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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 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Plasma-assisted physical vapor deposition surface treatments for tribological control

In any mechanical or engineering system where contacting surfaces are in relative motion, adhesion, wear, and friction affect reliability and performance. With the advancement of space age transportation systems, the tribological requirements have dramatically increased. This is due to the optimized design, precision tolerance requirements, and high reliability expected for solid lubricating films in order to withstand hostile operating conditions (vacuum, high-low temperatures, high loads, and space radiation). For these problem areas the ion-assisted deposition/modification processes (plasma-based and ion beam techniques) offer the greatest potential for the synthesis of thin films and the tailoring of adherence and chemical and structural properties for optimized tribological performance. The present practices and new approaches of applying soft solid lubricant and hard wear resistant films to engineering substrates are reviewed. The ion bombardment treatments have increased film adherence, lowered friction coefficients, and enhanced wear life of the solid lubricating films such as the dichalcogenides (MoS2) and the soft metals (Au, Ag, Pb). Currently, sputtering is the preferred method of applying MoS2 films; and ion plating, the soft metallic films. Ultralow friction coefficients (less than 0.01) were achieved with sputtered MoS2. Further, new diamond-like carbon and BN lubricating films are being developed by using the ion assisted deposition techniques.

Spalvins, Talivaldis↗
NASA NTRS1991

Annealing characteristics of irradiated hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells

It was shown that 1 MeV proton irradiation with fluences of 1.25E14 and 1.25E15/sq cm reduces the normalized I(sub SC) of a-Si:H solar cell. Solar cells recently fabricated showed superior radiation tolerance compared with cells fabricated four years ago; the improvement is probably due to the fact that the new cells are thinner and fabricated from improved materials. Room temperature annealing was observed for the first time in both new and old cells. New cells anneal at a faster rate than old cells for the same fluence. From the annealing work it is apparent that there are at least two types of defects and/or annealing mechanisms. One cell had improved I-V characteristics following irradiation as compared to the virgin cell. The work shows that the photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PDS) and annealing measurements may be used to predict the qualitative behavior of a-Si:H solar cells. It was anticipated that the modeling work will quantitatively link thin film measurements with solar cell properties. Quantitative predictions of the operation of a-Si:H solar cells in a space environment will require a knowledge of the defect creation mechanisms, defect structures, role of defects on degradation, and defect passivation and annealing mechanisms. The engineering data and knowledge base for justifying space flight testing of a-Si:H alloy based solar cells is being developed.

Payson, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Head-coupled remote stereoscopic camera system for telepresence applications

The Virtual Environment Workstation Project (VIEW) at NASA's Ames Research Center has developed a remotely controlled stereoscopic camera system that can be used for telepresence research and as a tool to develop and evaluate configurations for head-coupled visual systems associated with space station telerobots and remore manipulation robotic arms. The prototype camera system consists of two lightweight CCD video cameras mounted on a computer controlled platform that provides real-time pan, tilt, and roll control of the camera system in coordination with head position transmitted from the user. This paper provides an overall system description focused on the design and implementation of the camera and platform hardware configuration and the development of control software. Results of preliminary performance evaluations are reported with emphasis on engineering and mechanical design issues and discussion of related psychophysiological effects and objectives.

Bolas, M. T.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Airframe Noise

Current understanding of airframe noise was reviewed as represented by experiment at model and full scale, by theoretical modeling, and by empirical correlation models. The principal component sources are associated with the trailing edges of wing and tail, deflected trailing edge flaps, flap side edges, leading edge flaps or slats, undercarriage gear elements, gear wheel wells, fuselage and wing boundary layers, and panel vibration, together with many minor protrusions like radio antennas and air conditioning intakes which may contribute significantly to perceived noise. There are also possibilities for interactions between the various mechanisms. With current engine technology, the principal airframe noise mechanisms dominate only at low frequencies, typically less than 1 kHz and often much lower, but further reduction of turbomachinery noise in particular may make airframe noise the principal element of approach noise at frequencies in the sensitive range.

