Design requirements for SRB production control system. Volume 5: Appendices
A questionnaire to be used to screen potential candidate production control software packages is presented.
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
A questionnaire to be used to screen potential candidate production control software packages is presented.
During the first six month period, the RECON (Regenerative Concepts Group) team collected reference material, made visits to consult with other researchers, and invited distinguished visitors to speak on the status of closed life support activities. A decision was made to develop the data base and modeling such that artificial intelligence (AI) methods could be used to manipulate data and examine concept alternatives. Six discrete tasks and a project schedule were outlined for the first year. The first two tasks have been essentially completed and have resulted in a sample set of assumptions for general use in defining candidate systems and for the specification of closed system characteristics. To model a closed environment, decisions were necessary to establish the amounts of food, air, water and waste products. Although recognized that data would eventually be normalized on the basis of a single human, the amount of data in existence for four person crews led to the decision to use this as a baseline. Information on existing concepts was collected from NASA sources, from industry, and libraries. Concept modeling was begun, hardware and software obtained, technical tasks identified and experimental work initiated.
Achieving consistently high levels of productivity has been a challenge for Mars surface missions. While the rovers have made major discoveries and dramatically increased our understanding of Mars, they often require a great deal of effort from the operations teams, and achieving mission objectives can take longer than anticipated. The objective of this work is to identify changes to flight software and ground operations that enable high levels of productivity with reduced reliance on ground interactions. This will enable the development of Self-Reliant Rovers: rovers that make use of high-level guidance from operators to select their own situational activities and respond to unexpected conditions, all without dependence on ground intervention. In this paper we describe the system we are developing and illustrate how it enables increased mission productivity.
Achieving consistently high levels of productivity has been a challenge for Mars surface missions. While the rovers have made major discoveries and dramatically increased our understanding of Mars, they often require a great deal of effort from the operations teams, and achieving mission objectives can take longer than anticipated. The objective of this work is to identify changes to flight software and ground operations that enable high levels of productivity with reduced reliance on ground interactions. This will enable the development of Self-Reliant Rovers: rovers that make use of high-level guidance from operators to select their own situational activities and respond to unexpected conditions, all without dependence on ground intervention. In this paper we describe the system we are developing and illustrate how it enables increased mission productivity.
The present disclosure provides agricultural compositions and methods of using these compositions to increase plant growth, pathogen resistance and drought tolerance. The agricultural compositions disclosed herein comprise mixtures of mutualistic beneficial fungi such as Laccaria bicolor and Piriformispora indica, and bacterial strains of Pseudomonas.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A method of producing a complex product includes designing a three dimensional preform of the complex product, creating a three dimensional preform of the complex product using the model, depositing a material on the preform, and removing the preform to complete the complex product. In one embodiment the system provides a complex heat sink that can be used in heat dissipation in power electronics, light emitting diodes, and microchips.
The present disclosure provides agricultural compositions and methods of using these compositions to increase plant growth, pathogen resistance and drought tolerance. The agricultural compositions disclosed herein comprise mixtures of mutualistic beneficial fungi such as Laccaria bicolor and Piriformispora indica, and bacterial strains of Pseudomonas.
The CAD/CAM of custom shoes is discussed. The solid object for machining is represented by a wireframe model with its nodes or vertices specified systematically in a grid pattern covering its entire length (point-to-point configuration). Two sets of data from CENCIT and CYBERWARE were used for machining purposes. It was found that the indexing technique (turning the stock by a small angle then moving the tool on a longitudinal path along the foot) yields the best result in terms of ease of programming, savings in wear and tear of the machine and cutting tools, and resolution of fine surface details. The work done using the LASTMOD last design system results in a shoe last specified by a number of congruent surface patches of different sizes. This data format was converted into a form amenable to the machine tool. It involves a series of sorting algorithms and interpolation algorithms to provide the grid pattern that the machine tool needs as was the case in the point to point configuration discussed above. This report also contains an in-depth treatment of the design and production technique of an integrated sole to complement the task of design and manufacture of the shoe last. Clinical data and essential production parameters are discussed. Examples of soles made through this process are given.
