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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2007

Lunar Lander Structural Design Studies at NASA Langley

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently developing mission architectures, vehicle concepts and flight hardware to support the planned human return to the Moon. During Phase II of the 2006 Lunar Lander Preparatory Study, a team from the Langley Research Center was tasked with developing and refining two proposed Lander concepts. The Descent-Assisted, Split Habitat Lander concept uses a disposable braking stage to perform the lunar orbit insertion maneuver and most of the descent from lunar orbit to the surface. The second concept, the Cargo Star Horizontal Lander, carries ascent loads along its longitudinal axis, and is then rotated in flight so that its main engines (mounted perpendicular to the vehicle longitudinal axis) are correctly oriented for lunar orbit insertion and a horizontal landing. Both Landers have separate crew transport volumes and habitats for surface operations, and allow placement of large cargo elements very close to the lunar surface. As part of this study, lightweight, efficient structural configurations for these spacecraft were proposed and evaluated. Vehicle structural configurations were first developed, and preliminary structural sizing was then performed using finite element-based methods. Results of selected structural design and trade studies performed during this activity are presented and discussed.

Wu, K. Chauncey↗
NASA NTRS1993

Micro-precision control/structure interaction technology for large optical space systems

The CSI program at JPL is chartered to develop the structures and control technology needed for sub-micron level stabilization of future optical space systems. The extreme dimensional stability required for such systems derives from the need to maintain the alignment and figure of critical optical elements to a small fraction (typically 1/20th to 1/50th) of the wavelength of detected radiation. The wavelength is about 0.5 micron for visible light and 0.1 micron for ultra-violet light. This lambda/50 requirement is common to a broad class of optical systems including filled aperture telescopes (with monolithic or segmented primary mirrors), sparse aperture telescopes, and optical interferometers. The challenge for CSI arises when such systems become large, with spatially distributed optical elements mounted on a lightweight, flexible structure. In order to better understand the requirements for micro-precision CSI technology, a representative future optical system was identified and developed as an analytical testbed for CSI concepts and approaches. An optical interferometer was selected as a stressing example of the relevant mission class. The system that emerged was termed the Focus Mission Interferometer (FMI). This paper will describe the multi-layer control architecture used to address the FMI's nanometer level stabilization requirements. In addition the paper will discuss on-going and planned experimental work aimed at demonstrating that multi-layer CSI can work in practice in the relevant performance regime.

Sirlin, Samuel W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A simple 5-DOF walking robot for space station application

Robots on the NASA space station have a potential range of applications from assisting astronauts during EVA (extravehicular activity), to replacing astronauts in the performance of simple, dangerous, and tedious tasks; and to performing routine tasks such as inspections of structures and utilities. To provide a vehicle for demonstrating the pertinent technologies, a simple robot is being developed for locomotion and basic manipulation on the proposed space station. In addition to the robot, an experimental testbed was developed, including a 1/3 scale (1.67 meter modules) truss and a gravity compensation system to simulate a zero-gravity environment. The robot comprises two flexible links connected by a rotary joint, with a 2 degree of freedom wrist joints and grippers at each end. The grippers screw into threaded holes in the nodes of the space station truss, and enable it to walk by alternately shifting the base of support from one foot (gripper) to the other. Present efforts are focused on mechanical design, application of sensors, and development of control algorithms for lightweight, flexible structures. Long-range research will emphasize development of human interfaces to permit a range of control modes from teleoperated to semiautonomous, and coordination of robot/astronaut and multiple-robot teams.

Brown, H. Benjamin, Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Subvoxel Control of Fiber Orientation via Multidirectional Shearing in 3D Printing

Anisotropy, the characteristic of materials exhibiting different properties based on their direction, is widespread in nature. Conventional manufacturing techniques often fall short in recreating such complex anisotropy. While 3D printing allows for precise fiber deposition in anisotropic composites, previous studies have only achieved bulk reorientation of fibers at the voxel level in two dimensions. This limits the replication of localized 3D anisotropies found in natural materials. To address this, a novel 3D printing technique is presented that enables subvoxel control of fiber orientation in all three directions using multidirectional shearing via nozzle rotation and inclination. The fiber orientation control in these experimental tests is driven by a numerical model, enabling a fully digital approach to program microstructures within a strand. This programmability is demonstrated through mechanical and thermal tests, illustrating a localized and controllable response to external stimuli. Achieving such complex anisotropy holds potential across several fields, including wearables and biomedical implants, lightweight composite structures, and energy storage technologies such as batteries and supercapacitors.

