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At least 415 records · Page 23

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2001

Unshrouded Centrifugal Turbopump Impeller Design Methodology

Turbopump weight continues to be a dominant parameter in the trade space for reduction of engine weight. Space Shuttle Main Engine weight distribution indicates that the turbomachinery make up approximately 30% of the total engine weight. Weight reduction can be achieved through the reduction of envelope of the turbopump. Reduction in envelope relates to an increase in turbopump speed and an increase in impeller head coefficient. Speed can be increased until suction performance limits are achieved on the pump or due to alternate constraints the turbine or bearings limit speed. Once the speed of the turbopump is set the impeller tip speed sets the minimum head coefficient of the machine. To reduce impeller diameter the head coefficient must be increased. A significant limitation with increasing head coefficient is that the slope of the head-flow characteristic is affected and this can limit engine throttling range. Unshrouded impellers offer a design option for increased turbopump speed without increasing the impeller head coefficient. However, there are several issues with regard to using an unshrouded impeller: there is a pump performance penalty due to the front open face recirculation flow, there is a potential pump axial thrust problem from the unbalanced front open face and the back shroud face, and since test data is very limited for this configuration, there is uncertainty in the magnitude and phase of the rotordynamic forces due to the front impeller passage. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the design of an unshrouded impeller and to examine the hydrodynamic performance, axial thrust, and rotordynamic performance. The design methodology will also be discussed. This work will help provide some guidelines for unshrouded impeller design.

Prueger, George H.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Thrust-isolating mounting

A supporting frame for a load, such as one or more telescopes, is isolated from all multi-gravitational forces, which will be developed within that load as that load is propelled into space, by using a shroud to fully and solidly hold that load until that load has been propelled into space. Thereafter, that shroud will be jettisoned; and then supports which are on, and which are movable with, that load will have surfaces thereon moved into supporting engagement with complementary surfaces on that supporting frame to enable that supporting frame and those supports to fully and solidly hold that load.

Wetzler, D. G.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System (ProSEDS)

The Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System (ProSEDS) space experiment will demonstrate the use of an electrodynamic tether propulsion system to generate thrust in space by decreasing the orbital altitude of a Delta 11 Expendable Launch Vehicle second stage. ProSEDS, which is planned on an Air Force GPS Satellite replacement mission in June 2002, will use the flight proven Small Expendable Deployer System (SEDS) to deploy a tether (5 km bare wire plus 10 km non-conducting Dyneema) from a Delta 11 second stage to achieve approx. 0.4N drag thrust. ProSEDS will utilize the tether-generated current to provide limited spacecraft power. The ProSEDS instrumentation includes Langmuir probes and Differential Ion Flux Probes, which will determine the characteristics of the ambient ionospheric plasma. Two Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers will be used (one on the Delta and one on the endmass) to help determine tether dynamics and to limit transmitter operations to occasions when the spacecraft is over selected ground stations. The flight experiment is a precursor to the more ambitious electrodynamic tether upper stage demonstration mission, which will be capable of orbit raising, lowering and inclination changes-all using electrodynamic thrust. An immediate application of ProSEDS technology is for the removal of spent satellites for orbital debris mitigation. In addition to the use of this technology to provide orbit transfer and debris mitigation it may also be an attractive option for future missions to Jupiter and any other planetary body with a magnetosphere.

Curtis, Leslie↗

NASA NTRS1987

Comparison of theoretical and experimental thrust performance of a 1030:1 area ratio rocket nozzle at a chamber pressure of 2413 kN/sq m (350 psia)

The Joint Army, Navy, NASA, Air Force (JANNAF) rocket-engine performance-prediction procedure is based on the use of various reference computer programs. One of the reference programs for nozzle analysis is the Two-Dimensional Kinetics (TDK) Program. The purpose of this report is to calibrate the JANNAF procedure that has been incorporated into the December 1984 version of the TDK program for the high-area-ratio rocket-engine regime. The calibration was accomplished by modeling the performance of a 1030:1 rocket nozzle tested at NASA Lewis. A detailed description of the test conditions and TDK input parameters is given. The reuslts indicate that the computer code predicts delivered vacuum specific impulse to within 0.12 to 1.9 percent of the experimental data. Vacuum thrust coefficient predictions were within + or - 1.3 percent of experimental results. Predictions of wall static pressure were within approximately + or - 5 percent of the measured values.

