Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Operating experience data”

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 217 records · Page 12

Development of the command data system and ground software for the SEDSAT-1 microsatellite

SEDSAT-1 is designed to be a low cost scientific satellite which is to be used to perform a minimum of five tasks which include: (1) the acquisition of a number of important parameters associated with the tethering processes from the payloads perspective (such as accelerations incurred and imaging data of the tether during deployment), (2) to act as a remote sensing platform for making measurements of the Earth's Atmosphere (allowing research to be performed in such areas as vertical lightning observation, visible light spectrography, and cloud cover studies, (3) to act as a general purpose amateur radio communication satellite relaying information back to earth, (4) to demonstrate the feasibility of the deployment in low earth orbit of advanced technology such as the Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells, Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, and multi-chip module technology and, (5) to support student's active participation in applying the disciplines of engineering and science to space-based hardware platforms. The project includes the Three-axis Accelerometer System, TAS, Experiment which is designed to report the accelerations that the satellite undergoes during the tethering operations and during the second phase of the mission when the free floating satellite comes in contact with orbit debris. The SEASIS (SEDS Earth, Atmosphere, and Space Imaging System) is another SEDSAT experiment designed to provide images of the tether during its deployment and the earth during the second phase of the mission. To control these experiments and virtually all other satellite operations the Command Data System, CDS is employed. This system utilizes a moderate complexity micro-controller controlled by tasks operating under a real-time operating system to dynamically monitor and control the satellite. The scope of this researchers efforts has been in the general area of coordinating and assisting the student researchers with the development of the CDS and ground station interfaces. This included the low level CDS hardware design and the formulization of a general software plan and schedule for both the CDS and ground station portions of the project.

Wells, B. Earl↗

Time-Dependent Material Data Essential for the Durability Analysis of Composite Flywheels Provided by Compressive Experiments

Successful spaceflight operations require onboard power management systems that reliably achieve mission objectives for a minimal launch weight. Because of their high specific energies and potential for reduced maintenance and logistics, composite flywheels are an attractive alternative to electrochemical batteries. The Rotor Durability Team, which comprises members from the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) and the NASA Glenn Research Center, completed a program of elevated temperature testing at Glenn' s Life Prediction Branch's Fatigue Laboratory. The experiments provided unique design data essential to the safety and durability of flywheel energy storage systems for the International Space Station and other manned spaceflight applications. Analysis of the experimental data (ref. 1) demonstrated that the compressive stress relaxation of composite flywheel rotor material is significantly greater than the commonly available tensile stress relaxation data. Durability analysis of compression preloaded flywheel rotors is required for accurate safe-life predictions for use in the International Space Station.

Thesken, John C.↗

A Prognostics Framework for Battery Health Monitoring Integrated with Thermal Modeling

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) promises to revolutionize transportation in major cities, offering passenger travel, cargo delivery, and emergency medical services through a network of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. However, the limited range of current eVTOLs, due to the low specific energy of lithium-ion batteries along with a possibility of thermal runaway conditions poses significant safety concerns, leading to potentially compromising operational safety. To address this critical challenge, researchers are actively evaluating the impact of flight and environmental conditions on onboard lithium-ion battery health. This involves carefully assessing the performance of battery packs under laboratory and operational conditions for developing models to estimate future health using prognostics framework. This study examines the effectiveness of evaluating battery degradation leading to catastrophic failures under varying operational conditions in laboratory. These are captured using physics based models of underlying phenomenons and integrated into the prognostics framework. A fully charged battery undergoes controlled discharge cycles at varying C-rates based on the simulated power draw profile, with current and voltage, temperature data recorded throughout the experiment. The observed data provides valuable insights into how different operating conditions and mission profiles affect battery performance. This information is crucial for developing strategies to optimize battery systems, enhance range, and ultimately ensure the safe and reliable operation of UAM vehicles.

