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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 361 records · Page 20

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NASA NTRS1985

Crystal growth for high-efficiency silicon solar cells workshop: Summary

The state of the art in the growth of silicon crystals for high-efficiency solar cells are reviewed, sheet requirements are defined, and furture areas of research are identified. Silicon sheet material characteristics that limit cell efficiencies and yields were described as well as the criteria for the ideal sheet-growth method. The device engineers wish list to the material engineer included: silicon sheet with long minority carrier lifetime that is uniform throughout the sheet, and which doesn't change during processing; and sheet material that stays flat throughout device processing, has uniform good mechanical strength, and is low cost. Impurities in silicon solar cells depreciate cell performance by reducing diffusion length and degrading junctions. The impurity behavior, degradation mechanisms, and variations in degradation threshold with diffusion length for silicon solar cells were described.

Dumas, K. A.↗

NASA NTRS2012

High-Temperature Shape Memory Polymers

physical conformation changes when exposed to an external stimulus, such as a change in temperature. Such materials have a permanent shape, but can be reshaped above a critical temperature and fixed into a temporary shape when cooled under stress to below the critical temperature. When reheated above the critical temperature (Tc, also sometimes called the triggering or switching temperature), the materials revert to the permanent shape. The current innovation involves a chemically treated (sulfonated, carboxylated, phosphonated, or other polar function group), high-temperature, semicrystalline thermoplastic poly(ether ether ketone) (Tg .140 C, Tm = 340 C) mix containing organometallic complexes (Zn++, Li+, or other metal, ammonium, or phosphonium salts), or high-temperature ionic liquids (e.g. hexafluorosilicate salt with 1-propyl-3- methyl imidazolium, Tm = 210 C) to form a network where dipolar or ionic interactions between the polymer and the low-molecular-weight or inorganic compound forms a complex that provides a physical crosslink. Hereafter, these compounds will be referred to as "additives". The polymer is semicrystalline, and the high-melt-point crystals provide a temporary crosslink that acts as a permanent crosslink just so long as the melting temperature is not exceeded. In this example case, the melting point is .340 C, and the shape memory critical temperature is between 150 and 250 C. PEEK is an engineering thermoplastic with a high Young fs modulus, nominally 3.6 GPa. An important aspect of the invention is the control of the PEEK functionalization (in this example, the sulfonation degree), and the thermal properties (i.e. melting point) of the additive, which determines the switching temperature. Because the compound is thermoplastic, it can be formed into the "permanent" shape by conventional plastics processing operations. In addition, the compound may be covalently cross - linked after forming the permanent shape by S-PEEK by applying ionizing radiation ( radiation, neutrons), or by chemical crosslinking to form a covalent permanent network. With respect to other shape memory polymers, this invention is novel in that it describes the use of a thermoplastic composition that can be thermally molded or solution-cast into complex "permanent" shapes, and then reheated or redissolved and recast from solution to prepare another shape. It is also unique in that the shape memory behavior is provided by a non-polymer additive.

Yoonessi, Mitra↗

NASA NTRS1979

Engineering evaluation of existing space hardware for utilization in small self-contained payloads

The NASA small self-contained payload program allows research and development experiments of less than 5 cu ft to be flown in the Orbiter payload bay on a space available basis. Materials processing equipment available from Apollo, Skylab, SPAR, and MEA that include such items as furnaces for metallurgical processing and crystal growth, apparatus for measuring crystallization processes, and electrophoretic separators for cell separation are being offered by NASA through this program. Eighteen items for the self-contained payload program were evaluated and many were found to be suitable.

Lovoi, P. A.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Engineering of Novel Biocolloid Suspensions

Colloidal suspensions are materials with a variety of uses from cleaners and lubricants to food, cosmetics, and coatings. In addition, they can be used as a tool for testing the fundamental tenets of statistical physics. Colloidal suspensions can be synthesized from a wide variety of materials, and in the form of monodisperse particles, which can self-assemble into highly ordered colloidal crystal structures. As such they can also be used as templates for the construction of highly ordered materials. Materials design of colloids has, to date, relied on entropic self-assembly, where crystals form as result of lower free energy due to a transition to order. Here, our goal is to develop a completely new method for materials fabrication using colloidal precursors, in which the self-assembly of the ordered colloidal structures is driven by a highly controllable, attractive interaction. This will greatly increase the range of potential structures that can be fabricated with colloidal particles. In this work, we demonstrate that colloidal suspensions can be crosslinked through highly specific biological crosslinking reactions. In particular, the molecules we use are protein-carbohydrate interactions derived from the immune system. This different driving force for self-assembly will yield different and novel suspensions structures. Because the biological interactions are heterotypic (A binding to B), this chemical system can be used to make binary alloys in which the two colloid subpopulations vary in some property - size, density, volume fraction, magnetic susceptibility, etc. An additional feature of these molecules which is unique - even within the realm of biological recognition - is that the molecules bind reversibly on reasonable time-scales, which will enable the suspension to sample different configurations, and allow us to manipulate and measure the size of the suspension dynamically. Because of the wide variety of structures that can be made from these novel colloids, and because the suspension structure can be altered dynamically, we believe this biocolloid system will yield a novel set of materials with many technological applications, including sensors (both biological and non-biological), optical filters and separation media.

