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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 NTRS1998

Development of Advanced Methods of Structural and Trajectory Analysis for Transport Aircraft

This paper develops a near-optimal guidance law for generating minimum fuel, time, or cost fixed-range trajectories for supersonic transport aircraft. The approach uses a choice of new state variables along with singular perturbation techniques to time-scale decouple the dynamic equations into multiple equations of single order (second order for the fast dynamics). Application of the maximum principle to each of the decoupled equations, as opposed to application to the original coupled equations, avoids the two point boundary value problem and transforms the problem from one of a functional optimization to one of multiple function optimizations. It is shown that such an approach produces well known aircraft performance results such as minimizing the Brequet factor for minimum fuel consumption and the energy climb path. Furthermore, the new state variables produce a consistent calculation of flight path angle along the trajectory, eliminating one of the deficiencies in the traditional energy state approximation. In addition, jumps in the energy climb path are smoothed out by integration of the original dynamic equations at constant load factor. Numerical results performed for a supersonic transport design show that a pushover dive followed by a pullout at nominal load factors are sufficient maneuvers to smooth the jump.

Ardema, Mark D.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Cryogenic Transport of High-Pressure-System Recharge Gas

A method of relatively safe, compact, efficient recharging of a high-pressure room-temperature gas supply has been proposed. In this method, the gas would be liquefied at the source for transport as a cryogenic fluid at or slightly above atmospheric pressure. Upon reaching the destination, a simple heating/expansion process would be used to (1) convert the transported cryogenic fluid to the room-temperature, high-pressure gaseous form in which it is intended to be utilized and (2) transfer the resulting gas to the storage tank of the system to be recharged. In conventional practice for recharging high-pressure-gas systems, gases are transported at room temperature in high-pressure tanks. For recharging a given system to a specified pressure, a transport tank must contain the recharge gas at a much higher pressure. At the destination, the transport tank is connected to the system storage tank to be recharged, and the pressures in the transport tank and the system storage tank are allowed to equalize. One major disadvantage of the conventional approach is that the high transport pressure poses a hazard. Another disadvantage is the waste of a significant amount of recharge gas. Because the transport tank is disconnected from the system storage tank when it is at the specified system recharge pressure, the transport tank still contains a significant amount of recharge gas (typically on the order of half of the amount transported) that cannot be used. In the proposed method, the cryogenic fluid would be transported in a suitably thermally insulated tank that would be capable of withstanding the recharge pressure of the destination tank. The tank would be equipped with quick-disconnect fluid-transfer fittings and with a low-power electric heater (which would not be used during transport). In preparation for transport, a relief valve would be attached via one of the quick-disconnect fittings (see figure). During transport, the interior of the tank would be kept at a near-ambient pressure far below the recharge pressure. As leakage of heat into the tank caused vaporization of the cryogenic fluid, the resulting gas would be vented through the relief valve, which would be set to maintain the pressure in the tank at the transport value. Inasmuch as the density of a cryogenic fluid at atmospheric pressure greatly exceeds that of the corresponding gas in a practical high-pressure tank at room temperature, a tank for transporting a given mass of gas according to the proposed method could be smaller (and, hence, less massive) than is a tank needed for transporting the same mass of gas according to the conventional method.

Ungar, Eugene K,↗
NASA NTRS2009

Coupled Neutron Transport for HZETRN

Exposure estimates inside space vehicles, surface habitats, and high altitude aircrafts exposed to space radiation are highly influenced by secondary neutron production. The deterministic transport code HZETRN has been identified as a reliable and efficient tool for such studies, but improvements to the underlying transport models and numerical methods are still necessary. In this paper, the forward-backward (FB) and directionally coupled forward-backward (DC) neutron transport models are derived, numerical methods for the FB model are reviewed, and a computationally efficient numerical solution is presented for the DC model. Both models are compared to the Monte Carlo codes HETC-HEDS, FLUKA, and MCNPX, and the DC model is shown to agree closely with the Monte Carlo results. Finally, it is found in the development of either model that the decoupling of low energy neutrons from the light particle transport procedure adversely affects low energy light ion fluence spectra and exposure quantities. A first order correction is presented to resolve the problem, and it is shown to be both accurate and efficient.

Slaba, Tony C.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Flow prediction for propfan engine installation effects on transport aircraft at transonic speeds

An Euler-based method for aerodynamic analysis of turboprop transport aircraft at transonic speeds has been developed. In this method, inviscid Euler equations are solved over surface-fitted grids constructed about aircraft configurations. Propeller effects are simulated by specifying sources of momentum and energy on an actuator disc located in place of the propeller. A stripwise boundary layer procedure is included to account for the viscous effects. A preliminary version of an approach to embed the exhaust plume within the global Euler solution has also been developed for more accurate treatment of the exhaust flow. The resulting system of programs is capable of handling wing-body-nacelle-propeller configurations. The propeller disks may be tractors or pushers and may represent single or counterrotation propellers. Results from analyses of three test cases of interest (a wing alone, a wing-body-nacelle model, and a wing-nacelle-endplate model) are presented. A user's manual for executing the system of computer programs with formats of various input files, sample job decks, and sample input files is provided in appendices.