Thermal Modeling↗

A Prognostics Framework for Battery Health Monitoring Integrated with Thermal Modeling

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) promises to revolutionize transportation in major cities, offering passenger travel, cargo delivery, and emergency medical services through a network of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. However, the limited range of current eVTOLs, due to the low specific energy of lithium-ion batteries along with a possibility of thermal runaway conditions poses significant safety concerns, leading to potentially compromising operational safety. To address this critical challenge, researchers are actively evaluating the impact of flight and environmental conditions on onboard lithium-ion battery health. This involves carefully assessing the performance of battery packs under laboratory and operational conditions for developing models to estimate future health using prognostics framework. This study examines the effectiveness of evaluating battery degradation leading to catastrophic failures under varying operational conditions in laboratory. These are captured using physics based models of underlying phenomenons and integrated into the prognostics framework. A fully charged battery undergoes controlled discharge cycles at varying C-rates based on the simulated power draw profile, with current and voltage, temperature data recorded throughout the experiment. The observed data provides valuable insights into how different operating conditions and mission profiles affect battery performance. This information is crucial for developing strategies to optimize battery systems, enhance range, and ultimately ensure the safe and reliable operation of UAM vehicles.

Thermal Modeling↗

A Prognostics Framework for Battery Health Monitoring Integrated with Thermal Modeling

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) promises to revolutionize transportation in major cities, offering passenger travel, cargo delivery, and emergency medical services through a network of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. However, the limited range of current eVTOLs, due to the low specific energy of lithium-ion batteries along with a possibility of thermal runaway conditions poses significant safety concerns, leading to potentially compromising operational safety. To address this critical challenge, researchers are actively evaluating the impact of flight and environmental conditions on onboard lithium-ion battery health. This involves carefully assessing the performance of battery packs under laboratory and operational conditions for developing models to estimate future health using prognostics framework. This study examines the effectiveness of evaluating battery degradation leading to catastrophic failures under varying operational conditions in laboratory. These are captured using physics based models of underlying phenomenons and integrated into the prognostics framework. A fully charged battery undergoes controlled discharge cycles at varying C-rates based on the simulated power draw profile, with current and voltage, temperature data recorded throughout the experiment. The observed data provides valuable insights into how different operating conditions and mission profiles affect battery performance. This information is crucial for developing strategies to optimize battery systems, enhance range, and ultimately ensure the safe and reliable operation of UAM vehicles.

Thermal Modeling↗

National Aeronautics and Space Administration operations: Remote sensing experiments in the New York Bight, 7-17 April 1975

Results are given of remote sensing experiments conducted in the New York Bight between April 7-17, 1975, to evaluate the role of remote sensing technology to aid in monitoring ocean dumping. Remote sensors were flown on the C-54, U-2, and C-130 aircraft while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration obtained concurrent in situ sea truth data using helicopters and surface platforms. The test site, aircraft platforms, experiments, and supporting sensors are described. The operation of each aircraft are discussed and aircraft flight lines, flight parameters, and data identification parameters are presented in figures and tables.

Usry, J. W.↗

OSO-8 soft X-ray wheel experiment: Data analysis

The soft X-ray experiment hardware and its operation are described. The device included six X-ray proportional counters, two of which, numbers 1 and 4, were pressurized with on-board methane gas supplies. Number 4 developed an excessive leak rate early in the mission and was turned off on 1975 day number 282 except for brief (typically 2-hour) periods up to day 585 after which it as left off. Counter 1 worked satisfactorily until 1975 day number 1095 (January 1, 1978) at which time the on-board methane supply was depleted. The other four counters were sealed and all except number 3 worked satisfactorily throughout the mission which terminated with permanent satellie shut-down on day 1369. This was the first large area thin-window, gas-flow X-ray detector to be flown in orbit. The background problems were severe and consumed a very large portion of the data analysis effort. These background problems were associated with the Earth's trapped electron belts.

