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Results for “Wicked Problems”

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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32 records · Page 2

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1993

Transient studies of capillary-induced flow

This paper presents the numerical and experimental results of a study performed on the transient rise of fluid in a capillary tube. The capillary tube problem provides an excellent mechanism from which to launch an investigation into the transient flow of a fluid in a porous wick structure where capillary forces must balance both adverse gravitational effects and frictional losses. For the study, a capillary tube, initially charged with a small volume of water, was lowered into a pool of water. The behavior of the column of fluid during the transient that followed as more water entered the tube from the pool was both numerically and experimentally studied.

Reagan, M. K.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Silicon Heat Pipe Array

Improved methods of heat dissipation are required for modern, high-power density electronic systems. As increased functionality is progressively compacted into decreasing volumes, this need will be exacerbated. High-performance chip power is predicted to increase monotonically and rapidly with time. Systems utilizing these chips are currently reliant upon decades of old cooling technology. Heat pipes offer a solution to this problem. Heat pipes are passive, self-contained, two-phase heat dissipation devices. Heat conducted into the device through a wick structure converts the working fluid into a vapor, which then releases the heat via condensation after being transported away from the heat source. Heat pipes have high thermal conductivities, are inexpensive, and have been utilized in previous space missions. However, the cylindrical geometry of commercial heat pipes is a poor fit to the planar geometries of microelectronic assemblies, the copper that commercial heat pipes are typically constructed of is a poor CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) match to the semiconductor die utilized in these assemblies, and the functionality and reliability of heat pipes in general is strongly dependent on the orientation of the assembly with respect to the gravity vector. What is needed is a planar, semiconductor-based heat pipe array that can be used for cooling of generic MCM (multichip module) assemblies that can also function in all orientations. Such a structure would not only have applications in the cooling of space electronics, but would have commercial applications as well (e.g. cooling of microprocessors and high-power laser diodes). This technology is an improvement over existing heat pipe designs due to the finer porosity of the wick, which enhances capillary pumping pressure, resulting in greater effective thermal conductivity and performance in any orientation with respect to the gravity vector. In addition, it is constructed of silicon, and thus is better suited for the cooling of semiconductor devices.

Yee, Karl Y.↗

NASA NTRS1969

Improved anode design for metal-oxygen cells

Method for returning electrolyte to the anode compartment in metal-oxygen second battery cells eliminates the problem of the anode drying out during charge-discharge cycling. Electrolyte forced out of the separator is returned to the anode by a microporous insert and wicking material.

Arrance, F. C.↗

NASA NTRS1971

Study of a heat rejection system using capillary pumping

Results of an analytical study investigating the application of capillary pumping to the heat rejection loop of an advanced Rankine cycle power conversion system are presented. The feasibility of the concept of capillary pumping as an alternate to electromagnetic pumping is analytically demonstrated. Capillary pumping is shown to provide a potential for weight and electrical power saving and reliability through the use of redundant systems. A screen wick pump design with arterial feed lines was analytically developed. Advantages of this design are high thermodynamic and hydrodynamic efficiency, which provide a lightweight easily packaged system. Operational problems were identified which must be solved for successful application of capillary pumping. The most important are the development of start up and shutdown procedures, and development of a means of keeping noncondensibles from the system and of earth-bound testing procedures.

Neal, L. G.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Interannual Variability of Tropical Ocean Evaporation: A Comparison of Microwave Satellite and Assimilation Results

Remote sensing methodologies for turbulent heat fluxes over oceans depend on driving bulk formulations of fluxes with measured surface winds and estimated near surface thermodynamics from microwave sensors of the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) heritage. We will review recent work with a number of SSM/I-based algorithms and investigate the ability of current data sets to document global, tropical ocean-averaged evaporation changes in association with El Nino and La Nina SST changes. We show that in addition to interannual signals, latent heat flux increases over the period since late 1987 range from approx. .1 to .6 mm/ day are present; these represent trends 2 to 3 times larger than the NCEP Reanalysis. Since atmospheric storage cannot account for the difference, and since compensating evapotranspiration changes over land are highly unlikely to be this large, these evaporation estimates cannot be reconciled with ocean precipitation records such as those produced by the Global Precipitation Climatology Project, GPCP. The reasons for the disagreement include less than adequate intercalibration between SSM/I sensors providing winds and water vapor for driving the algorithms, biases due to the assumption that column integrated water vapor mirrors near surface water vapor variations, and other factors as well. The reanalyses have their own problems with spin-up during assimilation, lack of constraining input data at the ocean surface, and amplitude of synoptic transients.

