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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 217 records · Page 12

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Linear Parameter-Varying Control Compatible with Excitation for Real-Time Modeling

The Modeling and Control for Agile Aircraft Development project (MCAAD) seeks to reduce the time spent on wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamic modeling when developing control laws for new commercial and military aircraft. MCAAD uses advanced dynamic modeling procedures coupled with real-time control design which can reduce the time and cost spent on traditional aircraft development methods. This is done in-flight by using a real-time modeling procedure where programmed test inputs (PTI) deflect the aircraft control surfaces, and the responses are measured in order to create a dynamic model. This paper presents an 𝐻∞-based linear parameter-varying (LPV) control law designed on a nonlinear rigid-body dynamic model which commands control surface deflections at frequencies above the PTI frequency band. Thus the controller will not suppress the response due to the PTI. The LPV controller is compared with a previously designed Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (NDI) controller and the coherence between the commanded control surface deflections and the PTI is plotted for both controllers. The LPV controller is shown to distort the PTI less than the NDI controller.

Luke J. Miller↗

NASA NTRS1981

Selected advanced aerodynamic and active control concepts development

A task for the Energy Efficient Transport program conducted: (1) The design and wind tunnel development of high-aspect-ratio supercritical wings, investigating the cruise speed regime and also high-lift. (2) The preliminary design and evaluation of an aircraft combining a high-aspect-ratio supercritical wing with a winglet. (3) Active Controls: The determination of criteria, configuration, and flying qualities associated with augmented longitudinal stability of a level likely to be acceptable for the next generation transport; and the design of a practical augmentation system. The baseline against which the work was performed and evaluated was the Douglas DC-X-200 twin engine derivative of the DC-10 transport. The supercritical wing development showed that the cruise and buffet requirements could be achieved and that the wing could be designed to realize a sizable advantage over today's technology. Important advances in high lift performance were shown. The design study of an aircraft with supercritical wing and winglet suggested advantages in weight and fuel economy could be realized. The study of augmented stability, conducted with the aid of a motion base simulator, concluded that a negative static margin was acceptable for the baseline unaugmented aircraft.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1981

Control system development for an organic Ranking cycle engine

An organic Rankine cycle engine is used as part of a solar thermal power conversion assembly (PCA). The PCA, including a direct-heated cavity receiver and a shaft-mounted alternator, is mounted at the focal point of a parabolic dish concentrator. The engine controls are required to maintain approximately constant values of turbine inlet temperature and shaft speed, despite variation in the concentrated solar power input to the receiver. The controls design approach, system models, and initial stability and performance analysis results are presented herein.

Bergthold, F. M., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1977

To perform a gyro test of general relativity in a satellite and develop associated control technology

A satellite configuration having two gyroscopes with axes parallel to the boresight of a telescope and two at right angles to the telescope and approximately parallel and perpendicular to the earth's axis is proposed for measuring geodetic precessions due to the earth's motion about the sun, higher order geodetic terms calculated from the earth's quadrapole mass moment (0.010 arc-sec/year in a 400 nautical mile polar orbit), and deflection by the sun of the starlight signal for the reference telescope. Data from the experiment also contain large periodic signals due to the annual and orbital aberrations of starlight which are useful in providing a built in reference signal of known amplitude for scaling the relativity signals, and should yield a singularly precise measurement of the parallax of the reference star. The development of the gyroscope and its readout system are discussed, as well as signal integration, drag-free control, and attitude control.

Fairbank, W. M.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Control system development for a 1 MW/e/ solar thermal power plant

The point-focusing distributed receiver power plant considered consists of a number of power modules delivering power to a central collection point. Each power module contains a parabolic dish concentrator with a closed-cycle receiver/turbine/alternator assembly. Currently, a single-module prototype plant is under construction. The major control system tasks required are related to concentrator pointing control, receiver temperature control, and turbine speed control. Attention is given to operational control details, control hardware and software, and aspects of CRT output display.

Daubert, E. R.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Spallation Neutron Source Proton Power Upgrade Low-Level RF Control System Development

The Proton Power Upgrade (PPU) Project is approved for the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and will double the proton beam power capability from 1.4 MW to 2.8 MW with 2 MW beam power available to the first target station. A second target station is planned and will utilize the remaining beam power in the future. The proton power increase will be supported with the addition of twenty-eight new superconducting cavities powered by 700 kW peak power klystrons to increase beam energy while increases to the beam current will be done with a combination of existing RF margin, and DTL HPRF upgrades. The original low-level RF control system has proven to be reliable over the past 15 years of operations, but obsolescence issues mandate a replacement system be developed for the PPU project. The replacement system is realized in a µTCA.4 platform using a combination of commercial off-the-shelf boards and custom hardware to support the requirements of PPU. This paper presents the prototype hardware, firmware, and software development activities along with preliminary testing results of the new system.