Trailing-Edge↗
NASA NTRS1992

Computational structures technology and UVA Center for CST

Rapid advances in computer hardware have had a profound effect on various engineering and mechanics disciplines, including the materials, structures, and dynamics disciplines. A new technology, computational structures technology (CST), has recently emerged as an insightful blend between material modeling, structural and dynamic analysis and synthesis on the one hand, and other disciplines such as computer science, numerical analysis, and approximation theory, on the other hand. CST is an outgrowth of finite element methods developed over the last three decades. The focus of this presentation is on some aspects of CST which can impact future airframes and propulsion systems, as well as on the newly established University of Virginia (UVA) Center for CST. The background and goals for CST are described along with the motivations for developing CST, and a brief discussion is made on computational material modeling. We look at the future in terms of technical needs, computing environment, and research directions. The newly established UVA Center for CST is described. One of the research projects of the Center is described, and a brief summary of the presentation is given.

Noor, Ahmed K.↗
NASA NTRS1992

On the role of secondary instabilities in laminar-turbulent transition of 2D and 3D boundary layers

The accurate prediction of laminar/turbulent transition is one of the fundamental problems in engineering fluid mechanics. There is almost unanimous consent that such a transition criterion should come from stability theory. Linear primary stability theory describes the initial stage of transition, but falls short of predicting transition. Only in conjunction with empirical correlations, the widely used e(sup n) method is obtained, which, however, lacks a solid physical base. Three-dimensional secondary instabilities are known to play an important role in the transition process. However, no use has been made so far of secondary instabilities, instability interactions or wave resonances to define a 'transition location'. The paper summarizes new attempts to identify certain interaction and resonance phenomena within the laminar-turbulent transition regime in two and three-dimensional boundary layers which are associated with rapid structural and temporal changes of fluctuations beyond their exponential growths.

Dallman, Uwe↗
NASA NTRS1993

European aerospace science and technology, 1992: A bibliography with indexes

This bibliography contains 1916 annotated references to reports and journal articles of European intellectual origin entered into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during 1992. Representative subject areas include: spacecraft and aircraft design, propulsion technology, chemistry and materials, engineering and mechanics, earth and life sciences, communications, computers and mathematics, and the natural space sciences.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2005

Propellant Slosh Analysis for the Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission, part of the Living With a Star program, is a geosynchronous satellite with tight pointing requirements. Due to a large amount of liquid propellant, a detailed slosh analysis is required to ensure the tight pointing budget can be satisfied. Much of the high fidelity slosh analysis and simulation has been performed via computational fluid dynamics. Even though this method of simulation is very accurate, it requires significant computational effort and specialized knowledge, limiting the ability of the SDO project to access fluid dynamics simulations at will. Furthermore, it is very difficult to incorporate most of these models into simulations of the overall spacecraft and its environment. Ultimately, the effects of the propellant slosh on the attitude stability and pointing performance of the entire spacecraft are of great interest to attitude control engineers. Equivalent mechanical models, such as models that approximate the fluid slosh effects by analogy to the movements of a point-mass pendulum, are important tools in simulating propellant slosh dynamics as part of the entire attitude determination and control system. This paper describes some of the current methods used to analyze and model slosh. It focuses on equivalent mechanical models and their incorporation into control-based analysis tools such as Simulink. The SDO mission is used as the case study for this work.

Mason, Paul A. C.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Integrated Evaluation of Closed Loop Air Revitalization System Components

NASA s vision and mission statements include an emphasis on human exploration of space, which requires environmental control and life support technologies. This Contractor Report (CR) describes the development and evaluation of an Air Revitalization System, modeling and simulation of the components, and integrated hardware testing with the goal of better understanding the inherent capabilities and limitations of this closed loop system. Major components integrated and tested included a 4-Bed Modular Sieve, Mechanical Compressor Engineering Development Unit, Temperature Swing Adsorption Compressor, and a Sabatier Engineering and Development Unit. The requisite methodolgy and technical results are contained in this CR.