Kraushaar, W. L.↗

The Nimbus-6 User's Guide

Background information was given on the Nimbus 6 spacecraft and experiments as a basis for selecting, obtaining, and utilizing Nimbus 6 data in research studies. The basic spacecraft system operation and the objectives of the Nimbus 6 flight are outlined, followed by a detailed discussion of each of the experiments. The format, archiving, and access to the data are also described. Finally, the contents and format of the Nimbus 6 data catalogs are described. These catalogs will be issued periodically after the launch of Nimbus 6. They will contain representative pictorial data and daily temperature, humidity, infrared and radiometer data obtained during each period, as well as information on the collection and availability of all Nimbus 6 data.

Sissala, J. E.↗

Research analysis of Space Shuttle Orbiter entry aerothermodynamic flight data at the NASA Langley Research Center

The methods used to analyze the aerothermodynamic data gathered from the Shuttle protoflights are reviewed. Trajectory and atmospheric reconstruction allow an accurate definition of the freestream environment through which the Shuttle has flown. The reconstructions, combined with aerodynamic coefficient and convective heating rate determinations, provide predictive capability for comparison with future flights. Data are acquired by operational instrumentation (12,000 parameters), development flight instrumentation (4500 measurements), and Orbiter experiments instrumentation; tracking and meteorological data are also included in the analyses. The aerothermodynamic and aerodynamic technology base for large, winged, lifting body entry vehicles is being expanded by the analysis efforts. Sensor locations on the Shuttle and data management techniques are described.

Throckmorton, D. A.↗

Cloud Ozone Dust Imager (CODI): Investigation and Technical Plan - Volume 1

The Cloud Ozone Dust Imager (CODI) is proposed to investigate the current climatic balance of the Mars atmosphere, with particular emphasis on the important but poorly understood roles which dust and water ice aerosols play in this balance. The large atmospheric heating (20-50 K) resulting from global dust storms around Mars perihelion is well recognized. However, groundbased observations of Mars atmospheric temperatures, water vapor, and clouds since the Viking missions have identified a much colder, cloudier atmosphere around Mars aphelion that may prove as important as global dust storms in determining the interannual and long-term behavior of the Mars climate. The key climate issues CODI is designed to investigate are: 1) the degree to which non-linear interactions between atmospheric dust heating, water vapor saturation, and cloud nucleation influence the seasonal and interannual variability of the Mars atmosphere, and 2) whether the strong orbital forcing of atmospheric dust loading, temperatures and water vapor saturation determines the long-term balance of Mars water, as reflected in the north-south hemispheric asymmetries of atmospheric water vapor and polar water ice abundances. The CODI experiment will measure the daily, seasonal and (potentially) interannual variability of atmospheric dust and cloud opacities, and the key physical properties of these aerosols which determine their role in the climate cycles of Mars. CODI is a small (1.2 kg), fixed pointing camera, in which four wide-angle (+/- 70 deg) lenses illuminate fixed filters and CCD arrays. Simultaneous sky/surface imaging of Mars is obtained at an angular resolution of 0.28 deg/pixel for wavelengths of 255, 336, 502, and 673 nm (similar to Hubble Space Telescope filters). These wavelengths serve to measure atmospheric ozone (255 and 336 nm), discriminate ice and dust aerosols (336 and 673 nm), and construct color images (336, 502, and 673 nm). The CODI images are detected on four 512 x 512 pixel arrays, as partitioned on two 1024 x 1024 CCD's operated in frame transfer mode. The center of the CODI field-of-view is canted 40 deg from the zenith direction to obtain sky brightness measurements and a 20 deg surface field-of-view. Daily image observations will be conducted when the Sun is greater than or equal to 5 deg outside the edge of the CODI field-of-view, and twilight and nighttime imaging will obtained on a weekly basis. The 673 nm channel includes a polarizer wheel to obtain sky/surface polarimetry. A dust cover protects the entire lens assemblies of all four CODI channels. This opaque dust cover, which is normally opened for CODI imaging, includes a small fixed mirror and transparent window positioned above the 673 nm lens, to redirect the 673 nm field-of-view to the surface for descent imaging. Fixed pointing, internal data buffering, low operating power (2-4 W for less than or equal to 30 seconds), selective data transmission, and simple operational characteristics of the CODI experiment place minimum resource and operational demands on the Mars Surveyor 1998 lander. The CODI science goals are optimized for, but not restricted to, a low-latitude landing site (20 deg S-30 deg N). The primary CODI measurement objectives are the opacities, wave forms, particle properties (size, shape, and alignment), and heights of clouds; the opacities, particle properties, and vertical distribution of dust; and the opacity and vertical distribution of ozone. The variability of cloud, ozone, and dust opacities will be determined on diurnal, daily, and seasonal timescales. Wind velocities will be determined from cloud motions and wave characteristics; and the temporal variability of atmospheric water vapor, with limited altitude information, will be inferred from the CODI ozone observations. Secondary measurement objectives include limited descent imaging capability, surface uv-visible photometry and polarimetry, photochemistry, and meteorite infall rates.

