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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

Experiment definition phase shuttle laboratory: LDRL-10.6 experiment

Progress is reported in the development of the space shuttle laboratory laser data relay link. The system transmittance of various surfaces was considered in order to examine the coating tradeoffs for the beryllium mirrors. The results of six coating combinations considered are summarized. It is recommended that silver coatings be used throughout the system. Design of the pre-expander and a preliminary alignment procedure implemented to align all optical elements to the reference mechanical axis (the rotational axis of the outer gimbal bearing located between the two Gregorian telescopes) are included. The local oscillator subsystem, consisting of the laser, Stark cell, Stark cell electronics, power supply, starting circuit, and conditioning optics were completed and installed in the optimechanical subsystem and operation against a 10.6 micrometer source was attempted. Preliminary measurements of the HgCdTe mixer showed that this critical element was inoperative and in subsequent tests the receiver front end electronics had also failed. Possible reasons for these failures and corrective action and steps to prevent future recurrence are discussed.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2011

Determination of Barometric Altimeter Errors for the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 Entry

The EFT-1 mission is the unmanned flight test for the upcoming Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). During entry, the EFT-1 vehicle will trigger several Landing and Recovery System (LRS) events, such as parachute deployment, based on onboard altitude information. The primary altitude source is the filtered navigation solution updated with GPS measurement data. The vehicle also has three barometric altimeters that will be used to measure atmospheric pressure during entry. In the event that GPS data is not available during entry, the altitude derived from the barometric altimeter pressure will be used to trigger chute deployment for the drogues and main parachutes. Therefore it is important to understand the impact of error sources on the pressure measured by the barometric altimeters and on the altitude derived from that pressure. There are four primary error sources impacting the sensed pressure: sensor errors, Analog to Digital conversion errors, aerodynamic errors, and atmosphere modeling errors. This last error source is induced by the conversion from pressure to altitude in the vehicle flight software, which requires an atmosphere model such as the US Standard 1976 Atmosphere model. There are several secondary error sources as well, such as waves, tides, and latencies in data transmission. Typically, for error budget calculations it is assumed that all error sources are independent, normally distributed variables. Thus, the initial approach to developing the EFT-1 barometric altimeter altitude error budget was to create an itemized error budget under these assumptions. This budget was to be verified by simulation using high fidelity models of the vehicle hardware and software. The simulation barometric altimeter model includes hardware error sources and a data-driven model of the aerodynamic errors expected to impact the pressure in the midbay compartment in which the sensors are located. The aerodynamic model includes the pressure difference between the midbay compartment and the free stream pressure as a function of altitude, oscillations in sensed pressure due to wake effects, and an acoustics model capturing fluctuations in pressure due to motion of the passive vents separating the barometric altimeters from the outside of the vehicle.

Brown, Denise L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Meteorological Characterization of Global Dust Sources

The global distribution of absorbing aerosols index (AI) derived from Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) measurements has been used to identify the major sources of atmospheric dust particles [Prospero, et al., 2000]. In this presentation, we will show that the TOMS aerosol index can also be used to the meteorological characterization of the source areas. We found a huge "dust belt" with a strong correlation between the TOMS index and the sea-level pressure wrapping all the major dust sources. To handle the difficulty of using quantitatively the TOMS Al and its strong dependency on the aerosol layer altitude, the Al has been correlated to the planetary boundary layer depth (PBL) and the surface wind speed. The strongest correlation is obtained with the product of these two variables and at the precise location of the dust sources identified by Prospero et al. The relation between the TOMS Al and the product of the PBL height and the surface wind speed has been used to study the interannual variability of the North-Africa dust sources in relation with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Finally, we will show that even on a short time base the variability of the TOMS Al can be related to the surface wind speed and PBL height.