Smith, Tamara A.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Estimating Thruster Impulses From IMU and Doppler Data

A computer program implements a thrust impulse measurement (TIM) filter, which processes data on changes in velocity and attitude of a spacecraft to estimate the small impulsive forces and torques exerted by the thrusters of the spacecraft reaction control system (RCS). The velocity-change data are obtained from line-of-sight-velocity data from Doppler measurements made from the Earth. The attitude-change data are the telemetered from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) aboard the spacecraft. The TIM filter estimates the threeaxis thrust vector for each RCS thruster, thereby enabling reduction of cumulative navigation error attributable to inaccurate prediction of thrust vectors. The filter has been augmented with a simple mathematical model to compensate for large temperature fluctuations in the spacecraft thruster catalyst bed in order to estimate thrust more accurately at deadbanding cold-firing levels. Also, rigorous consider-covariance estimation is applied in the TIM to account for the expected uncertainty in the moment of inertia and the location of the center of gravity of the spacecraft. The TIM filter was built with, and depends upon, a sigma-point consider-filter algorithm implemented in a Python-language computer program.

Lisano, Michael E.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Dynamic Imbalance Would Counter Offcenter Thrust

Dynamic imbalance generated by offcenter thrust on rotating body eliminated by shifting some of mass of body to generate opposing dynamic imbalance. Technique proposed originally for spacecraft including massive crew module connected via long, lightweight intermediate structure to massive engine module, such that artificial gravitation in crew module generated by rotating spacecraft around axis parallel to thrust generated by engine. Also applicable to dynamic balancing of rotating terrestrial equipment to which offcenter forces applied.

Mccanna, Jason↗

NASA NTRS1996

A Method for the Constrained Design of Natural Laminar Flow Airfoils

A fully automated iterative design method has been developed by which an airfoil with a substantial amount of natural laminar flow can be designed, while maintaining other aerodynamic and geometric constraints. Drag reductions have been realized using the design method over a range of Mach numbers, Reynolds numbers and airfoil thicknesses. The thrusts of the method are its ability to calculate a target N-Factor distribution that forces the flow to undergo transition at the desired location; the target-pressure-N-Factor relationship that is used to reduce the N-Factors in order to prolong transition; and its ability to design airfoils to meet lift, pitching moment, thickness and leading-edge radius constraints while also being able to meet the natural laminar flow constraint. The method uses several existing CFD codes and can design a new airfoil in only a few days using a Silicon Graphics IRIS workstation.

Green, Bradford E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Small Hot Jet Acoustic Rig Commissioned Into Service

A new test stand, the Small Hot Jet Acoustic Rig, was commissioned into service at NASA Glenn Research Center's Aeroacoustic Propulsion Laboratory. This new rig provides researchers with an all-in-one platform with which to economically evaluate the thrust performance, acoustic performance, and plume turbulence characteristics of new nozzle concepts. It features an integral force balance, exceptionally low internal flownoise, and provisions to conduct laser-based plume turbulence studies with Particle Imaging Velocimetry, shadowgraphs, schlieren photography, and other techniques. The rig also features an integral combustor and can deliver air to the test nozzle at temperatures ranging from ambient to 1300 F. The Small Hot Jet Acoustic Rig is the fourth semipermanent rig now residing in the Aeroacoustic Propulsion Laboratory. It will add to the facility's substantial list of acoustic research capabilities and improve its already impressive productivity.

Wnuk, Stephen P.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Benefit of "Push-pull" Locomotion for Planetary Rover Mobility

As NASAs exploration missions on planetary terrains become more aggressive, a focus on alternative modes of locomotion for rovers is necessary. In addition to climbing steep slopes, the terrain in these extreme environments is often unknown and can be extremely hard to traverse, increasing the likelihood of a vehicle or robot becoming damaged or immobilized. The conventional driving mode in which all wheels are either driven or free-rolling is very efficient on flat hard ground, but does not always provide enough traction to propel the vehicle through soft or steep terrain. This paper presents an alternative mode of travel and investigates the fundamental differences between these locomotion modes. The methods of push-pull locomotion discussed can be used with articulated wheeled vehicles and are identified as walking or inchinginch-worming. In both cases, the braked non-rolling wheels provide increased thrust. An in-depth study of how soil reacts under a rolling wheel vs. a braked wheel was performed by visually observing the motion of particles beneath the surface. This novel technique consists of driving or dragging a wheel in a soil bin against a transparent wall while high resolution, high-rate photographs are taken. Optical flow software was then used to determine shearing patterns in the soil. Different failure modes were observed for the rolling and braked wheel cases. A quantitative comparison of inching vs. conventional driving was also performed on a full-scale vehicle through a series of drawbar pull tests in the Lunar terrain strength simulant, GRC-1. The effect of tire stiffness was also compared; typically compliant tires provide better traction when driving in soft soil, however its been observed that rigid wheels may provide better thrust when non-rolling. Initial tests indicate up to a possible 40 increase in pull force capability at high slip when inching vs. rolling.