Crofford, Mark↗

NASA NTRS1980

Selected advanced aerodynamic and active control concepts development

A summary is presented of results obtained during analysis, design and test activities on six selected technical tasks directed at exploratory improvement of fuel efficiency for new and derivative transports. The work included investigations into the potential offered by natural laminar flow, improved surface coatings and advanced high lift concepts. Similar investigations covering optimum low-energy flight path control, integrated application of active controls and evaluation of primary flight control systems reliability and maintenance are also summarized. Recommendations are included for future work needed to exploit potential advancements.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2015

Low Earth Orbit Environmental Durability of Recently Developed Thermal Control Coatings

The Materials International Space Station Experiment provided a means to expose materials and devices to the low Earth orbit environment on the exterior of the International Space Station. By returning the specimens to Earth after flight, the specimens could be evaluated by comparison with pre-flight measurements. One area of continuing interest is thermal control paints and coatings that are applied to exterior surfaces of spacecraft. Though traditional radiator coatings have been available for decades, recent work has focused on new coatings that offer custom deposition or custom optical properties. The custom deposition of interest is plasma spraying and one type of coating recently developed as part of a Small Business Innovative Research effort was designed to be plasma sprayed onto radiator surfaces. The custom optical properties of interest are opposite to those of a typical radiator coating, having a combination of high solar absorptance and low infrared emittance for solar absorber applications, and achieved in practice via a cermet coating. Selected specimens of the plasma sprayed coatings and the solar absorber coating were flown on Materials International Space Station Experiment 7, and were recently returned to Earth for post-flight analyses. For the plasma sprayed coatings in the ram direction, one specimen increased in solar absorptance and one specimen decreased in solar absorptance, while the plasma sprayed coatings in the wake direction changed very little in solar absorptance. For the cermet coating deployed in both the ram and wake directions, the solar absorptance increased. Interestingly, all coatings showed little change in infrared emittance.

Optical Properties↗

NASA NTRS1973

Shuttle active thermal control system development testing. Volume 2: Modular radiator system tests

Tests were designed to investigate the validity of the "modular" approach to space radiator system design for space shuttle and future applications by gathering performance data on various systems comprised of different numbers of identical panels, subject to nominal and extreme heat loads and environments. Both one-sided and two-sided radiation was tested, and engineering data was gathered on simulated low a/e coatings and system response to changes in outlet temperature control point. The results of the testing showed system stability throughout nominal orbital transients, unrealistically skewed environments, freeze-thaw transients, and rapid changes in outlet temperature control point. Various alternative panel plumbing arrangements were tested with no significant changes in performance being observed. With the MRS panels arranged to represent the shuttle baseline system, a maximum heat rejection of 76,600 Btu/hr was obtained in segmented tests under the expected worst case design environments. Testing of an alternate smaller two-sided radiation configuration yielded a maximum heat rejection of 52,931 Btu/hr under the maximum design environments.

Scheps, P. B.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Command and Control Software Development

The future of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) depends on its innovation and efficiency in the coming years. With ambitious goals to reach Mars and explore the vast universe, correct steps must be taken to ensure our space program reaches its destination safely. The interns in the Exploration Systems and Operations Division at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) have been tasked with building command line tools to ease the process of managing and testing the data being produced by the ground control systems while its recording system is not in use. While working alongside full-time engineers, we were able to create multiple programs that reduce the cost and time it takes to test the subsystems that launch rockets to outer space.