With the retirement of the Space Shuttle inevitable, the US is faced with the need to loft a reliable cost-effective, technologically viable solution to bring the nation s fleet of spacecraft back up to industry standard. It must not only support the International Space Station (ISS), it must also be capable of supporting human exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). NASA created the Constellation Program to develop a new fleet including the launch vehicles, the spacecraft, and the mission architecture to meet those objectives. The Ares First Stage Team is tasked with developing a propulsion system capable of safely, dependably and repeatedly lofting that new fleet. To minimize technical risks and development costs, the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) of Shuttle were used as a starting point in the design and production of a new first stage element. While the first stage will provide the foundation, the structural backbone, power, and control for launch, the new propulsive element will also provide a greater total impulse to loft a safer, more powerful, fleet of space flight vehicles. Substantial design and system upgrades were required to meet the mass and trajectory requisites of the new fleet. Noteworthy innovations and design features include new forward structures, new propellant grain geometry, a new internal insulation system, and a state-of-the art avionics system. Additional advances were in materials and composite structures development, case bond liners, and thermal protection systems. Significant progress has been made in the design, development and testing of the propulsion and avionics systems for the new first stage element. Challenges, such as those anticipated with thrust oscillation, have been better characterized, and are being effectively mitigated. The test firing of the first development motor (DM-1) was a success that validated much of the engineering development to date. Substantive data has been collected and analyzed, allowing the Ares First Stage team to move forward, fine-tune the design, and advance to production of the second development motor (DM-2), which is now in fabrication. This paper will provide an overview of the design, development, challenges, and progress on the production of the new Ares First Stage propulsion system
Excessive quantities of samarium-cobalt (Sm-Co) magnet material are being scrapped needlessly due to a lack of understanding of inhomogeneity distribution and unacceptable internal defects. If there is a way to identify, locate, characterize and when needed separate the defective portions of magnet material, utilization can be increased and product quality improved. Further, the magnets’ magnetic and mechanical performance can be improved by reducing the occurrence of internal defects. This paper reports on a cost-effective and efficient nondestructive evaluation method based on an ultrasonic testing (UT) technique applied for detecting and characterizing internal defects in Sm-Co sintered magnets. Applying the UT technique will allow users to comprehensively analyze internal defects, such as inclusions, porosity, microcracks, and other structural irregularities, check for homogeneity and anomalous regions and give the locations of these internal anomalies and defects within the Sm-Co sintered magnets. The UT technique can also be applied to other rare-earth permanent magnets, such as sintered or die-upset neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B) magnets. The UT technique can effectively guide quality control and acceptable product selection, in addition to optimizing the magnet alloy design and production processes. Therefore, it can facilitate the improvement of magnet manufacturing efficiency and machinability, reduce scrap, prolong service life, increase the use of what would be post-production waste, and enhance product reuse and recycling at end-of-life disposition.