robotics↗

NASA NTRS2021

Investigation of High Incidence Angle Propeller Aerodynamics for Subscale eVTOL Aircraft

Propellers used for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft propulsion systems experience a wide range of aerodynamic conditions, including significant incidence angles relative to oncoming airflow. Propellers in oblique flow exhibit deviations in thrust and torque oriented along their axis of rotation, as well as significant off-axis forces and moments. Although important for understanding eVTOL aircraft aerodynamics, sparse experimental data exist for propellers operating at incidence. This report describes an experimental wind tunnel study of isolated propeller aerodynamics across a wide range of flight conditions expected to be experienced by the LA-8 tandem tilt-wing, eVTOL aircraft. The experimental data obtained from the study are graphically presented and a discussion of observed aerodynamic phenomena is compared to theoretical expectations and past experimental work. The content of this report is intended to provide guidance to future propeller testing efforts and describe pertinent propeller aerodynamic behavior expected to be experienced by eVTOL vehicles.

propeller aerodynamics↗

NASA NTRS2005

Mission Analysis for LEO Microwave Power-Beaming Station in Orbital Launch of Microwave Lightcraft

A detailed mission analysis study has been performed for a 1 km diameter, rechargeable satellite solar power station (SPS) designed to boost 20m diameter, 2400 kg Micr,oWave Lightcraft (MWLC) into low earth orbit (LEO) Positioned in a 476 km daily-repeating oi.bit, the 35 GHz microwave power station is configured like a spinning, thin-film bicycle wheel covered by 30% efficient sola cells on one side and billions of solid state microwave transmitter elements on the other, At the rim of this wheel are two superconducting magnets that can stor,e 2000 G.J of energy from the 320 MW, solar array over a period of several orbits. In preparation for launch, the entire station rotates to coarsely point at the Lightcraft, and then phases up using fine-pointing information sent from a beacon on-board the Lightcraft. Upon demand, the station transmits a 10 gigawatt microwave beam to lift the MWLC from the earth surface into LEO in a flight of several minutes duration. The mission analysis study was comprised of two parts: a) Power station assessment; and b) Analysis of MWLC dynamics during the ascent to orbit including the power-beaming relationships. The power station portion addressed eight critical issues: 1) Drag force vs. station orbital altitude; 2) Solar pressure force on the station; 3) Station orbital lifetime; 4) Feasibility of geo-magnetic re-boost; 5) Beta angle (i..e., sola1 alignment) and power station effective area relationship; 6) Power station percent time in sun vs, mission elapsed time; 7) Station beta angle vs.. charge time; 8) Stresses in station structures.. The launch dynamics portion examined four issues: 1) Ascent mission/trajecto1y profile; 2) MWLC/power-station mission geometry; 3) MWLC thrust angle vs. time; 4) Power station pitch rate during power beaming. Results indicate that approximately 0 58 N of drag force acts upon the station when rotated edge-on to project the minimum frontal area of 5000 sq m. An ion engine or perhaps an electrodynamic thruster (i.e., geomagnetic re-boost) station-keeping system can maintain the orbit altitude. The rate at which the power station s superconducting magnetic energy storage system (SMES) is 'charged' directly relates to the beta angle since the station is operating in the edge-on attitude. The maximum charge rate occurs when the beta angle is at its maximum because time in the sun and projected area of the station are, too, at their maximums For the maximum charge of 2000 G.J with a maximum beta angle of 52 degrees, approximately 3 hours (2 orbital revolutions) are required to reach the full charge, while about 16 hours (10.3 revolutions) are required when the beta angle is 10 degrees. Overall, the LEO station concept appears to be a viable candidate fo1 the formidable power-beaming infrastructure needed to boost MWLC into low earth orbit.

Myrabo, L. N.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Static performance and noise tests on a thrust reverser for an augmentor wing aircraft

A 1/3 scale model static test program was conducted to measure the noise levels and reverse thrust performance characteristics of wing-mounted thrust reverser that could be used on an advanced augmentor wing airplane. The configuration tested represents only the most fundamental designs where installation and packaging restraints are not considered. The thrust reverser performance is presented in terms of horizontal, vertical, and resultant effectiveness ratios and the reverser noise is compared on the basis of peak perceived noise level (PNL) and one-third octave band data (OASPL). From an analysis of the model force and acoustic data, an assessment is made on the stopping distance versus noise for a 90,900 kg (200,000 lb) airplane using this type of thrust reverser.