Hammer, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Preliminary design of a supersonic cruise aircraft high-pressure turbine

Development of the supersonic cruise aircraft engine continued in this National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sponsored Pratt and Whitney program for the Preliminary Design of an Advanced High-Pressure Turbine. Airfoil cooling concepts and the technology required to implement these concepts received particular emphasis. Previous supersonic cruise aircraft mission studies were reviewed and the Variable Stream Control Engine (VSCE) was chosen as the candidate or the preliminary turbine design. The design was evaluated for the supersonic cruise mission. The advanced technology to be generated from these designs showed benefits in the supersonic cruise application and subsonic cruise application. The preliminary design incorporates advanced single crystal materials, thermal barrier coatings, and oxidation resistant coatings for both the vane and blade. The 1990 technology vane and blade designs have cooled turbine efficiency of 92.3 percent, 8.05 percent Wae cooling and a 10,000 hour life. An alternate design with 1986 technology has 91.9 percent efficiency and 12.43 percent Wae cooling at the same life. To achieve these performance and life results, technology programs must be pursued to provide the 1990's technology assumed for this study.

Aceto, L. D.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Energy efficient engine component development and integration program

The objective of the Energy Efficient Engine Component Development and Integration program is to develop, evaluate, and demonstrate the technology for achieving lower installed fuel consumption and lower operating costs in future commercial turbofan engines. Minimum goals have been set for a 12 percent reduction in thrust specific fuel consumption (TSFC), 5 percent reduction in direct operating cost (DOC), and 50 percent reduction in performance degradation for the Energy Efficient Engine (flight propulsion system) relative to the JT9D-7A reference engine. The Energy Efficienct Engine features a twin spool, direct drive, mixed flow exhaust configuration, utilizing an integrated engine nacelle structure. A short, stiff, high rotor and a single stage high pressure turbine are among the major enhancements in providing for both performance retention and major reductions in maintenance and direct operating costs. Improved clearance control in the high pressure compressor and turbines, and advanced single crystal materials in turbine blades and vanes are among the major features providing performance improvement. Highlights of work accomplished and programs modifications and deletions are presented.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1981

ATS-6 engineering performance report. Volume:Program and systems summaries: Mechanical and thermal details

The overall mission and spacecraft systems, testing, and operations are summarized. The mechanical subsystems are reviewed, encompassing mechanical design requirements; separation and deployment mechanisms; design and performance evaluation; and the television camera reflector monitor. Thermal control and contamination are discussed in terms of thermal control subsystems, design validation, subsystems performance, the advanced flight experiment, and the quartz-crystal microbalance contamination monitor.

Wales, R. O.↗

NASA NTRS2002

STS 110 Mission Highlights Resource Tape

A continuation of 'STS 110 Mission Highlights Resource Tape'. This video, Part 2 of 4, shows footage from flight days 3 through 5 of STS-110. The flight crew includes Michael J. Bloomfield, Commander; Stephen N. Frick, Pilot; Jerry L. Ross, Mission Specialist; Steven L. Smith, Mission Specialist; Ellen Ochoa, Mission Specialist; Lee M.E. Morin, Mission Specialist; Rex J. Walheim, Mission Specialist. The coverage from flight day 3 includes docking replays of Atlantis and the International Space Station (ISS), and postdocking procedures, as well as intermingling of the flight crew with the Expedition 4 crew (Yury I. Onufrienko, Commander; Daniel W. Bursch, Flight Engineer; Carl E. Walz, Flight Engineer) of the ISS. Flight day 4 includes an EVA (extravehicular activity) in which Walheim and Smith lift the S0 Truss from the payload bay, and temporarily clamp it onto the Destiny laboratory. On flight day 5 a suite of spaceborne experiments (not shown) arrives at Destiny, including protein crystal growth and wheat plant growth experiments. Notable footage includes Hawaii, New Zealand, and sunrise on Atlantis. An unknown object steaks across the field of view during the video, with the Earth in the background. The activities of the other flight days can be seen on 'STS 110 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 1 of 4' (internal ID 2002137575), 'STS 110 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 3 of 4' (internal ID 2002137574), and 'STS 110 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 4 of 4' (internal ID 2002137517).