Clancy, R. Todd↗

Check-Standard Testing Across Multiple Transonic Wind Tunnels with the Modern Design of Experiments

This paper reports the result of an analysis of wind tunnel data acquired in support of the Facility Analysis Verification & Operational Reliability (FAVOR) project. The analysis uses methods referred to collectively at Langley Research Center as the Modern Design of Experiments (MDOE). These methods quantify the total variance in a sample of wind tunnel data and partition it into explained and unexplained components. The unexplained component is further partitioned in random and systematic components. This analysis was performed on data acquired in similar wind tunnel tests executed in four different U.S. transonic facilities. The measurement environment of each facility was quantified and compared.

Deloach, Richard↗

Pilot interaction with cockpit automation - Operational experiences with the Flight Management System

Results are presented of two studies on the potential effect of cockpit automation on the pilot's performance, which provide data on pilots' difficulties with understanding and operating one of the core systems of cockpit automation, the Flight Management System (FMS). The results of both studies indicate that, although pilots do become proficient in standard FMS operations through ground training and subsequent flight experience, they still have difficulties tracking the FMS status and behavior in certain flight contexts and show gaps in the understanding of the functional structure of the system. The results suggest that design-related factors such as opaque interfaces contribute to these difficulties, which can affect the pilot's situation awareness.

Sarter, Nadine B.↗

Results of a Long-Term Demonstration of an Optical Multi-Gas Monitor on ISS

Previously at SAMAP we reported on the development of tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) based instruments for measuring small gas molecules in real time. TDLS technology has matured rapidly over the last 5 years as a result of advances in low power diode lasers as well as better detection schemes. In collaboration with two small businesses Vista Photonics, Inc. and Nanoracks LLC, NASA developed a 4 gas TDLS based monitor for an experimental demonstration of the technology on the International Space Station (ISS). Vista invented and constructed the core TDLS sensor. Nanoracks designed and built the enclosure, and certified the integrated monitor as a payload. The device, which measures oxygen, carbon dioxide, ammonia and water vapor, is called the Multi-Gas Monitor (MGM). MGM measures the 4 gases every few seconds and records a 30 second moving average of the concentrations. The relatively small unit draws only 2.5W. MGM was calibrated at NASA-Johnson Space Center in July 2013 and launched to ISS on a Soyuz vehicle in November 2013. Installation and activation of MGM occurred in February 2014, and the unit has been operating nearly continuously ever since in the Japanese Experiment Module. Data is downlinked from ISS about once per week. Oxygen and carbon dioxide data is compared with that from the central Major Constituents Analyzer. Water vapor data is compared with dew point measurements made by sensors in the Columbus module. The ammonia channel was tested by the crew using a commercial ammonia inhalant. MGM is remarkably stable to date. Results of 18 months of operation are presented and future applications including combustion product monitoring are discussed.