3D printing↗
DOE OSTI2022

High strain rate deformation of aged TRIP Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (wt.%) examined by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction

Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) is a promising avenue for tailoring the work hardening response of metastable $β$ titanium (Ti) alloys. Here we show that aged TRIP Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (wt.%) maintains higher elongations and flow stresses as strain rate increases, if phase stability and microstructural characteristics are tuned. Low temperature aging influences the matrix $β$ phase stability by $ω$ phase precipitation, which affords a promising way to impact the TRIP effect and obtain desirable mechanical properties, ranging from high damping capacity to good strength/ductility combinations. Although TRIP is active during quasi-static and dynamic testing up to 2000 s –1 , increasing aging time and/or strain rate reduces the overall propensity for the TRIP effect and extent of transformation, which occurs rapidly just at the onset of yielding. Importantly, TRIP with $ω$ phase precipitation provides interesting alloying, microstructure, and property design strategies for engineering applications like lightweight protective structures, where high strains and the need for energy absorption are encountered.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Beyond interpolation: Physics-inspired gating transformers for extrapolating irradiation conditions to novel nuclear fuels

The qualification of advanced nuclear fuels relies on irradiation experiments in test reactors that emulate commercial conditions. Designing these tests requires accurate prediction of key irradiation quantities, particularly heat generation rate and burnup, yet obtaining them typically involves computationally expensive multi-step simulation workflows. We propose a physics-inspired gating transformer (PIGT) that integrates an inverse-square, distance-based attenuation into the encoder representation to bias attention toward physically relevant spatial relationships while retaining data-driven flexibility. Using MiniFuel irradiation data from the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we benchmark against ensemble methods, feedforward and recurrent networks, convolutional models, and standard transformers. While baseline models perform well under interpolation, they exhibit a pronounced generalization gap when evaluated on fuels not included in the training set. The proposed model consistently improves extrapolative accuracy and stability, yielding the strongest performance on unseen fuel configurations. These results indicate that a lightweight physics structure embedded within attention mechanisms can substantially improve robustness, enabling more reliable surrogate predictions to accelerate the design of nuclear fuel irradiation experiments.

Fuel qualification↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mechanical design of the highly porous cuttlebone: A bioceramic hard buoyancy tank for cuttlefish

Cuttlefish, a unique group of marine mollusks, produces an internal biomineralized shell, known as cuttlebone, which is an ultra-lightweight cellular structure (porosity, ~93 vol%) used as the animal’s hard buoyancy tank. Although cuttlebone is primarily composed of a brittle mineral, aragonite, the structure is highly damage tolerant and can withstand water pressure of about 20 atmospheres (atm) for the species Sepia officinalis . Currently, our knowledge on the structural origins for cuttlebone’s remarkable mechanical performance is limited. Combining quantitative three-dimensional (3D) structural characterization, four-dimensional (4D) mechanical analysis, digital image correlation, and parametric simulations, here we reveal that the characteristic chambered “wall–septa” microstructure of cuttlebone, drastically distinct from other natural or engineering cellular solids, allows for simultaneous high specific stiffness (8.4 MN∙m/kg) and energy absorption (4.4 kJ/kg) upon loading. We demonstrate that the vertical walls in the chambered cuttlebone microstructure have evolved an optimal waviness gradient, which leads to compression-dominant deformation and asymmetric wall fracture, accomplishing both high stiffness and high energy absorption. Moreover, the distribution of walls is found to reduce stress concentrations within the horizontal septa, facilitating a larger chamber crushing stress and a more significant densification. Overall, the design strategies revealed here can provide important lessons for the development of low-density, stiff, and damage-tolerant cellular ceramics.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Extending Ultrasonic Welding Techniques to New Material Pairs (FY 2023 Annual Progress Report)

Modern multimaterial vehicles require joining of various lightweight materials, such as aluminum (Al) and magnesium (Mg) alloys and carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP), with advanced high-strength steels together to form a high-performance and lightweight body structure. A variety of joining methodologies (e.g., resistance spot welding, adhesive bonding, linear fusion welding, hemming, clinching, bolting, riveting) have been attempted by the automotive industry to join different materials. Often, these joining techniques are limited to only certain material combinations. For capital and operational cost, automobile original equipment manufacturers need to limit the number of joining technologies implemented on an assembly line.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Aeroelastic Analysis Using Deforming Cartesian Grids

