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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 433 records · Page 24

Large-gap magnetic positioning system having advantageous configuration

A magnetic configuration was devised in which the positioned object is maintained in a stable orientation and position on one side of an opaque plane surface entirely by means of magnetic components on the other side of the plane. The system is effective with or without gravity, and can operate in any orientation. In this system, the positioned object need only contain a simple dipole magnet. The positioning components consist of a group of permanent magnets creating a magnetic field configuration which stabilizes the levitated dipole in all but one degree of freedom, and a magnetic position sensing and force feedback system to actively stabilize the object in the one unstable direction. The system utilizes very low power at equilibrium and can maintain gaps of 50 mm.

Chong, Paul↗

Design considerations in clustering nuclear rocket engines

An initial investigation of the design considerations in clustering nuclear rocket engines for space transfer vehicles has been made. The clustering of both propulsion modules (which include start tanks) and nuclear rocket engines installed directly to a vehicle core tank appears to be feasible. Special provisions to shield opposite run tanks and the opposite side of a core tank - in the case of the boost pump concept - are required; the installation of a circumferential reactor side shield sector appears to provide an effective solution to this problem. While the time response to an engine-out event does not appear to be critical, the gimbal displacement required appears to be important. Since an installation of three engines offers a substantial reduction in gimbal requirements for engine-out and it may be possible to further enhance mission reliability with the greater number of engines, it is recommended that a cluster of four engines be considered.

Sager, Paul H.↗

Marshall Space Flight Center surface modeling and grid generation applications

The Solid Rocket Motors (SRM) used by NASA to propel the Space Shuttle employ gimballing nozzles as a means for vehicular guidance during launch and ascent. Gimballing a nozzle renders the pressure field of the exhaust gases nonaxisymmetric. This has two effects: (1) it exerts a torque and side load on the nozzle; and (2) the exhaust gases flow circumferentially in the aft-dome region, thermally loading the flexible boot, case-to-nozzle joint, and casing insulation. The use of CFD models to simulate such flows is imperative in order to assess SRM design. The grids for these problems were constructed by obtaining information from drawings and tabulated coordinates. The 2D axisymmetric grids were designed and generated using the EZ-Surf and GEN2D surface and grid generation codes. These 2D grids were solved using codes such as FDNS, GASP, and MINT. These axisymmetric grids were rotated around the center-line to form 3D nongimballed grids. These were then gimballed around the pivot point and the gaps or overlaps resurfaced to obtain the final domains, which contained approximately 366,000 grid points. The 2D solutions were then rotated and manipulated as appropriate for geometry and used as initial guesses in the final solution. The analyses were used in answering questions about flight criteria.

Williams, Robert W.↗

Magnetic Heat Pump Containing Flow Diverters

Proposed magnetic heat pump contains flow diverters for suppression of undesired flows. If left unchecked, undesired flows mix substantial amounts of partially heated and partially cooled portions of working fluid, effectively causing leakage of heat from heated side to cooled side. By reducing leakage of heat, flow diverters increase energy efficiency of magnetic heat pump, potentially offering efficiency greater than compressor-driven refrigerator.

Howard, Frank S.↗

Two-Flux and Green's Function Method for Transient Radiative Transfer in a Semi-Transparent Layer

A method using a Green's function is developed for computing transient temperatures in a semitransparent layer by using the two-flux method coupled with the transient energy equation. Each boundary of the layer is exposed to a hot or cold radiative environment, and is heated or cooled by convection. The layer refractive index is larger than one, and the effect of internal reflections is included with the boundaries assumed diffuse. The analysis accounts for internal emission, absorption, heat conduction, and isotropic scattering. Spectrally dependent radiative properties are included, and transient results are given to illustrate two-band spectral behavior with optically thin and thick bands. Transient results using the present Green's function method are verified for a gray layer by comparison with a finite difference solution of the exact radiative transfer equations; excellent agreement is obtained. The present method requires only moderate computing times and incorporates isotropic scattering without additional complexity. Typical temperature distributions are given to illustrate application of the method by examining the effect of strong radiative heating on one side of a layer with convective cooling on the other side, and the interaction of strong convective heating with radiative cooling from the layer interior.