Mudgett, Paul↗

The Nimbus 5 user's guide

Background information on the Nimbus 5 spacecraft and experiments is presented as a basis for selecting, obtaining, and utilizing the data in research studies. The basic spacecraft system operation and the objectives of the Nimbus 5 flight are outlined, followed by a detailed discussion of each of the experiments. The format, archiving, and access to the data, and the contents and format of the Nimbus 5 Data Catalogs are described.

Sabatini, R. R.↗

Activities of the US Geological Survey in Applications of Remote Sensing in the Chesapeake Bay Region

The application of remote sensing in the Chesapeake Bay region has been a central concern of three project activities of the U.S. Geological Survey: two are developmental, and one is operational. The two developmental activities were experiments in land-use and land-cover inventory and change detection using remotely sensed data from aircraft and from the LANDSAT and Skylab satellites. One of these is CARETS (Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site). The other developmental task is the Census Cities Experiment in Urban Change Detection. The present major concern is an operational land-use and land-cover data-analysis program, including a supporting geographical information system.

Wray, J. R.↗

Digest of celestial X-ray missions and experiments

Information on instruments, the platforms that carried them, and the data they gathered is presented. Instrument selection was confined to detectors operating in the 0.20 to 300 keV range. Included are brief descriptions of the spacecraft, experiment packages and missions. Cross-referenced indexes are provided for types of instruments, energy ranges, time spans covered, positional catalogs and observational catalogs. Data sets from these experiments (NSSDC) are described.

Locke, M. C.↗

Space station data flow

The results of the space station data flow study are reported. Conceived is a low cost interactive data dissemination system for space station experiment data that includes facility and personnel requirements and locations, phasing requirements and implementation costs. Each of the experiments identified by the operating schedule is analyzed and the support characteristics identified in order to determine data characteristics. Qualitative and quantitative comparison of candidate concepts resulted in a proposed data system configuration baseline concept that includes a data center which combines the responsibility of reprocessing, archiving, and user services according to the various agencies and their responsibility assignments. The primary source of data is the space station complex which provides through the Tracking Data Relay Satellite System (TDRS) and by space shuttle delivery data from experiments in free flying modules and orbiting shuttles as well as from the experiments in the modular space station itself.

Source record↗

Vehicle-Level Oxygen/Methane Propulsion System Hotfire Testing at Thermal Vacuum Conditions

A prototype integrated liquid oxygen/liquid methane propulsion system was hot-fire tested at a variety of simulated altitude and thermal conditions in the NASA Glenn Research Center Plum Brook Station In-Space Propulsion Thermal Vacuum Chamber (formerly B2). This test campaign served two purposes: 1) Characterize the performance of the Plum Brook facility in vacuum accumulator mode and 2) Collect the unique data set of an integrated LOX/Methane propulsion system operating in high altitude and thermal vacuum environments (a first). Data from this propulsion system prototype could inform the design of future spacecraft in-space propulsion systems, including landers. The test vehicle for this campaign was the Integrated Cryogenic Propulsion Test Article (ICPTA), which was constructed for this project using assets from the former Morpheus Project rebuilt and outfitted with additional new hardware. The ICPTA utilizes one 2,800 lbf main engine, two 28 lbf and two 7 lbf reaction control engines mounted in two pods, four 48-inch propellant tanks (two each for liquid oxygen and liquid methane), and a cold helium system for propellant tank pressurization. Several hundred sensors on the ICPTA and many more in the test cell collected data to characterize the operation of the vehicle and facility. Multiple notable experiments were performed during this test campaign, many for the first time, including pressure-fed cryogenic reaction control system characterization over a wide range of conditions, coil-on-plug ignition system demonstration at the vehicle level, integrated main engine/RCS operation, and a non-intrusive propellant mass gauging system. The test data includes water-hammer and thermal heat leak data critical to validating models for use in future vehicle design activities. This successful test campaign demonstrated the performance of the updated Plum Brook In-Space Propulsion thermal vacuum chamber and incrementally advanced the state of LOX/Methane propulsion technology through numerous system-level and subsystem experiments.

Morehead, Robert L.↗