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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

High pressure hypervelocity electrothermal wind tunnel performance study and subscale tests

The feasibility of a Mach 10 to 20, high pressure electrothermal wind tunnel was assessed. A heater based on a continuous high power electric arc discharge capable of heating air to temperatures above 10,000 K and pressures of 15,000 atm is the key element of this wind tunnel. Results of analytical study indicate that the facility is capable of simulation conditions suitable for hypervelocity airbreathing propulsion testing up to Mach 16. In this case simulation was limited by pressure containment, high nozzle throat heat flux rates, and chemical freezing in the nozzle. The high total pressure capability improved the recombination chemistry in the facility nozzle as chemical equilibrium prevailed to the freezing point. Steady arc discharges were observed with liquid nitrogen flowing into the arc chamber during tests based on the two millisecond test facility. The measured steady pressure in the arc chamber was 4559 psi, which is two times greater than maximum total pressure obtainable in conventional arc heaters.

Rizkalla, Oussama F.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Design and performance of a space simulation facility for long-term ion thruster system testing.

An existing space simulation facility was modified to provide the required simulated orbital environment for approximately one year of continuous testing of an operating SERT II mercury ion thruster system. Modifications included a frozen mercury collector system operating at cryogenic temperatures and automatic safety features to permit unattended operation. Special high-voltage insulators and passthroughs were designed to ensure electrical and thermal isolation in the presence of mercury vapor and deposits. The facility performance characteristics which provided the required environment without detrimental effects from mercury during the specialized test are discussed.

Mckinney, H. F.↗
NASA NTRS1975

System reliability analysis through corona testing

In the Reliability and Quality Engineering Test Laboratory at the NASA Lewis Research Center a nondestructive, corona-vacuum test facility for testing power system components was developed using commercially available hardware. The test facility was developed to simulate operating temperature and vacuum while monitoring corona discharges with residual gases. This facility is being used to test various high voltage power system components.

Lalli, V. R.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Thermal Property Parameter Estimation of TPS Materials

Accurate knowledge of the thermophysical properties of TPS (thermal protection system) materials is necessary for pre-flight design and post-flight data analysis. Thermal properties, such as thermal conductivity and the volumetric specific heat, can be estimated from transient temperature measurements using non-linear parameter estimation methods. Property values are derived by minimizing a functional of the differences between measured and calculated temperatures. High temperature thermal response testing of TPS materials is usually done in arc-jet or radiant heating facilities which provide a quasi one-dimensional heating environment. Last year, under the NASA-ASEE-Stanford Fellowship Program, my work focused on developing a radiant heating apparatus. This year, I have worked on increasing the fidelity of the experimental measurements, optimizing the experimental procedures and interpreting the data.

Maddren, Jesse↗
DOE OSTI2022

[Presentation Slides] Code-to-Code Benchmark Study for Thermal Stress Modeling and Preliminary Analysis of the High-temperature Single Heat-Pipe Experiment

In the heat-pipe-cooled microreactor, heat pipes remove heat from the reactor core as a passive heat-transfer device, so the fluid circulation is not required for cooling, which can substantially simplify the overall reactor design. However, given the extremely high temperatures in the core region and potentially large temperature gradients across the structure materials, thermal stresses need to be well-analyzed to ensure structural integrity during normal operations and accident scenarios. This presentation slides discuss finite element method-based thermal-stress analysis for the high-temperature single heat-pipe test article in the Single Primary Heat Extraction and Removal Emulator (SPHERE) facility at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), using two commercial software packages, Abaqus and Star-CCM+. A code-to-code benchmark study was performed to crosscheck the model setup and capability of each code and to gain preliminary insights into the potential thermal stress concerns from the current experimental setup. It is observed the significant thermal stresses happen at the inner surface of the heat pipe hole surrounded by electric heaters where the largest temperature gradients appear. The temperature fields have good agreements between Abaqus and Star-CCM+, while the induced thermal stresses show modest deviations probably due to differences of meshing engines used in these two codes. It is found that the local maximum thermal stresses may reach close to the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of structural material depending on the heater power. Ultimately, the coupled thermal-structural analysis will help guide the current experimental plan and ensure the facility safety for future experimental study.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

CODE-TO-CODE BENCHMARK STUDY FOR THERMAL STRESS MODELING AND PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE HIGH-TEMPERATURE SINGLE HEAT PIPE EXPERIMENT