Ginoux, Paul↗
NASA NTRS1995

Combustion of solid fuel slabs with gaseous oxygen in a hybrid motor analog

Using a high-pressure, two-dimensional hybrid motor, an experimental investigation was conducted on fundamental processes involved in hybrid rocket combustion. HTPB (Hydroxyl-terminated- Polybutadiene) fuel cross linked with diisocyanate was burned with GOX under various operating conditions. Large amplitude pressure oscillations were encountered in earlier test runs. After identifying the source of instability and decoupling the GOX feed line system and combustion chamber, the pressure oscillations were drastically reduced from +/- 20% of the localized mean pressure to an acceptable range of +/- 1.5%. Embedded fine-wire thermocouples indicated that the surface temperature of the burning fuel was around 1000 K depending upon axial locations and operating conditions. Also, except near the leading-edge region, the subsurface thermal wave profiles in the upstream locations arc thicker than those in the downstream locations since the solid-fuel regression rate, in general, increases with distance along the fuel slab. The recovered solid fuel slabs in the laminar portion of the boundary layer exhibited smooth surfaces, indicating the existence of a liquid melt layer on the burning fuel surface in the upstream region. After the transition section, which displayed distinct transverse striations, the surface roughness pattern became quite random and very pronounced in the downstream turbulent boundary-layer region. Both real time X-ray radiography and ultrasonic pulse-echo techniques were used to determine the instantaneous web thicknesses and instantaneous solid-fuel regression rates over certain portions of the fuel slabs. Globally averaged and axially dependent but time-averaged regression rates were also obtained and presented. Several tests were conducted using, simultaneously, one translucent fuel slab and one fuel slab processed with carbon black powder. The addition of carbon black did not affect the measured regression rates or surface temperatures in comparison to the translucent fuel slabs.

Chiaverini, Martin J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Fuel decomposition and boundary-layer combustion processes of hybrid rocket motors

Using a high-pressure, two-dimensional hybrid motor, an experimental investigation was conducted on fundamental processes involved in hybrid rocket combustion. HTPB (Hydroxyl-terminated Polybutadiene) fuel cross-linked with diisocyanate was burned with GOX under various operating conditions. Large-amplitude pressure oscillations were encountered in earlier test runs. After identifying the source of instability and decoupling the GOX feed-line system and combustion chamber, the pressure oscillations were drastically reduced from +/-20% of the localized mean pressure to an acceptable range of +/-1.5% Embedded fine-wire thermocouples indicated that the surface temperature of the burning fuel was around 1000 K depending upon axial locations and operating conditions. Also, except near the leading-edge region, the subsurface thermal wave profiles in the upstream locations are thicker than those in the downstream locations since the solid-fuel regression rate, in general, increases with distance along the fuel slab. The recovered solid fuel slabs in the laminar portion of the boundary layer exhibited smooth surfaces, indicating the existence of a liquid melt layer on the burning fuel surface in the upstream region. After the transition section, which displayed distinct transverse striations, the surface roughness pattern became quite random and very pronounced in the downstream turbulent boundary-layer region. Both real-time X-ray radiography and ultrasonic pulse-echo techniques were used to determine the instantaneous web thickness burned and instantaneous solid-fuel regression rates over certain portions of the fuel slabs. Globally averaged and axially dependent but time-averaged regression rates were also obtained and presented.

Chiaverini, Martin J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Combustion of solid fuel slabs with gaseous oxygen in a hybrid motor analog