Murdock, K.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Primary Objective Grating Astronomical Telescope

It has been 370 years since a seventeenth century French mathematician, Mersenne, presciently sketched out an astronomical telescope based on dual parabolic reflectors. Since that time the concept of the primary objective has been virtually unchanged. Now a new class of astronomical telescope with a primary objective grating (POG) has been studied as an alternative. The POG competes with mirrors, in part, because diffraction gratings provide the very chromatic dispersion that mirrors defeat. The resulting telescope deals effectively with long-standing restrictions on multiple object spectroscopy (MOS). Other potential benefits include unprecedented apertures and collection areas. The new design also favors space deployment as a gossamer membrane. The inventor, Tom Ditto, first discovered that higher-order diffraction images contain hidden depth cues, for which he was granted a seminal range finding patent in 1987. Subsequently, he invented and patented 3D localizers, profilometers and microscopes using POGs. The POG telescope was placed in the public domain to expedite research. The function of a telescopes primary objective is to collect flux and to deliver images. Both functions dictate that size matters, and bigger is better. For that reason, there has been a steady push over the past century to ramp up the size of the primary mirror. However, for every doubling of mirror diameter, the elapsed time between initial effort and first light has also doubled. Meanwhile, costs escalated beyond the mirror alone, because larger instruments required larger enclosures and better pointing mechanisms. One key catalog of observation, spectrographic data, is far more difficult to amass than two-dimensional imagery. While the number of observable objects has increased with mirror size, the capacity to take spectra has not increased proportionately. In the best of circumstances, spectrograms are available for one per cent of the all objects surveyed. Spectroscopy was a historical afterthought introduced in the nineteenth century shortly after the invention of the diffraction grating and over a century after Newtons 1670 telescope. Spectroscopy is generally accomplished using a diffraction grating as the disperser in the secondary. The light being delivered to the spectrograph is first captured by a primary mirror which provides no chromatic magnification by itself. Sizeable spectrographs could not be deployed while diffraction gratings were rare commodities scribed using mechanical ruling engines that produced one grating line at a time. Today diffraction gratings are commonplace. Their recent availability is a product of both the invention of holography and the mass replication of surface microstructures. Holography permits all lines in a grating to be made simultaneously in a single photographic exposure. Holograms can then be reproduced by embossing processes. The improvement in replication is analogous to how Gutenberg changed the availability of books. The masters may be expensive, but the copies are not. Computer science is another technology that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century without which our proposed spectrographic instrument could not function due to the complexity of image processing required in data reduction. The employment of very large diffraction gratings as primary objectives for astronomical telescopes requires a novel

spectroscopy↗
NASA NTRS2019

In Space Assembled Telescope (ISAT) Study Preliminary Findings

“When is it advantageous to assemble telescopes in space rather than deploying them from launch vehicle fairings”? This question forms the crux of the objectives of a NASA study we have been conducting in collaboration with colleagues from different NASA centers, industry and academia. In this study, we have engaged a broad cross section of experts from the various fields of optics engineering, that is, telescope design and instrument design, structure and thermal engineering, robotics, launch system engineering, orbital mechanics, integration and testing, astrophysics, and NASA programmatics among others. Initial efforts began with a quick review of the current state of art of the component technologies that contribute towards an in-space assembled telescope. Then, leveraging the collective expertise of the diverse group of experts, we formulated a reference telescope design and attempted to develop a baseline approach to modularize the telescope into components amenable for robotic assembly. The group identified different trades associated with modularization and also developed a set of criteria to discern between the different options as revealed by the trades. Based on the modularization of the telescope, we will assess the impact of various launch vehicles, orbits for assembly and operation, robotic systems and operational approaches, and other related variables. From this, a concept to assemble the reference telescope in space from modular components will be developed. Based on this concept, and definition of the modules, we will develop a mission lifecycle plan for an assembled telescope over different phases of preliminary design, detailed design, assembly-test-and-integration, and in space operations. The mission lifecycle plan will be used to evaluate cost and risk implications of in-space assembly toward answering our fundamental question of the advantages, if any, of assembling a telescope in space as compared to self-deployment. In this paper, we summarize the objectives of the study, a review of the status of the underlying component technologies, a description of the methodology, including three different multi-day technical interchange meetings (TIMs), summary of findings from the TIMs and other related activities. In addition, a detailed description of the various factors that impact in-space assembly, their interplay and criteria for discerning among them, a preliminary description of the life cycle plan, including the test and integration plan, and initial observations on cost and risk implications will be included in the paper.