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1975

Data from a synchronous altitude satellite quartz crystal microbalance monitor

Results of one year's operation in orbit of the Quartz Crystal Microbalance Monitor on the ATS-6 satellite are presented. The data indicate a general decreasing trend for the first four and one-half months in orbit. At that time, a sudden increase in beat frequency occurred; this correlates in time with the firing of the North Cesium Ion Engine. A general increase in beat frequency is evidenced since that time. Laboratory tests conducted to investigate the phenomenon are described.

Rogers, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Fatigue life prediction modeling for turbine hot section materials

This paper presents a summary of the life prediction methods developed under the NASA Lewis Research Center's Hot Section Technology (HOST) program. A major objective of the fatigue and fracture efforts under the HOST program was to significantly improve the analytic life prediction tools used by the aeronautical gas turbine engine industry. This has been achieved in the areas of high-temperature thermal and mechanical fatigue of bare and coated high-temperature superalloys. Such technical improvements will eventually reduce life cycle costs. The cyclic crack initiation and propagation resistance of nominally isotropic polycrystalline alloys and highly anisotropic single crystal alloys has been addressed. A sizeable data base has been generated for three alloys [cast PWA 1455 (B-1900 + Hf), wrought Inconel 718, and cast single crystal PWA 1480] in bare and coated conditions. Two coatings systems, diffusion aluminide (PWA 273) and plasma sprayed MCrAIY overlay (PWA 286) were employed. Life prediction modeling efforts were devoted to creep-fatigue interaction, oxidation, coatings interactions, multiaxiality of stress-strain states, mean stress effects, cumulative damage, and thermomechanical fatigue. The fatigue crack initiation life models developed to date include the Cyclic Damage Accumulation (CDA) Model of Pratt & Whitney and the Total Strain Version of Strainrange Partitioning (TS-SRP) of NASA Lewis for nominally isotropic materials, and the Tensile Hysteretic Energy Model of Pratt & Whitney for anisotropic superalloys. The fatigue model being developed by the General Electric Company is based upon the concepts of Path-lndependent Integrals (PII) for describing cyclic crack growth under complex nonlinear response at the crack tip due to thermomechanical loading conditions. A micromechanistic oxidation crack extension model has been derived by researchers at Syracuse University. The models are described and discussed in the paper. Only limited verification has been achieved to-date as several of the technical programs are still in progress and the verification tasks are scheduled, quite naturally, near the conclusion of the program. To-date, efforts have concentrated on development of independent models for cyclic constitutive behavior, cyclic crack initiation, and cyclic crack propagation. The transition between crack initiation and crack propagation has not been thoroughly researched as yet, and the integration of these models into a unified life prediction method has not been addressed.

Metal fatigue↗

NASA NTRS1988

Preparation for microgravity: The role of the microgravity materials science laboratory

A laboratory dedicated to ground based materials processing in preparation for space flight was established at the NASA Lewis Research Center. Experiments are performed to delineate the effects of gravity on processes of both scientific and commercial interest. Processes are modeled physically and mathematically. Transport model systems are used where possible to visually track convection, settling, crystal growth, phase separation, agglomeration, vapor transport, diffusive flow, and polymers reactions. The laboratory contains apparatus which functionally duplicates apparatus available for flight experiments and other pieces instrumented specifically to allow process characterization. Materials addressed include metals, alloys, salts, glasses, ceramics, and polymers. The Microgravity Materials Science Laboratory is staffed by engineers and technicians from a variety of disciplines and is open to users from industry and academia as well as the government. Examples will be given of the laboratory apparatus typical experiments and results.

Johnston, J. Christopher↗

NASA NTRS1978

HEAO-B and -C engineering design and scientific objectives

The HEAO-B observatory will be launched in late 1978 for a one-year mission to analyze individual X-ray objects and extended sources in detail using a high precision X-ray telescope. The energy range of the telescope is 0.1 keV to 4 keV. Four interchangeable instruments are at the focal plane; a high resolution imaging instrument, an imaging proportional counter, a focal plane crystal spectrometer, and a solid state spectrometer. A monitor proportional counter will collect data independently of the telescope. The HEAO-C observatory is a scanning mission and will be launched in 1979 for six months operation. It will contain two cosmic ray experiments and a gamma ray spectrometer.

Dailey, C. C.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Development of NASA's Sample Cartridge Assembly: Design, Thermal Analysis, and Testing

NASA's Sample Cartridge Assembly (SCA) project is responsible for designing and validating a payload that contains a materials research sample in a sealed environment. The SCA will be heated in the European Space Agency's (ESA) Low Gradient Furnace (LGF) that is housed inside the Material Science Research Rack (MSRR) located in the International Space Station (ISS). Sintered metals and crystal growth experiments in microgravity are examples of some of the types of materials research that may be performed with a SCA. The project's approach has been to use thermal models to guide the SCA through several design iterations. Various layouts of the SCA components were explored to meet the science and engineering requirements, and testing has been done to help prove the design. This paper will give an overview of the SCA design. It will show how thermal analysis is used to support the project. Also some testing that has been completed will also be discussed, including changes that were made to the thermal profile used during brazing.