Wallace, Michael↗

NASA NTRS2013

IT Security Support for the Spaceport Command Control Systems Development Ground Support Development Operations

Security is one of the most if not the most important areas today. After the several attacks on the United States, security everywhere was heightened from Airports to the communication among the military branches legionnaires. With advanced persistent threats (APTs) on the rise following Stuxnet, government branches and agencies are required, more than ever, to follow several standards, policies and procedures to reduce the likelihood of a breach. Attack vectors today are very advanced and are going to continue to get more and more advanced as security controls advance. This creates a need for networks and systems to be in an updated and secured state in a launch control system environment. FISMA is a law that is mandated by the government to follow when government agencies secure networks and devices. My role on this project is to ensure network devices and systems are in compliance with NIST, as outlined in FISMA. I will achieve this by providing assistance with security plan documentation and collection, system hardware and software inventory, malicious code and malware scanning and configuration of network devices i.e. routers and IDSsIPSs. In addition I will be completing security assessments on software and hardware, vulnerability assessments and reporting, conducting patch management and risk assessments. A guideline that will help with compliance with NIST is the SANS Top 20 Critical Controls. SANS Top 20 Critical Controls as well as numerous security tools, security software and the conduction of research will be used to successfully complete the tasks given to me. This will ensure compliance with FISMA and NIST, secure systems and a secured network. By the end of this project, I hope to have carried out stated above as well as gain an immense knowledge about compliance, security tools, networks and network devices, policies and procedures.

computer information security↗

NASA NTRS2014

IT Security Support for the Spaceport Command Control Systems Development Ground Support Development Operations

Security is one of the most if not the most important areas today. After the several attacks on the United States, security everywhere has heightened from airports to the communication among the military branches legionnaires. With advanced persistent threats (APT's) on the rise following Stuxnet, government branches and agencies are required, more than ever, to follow several standards, policies and procedures to reduce the likelihood of a breach. Attack vectors today are very advanced and are going to continue to get more and more advanced as security controls advance. This creates a need for networks and systems to be in an updated and secured state in a launch control system environment. FISMA is a law that is mandated by the government to follow when government agencies secure networks and devices. My role on this project is to ensure network devices and systems are in compliance with NIST, as outlined in FISMA. I will achieve this by providing assistance with security plan documentation and collection, system hardware and software inventory, malicious code and malware scanning, and configuration of network devices i.e. routers and IDS's/IPS's. In addition, I will be completing security assessments on software and hardware, vulnerability assessments and reporting, and conducting patch management and risk assessments. A guideline that will help with compliance with NIST is the SANS Top 20 Critical Controls. SANS Top 20 Critical Controls as well as numerous security tools, security software and the conduction of research will be used to successfully complete the tasks given to me. This will ensure compliance with FISMA and NIST, secure systems and a secured network. By the end of this project, I hope to have carried out the tasks stated above as well as gain an immense knowledge about compliance, security tools, networks and network devices, as well as policies and procedures.

security↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Aeroservoelastic Control Law Development for the Integrated Adaptive Wing Technology Maturation Wind-Tunnel Test

In this paper, a linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulator was applied to a computational aeroservoelastic (ASE) model of the Integrated Adaptive Wing Technology Maturation (IAWTM) wind-tunnel model to demonstrate its effectiveness for active flutter suppression. The aerodynamics within this computational ASE model were solved using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations; the structural dynamics of the model were solved using modal analysis. This RANS-based ASE model was used as the plant for the LQG regulator. The Kalman filter and controller used within the LQG regulator were derived from a reduced-order model (ROM) of the RANS-based ASE model. This ROM-based ASE model was generated using system identification techniques. It was shown that the Kalman filter adequately predicted important states of the plant, and that LQG regulator successfully stabilized an aeroelastically unstable plant without exceeding reasonable control surface limitations. All of this was demonstrated using simulation data, and the methods presented here appear feasible for use in the upcoming IAWTM wind-tunnel tests.

Josiah M. Waite↗

DOE OSTI2023

Demonstrate FARM supervisory capabilities for a thermal energy storage problem for the DETAIL facility: IES Simulation Ecosystem Control System Development