Siegel, Robert↗

Investigation of the Relationship of Vortex-Generated Sound and Airframe Noise

Airframe noise contributes the most to the environmental contamination from airports during take-off and landing. Two sources of noise are from the vortex-system associated with the slat and flap of multi-element wing designs. The flap-side edge vortex experiences bursting, known as vortex breakdown, at a critical deflection angle and experimental results show that this event may be one source of increased noise levels. Understanding of the edge roll-up phenomenon has increased but further focused studies on the role of the growth and bursting of the vortex structure are needed. The goal of the research is to plan a research program that will contribute to the understanding of the fluid physics of vortex breakdown and its relationship to noise production. The success of this program will lead to a priori predictions of when vortex breakdown will occur on the flap side-edge and accurate calculations of its effect on the noise level experienced by an observer near the aircraft during take-off and landing.

Smith, Sonya T.↗

The CHANDRA HETGS X-ray Grating Spectrum of Eta Carinae

Eta Carinae may be the most massive and luminous star in the Galaxy and is suspected to be a massive, colliding wind binary system. The CHANDRA X-ray observatory has obtained a calibrated, high-resolution X-ray spectrum of the star uncontaminated by the nearby extended soft X-ray emission. Our 89 ksec CHANDRA observation with the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) shows that the hot gas near the star is non-isothermal. The temperature distribution may represent the emission on either side of the colliding wind bow shock, effectively 'resolving' the shock. If so, the pre-shock wind velocities are approximately 700 and 1800 km/s in our analysis, and these velocities may be interpreted as the terminal velocities of the winds from 71 Carinae and from the hidden companion star. The forbidden-to-intercombination line ratios for the He-like ions of S, Si, and Fe are large, indicating that the line forming region lies far from the stellar photosphere. The iron fluorescent line at 1.93 angstroms, first detected by ASCA, is clearly resolved from the thermal iron line in the CHANDRA grating spectrum. The Fe fluorescent line is weaker in our CHANDRA observation than in any of the ASCA spectra. The CHANDRA observation also provides the first high-time resolution lightcurve of the uncontaminated stellar X-ray emission from 77 Carinae and shows that there is no significant, coherent variability during the CHANDRA observation. The 77 Carinae CHANDRA grating spectrum is unlike recently published X-ray grating spectra of single massive stars in significant ways and is generally consistent with colliding wind emission in a massive binary.

Corcoran, M. F.↗

Aeroheating Analysis for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter with Comparison to Flight Data

The aeroheating environment of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been analyzed using the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo and free-molecular techniques. The results of these analyses were used to develop an aeroheating database to be used for the pre-flight planning and the in-flight operations support for the aerobraking phase of the MRO mission. The aeroheating predictions calculated for the MRO include the heat transfer coefficient (C(H)) over a range of angles-of-attack, side-slip angles, and number densities. The effects of flow chemistry were also investigated. Flight heat flux data deduced from surface temperature sensors have been compared to pre-flight predictions and agree favorably.

Liechty, Derek S.↗

A New Finite-Conductivity Droplet Evaporation Model Including Liquid Turbulence Effect

A new approach to account for finite thermal conductivity and turbulence effects within atomizing droplets of an evaporating spray is presented in this paper. The model is an extension of the T-blob and T-TAB atomization/spray model of Trinh and Chen [9]. This finite conductivity model is based on the two-temperature film theory in which the turbulence characteristics of the droplet are used to estimate the effective thermal diffusivity for the liquid-side film thickness. Both one-way and two-way coupled calculations were performed to investigate the performance cf this model against the published experimental data.