O'Connor, Brian↗

NASA NTRS2016

Slow Crack Growth of Germanium

The fracture toughness and slow crack growth parameters of germanium supplied as single crystal beams and coarse grain disks were measured. Although germanium is anisotropic (A=1.7), it is not as anisotropic as SiC, NiAl, or Cu, as evidence by consistent fracture toughness on the 100, 110, and 111 planes. Germanium does not exhibit significant slow crack growth in distilled water. (n=100). Practical values for engineering design are a fracture toughness of 0.7 MPam and a Weibull modulus of m=6+/-2. For well ground and reasonable handled coupons, fracture strength should be greater than 30 MPa.

Stress Corrosion Susceptibility↗

NASA NTRS1992

Integration and use of Microgravity Research Facility: Lessons learned by the crystals by vapor transport experiment and Space Experiments Facility programs

The Crystals by Vapor Transport Experiment (CVTE) and Space Experiments Facility (SEF) are materials processing facilities designed and built for use on the Space Shuttle mid deck. The CVTE was built as a commercial facility owned by the Boeing Company. The SEF was built under contract to the UAH Center for Commercial Development of Space (CCDS). Both facilities include up to three furnaces capable of reaching 850 C minimum, stand-alone electronics and software, and independent cooling control. In addition, the CVTE includes a dedicated stowage locker for cameras, a laptop computer, and other ancillary equipment. Both systems are designed to fly in a Middeck Accommodations Rack (MAR), though the SEF is currently being integrated into a Spacehab rack. The CVTE hardware includes two transparent furnaces capable of achieving temperatures in the 850 to 870 C range. The transparent feature allows scientists/astronauts to directly observe and affect crystal growth both on the ground and in space. Cameras mounted to the rack provide photodocumentation of the crystal growth. The basic design of the furnace allows for modification to accommodate techniques other than vapor crystal growth. Early in the CVTE program, the decision was made to assign a principal scientist to develop the experiment plan, affect the hardware/software design, run the ground and flight research effort, and interface with the scientific community. The principal scientist is responsible to the program manager and is a critical member of the engineering development team. As a result of this decision, the hardware/experiment requirements were established in such a way as to balance the engineering and science demands on the equipment. Program schedules for hardware development, experiment definition and material selection, flight operations development and crew training, both ground support and astronauts, were all planned and carried out with the understanding that the success of the program science was as important as the hardware functionality. How the CVTE payload was designed and what it is capable of, the philosophy of including the scientists in design and operations decisions, and the lessons learned during the integration process are descussed.

Heizer, Barbara L.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Design and Fabrication of a Dielectric Total Internal Reflecting Solar Concentrator and Associated Flux Extractor for Extreme High Temperature (2500K) Applications

The Analex Corporation, under contract to the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC), Cleveland, Ohio, recently evaluated the feasibility of utilizing refractive secondary concentrators for solar heat receivers operating at temperatures up to 2500K. The feasibility study pointed out a number of significant advantages provided by solid single crystal refractive devices over the more conventional hollow reflective compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs). In addition to the advantages of higher concentration ratio and efficiency, the refractive concentrator, when combined with a flux extractor rod, provides for flux tailoring within the heat receiver cavity. This is a highly desirable, almost mandatory, feature for solar thermal propulsion engine designs presently being considered for NASA and Air Force thermal applications. Following the feasibility evaluation, the NASA-LeRC, NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Analex Corporation teamed up to design, fabricate, and test a refractive secondary concentrator/flux extractor system for potential use in the NASA-MSFC "Shooting Star" flight experiment. This paper describes the advantages and technical challenges associated with the design methodologies developed and utilized and the material and fabrication limitations encountered.

Soules, Jack A.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Particle Size Calibration Testing in the NASA Propulsion Systems Laboratory

The particle size characterization portion of the 2017 Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) Cloud Calibration is described. The work focuses on characterizing the particle size distribution of the icing cloud as a function of simulated atmospheric conditions.These results will aid in upcoming ice crystal and supercooled liquid icing tests in PSL. Measurements acquired with the Phase Doppler Interferometer and High Speed Imaging instruments are presented. Experimental results indicate that the particle size distribution is primarily a function nozzle air and water pressures, and that air speed is not a significant effect for ice crystal clouds in PSL and both thermodynamic conditions and air speed are not significant effects for supercooled liquid water clouds in PSL.

Engine icing↗

NASA NTRS2019

Particle Size Calibration Testing in the NASA Propulsion Systems Laboratory

Engine Icing↗