Algenol Biotech, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Georgia Institute of Technology, Arizona State University, and Reliance Industries formed a team to advance the state of the art in algal biomass production and downstream processing technologies, with the end goal of a sustainable, economically viable biofuel intermediate (BFI, biocrude) product. The project included examination of high value co-product production as a market entry strategy and for enhancing the economics of a biorefinery for BFI production. The project targeted innovations in biology, operations, and engineering. The goals of the project were: BFI productivity greater than 4,000 gal-BFI/acre-yr on an annualized basis; energy efficient innovations in downstream operations resulting in an energy expenditure less than 10% of the BFI energy content and a carbon footprint reduction of more than 60% compared to fossil alternatives; and a comprehensive Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) that identifies limiting factors for commercial viability of a photobioreactor (PBR)-based biofuel product. The project achieved the overall objectives. Strain development efforts led to the identification of a strain (Cyanobacterium sp. AB1166) that, relative to the previous best strain (Cyanobacterium sp. AB1), exhibited a ~10% increase in productivity under commercially-relevant cultivation conditions and also resulted in cultures with a >50% reduction in viscosity such that harvesting efficiency was improved; these results represent achievement of key project milestones. Progress was also made at NREL in altering the biochemical composition of algal biomass to improve the yield of BFI produced via HTL. These strain enhancements coupled with improved outdoor cultivation practices, including semi-continuous operation, increased areal biomass productivity by nearly 80% over the established baseline productivity. The annualized productivity achieved (26.8 g/m2-d), paired with HTL conversion yields realized at NREL and RIL (38% ± 2% BFI), translates to 4,100 gal-BFI/acre-yr, exceeding the FY20 BETO goal of 3,700 gal-BFI/acre-yr. Significant progress was also demonstrated in large scale PBR-based production system design, operability, and cost reduction. A 24,000-L production module comprised of 240 interlinked PBRs was constructed and successfully operated outdoors for over one year in Fort Myers, Florida. Aided by a state-of-the-art productivity model, the productivities achieved convincingly demonstrated scalability of laboratory results determined at the mL to L scale to large-scale outdoor operations exceeding 20,000 L. The system was used to cultivate Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina), an industrially-relevant cyanobacterium and source for phycocyanin, an approved blue food colorant that Algenol is developing as a risk reduction strategy for future biofuel projects and as a potential business opportunity. A key project milestone to develop phycocyanin extraction and purification technologies was achieved ahead of schedule, and product samples received positive feedback from potential customers. The production and downstream operations data generated in this project were used to conduct and refine Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessments to provide research guidance for reducing the costs and environmental footprint of algal biofuel and co-product manufacturing plants. Several CO 2 supply scenarios for an algal biorefinery were identified as being capable of providing a large (>60%) reduction in carbon footprint in comparison to gasoline. The TEA assessments incorporated detailed comparisons of PBR versus open pond production systems, yielding a 3-fold higher areal productivity for PBRs and suggesting overall production cost parity for the two systems. The progress in this ABY2 project addressed many of the the barriers identified for the Advanced Algal Systems R&D Program and are directly relevant to achieving the established BETO goals associated with large scale biofuel production and cost reduction.
This paper presents experiences of verifying architectural design rules of the NASA Core Flight Software (CFS) product line implementation. The goal of the verification is to check whether the implementation is consistent with the CFS architectural rules derived from the developer's guide. The results indicate that consistency checking helps a) identifying architecturally significant deviations that were eluded during code reviews, b) clarifying the design rules to the team, and c) assessing the overall implementation quality. Furthermore, it helps connecting business goals to architectural principles, and to the implementation. This paper is the first step in the definition of a method for analyzing and evaluating product line implementations from an architecture-centric perspective.
Under the expired ICRADA JSA2012S015 mod 5, JLab collaborated with HZB to design and prototype the high power HOM load for HZB VSR upgrade 1.5GHz cavities and bERLinpro cavities, as well as the optimization of the HOM waveguide thermal design. The scope of work to be contracted with this ICRADA includes: finalize the HZB VSR HOM load design for production; fabricate, test and deliver 30 HOM loads to HZB; design and prototype the HZB VSR HOM waveguide assembly.