Mukherjee, Rudranarayan↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

PowerCell aboard the EuCROPIS satellite - Results from the first synthetic biology experiment in space

Synthetic biology is the design and construction of new biological parts and systems not found in nature, a technology that we believe will be a game-changing technology for space exploration. The PowerCell concept is an ecology based on photosynthetic microbes taking advantage of in situ materials and energy to generate, on-demand, useful products (food, fuel, cloths, drugs, etc.) that satisfy specific needs of long-term human presence away from Earth. This first PowerCell experiment is testing this concept as well as several key mechanisms of engineering biology in a 48-well plate microfluidics system. NASA's PowerCell experiment was loaded in the fluidics system at NASA Ames in May 2016, and subsequently integrated on the DLR's compact satellite Eu:CROPIS (Euglena Combined Regenerative Organic food Production In Space), as a secondary payload. Launched into Earth’s orbit from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA, in December 3, 2019, the Eu:CROPIS platform has provided an artificial gravity through rotational acceleration, simulating gravity ranges compatible to those found on Mars and on the Moon, as well as microgravity in the absence of acceleration. Each set of biological experiments performed at Earth's orbit was compared to ground controls. Over 400 days' worth of mission data showed that all hardware and software worked as planned, and microbial growth was observed in all four gravity regimes, including growth on cyanobacterial cell extract in three out of four gravity regimes. The genetic transformation experiment was successful in microgravity and provided valuable long-term reagent stability data, including antibiotic efficacy. The demonstrated ability of hardy bacterial spores to recover from a long-term stasis period will be fundamental for deep human space missions. Lessons learned from hardware design to experimental operations are leading to improved designs and capabilities for future missions.

Ivan Glaucio Paulino Lima↗
NASA NTRS2021

NASA Engineering and Safety Center Technical Bulletin No. 21-02: Genesis Flight Mechanics Simulation

Genesis Flight Mechanics Simulation The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) consolidated and modernized a suite of legacy flight mechanics simulations, including the Flight Analysis and Simulation Tool (FAST), resulting in Genesis, a generic, multi-vehicle, variable-degree-of-freedom flight mechanics simulation for ascent, aerocapture, entry, descent, and landing (A2EDL) trajectory design. Genesis is more flexible, capable, and performant than FAST. It enables trajectory optimization and interactive trajectory generation. Its interoperability with Copernicus, an exo-atmospheric and interplanetary trajectory design tool, facilitates end-to-end trajectory optimization across all mission phases. Genesis is implemented in Julia, a new language for technical computing that combines the ease of use of scripting languages with the run-time performance of compiled languages.

EDL↗
NASA NTRS2014

Development Testing and Subsequent Failure Investigation of a Spring Strut Mechanism

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) and Lockheed Martin (LM) performed random vibration testing on a single spring strut development unit to assess its ability to withstand qualification level random vibration environments. Failure of the strut while exposed to random vibration resulted in a follow-on failure investigation, design changes, and additional development tests. This paper focuses on the results of the failure investigations referenced in detail in the NESC final report including identified lessons learned to aid in future design iterations of the spring strut and to help other mechanism developers avoid similar pitfalls.

Dervan, Jared↗
NASA NTRS2014

Development Testing and Subsequent Failure Investigation of a Spring Strut Mechanism

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) and Lockheed Martin (LM) performed random vibration testing on a single spring strut development unit to assess its ability to withstand qualification level random vibration environments. Failure of the strut while exposed to random vibration resulted in a follow-on failure investigation, design changes, and additional development tests. This paper focuses on the results of the failure investigations referenced in detail in the NESC final report [1] including identified lessons learned to aid in future design iterations of the spring strut and to help other mechanism developers avoid similar pitfalls.

Dervan, Jared↗