The goal of the power dispatch problem for an Integrated Energy System (IES) is to adjust the power output and the heat flow of each component to maximize the profitability of the whole unit. Facilities that can integrate real-time digital signals, mock nuclear power, thermal energy storage and industrial heat use via high-temperature electrolysis were constructed at INL to support the research activities. The Dynamic Energy Technology and Integration Laboratory (DETAIL) houses the Microreactor Agile Non-nuclear Experimental Test Bed (MAGNET) and the Thermal Energy Distribution System (TEDS). In this report, the hierarchical control system architecture proposed in June 2023 milestone for the flexible operation of DETAIL facility is finalized and demonstrated. A brief description of the components and the corresponding Dymola models from the HYRBID repository is first provided. Then, the current control strategy is presented. In particular, the approach for generating the set-point trajectories to be fed to the PI controllers is analyzed, and its limits were identified. To preserve safe operation over both long-time and real-time horizons, the integration of a Supervisory Control layer embedding a modified version of FARM (Feasible Actuator Range Modifier) module is proposed. FARM is a component of the RAVEN-based FORCE framework designed to support HERON module at optimizing the operation of IES units. The proposed control system for DETAIL foresees FARM to be applied twice, i.e., the original version (“FARM-Validator”) aiding the solution of the power dispatch problem, and a modified version (“FARM-Supervisory”) coordinating the PID controllers. Despite the kernel of the two modules is the same, their tasks are quite different. The former intervenes at the beginning of each hour to prevent constraint violations over long time periods, the latter addresses real-time control tasks and monitors the response of constrained variables at a much finer time resolution. A tentative procedure for training the embedded Digital Twins with the experimental data is also proposed. Finally, the capabilities of the designed architecture and the impact of the added Supervisory Control layer are demonstrated by simulating a representative power dispatch scenario.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of the Integrated Adaptive Wing Technology Maturation Wind-Tunnel Test Objectives

The Integrated Adaptive Wing Technology Maturation wind-tunnel test is the culmination of a cooperative effort between NASA and Boeing to develop control techniques that can improve the performance and safety of higher aspect ratio flexible transport aircraft. The wind-tunnel test article, to be tested at the NASA Langley Research Center Transonic Dynamics Tunnel, is a semispan model of a modern transport configuration with an aspect ratio 13.5 wing based on the NASA Common Research Model. Multiobjective control laws have been developed targeting drag optimization, maneuver load alleviation, gust load alleviation, and modal suppression. In this paper, the integrated model design, active control system, and sensor suite will be presented, and pretest modeling and characterization activities will be described. A summary of the planned wind-tunnel test entries will provide an overview of the experimental approach and expected outcomes.

wind-tunnel↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of the Integrated Adaptive Wing Technology Maturation Wind-Tunnel Test Objectives

The Integrated Adaptive Wing Technology Maturation wind-tunnel test is the culmination of a cooperative effort between NASA and Boeing to develop control techniques that can improve the performance and safety of higher aspect ratio flexible transport aircraft. The wind-tunnel test article, to be tested at the NASA Langley Research Center Transonic Dynamics Tunnel, is a semispan model of a modern transport configuration based on the NASA Common Research Model with an aspect ratio 13.5 wing. Multiobjective control laws have been developed targeting drag optimization, maneuver load alleviation, gust load alleviation, and active flutter suppression. In this paper, the integrated model design, active control system, and sensor suite will be presented, and pretest modeling and characterization activities will be described. A summary of the planned wind-tunnel test entries will provide an overview of the experimental approach and expected outcomes.

wind-tunnel↗

NASA NTRS1973

Radio astronomy Explorer-B in-flight mission control system development effort

A description is given of the development for the Mission Analysis Evaluation and Space Trajectory Operations (MAESTRO) program to be used for the in-flight decision making process during the translunar and lunar orbit adjustment phases of the flight of the Radio Astronomy Explorer-B. THe program serves two functions: performance and evaluation of preflight mission analysis, and in-flight support for the midcourse and lunar insertion command decisions that must be made by the flight director. The topics discussed include: analysis of program and midcourse guidance capabilities; methods for on-line control; printed displays of the MAESTRO program; and in-flight operational logistics and testing.

Lutsky, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Command and Control Software Development

As NASA’s role in spaceflight operations change, so too does its design priorities. NASA’s flagship venture, the Space Launch System (SLS), is being created primarily to explore deep space. While commercial partners conduct low Earth orbit resupplies, tests, and even transportation of astronauts, NASA can divert more resources to more exciting projects - going back to the moon, or onwards to Mars. In the short term, this goal manifests in the upcoming Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) test of the SLS, slated for as early as 2019. SLS, with the Orion capsule, will travel farther than any human-rated spacecraft has gone before. As the most powerful launch vehicle ever created, SLS requires many new innovations to ensure mission success. One such technology is the launch control software, which is the focus of this internship. The SLS launch control software is composed of many functions, all of which require rigorous testing to meet the standard of life-critical code. To facilitate easier testing, the first project I undertook was to customize the open-source tool Wireshark to the software team’s needs. Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer that can take in information about custom information packets. The launch control software will have several protocols that are custom to NASA. I ensured that all necessary component files were the correct file type and in the correct structure for Wireshark to compile. Having allowed Wireshark access to understand custom NASA data packets, testers of the launch control software will be able to find anomalies easier.

Wang, Zhengdong↗