Using a high-pressure, two-dimensional hybrid motor, an experimental investigation was conducted on fundamental processes involved in hybrid rocket combustion. HTPB (Hydroxyl-terminated Polybutadiene) fuel cross-linked with diisocyanate was burned with gaseous oxygen (GOX) under various operating conditions. Large-amplitude pressure oscillations were encountered in earlier test runs. After identifying the source of instability and decoupling the GOX feed-line system and combustion chamber, the pressure oscillations were drastically reduced from plus or minus 20% of the localized mean pressure to an acceptable range of plus or minus 1.5%. Embedded fine--wire thermocouples indicated that the surface temperature of the burning fuel was around 1000 K depending upon axial locations and operating conditions. Also, except near the leading edge region, the subsurface thermal wave profiles in the upstream locations are thicker than those in the downstream locations since the solid-fuel regression rate, in general, increases with distance along the fuel slab. The recovered solid fuel slabs in the laminar portion of the boundary layer exhibited smooth surfaces, indicating the existence of a liquid melt layer on the burning fuel surface in the upstream region. After the transition section, which displayed distinct transverse striations, the surface roughness pattern became quite random and very pronounced in the downstream turbulent boundary-layer region. Both real-time X-ray radiography and ultrasonic pulse echo techniques were used to determine the instantaneous web thicknesses and instantaneous solid-fuel regression rates over certain portions of the fuel slabs. Globally averaged and axially dependent but time-averaged regression rates were also obtained and presented. Several tests were conducted using, simultaneously, one translucent fuel slab and one fuel slab processed with carbon black powder. The addition of carbon black did not affect the measured regression rates or surface temperatures in comparison to the translucent fuel slabs.

Chiaverini, Martin J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Thrust oscillations of the Space Shuttle solid rocket Booster motor during static tests

Thrust oscillations have occurred during static tests of Space Shuttle Booster solid rocket motors. These oscillations in measured axial thrust occurred primarily near 15 Hz; these oscillations late in the motor burn reach magnitudes up to approximately + or - 3% of motor thrust. The phenomenon has consistently occurred on the four demonstration motors which have been static tested and appears to be associated with small amplitude, 15 Hz pressure oscillations inside the motor. The source of the pressure oscillations is thought to be associated with the fundamental longitudinal acoustic resonance of the motor at 15 Hz. These thrust oscillations potentially can impact the design of the Space Shuttle vehicle structure. The demonstration motors have been instrumented with an array of transducers to aid in understanding the phenomenon. In addition to measuring axial and lateral thrust of the motor, pressure transducers were located to measure chamber pressure oscillations at the forward dome. Accelerometers and extensometers have measured motions of the structure. A modal survey was conducted on a fired motor to identify its structural dynamic characteristics, and these data were used to validate mathematical models of the motor in the static test facility.

Mason, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A preliminary theory of the origin of the 40-50 day oscillation

A theory of the 40 to 50 day oscillation in the tropical atmosphere which encompasses predominantly eastward propagation along the equator, spatial scales of wavenumber 1 and 2, slow time scales (20 to 70 days), and strong amplitude modulation in associated large-scale convective activity as a function of geographical location, i.e., pronounced convection is confined to the Indian Ocean and western Pacific, is presented. An initial disturbance generated near the equator disperses away from the source region, eastward by Kelvin waves and westward by Rossby waves. When the eastward disturbance passes over warm water it is expected to amplify by CISK due to enhanced supply of moisture from the ocean surface. Over cold water, its amplitude is expected to reduce due to decreased moisture supply. The climatological sea surface temperature contrast between the Indian Ocean/western Pacific and the eastern Pacific sets the spatial scale of the wave and its modulation to low wavenumbers and confines pronounced convection to the warm sector. If the eastward propagating wave can maintain itself over dissipation one circuit around the globe, it has a good chance to continue the process indefinitely, provided it is rejunvenated over the warm water with enough energy to go around for the next cycle.

Lau, K. M.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Ultrasonic Leak Detection System

A system for detecting ultrasonic vibrations. such as those generated by a small leak in a pressurized container. vessel. pipe. or the like. comprises an ultrasonic transducer assembly and a processing circuit for converting transducer signals into an audio frequency range signal. The audio frequency range signal can be used to drive a pair of headphones worn by an operator. A diode rectifier based mixing circuit provides a simple, inexpensive way to mix the transducer signal with a square wave signal generated by an oscillator, and thereby generate the audio frequency signal. The sensitivity of the system is greatly increased through proper selection and matching of the system components. and the use of noise rejection filters and elements. In addition, a parabolic collecting horn is preferably employed which is mounted on the transducer assembly housing. The collecting horn increases sensitivity of the system by amplifying the received signals. and provides directionality which facilitates easier location of an ultrasonic vibration source.