Microreactors are very small nuclear reactors with typical thermal-energy output of up to 20 MWth. The microreactor concept is gaining more and more attention for safe, robust, and reliable supply of electricity for remote locations and to meet industrial process heat needs. Heat-pipe-cooled microreactor is one of the microreactors being investigated at Idaho National Laboratory. In the heat-pipe-cooled microreactor, heat pipes remove heat from the reactor core as a passive heat-transfer device, so the fluid circulation is not required for cooling, which can substantially simplify the overall reactor design. However, given the extremely high temperatures in the core region and potentially large temperature gradients across the structure materials, thermal stresses need to be well-analyzed to ensure structural integrity during normal operations and accident scenarios for the heat-pipe-cooled microreactor designs. This paper discusses finite element method-based thermal-stress analysis for the high-temperature single heat-pipe test article in the Single Primary Heat Extraction and Removal Emulator (SPHERE) facility at Idaho National Laboratory, using two commercial software packages, Abaqus and STAR-CCM+. A code-to-code benchmark study was performed to crosscheck the model setup and capability of each code and to gain insights into the potential thermal stress concerns from the current experimental setup. It is observed the significant thermal stresses happen at the locations where the largest temperature gradients appeared between heat pipe and electric heater. The temperature fields have good agreements between Abaqus and STAR-CCM+, while the induced thermal stresses show modest deviations probably due to differences of meshing engines used in these two codes.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1995

Capabilities Enhanced for Researching the Reduction of Emissions in Future Aircraft

Aircraft future aircraft jet engines will run at higher pressures to obtain greater fuel efficiency and performance. This will require new combustor designs to keep the nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions at environmentally acceptable levels. The actual pressures and temperatures found in gas turbine combustors must be duplicated in a laboratory to verify the emissions characteristics of gas turbine engines. Recognizing this, the U.S. aircraft gas turbine industry identified a need for a national facility that could duplicate the severe inlet conditions of future combustors. Because of our expertise in combustion emissions reduction research and in the design and operation of high-pressure test facilities, the NASA Lewis Research Center was seen as the natural location for such a facility. As a national laboratory, Lewis could provide these facilities to all U.S. gas turbine engine manufacturers while protecting their proprietary interests. Called the Advanced Subsonic Combustion Rig, the facility will provide up to 60-atm pressures at inlet temperatures up to 1300 F and air flow rates up to 38 lb/sec. Furthermore, it will offer state-of-the-art diagnostic methods for characterizing advanced combustor concepts. Aeronautical combustion research at Lewis provided several significant accomplishments recently in support of both the High Speed Research (HSR) and Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) programs. For example, in the High Speed Research Program, NO_x reductions of up to 90 percent were achieved in prototype combustor hardware. Advanced computational analysis, gas sampling, and laser diagnostic techniques were critical to this success. Working closely with the gas turbine industry, we have successfully transferred this low-emissions combustor technology into engine prototype hardware. This hardware is now being tested at the engine manufacturers facilities. Complementary tests in Lewis currently available 30-atm test facilities are also underway, taking advantage of Lewis unique diagnostic capabilities. By utilizing test facilities belonging to both NASA and its industry partners, we have tested multiple combustor concepts in a shorter period of time.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1997

Oxygen Compatibility Screening Tests in Oxygen-Rich Combustion Environment

The identification and characterization of oxygen-rich compatible materials enables full-flow, staged combustion designs. Although these oxygen-rich designs offer significant cost, performance, and reliability benefits over existing systems, they have never been used operationally by the United States. If these systems are to be realized, it is critical to understand the long-term oxidative stability in high-temperature, high-pressure, oxygen-rich combustion environments. A unique facility has been constructed at the NASA Lewis Research Center to conduct tests of small-scale rocket engine materials and subcomponents in an oxygen-rich combustion environment that closely approximates a full-scale rocket engine. Thus, a broad range of advanced materials and concepts can be screened in a timely manner and at a relatively low cost.

Eckel, Anerew J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Magnetic Measurements of Arc Instabilities in Segmented Arc Heater Column

The Aerodynamic Heating Facility (AHF) at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) generates high enthalpy, supersonic flow environments for ground testing of NASAheat shield materials. This arc jet heater operates by passing a DC arc (<3200A,<2500V) through a gas column (~10cm diameter, 2m length) and ejecting the heatedgas through a supersonic nozzle into a test chamber. The arc plasma is a partially ionized air mixture at low temperature (< 2eV) but needs to be stable for long test times (up to 30min) at high power (< 20MW). Currently, the operational envelope of the facility is limited by arc instabilities including the kink instability. Consequently, it is of interest to characterize these instabilities to better understand facility limits and inform methods to extend stable operational ranges. Due to the high enthalpy and long timescales (i.e., minutes) diagnostics must be non-invasive. This work will cover the development of two sets of magnetic sensors: differential B-dot sensors and tri-axial magnetic hall sensors and will describe initial measurements of arc motion usingthese sensors.