A major effort in combustion research at the present time is devoted to the theoretical modeling of practical combustion systems. These include turbojet and ramjet air-breathing engines as well as ground-based gas-turbine power generating systems. The ability to use computational modeling extensively in designing these products not only saves time and money, but also helps designers meet the quite rigorous environmental standards that have been imposed on all combustion devices. The goal is to combine the very complex solution of the Navier-Stokes flow equations with realistic turbulence and heat-release models into a single computer code. Such a computational fluid-dynamic (CFD) code simulates the coupling of fluid mechanics with the chemistry of combustion to describe the practical devices. This paper will focus on the task of developing a simplified chemical model which can predict realistic heat-release rates as well as species composition profiles, and is also computationally rapid. We first discuss the mathematical techniques used to describe a complex, multistep fuel oxidation chemical reaction and develop a detailed mechanism for the process. We then show how this mechanism may be reduced and simplified to give an approximate model which adequately predicts heat release rates and a limited number of species composition profiles, but is computationally much faster than the original one. Only such a model can be incorporated into a CFD code without adding significantly to long computation times. Finally, we present some of the recent advances in the development of these simplified chemical mechanisms.
A major effort in combustion research at the present time is devoted to the theoretical modeling of practical combustion systems. These include turbojet and ramjet air-breathing engines as well as ground-based gas-turbine power generating systems. The ability to use computational modeling extensively in designing these products not only saves time and money, but also helps designers meet the quite rigorous environmental standards that have been imposed on all combustion devices. The goal is to combine the very complex solution of the Navier-Stokes flow equations with realistic turbulence and heat-release models into a single computer code. Such a computational fluid-dynamic (CFD) code simulates the coupling of fluid mechanics with the chemistry of combustion to describe the practical devices. This paper will focus on the task of developing a simplified chemical model which can predict realistic heat-release rates as well as species composition profiles, and is also computationally rapid. We first discuss the mathematical techniques used to describe a complex, multistep fuel oxidation chemical reaction and develop a detailed mechanism for the process. We then show how this mechanism may be reduced and simplified to give an approximate model which adequately predicts heat release rates and a limited number of species composition profiles, but is computationally much faster than the original one. Only such a model can be incorporated into a CFD code without adding significantly to long computation times. Finally, we present some of the recent advances in the development of these simplified chemical mechanisms.
Component and system sensitivities of some design parameters of ISRU system components are analyzed. The differences between terrestrial and lunar excavation are discussed, and a qualitative comparison of large and small excavators is started. The effect of excavator size on the size of the ISRU plant's regolith hoppers is presented. Optimum operating conditions of both hydrogen and carbothermal reduction reactors are explored using recently developed analytical models. Design parameters such as batch size, conversion fraction, and maximum particle size are considered for a hydrogen reduction reactor while batch size, conversion fraction, number of melt zones, and methane flow rate are considered for a carbothermal reduction reactor. For both reactor types the effect of reactor operation on system energy and regolith delivery requirements is presented.
The commercial deployment of Heavy Duty Fuel Cells(HDFC) for applications such as large trucks (for example, Class 8 capable of carrying 50,000 lb. loads) depends vitally on achieving high efficiency and durability at reasonable costs. Furthermore, the HDFC must operate under practical conditions such as with fuel and air impurities, multiple stop-start cycles, and under the extremes of climate our planet offers – from hot and cold to dry and wet. These conditions place a premium on the stability and utilization of the materials comprising the membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) powering the fuel cell. and the current catalysts, MicroPorous Layers, and Electrode structures and additives are insufficient for these needs. In Phase I Pajarito and Advent will develop durable electrocatalysts, MicroPorous Layer and electrode additives, and electrode structures for heavy duty fuel cells designed for zero-emission long-haul trucking. The electrocatalyst products are designed to solve the challenging durability and performance needs of fuel cells designed for long life and high efficiency through a combination of uniquely structured designed catalysts as well as new MicroPorous Layers (MPLs) and electrode structure additives. These improved materials will provide Pajarito both an expanded commercial opportunity in electrocatalysts, as well as new markets for MPL and electrode additives. The resulting public benefits include improved economics of fuel cells, a leading zero-emission technology for mobility, as well as reduced reliance on the critical minerals and metals used in the heavy-duty trucks industry. Possible follow-up Phase II and III projects would add full MEA products based on the Phase I efforts catalysts and additives, with full system validation by leading Fuel Cell Truck developers.