Youngquist, Robert C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Tropospheric-stratospheric exchange, part 1.1A

Much of the observational evidence of large scale tropospheric-stratospheric exchange has been obtained by radiosonde and satellite radiane data. So far mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) radars have made mininal contributions, in part due to their recent use as a meteorological tool, intermittent operation at some facilities and sparse geographic distribution. However, as more MST facilities come on-line in more locations, the good time and height resolution data throughtout the troposphere and much of the stratosphere obtainable by MST radars will enhance the detail of stratospheric and tropospheric circulations and interactions. On smaller scales MST radars have already been used to examine convective forcing from the troposphere into the stratosphere and subsequent launching of gravity waves (LARSEN et al., 1982). Observations of persistent turbulent layers in the stratosphere over Arecibo, attributable to inertial oscillations, appear to propagate away from a source region near the tropopause (SATO and WOODMAN, 1982). MST radars offer the availability of high resolution wind data in height and time needed to observe interactions between the troposphere and stratosphere. The lack of geographic coverage (e.g., equatorial regions) and insufficient data bases at many MST facilities presently inhibit studies of large-scale interactions. At present MST radars can be used to examine smaller scale interactions.

Cornish, C. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A 492 GHz cooled Schottky receiver for radio-astronomy

We developed a 492 GHz cooled GaAs Schottky receiver driven by a solid state local oscillator with a DSB noise temperature of 550 K measured at the telescope. The receiver-bandwidth is approx. equal to 1.0 GHz. Quasi-optical mirrors focus the sky and local oscillator radiation into the mixer. Stability analysis via the Allan variance method shows that the total system including a 1 GHz bandwidth acousto-optical spectrometer built in Cologne allows integration times up to 100 sec per half switching cycle. We successfully used the receiver at the KOSMA 3 m telescope on Gornergrat (3150m) located in the central Swiss Alps near Zermatt during January-February 1992 for observations of the 492 GHz, (CI) (3)P1 to (3)P0 fine structure line in several galactic sources. These observations confirm that Gornergrat is an excellent winter submillimeter site in accordance with previous predictions based on the atmospheric opacity from KOSMA 345 GHz measurements.

Hernichel, J.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Observations of Circumstellar Material Around Evolved Stars With the ISI

The U.C. Berkeley Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI) is a stellar interferometer operating in the 9-12 micron region and has been in operation from 1988 until the present. It utilizes heterodyne detection using CO2 laser local oscillators and currently includes two 1.65 m movable telescopes mounted in semi-trailers and baselines up to about 65 m in length. A third telescope is being integrated with the other two and within the next year will operate as an imaging interferometer providing data with three simultaneous baselines and a closure phase, and baselines up to about 75 m. During the past twelve years the ISI has been used extensively for studies of circumstellar material around evolved stars. Multi-epoch observations of a sample of prototypical sources have elucidated the location and time scales for dust formation around these stars. These time scales can be as short as approx.10 years for Mira stars and as long as approx. 100 years for supergiants. For stars like Mira itself there is evidence for departure from spherical symmetry and episodes of dust formation and destruction. For some stars motion of dust has been observed -- IK Tau is one example, and NML Cyg is another. The molecules Silane and Ammonia were observed for the extreme carbon star IRC +10216 and the supergiant VY CMa pinpointing their location relative to the inner radius of the dust shell. Somewhat surprisingly, these molecules were found to form many stellar radii away from the inner radius of the dust shell, implying that they form by interactions with the surfaces of dust grains. Last year observations with the longest baselines lead to new precision diameters of $o$ Ceti and $\alpha$ Orionis, and are continuing on a somewhat larger set of Mira variable and supergiant stars.