Kink instability↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hybrid time–frequency domain dual-probe coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering for simultaneous temperature and pressure measurements in compressible flows via spectral fitting

We demonstrate a hybrid time–frequency spectroscopic method for simultaneous temperature/pressure measurements in nonreacting compressible flows with known gas composition. Hybrid femtosecond–picosecond, pure-rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), with two independent, time-delayed probe pulses, is deployed for single-laser-shot measurements of temperature and pressure profiles along an ∼ <#comment/> 5 -mm line. The theory of dual-probe CARS is presented, along with a discussion of the iterative fitting of experimental spectra. Temperature is obtained from spectra acquired with an early, near-collision-free probe time delay ( τ <#comment/> 1 = 0 p s ) and pressure from spectra obtained at probe delays of τ <#comment/> 2 = 150 − <#comment/> 1000 p s , where collisions significantly impact the spectral profile. Unique solutions for temperature and pressure are obtained by iteratively fitting the two spectra to account for small collisional effects observed for the near zero probe delay spectrum. A dual-probe pure-rotational CARS system, in a 1D line-imaging configuration, is developed to demonstrate effectively the simultaneous temperature and pressure profiles recorded along the axial centerline of a highly underexpanded jet. The underexpanded air jet permits evaluation of this hybrid time–frequency domain approach for temperature and pressure measurements across a wide range of low-temperature–low-pressure conditions of interest in supersonic ground-test facilities. Single-laser-shot measurement precisions in both quantities and pressure measurement accuracy are systematically evaluated in the quiet zone upstream of the Mach disk. Precise thermometry approaching 1%−2% is observed in regions of high CARS signal-to-noise ratios. Pressure measurements are optimized at probe time delays where the ratio of the late probe delay to the Raman lifetime exceeds four ( τ <#comment/> 2 / τ <#comment/> R > <#comment/> 4 ). The impact of low-temperature Raman linewidths on CARS pressure measurements is evaluated, and comparisons of CARS pressures obtained with our recent low-temperature pure-rotational Raman linewidth data and extrapolated high-temperature Q -branch linewidths are presented. Considering all measurements with τ <#comment/> 2 / τ <#comment/> R ≥ <#comment/> 4.0 , measured pressures were on average 7.9% of the computed isentropic values with average shot-to-shot deviations representing a combination of instrument noise and fluid fluctuations of 5.0%.

Retter, Jonathan E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Space Shuttle Orbiter carbon-carbon oxidation performance

Reusable, oxidation protected reinforced carbon carbon (RCC) has been successfully flown on forty Shuttle Orbiter flights. Thermal testing of the silicon carbide coated, reinforced carbon-carbon to determine its oxidation characteristics has been performed in both radiant and convective (plasma arc jet) heating test facilities. Subsurface oxidation of the RCC substrate as a result of oxygen penetrating micro cracks (fizzures) in the coating was characterized as a function of temperature and pressure for both convective and radiant environments. High temperature testing was performed to establish coating recession for over-temperature flight conditions experienced on abort trajectories. Suggested methods for using these test data to establish multi-mission reuse (i.e., mission life) and single mission limits are presented.

Curry, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Langley test highlights, 1982

A 20 ft vertical spin tunnel, a 30 by 60 ft tunnel, a 7 by 10 ft high speed tunnel, a 4 by 7 meter tunnel, an 8 ft transonic pressure tunnel, a transonic dynamics tunnel, a 16 ft transonic tunnel, a national transonic facility, a 0.3 meter transonic cryogenic tunnel, a unitary plan wind tunnel, a hypersonic facilities complex, an 8 ft high temperature tunnel, an aircraft noise reduction lab, an avionics integration research lab, a DC9 full workload simulator, a transport simulator, a general aviation simulator, an advanced concepts simulator, a mission oriented terminal area simulation (MOTAS), a differential maneuvering simulator, a visual/motion simulator, a vehicle antenna test facility, an impact dynamics research facility, and a flight research facility are all reviewed.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

