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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 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2023

Composite Hard Upper Torso (CHUT) for xEMU Space Suit

The xEMU is the Exploration Mobility Unity or space suit designed for microgravity (cislunar and low earth orbit (LEO)) and lunar surface operations. This suit design allows crewmembers to perform extravehicular exploration, science, construction, maintenance, and contingency operations while unattached to a vehicle for life support in pressure and thermal environments that exceed human capability. The xEMU provides life support, environmental protection, and communications capabilities to the EVA crewmember while allowing sufficient mobility and visibility to perform dexterous EVA tasks. The effort documented in this paper, addressed the design, analysis, manufacturing, full-scale test article testing and validation for a Composite Hard Upper Torso(CHUT)unit. Design and analysis of the CHUT was based on measured B-basis properties of the selected S-glass/epoxy composite, and established final geometry, composite layup and interface details that met requirements. A complete manufacturing and assembly protocol was established for the CHUT starting from composite layup in the tool, to final assembly of all interface metal hardware prior to delivery to NASA for suit integration. Full-scale CHUT test articles underwent static and fatigue pressure testing (2 lifetimes), impact testing at critical stress locations for tool drop/microgravity scenarios, followed by post-impact fatigue testing. Effect of manufacturing defects was evaluated by manufacturing a full-scale CHUT with 0.375”/0.5” defects at critical stress locations, followed by static and life-cycle fatigue testing. In all cases, the CHUT design met or exceeded mass, structural, interface and functional requirements. Two (2) complete CHUT articles were delivered to NASA for full-scale suit integration and testing.

spacesuit↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design and Testing of a Hard-Fault Protection Circuit for a 1 kV SiC MOSFET Inverter

Due to increasingly high DC link voltages and further advancements in the current density of silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs, it has become evident that conventional IGBT protection methods are not sufficient to prevent exceeding the current rating of these devices during low-inductance fault events. This paper explores the use of an air core Rogowski coil topology to mitigate these hard fault events. The design of this circuit resulted in safe shutdown of a low impedance phase-to-phase fault in under one microsecond, tested up to DC link voltages of 1 kV. This paper details the theory, design, simulation, and successful test results of this method.

hard fault protection↗
NASA NTRS2024

Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) Hard Upper Torso (HUT) Chamber B Thermal Vacuum Testing Results

NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) is the government reference next-generation spacesuit design and is engineered to protect astronauts from extreme lunar environmental temperatures. To evaluate the xEMU hardware thermal requirements, the xEMU Testing Team invented, designed, and executed a dual-suit, uncrewed thermal vacuum (TVAC) test at Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) Chamber B. This paper details the test methodology, hardware setup, and results from the xEMU hard upper torso (HUT). Two HUTs, one composite HUT and one aluminum HUT, were tested simultaneously in Chamber B, with different thermal environments. For the aluminum HUT on the Short xEMU (SxEMU) test article, five thermal profiles were tested during five simulated EVAs. For the composite HUT on the second xEMU, eleven unique thermal profiles were tested including both cold and hot environmental cases over the course of five continuous days of testing. The radiative thermal environment was controlled through exposure to liquid-nitrogen shrouds on the chamber walls and through two separate heater cages surrounding each respective test article. Seventy-two temperature sensors were used to collect data in critical locations in the xEMU HUT assembly. This paper will document the testing results and compare the test data against the xEMU HUT and system-level thermal models for model validation.

xEMU↗