Danchi, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Deep-space navigation with differenced data types. Part 3: An expanded information content and sensitivity analysis

An approximate six-parameter analytic model for Earth-based differential range measurements is presented and is used to derive a representative analytic approximation for differenced Doppler measurements. The analytical models are tasked to investigate the ability of these data types to estimate spacecraft geocentric angular motion, Deep Space Network station oscillator (clock/frequency) offsets, and signal-path calibration errors over a period of a few days, in the presence of systematic station location and transmission media calibration errors. Quantitative results indicate that a few differenced Doppler plus ranging passes yield angular position estimates with a precision on the order of 0.1 to 0.4 micro-rad, and angular rate precision on the order of 10 to 25 x 10(exp -12) rad/sec, assuming no a priori information on the coordinate parameters. Sensitivity analyses suggest that troposphere zenith delay calibration error is the dominant systematic error source in most of the tracking scenarios investigated; as expected, the differenced Doppler data were found to be much more sensitive to troposphere calibration errors than differenced range. By comparison, results computed using wideband and narrowband (delta) VLBI under similar circumstances yielded angular precisions of 0.07 to 0.4 micro-rad, and angular rate precisions of 0.5 to 1.0 x 10(exp -12) rad/sec.

Estefan, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

The Design and Performance of IceCube DeepCore

The IceCube neutrino observatory in operation at the South Pole, Antarctica, comprises three distinct components: a large buried array for ultrahigh energy neutrino detection, a surface air shower array, and a new buried component called DeepCore. DeepCore was designed to lower the IceCube neutrino energy threshold by over an order of magnitude, to energies as low as about 10 GeV. DeepCore is situated primarily 2100 m below the surface of the icecap at the South Pole, at the bottom center of the existing IceCube array, and began taking pbysics data in May 2010. Its location takes advantage of the exceptionally clear ice at those depths and allows it to use the surrounding IceCube detector as a highly efficient active veto against the principal background of downward-going muons produced in cosmic-ray air showers. DeepCore has a module density roughly five times higher than that of the standard IceCube array, and uses photomultiplier tubes with a new photocathode featuring a quantum efficiency about 35% higher than standard IceCube PMTs. Taken together, these features of DeepCore will increase IceCube's sensitivity to neutrinos from WIMP dark matter annihilations, atmospheric neutrino oscillations, galactic supernova neutrinos, and point sources of neutrinos in the northern and southern skies. In this paper we describe the design and initial performance of DeepCore.

Stamatikos, M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The distribution of ground ice on Mars

A wealth of geologic evidence indicates that subsurface water ice has played an important role in the evolution of Martian landforms. Theoretical models of the stability of ground ice show that in the near-surface regolith ice is currently stable at latitudes poleward of about +/- 40 deg and below a depth of a few centimeters to a meter, with some variations with longitude. If ice is not previously present at a particular location where it is stable, atmospheric water will diffuse into the regolith and condense as ice, driven by the annual subsurface thermal oscillations. The lower boundary of this ice deposit is found to occur at a depth (typically a few meters) where the annual thermal oscillations give way to the geothermal gradient. In the equatorial regions near-surface ice is currently not stable, resulting in the sublimation of any existing ice and subsequent loss to the atmosphere. However, subliming ice might be maintained at a steady-state depth, where diffusion and loss to the atmosphere are balanced by resupply from a possible deeper source of water (either deeper, not yet depleted, ice deposits or ground water). This depth is typically a few tens to hundreds of meters and depends primarily on the surface temperature and the nature of the geothermal gradient, being deeper for a higher surface temperature and a lower geothermal gradient. Such an equatorial deposit is characterized by the regolith ice content being low nearer the surface and increasing with depth in the deposit. Oscillations in the orbit will affect this picture of ground ice in two ways: by causing periodic changes in the pattern of near-surface stability and by producing subsurface thermal waves that may be capable of driving water ice deeper into the regolith.

