. A process for making the unitary composition-of-matter is also disclosed which involves tape casting a LSM tape and then on top thereof casting a YSZ tape. The process comprises presintering LSM powder at 1250.degree. F., crushing the presintered commercially available LSM powder, forming a slurry with the crushed LSM, a binder and solvent, tape casting the slurry and allowing the slurry to air dry. A mixture of commercially available submicron size particle YSZ powder is milled with a dispersant and solvent to disperse the YSZ particles thereby forming a dispersed YSZ slurry. The YSZ slurry is then tape cast on the dried LSM tape. If desired, a third layer of LSM can be cast on top of the dried YSZ layer. After drying the composite LSM/YSZ and LSM/YSZ/LSM tapes are fired at 1300.degree. C. No migration of manganese into the YSZ layer was observed with scanning electron microscope/edax in the sintered multilayer tape.

Schroeder, James E.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Molecular Simulations in Astrobiology

One of the main goals of astrobiology is to understand the origin of cellular life. The most direct approach to this problem is to construct laboratory models of protocells. Such efforts, currently underway in the NASA Astrobiology Program, are accompanied by computational studies aimed at explaining self-organization of simple molecules into ordered structures that are capable of performing protocellular functions. Many of these functions, such as importing nutrients, capturing energy and responding to changes in the environment, are carried out by proteins bound to membranes. We use computer simulations to address the following questions about these proteins: (1) How do small proteins self-organize into ordered structures at water-membrane interfaces and insert into membranes? (2) How do peptides form membrane-spanning structures (e.g. channels)? (3) By what mechanisms do such structures perform their functions? The simulations are performed using the molecular dynamics method. In this method, Newton's equations of motion for each atom in the system are solved iteratively. At each time step, the forces exerted on each atom by the remaining atoms are evaluated by dividing them into two parts. Short-range forces are calculated in real space while long-range forces are evaluated in reciprocal space, using a particle-mesh algorithm which is of order O(NInN). With a time step of 2 femtoseconds, problems occurring on multi-nanosecond time scales (10(exp 6)-10(exp 8) time steps) are accessible. To address a broader range of problems, simulations need to be extended by three orders of magnitude, which requires algorithmic improvements and codes scalable to a large number of processors. Work in this direction is in progress. Two series of simulations are discussed. In one series, it is shown that nonpolar peptides, disordered in water, translocate to the nonpolar interior of the membrane and fold into helical structures (see Figure). Once in the membrane, the peptides exhibit orientational flexibility with changing conditions, which may have provided a mechanism of transmitting signals between the protocell and its environment. In another series of simulations, the mechanism by which a simple protein channel efficiently mediates proton transport across membranes was investigated. This process is a key step in cellular bioenergetics. In the channel under study, proton transport is gated by four histidines that occlude the channel pore. The simulations identify the mechanisms by which protons move through the gate.

Pohorille, Andrew↗