Samant, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Electromagnetic scattering in clouds

Techniques used to explain the nature of the optical effects of clouds on the light produced by lightning include a Monte Carlo simulation, an equivalent medium approach, and methods based on Boltzmann transport theory. A cuboidal cloud has been considered using transform methods and a diffusion approximation. Many simplifying assumptions have been used by authors to make this problem tractable. In this report, the cloud will have a spherical shape and its interior will consist of a uniform distribution of identical spherical water droplets. The source will be modeled as a Hertz dipole, electric or magnetic, inside or outside the cloud. An impulsive source is used. Superposition may be employed to obtain a sinusoid within an envelope which describes a lightning event. The problem is investigated by transforming to the frequency domain, obtaining Green's functions, and then using the Cagniard-DeHoop method to symbolically recover the time domain solution.

Solakiewicz, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2011

Probabilistic Risk Assessment Procedures Guide for NASA Managers and Practitioners (Second Edition)

Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) is a comprehensive, structured, and logical analysis method aimed at identifying and assessing risks in complex technological systems for the purpose of cost-effectively improving their safety and performance. NASA's objective is to better understand and effectively manage risk, and thus more effectively ensure mission and programmatic success, and to achieve and maintain high safety standards at NASA. NASA intends to use risk assessment in its programs and projects to support optimal management decision making for the improvement of safety and program performance. In addition to using quantitative/probabilistic risk assessment to improve safety and enhance the safety decision process, NASA has incorporated quantitative risk assessment into its system safety assessment process, which until now has relied primarily on a qualitative representation of risk. Also, NASA has recently adopted the Risk-Informed Decision Making (RIDM) process [1-1] as a valuable addition to supplement existing deterministic and experience-based engineering methods and tools. Over the years, NASA has been a leader in most of the technologies it has employed in its programs. One would think that PRA should be no exception. In fact, it would be natural for NASA to be a leader in PRA because, as a technology pioneer, NASA uses risk assessment and management implicitly or explicitly on a daily basis. NASA has probabilistic safety requirements (thresholds and goals) for crew transportation system missions to the International Space Station (ISS) [1-2]. NASA intends to have probabilistic requirements for any new human spaceflight transportation system acquisition. Methods to perform risk and reliability assessment in the early 1960s originated in U.S. aerospace and missile programs. Fault tree analysis (FTA) is an example. It would have been a reasonable extrapolation to expect that NASA would also become the world leader in the application of PRA. That was, however, not to happen. Early in the Apollo program, estimates of the probability for a successful roundtrip human mission to the moon yielded disappointingly low (and suspect) values and NASA became discouraged from further performing quantitative risk analyses until some two decades later when the methods were more refined, rigorous, and repeatable. Instead, NASA decided to rely primarily on the Hazard Analysis (HA) and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) methods for system safety assessment.

Stamatelatos,Michael↗
NASA NTRS1989

A pseudo-spectral collocation method applied to the problem of convective diffusive transport in fluids subject to unsteady residual accelerations

The problem of determining the sensitivity of Bridgman-Stockbarger directional solidification experiments to residual accelerations of the type associated with spacecraft in low earth orbit is analyzed numerically using a pseudo-spectral collocation method. The approach employs a novel iterative scheme combining the method of artificial compressibility and a generalized ADI method. The results emphasize the importance of the consideration of residual accelerations and careful selection of the operating conditions in order to take full advantages of the low gravity conditions.

Alexander, J. Iwan↗
NASA NTRS1979

Pricing of NASA Space Shuttle transportation system cargo

A two-part pricing policy is investigated as the most feasible method of pricing the transportation services to be provided by NASA's SSTS. Engineering cost estimates and a deterministic operating cost model generate a data base and develop a procedure for pricing the services of the SSTS. It is expected that the SSTS will have a monopoly on space material processing in areas of crystal growth, glass processing, metallurgical space applications, and biomedical processes using electrophoresis which will require efficient pricing. Pricing problems, the SSTS operating costs based on orbit elevation, number of launch sites, and number of flights, capital costs of the SSTS, research and development costs, allocation of joint transportation costs of the SSTS to a particular space processing activity, and rates for the SSTS are discussed. It is concluded that joint costs for commercial cargoes carried in the SSTS can be most usefully handled by making cost allocations based on proportionate capacity utilization.