Harkonen, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS1927

Calculating thrust distribution and efficiency of air propellers

I am now proposing a method for the preliminary approximate calculation of the thrust distribution and efficiency of air propellers under any operating conditions. Our task becomes the following, namely, to determine the speed relations and the forces developed on a section with a given direction and velocity of the air current, a problem which can be solved with the aid of the momentum theory.

PROPELLERS - DESIGN & THEORY↗

NASA NTRS2008

Dynamic Method for Identifying Collected Sample Mass

G-Sample is designed for sample collection missions to identify the presence and quantity of sample material gathered by spacecraft equipped with end effectors. The software method uses a maximum-likelihood estimator to identify the collected sample's mass based on onboard force-sensor measurements, thruster firings, and a dynamics model of the spacecraft. This makes sample mass identification a computation rather than a process requiring additional hardware. Simulation examples of G-Sample are provided for spacecraft model configurations with a sample collection device mounted on the end of an extended boom. In the absence of thrust knowledge errors, the results indicate that G-Sample can identify the amount of collected sample mass to within 10 grams (with 95-percent confidence) by using a force sensor with a noise and quantization floor of 50 micrometers. These results hold even in the presence of realistic parametric uncertainty in actual spacecraft inertia, center-of-mass offset, and first flexibility modes. Thrust profile knowledge is shown to be a dominant sensitivity for G-Sample, entering in a nearly one-to-one relationship with the final mass estimation error. This means thrust profiles should be well characterized with onboard accelerometers prior to sample collection. An overall sample-mass estimation error budget has been developed to approximate the effect of model uncertainty, sensor noise, data rate, and thrust profile error on the expected estimate of collected sample mass.

Carson, John↗

NASA NTRS1975

Minimum thrust levels for spinning drag-free satellites

A drag-free satellite, which contains an internal unsupported proof mass, is shielded from external forces such as solar pressure. Thrustors force the satellite to follow the proof mass and hence the satellite follows an almost purely gravitational orbit. The dominant internal disturbing force is the mass attraction of the satellite on the proof mass. Spinning the satellite reduces this force and it has been investigated what the size of the thrustors must be in this case. This size is much smaller than originally thought. Its impact on some other features is shown.

Olsder, G. J.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Longitudinal handling qualities during approach and landing of a powered lift STOL aircraft

Longitudinal handling qualities evaluations were conducted on the Ames Research Center Flight Simulator for Advanced Aircraft (FSAA) for the approach and landing tasks of a powered lift STOL research aircraft. The test vehicle was a C-8A aircraft modified with a new wing incorporating internal blowing over an augmentor flap. The investigation included: (1) use of various flight path and airspeed control techniques for the basic vehicle; (2) assessment of stability and command augmentation schemes for pitch attitude and airspeed control; (3) determination of the influence of longitudinal and vertical force coupling for the power control; (4) determination of the influence of pitch axis coupling with the thrust vector control; and (5) evaluations of the contribution of stability and command augmentation to recovery from a single engine failure. Results are presented in the form of pilot ratings and commentary substantiated by landing approach time histories.

Franklin, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1982

A review of aeroassisted orbit transfer

The development of a theory of aeroassisted orbital plane change maneuvers and necessary equipment is traced and an assessment is made of potential applications. Synergetic plane changes are effected through a combination of aerodynamic and propulsive forces involving the dip of an orbiting vehicle into the atmosphere, performance of an aerodynamic turn using thrust if necessary, then reboosting into a reconfigured orbit. The Orbiter is noted to possess large synergetic plane change capability, and configurations of spacecraft such as the Venus Orbiting Imaging radar for using aeroassist to brake interplanetary velocities before establishing orbits are described. Technology advances necessary to construct effective aerobrake, aerocapture, and orbital transfer vehicles are explored, including fabrication of inflatable ballutes, lighter L/D configurations, and lifting brakes, which are considered to be minor extensions of current capabilities.

Walberg, G. D.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Wing loads induced by a propeller wake

A wing located in the wake of a propeller sustains unsteady loading. This loading can generate components of structureborne noise which are transmitted to the interior of the aircraft. The vibration of the wing can also contribute to reradiation of propeller noise. An analysis system for the evaluation of wing unsteady loads is presented. The propeller wake is modeled as a potential helical tip vortex and unsteady airfoil theory is used to determine the wing response. The result is the forcing function for determining the structureborne noise. The wing response is evaluated as a function of propeller thrust coefficient, advance ratio, and propeller installation geometry. The system capabilities are demonstrated by application to three significantly different aircraft.

Weir, D. S.↗