High pressure turbomachinery ground test facility

Turbomachinery test facilities are at present scarce to non-existent world-wide. The turbomachinery test facility at Stennis Space Center will provide for advanced development and research and development capabilities for liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen propellant rocket engine components. The facility will provide ultra-high pressure via gas generators to deliver the needed turbine drive on various turbomachinery. State of the art process control systems will provide the vital pressure, temperature and flow requirements during tests. These systems will better control adverse transient conditions during start-up and shutdown, and by using advanced control theory, as well as incorporate test article health monitoring. Also, digital data acquisition systems will obtain high frequency (up to 20 KHz) and low frequency (up to 1 KHz) data during the test. Pressures of up to 15,000 psi will be generated to pressurize high pressure tanks supplying cryogens to various test article inlets thus pushing turbopump materials and manufacturing processes to their limits. By planning for future projects the test facility will be easily adaptable to multi-program test configurations over a range of thermodynamic positions.

Scheuermann, Patrick E.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Thin Film Sensors for Surface Measurements

Advanced thin film sensors that can provide accurate surface temperature, strain, and heat flux measurements have been developed at NASA Glenn Research Center. These sensors provide minimally intrusive characterization of advanced propulsion materials and components in hostile, high-temperature environments as well as validation of propulsion system design codes. The sensors are designed for applications on different material systems and engine components for testing in engine simulation facilities. Thin film thermocouples and strain gauges for the measurement of surface temperature and strain have been demonstrated on metals, ceramics and advanced ceramic-based composites of various component configurations. Test environments have included both air-breathing and space propulsion-based engine and burner rig environments at surface temperatures up to 1100 C and under high gas flow and pressure conditions. The technologies developed for these sensors as well as for a thin film heat flux gauge have been integrated into a single multifunctional gauge for the simultaneous real-time measurement of surface temperature, strain, and heat flux. This is the first step toward the development of smart sensors with integrated signal conditioning and high temperature electronics that would have the capability to provide feedback to the operating system in real-time. A description of the fabrication process for the thin film sensors and multifunctional gauge will be provided. In addition, the material systems on which the sensors have been demonstrated, the test facilities and the results of the tests to-date will be described. Finally, the results will be provided of the current effort to demonstrate the capabilities of the multifunctional gauge.

Martin, Lisa C.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Report on the Integration of Experimental and Modeling Data for Initial Equivalence Study of Mechanical Performance in Irradiated LPBF 316 Stainless Steel

To ensure the rapid development, deployment, and use of advanced nuclear technologies, faster qualification approaches are needed. Typically, the primary pathway uses traditional data packages consistent with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, which does not consider the environmental effects the material will experience such as corrosion and radiation damage. Examining radiation effects requires a significant amount of space in US facilities at the Advanced Test Reactor and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and suffers from natural gradients in temperature and neutron flux profiles. Ion irradiation may enable rapid assessment of radiation-induced damage to a material and is proposed as part of an accelerated materials qualification framework through the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies program. To enhance the utility of ion irradiation as an examination tool, this report provides the initial assessment of engineering-relevant properties of microstructures produced from ion irradiation in the near-surface volume. Nanoindentation, Vickers hardness, and known tensile properties were brought together with simple mathematical models and experimental data for an initial equivalence study of the mechanical performance of irradiated laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) 316 stainless steels across length scales. Direct observation of the calculated ion irradiation yield stress and measured neutron irradiation yield stress at 2 dpa showed that both datasets exhibit the same trend with irradiation temperature and overlap within an acceptable band of stress values. Ion irradiations at 10 dpa serve as a prediction of properties to compare to postirradiation examination of HFIR-irradiated LPBF 316H further in the program. This work is a significant demonstration of the Licensing Approach with Ions and Neutrons, which uses ion irradiations to generate mechanical property information more rapidly than through neutron irradiations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1975

System reliability analysis through corona testing

A corona vacuum test facility for nondestructive testing of power system components was built in the Reliability and Quality Engineering Test Laboratories at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The facility was developed to simulate operating temperature and vacuum while monitoring corona discharges with residual gases. The facility is being used to test various high-voltage power system components.

Lalli, V. R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Phase change thermal storage for a solar total energy system

An analytical and experimental program is being conducted on a one-tenth scale model of a high-temperature (584 K) phase-change thermal energy storage system for installation in a solar total energy test facility at Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. The thermal storage medium is anhydrous sodium hydroxide with 8% sodium nitrate. The program will produce data on the dynamic response of the system to repeated cycles of charging and discharging simulating those of the test facility. Data will be correlated with a mathematical model which will then be used in the design of the full-scale system.

Rice, R. E.↗