Robertson, Franklin R.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Discovery: Strategic Foresight – Helping Aviation Find Problems Worth Solving

Strategic foresight is used in the early stages of the CAS (Convergent Aeronautics Solutions) process. We discover trends, needs, and capabilities from interviews with diverse groups of people, data analytics tools, and from publications. These are analyzed in the context of future scenarios to uncover problem areas that have the highest possible impact on the broadest number of people while ensuring that we are prepared for the future.

Foresight Strategy Complex wicked↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Discovery: Strategic Foresight – Helping Aviation Find Problems Worth Solving

Foresight↗

NASA NTRS1997

Miniature Heat Pipes

Small Business Innovation Research contracts from Goddard Space Flight Center to Thermacore Inc. have fostered the company work on devices tagged "heat pipes" for space application. To control the extreme temperature ranges in space, heat pipes are important to spacecraft. The problem was to maintain an 8-watt central processing unit (CPU) at less than 90 C in a notebook computer using no power, with very little space available and without using forced convection. Thermacore's answer was in the design of a powder metal wick that transfers CPU heat from a tightly confined spot to an area near available air flow. The heat pipe technology permits a notebook computer to be operated in any position without loss of performance. Miniature heat pipe technology has successfully been applied, such as in Pentium Processor notebook computers. The company expects its heat pipes to accommodate desktop computers as well. Cellular phones, camcorders, and other hand-held electronics are forsible applications for heat pipes.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1973

Advanced Thermal Control Flight Experiment.

The advanced Thermal Control Flight Experiment on the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS-F) will evaluate, for the first time in a space environment, the performance of a feedback-controlled variable conductance heat pipe and a heat pipe thermal diode. In addition, the temperature control aspects of a phase-change material (PCM) will be demonstrated. The methanol/stainless steel feedback-controlled heat pipe uses helium control gas that is stored in a wicked reservoir. This reservoir is electrically heated through a solid state controller that senses the temperature of the heat source directly. The ammonia/stainless steel diode heat pipe uses excess liquid to block heat transfer in the reverse direction. The PCM is octadecane. Design tradeoffs, fabrication problems, and performance during qualification and flight acceptance tests are discussed.

Kirkpatrick, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Heat pipes in space and on earth

The heat pipe is a closed tube whose inner surfaces are lined with a porous capillary wick. The wick is saturated with the liquid phase of a working fluid. The heat supplied at one end of the tube, the evaporator, causes evaporation of the working fluid. The vapor will pass to the other end of the tube, the condenser, where it will condense and release the latent heat of vaporization to a heat sink in that section of the pipe. Problems concerning a design of heat pipes for space applications are related to certain difficulties regarding the prediction of device performance under zero-g conditions. Heat pipes are usually tested on the ground under the influence of gravity, and then their performance is extrapolated to space. A description is presented of the approaches used to insure good heat pipe performance in space. Attention is given to an international heat pipe experiment conducted to accumulate zero-g performance data for several new and unique heat pipe designs, heat pipes for ATS-6, cryogenic heat pipes, and future activities.

Ollendorf, S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Heat pipe dynamic behavior

The vapor flow in a heat pipe was mathematically modeled and the equations governing the transient behavior of the core were solved numerically. The modeled vapor flow is transient, axisymmetric (or two-dimensional) compressible viscous flow in a closed chamber. The two methods of solution are described. The more promising method failed (a mixed Galerkin finite difference method) whereas a more common finite difference method was successful. Preliminary results are presented showing that multi-dimensional flows need to be treated. A model of the liquid phase of a high temperature heat pipe was developed. The model is intended to be coupled to a vapor phase model for the complete solution of the heat pipe problem. The mathematical equations are formulated consistent with physical processes while allowing a computationally efficient solution. The model simulates time dependent characteristics of concern to the liquid phase including input phase change, output heat fluxes, liquid temperatures, container temperatures, liquid velocities, and liquid pressure. Preliminary results were obtained for two heat pipe startup cases. The heat pipe studied used lithium as the working fluid and an annular wick configuration. Recommendations for implementation based on the results obtained are presented. Experimental studies were initiated using a rectangular heat pipe. Both twin beam laser holography and laser Doppler anemometry were investigated. Preliminary experiments were completed and results are reported.