Hale, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Modeling of the float zone process

The interaction of heat, mass, and momentum transport in the floating zone method for growing single crystals from the melt is examined. Methods for detailed numerical simulation of the transport phenomena in a floating zone are developed. Results of the calculations are combined with experiments to determine the effects of solidification induced, surface tension driven, and buoyancy driven convection in establishing dopant redistribution in the melt and the roles of heat transfer in crystal and melt and melt/solid interface shape in determining crystal quality. State of the art finite element techniques were developed for calculating the influence of natural convection in the melt on the shape of a melt/crystal interface and dopant segregation in the crystal. These techniques are demonstrated for solidification by the Bridgman technique. Numerical techniques are developed that calculate the shapes of both the melt/solid and melt/gas interfaces simultaneously with the thermal fields in melt and solid. Models for the fluid flows due to the rotation of the feed and crystal rods are completed and the effects of these flows on dopant segregation are studied, especially in the case of zones longer than can be achieved on Earth.

Brown, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Developing and utilizing an Euler computational method for predicting the airframe/propulsion effects for an aft-mounted turboprop transport. Volume 2: User guide

This manual explains how to use an Euler based computational method for predicting the airframe/propulsion integration effects for an aft-mounted turboprop transport. The propeller power effects are simulated by the actuator disk concept. This method consists of global flow field analysis and the embedded flow solution for predicting the detailed flow characteristics in the local vicinity of an aft-mounted propfan engine. The computational procedure includes the use of several computer programs performing four main functions: grid generation, Euler solution, grid embedding, and streamline tracing. This user's guide provides information for these programs, including input data preparations with sample input decks, output descriptions, and sample Unix scripts for program execution in the UNICOS environment.

Chen, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS2007

On the Use of Ocean Color Remote Sensing to Measure the Transport of Dissolved Organic Carbon by the Mississippi River Plume

We investigated the use of ocean color remote sensing to measure transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. From 2000 to 2005 we recorded surface measurements of DOC, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), salinity, and water-leaving radiances during five cruises to the Mississippi River Plume. These measurements were used to develop empirical relationships to derive CDOM, DOC, and salinity from monthly composites of SeaWiFS imagery collected from 1998 through 2005. We used river flow data and a two-end-member mixing model to derive DOC concentrations in the river end-member, river flow, and DOC transport using remote sensing data. We compared our remote sensing estimates of river flow and DOC transport with data collected by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from 1998 through 2005. Our remote sensing estimates of river flow and DOC transport correlated well (r2 ~ 0.70) with the USGS data. Our remote sensing estimates and USGS field data showed low variability in DOC concentrations in the river end-member (7-11%), and high seasonal variability in river flow (~50%). Therefore, changes in river flow control the variability in DOC transport, indicating that the remote sensing estimate of river flow is the most critical element of our DOC transport measurement. We concluded that it is possible to use this method to estimate DOC transport by other large rivers if there are data on the relationship between CDOM, DOC, and salinity in the river plume.

DelCastillo, Carlos E.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Development of weight and cost estimates for lifting surfaces with active controls

Equations and methodology were developed for estimating the weight and cost incrementals due to active controls added to the wing and horizontal tail of a subsonic transport airplane. The methods are sufficiently generalized to be suitable for preliminary design. Supporting methodology and input specifications for the weight and cost equations are provided. The weight and cost equations are structured to be flexible in terms of the active control technology (ACT) flight control system specification. In order to present a self-contained package, methodology is also presented for generating ACT flight control system characteristics for the weight and cost equations. Use of the methodology is illustrated.

Anderson, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Interactions of efficiency and material requirements for terrestrial silicon solar cells

The transport velocity transformation method was used to analyze solar cell designs to determine optimum cell structures. It was found that low resistivity materials should be used up to the onset of Auger recombination; a properly designed three-layer structure permits base region approaching an ideal device in performance; and that higher resistivity front regions will need more sophisticated grid metallization structures than those used now. It was concluded that new features will provide idealized silicon cell structures yielding airmass 1 efficiencies in the 24-26.5% range, with real efficiencies near 22%.

Bowler, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Hot relativistic winds and the Crab Nebula

Efforts to formulate a self-consistent model of pulsar magnetospheres which links the particle source near the pulsar to the outflowing relativistic wind and couples the wind to the surrounding nebula are reviewed. The use of a relativistic MHD wind is recommended to account for global photon emission and the invisibility of the method of plasma transport. Consideration of a magnetic monopole relativistic wind due to an axially symmetric aligned rotator is combined with calculations of the initial velocity of the wind to show that the flow velocity in such a model will never exceed Mach 1. Extending the solution to the case of a hot relativistic wind at supersonic speeds is noted to yield results consistent with observations of the Crab Nebula

Fujimura, F. S.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Reactive sintering of SiC

Investigation of the sintering processes involved in the sintering of SiC revealed a connection between the types and quantities of sintering additives or catalysts and densification, initial shrinkage, and weight loss of the sintered SiC material. By sintering processes, is meant the methods of mass transport, namely solid vapor transport and grain boundary diffusion.

Kim, Y. W.↗