Mellon, M. T.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Analysis and design of a high power laser adaptive phased array transmitter

The feasibility of delivering substantial quantities of optical power to a satellite in low earth orbit from a ground based high energy laser (HEL) coupled to an adaptive antenna was investigated. Diffraction effects, atmospheric transmission efficiency, adaptive compensation for atmospheric turbulence effects, including the servo bandwidth requirements for this correction, and the adaptive compensation for thermal blooming were examined. To evaluate possible HEL sources, atmospheric investigations were performed for the CO2, (C-12)(O-18)2 isotope, CO and DF wavelengths using output antenna locations of both sea level and mountain top. Results indicate that both excellent atmospheric and adaption efficiency can be obtained for mountain top operation with a micron isotope laser operating at 9.1 um, or a CO laser operating single line (P10) at about 5.0 (C-12)(O-18)2um, which was a close second in the evaluation. Four adaptive power transmitter system concepts were generated and evaluated, based on overall system efficiency, reliability, size and weight, advanced technology requirements and potential cost. A multiple source phased array was selected for detailed conceptual design. The system uses a unique adaption technique of phase locking independent laser oscillators which allows it to be both relatively inexpensive and most reliable with a predicted overall power transfer efficiency of 53%.

Mevers, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Description of the ISEE satellite-to-satellite kilometric wavelength interferometer system

The International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) spacecraft 1 and 2 carry receivers for detecting electromagnetic waves with kilometric wavelengths. For selected receiver frequencies from 30 kHz to 2 MHz, a 10-kHz bandwidth channel is single-sideband mixed down to baseband. These analog data and a reference frequency, which is a submultiple of the local oscillator frequency, are transmitted to ground stations and tape recorded along with the precise time and frequency information. Cross correlation of these tape recorded signals constitutes a satellite-to-satellite interferometer with a fringe spacing of 0.4 to 41 arcmin (at a range of 10,000 to 100 km spacing between spacecraft for 250 kHz in frequency) and with a time-delay resolution of 32 microsec for a 10-kHz bandwidth, which gives an angular resolution of 3 min to 6 deg of arc. For kilometric radiation at earth, sources in the size range of 25 to 2500 km can be identified (from 20 earth radii) and located in relative position ranging from 0.02 to 2 earth radii, depending on spacecraft spacing. Reception and analysis of solar and Jovian bursts may also be possible.

Shawhan, S. D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Technology Development of a Solid State 266 nm Laser for NASA’s Dragonfly Mission

NASA’s Dragonfly mission is a rotorcraft lander which will explore several geologic locations on Saturn’s moon, Titan and investigate evidence of surface-level prebiotic chemistry as well as search for chemical signatures of water-based and/or hydrocarbon-based life. To perform molecular composition investigations in-situ, the payload includes the Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS), being developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). DraMS will utilize laser desorption mass spectrometry (LDMS) to interrogate surface samples and measure the organic composition. Enabling this science capability is the Throttled Hydrocarbon Analysis by Nanosecond Optical Source (THANOS) laser being developed at NASA-GSFC. The THANOS laser is comprised of a solid state, passively Q-Switched Nd:YAG oscillator which is frequency converted to 266 nm and utilizes a RTP high voltage electro-optic for pulse energy control. The laser outputs <2.0 ns pulses with a maximum energy of approximately 200 uJ which can be emitted in 1 - 50 shot bursts at 100 Hz while performing LDMS science operations. While operating, the laser has the capability to throttle its UV pulse energy output from full attenuation to maximum energy to provide varying levels of fluence on samples in the DraMS instrument. This paper reports the technology development and space qualification effort of the THANOS laser including vibration, thermal vacuum cycling, radiation as well as Titan atmospheric composition optical damage testing performed at NASA-GSFC from 2019 through 2022.

Matthew W Mullin↗