Ongoing work in air-vehicle design illustrates the potential of advanced concepts to provide significant improvements in efficiency; but with their incorporation of lightweight flexible structures, such configurations may require active control systems to ensure reliability and safety. However, many contemporary analysis methods are inefficient for aeroelastic analysis and design of such configurations. This paper describes the development of a new approach that automates the geometry setup, mesh generation, and assembly of fluid–structural coupling interfaces to enable efficient aeroelastic and aeroservoelastic analysis of advanced concepts. The core elements for this approach are a cut-cell Cartesian grid-based computational fluid dynamics solver, a nonlinear beam element structural model, a conservative fluid–structural interface treatment, and the formulation and implementation of a new deforming grid capability within the cut-cell Cartesian grid solver. In this paper, emphasis is on this latter component with detailed description given of the mesh motion strategy, evaluation of fluxes and structural loads at the surface, and computation of geometrical properties such as cell volume, directed face areas, centroids, and motion-induced fluxes for deforming Cartesian grids required to advance the flow states. Aeroelastic simulations exercising the capability show favorable agreement with data and predictions in the literature for subsonic and supersonic applications.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1960

VII. Some structual and materials considerations for manned military aircraft

The design of lightweight, efficient structures is one of the fundamental requirements for achievement of high performance in military aircraft. In this paper some of the structural and materials considerations that are important to the strength, weight, and integrity of aircraft structures are reviewed. A comparison of some structural materials is made on the basis of weight-strength and tear resistance. In the area of structural design, the relative weights of several types of construction that are of current interest are reviewed and the influence of different materials and the effects of the related temperatures on structural weight are indicated. Lastly, other factors that are of importance in structural design of future aircraft are discussed. These include strength under nonuniform temperatures, creep, sonic fatigue, and panel flutter.

Structural material↗
NASA NTRS1968

Panelized high performance multilayer insulation

Multilayer insulation coverings with low conductivity foam spacers are interleaved with quarter mil aluminized polymer film radiation shields to cover flight type liquid hydrogen tankage of space vehicles with a removable, structurally compatible, lightweight, high performance cryogenic insulation capable of surviving extended space mission environments.

Burkley, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Design for advanced insulation systems

The design of principal multilayer insulation (MLI) systems being investigated by Marshall Space Flight Center and its contractors for application to flight-type cryogenic tankage for long-term storage in space vehicles is described. The MLI systems were designed for application to a 105 in. diameter cryogenic test tank to simulate full-scale design and installation methods representative of flight-type hardware. The MLI systems selected for design represent systems suitable for use on space vehicles such as the modular nuclear vehicles that require application of thicknesses up to 6 in. The MLI systems are lightweight and structurally efficient.

Walters, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Welding fixture for thin metal parts

Approach of supporting entire part contour and applying uniform pressure to joints is useful in fabricating other lightweight metal structures. Fixture has three essential components: spring-finger collet that applies pressure to joint, compressing device for tightening collet, and mandrel that supports parts. Besides preserving contour of parts, mandrel also functions as heat sink.

Mcclure, S. R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

An evaluation of low-cost payload carrier

Payload carrier designed for space vehicles is essentially cargo carrier that supports, positions, and protects various equipment and materials used in conducting experiments in weightless space environment. Proposed carrier entitled Materials Experiment Assembly II (MEA-II) is considered superior to previously developed models in size, weight, and cost to user. Structure is lightweight with insulated exterior and can be custom sized to meet user needs.

Yost, V. H.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Glass polyimide honeycomb cores for advanced space transportation systems

The use of a glass fiber reinforced polyimide honeycomb was considered for various applications requiring lightweight stiff structures which may experience temperatures up to 600K. The experiences and results of fabricating these core types are reported. The process parameters and most desirable characteristics are noted. The differences in considering resins for making laminates versus their use in surface coatings are stressed. This comparison is made to explain the problems encountered in using the three new resin types for dipping honeycomb to the desired density. Some properties and the effect of post cure, forming and ventilating techniques for the condensation polyimide core types are presented.

Brentjes, J.↗