Issacci, F.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cas Mapping – Helping Aviation Find Problems Worth Solving

The mapping process discovers trends, needs, and capabilities from interviews with diverse groups of people, data analytics tools, and from publications. These are analyzed in the context of future scenarios to uncover problem areas that have the highest possible impact on the broadest number of people while ensuring that we are prepared for the future.

Mapping↗

NASA NTRS2009

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2009

Tech Briefs are short announcements of innovations originating from research and development activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. They emphasize information considered likely to be transferable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. Topics covered include: The Radio Frequency Health Node Wireless Sensor System; Effects of Temperature on Polymer/Carbon Chemical Sensors; Small CO2 Sensors Operate at Lower Temperature; Tele-Supervised Adaptive Ocean Sensor Fleet; Synthesis of Submillimeter Radiation for Spectroscopy; 100-GHz Phase Switch/Mixer Containing a Slot-Line Transition; Generating Ka-Band Signals Using an X-Band Vector Modulator; SiC Optically Modulated Field-Effect Transistor; Submillimeter-Wave Amplifier Module with Integrated Waveguide Transitions; Metrology System for a Large, Somewhat Flexible Telescope; Economical Implementation of a Filter Engine in an FPGA; Improved Joining of Metal Components to Composite Structures; Machined Titanium Heat-Pipe Wick Structure; Gadolinia-Doped Ceria Cathodes for Electrolysis of CO2; Utilizing Ocean Thermal Energy in a Submarine Robot; Fuel-Cell Power Systems Incorporating Mg-Based H2 Generators; Alternative OTEC Scheme for a Submarine Robot; Sensitive, Rapid Detection of Bacterial Spores; Adenosine Monophosphate-Based Detection of Bacterial Spores; Silicon Microleaks for Inlets of Mass Spectrometers; CGH Figure Testing of Aspherical Mirrors in Cold Vacuums; Series-Coupled Pairs of Silica Microresonators; Precise Stabilization of the Optical Frequency of WGMRs; Formation Flying of Components of a Large Space Telescope; Laser Metrology Heterodyne Phase-Locked Loop; Spatial Modulation Improves Performance in CTIS; High-Performance Algorithm for Solving the Diagnosis Problem; Truncation Depth Rule-of-Thumb for Convolutional Codes; Efficient Method for Optimizing Placement of Sensors.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1988

Analytical study of the liquid phase transient behavior of a high temperature heat pipe

The transient operation of the liquid phase of a high temperature heat pipe is studied. The study was conducted in support of advanced heat pipe applications that require reliable transport of high temperature drops and significant distances under a broad spectrum of operating conditions. The heat pipe configuration studied consists of a sealed cylindrical enclosure containing a capillary wick structure and sodium working fluid. The wick is an annular flow channel configuration formed between the enclosure interior wall and a concentric cylindrical tube of fine pore screen. The study approach is analytical through the solution of the governing equations. The energy equation is solved over the pipe wall and liquid region using the finite difference Peaceman-Rachford alternating direction implicit numerical method. The continuity and momentum equations are solved over the liquid region by the integral method. The energy equation and liquid dynamics equation are tightly coupled due to the phase change process at the liquid-vapor interface. A kinetic theory model is used to define the phase change process in terms of the temperature jump between the liquid-vapor surface and the bulk vapor. Extensive auxiliary relations, including sodium properties as functions of temperature, are used to close the analytical system. The solution procedure is implemented in a FORTRAN algorithm with some optimization features to take advantage of the IBM System/370 Model 3090 vectorization facility. The code was intended for coupling to a vapor phase algorithm so that the entire heat pipe problem could be solved. As a test of code capabilities, the vapor phase was approximated in a simple manner.

Roche, Gregory Lawrence↗