Balasubramanyam, M. S.↗

DNS of Low-Pressure Turbine Cascade Flows with Elevated Inflow Turbulence Using a Discontinuous-Galerkin Spectral-Element Method

Recent progress towards developing a new computational capability for accurate and efficient high-fidelity direct numerical simulation (DNS) and large-eddy simulation (LES) of turbomachinery is described. This capability is based on an entropy- stable Discontinuous-Galerkin spectral-element approach that extends to arbitrarily high orders of spatial and temporal accuracy, and is implemented in a computationally efficient manner on a modern high performance computer architecture. An inflow turbulence generation procedure based on a linear forcing approach has been incorporated in this framework and DNS conducted to study the effect of inflow turbulence on the suction- side separation bubble in low-pressure turbine (LPT) cascades. The T106 series of airfoil cascades in both lightly (T106A) and highly loaded (T106C) configurations at exit isentropic Reynolds numbers of 60,000 and 80,000, respectively, are considered. The numerical simulations are performed using 8th-order accurate spatial and 4th-order accurate temporal discretization. The changes in separation bubble topology due to elevated inflow turbulence is captured by the present method and the physical mechanisms leading to the changes are explained. The present results are in good agreement with prior numerical simulations but some expected discrepancies with the experimental data for the T106C case are noted and discussed.

Garai, Anirban↗

Guidelines for Safe, High Performing Li-Ion Battery Designs for Manned Vehicles

New design features and test methods are in development at NASA to take advantage of the newest high power and energy dense commercial Li-ion cell designs and to achieve passively thermal runaway (TR) propagation resistant (PPR) designs for manned missions requiring high power/voltage. The goal is to minimize the parasitic mass and volume of the battery components; thus reaching a balance between high battery specific power (W/kg) and energy (Wh/kg) as well as power (W/L) and energy density (Wh/L). Current 18650 cell designs achieve greater than 275 Wh/kg, greater than 725 Wh/L, but present high risks of side wall breaching during TR which can defeat many other safety features resulting in nearly immediate TR propagation. This work seeks to better understand the phenomena of cell side wall breaches and to determine the effectiveness of promising battery design features for achieving safe, high performing battery designs for high voltage/power applications.

Darst, John J.↗

Driving Design Factors for Safe, High Power Batteries for Space Applications

Final Document is attached. New design features and test methods are in development at NASA to take advantage of the newest high power and energy dense commercial Li-ion cell designs and to achieve passively thermal runaway (TR) propagation resistant (PPR) designs for manned missions requiring high power/voltage. The goal is to minimize the parasitic mass and volume of the battery components; thus reaching a balance between high battery specific power (W/kg) and energy (Wh/kg) as well as power (W/L) and energy density (Wh/L). Current 18650 cell designs achieve greater than 275 Wh/kg, greater than 725 Wh/L, but present high risks of side wall breaching during TR which can defeat many other safety features resulting in nearly immediate TR propagation. This work seeks to better understand the phenomena of cell side wall breaches and to determine the effectiveness of promising battery design features for achieving safe, high performing battery designs for high voltage/power applications.

Li-ion↗

Simulated 8x8 Ku-Band Array Antenna Performance on Airplane Door

An 8x8, Ku-band antenna array composed of circular patches was simulated both on an infinite ground plane and mounted on an airplane door. The radiated far field was calculated for both cases to determine the effect of mounting the antenna on the side of the airplane. It was found that the main beam was relatively unaffected, while the sidelobes were increased by 15 to 20 dB at angles more than 30° off boresight..

array antenna↗

Modeling of the flexural behavior of ceramic-matrix composites

This paper examines the effects of matrix cracking and fiber breakage on the flexural behavior of ceramic composite beams. A model has been proposed to represent the damage evolution of the beam, of which the matrix fracture strain is smaller than that of the fibers. Close form solutions of the critical loads for the initiation of matrix cracking and fiber breakage in the tension side of the beam have been found. The effects of thermal residual stresses and fiber/matrix debonding have been taken into account. The initial deviation of the load-deflection curve from linearity is due to matrix cracking, while fiber breakages are responsible for the drop in the load carrying capacity of the beam. The proportional limit as well as the nonlinear behavior of the beam deflection have been identified. The growth of the damaged zone has also been predicted. A three-point bending case is given as a numerical example.

Kuo, Wen-Shyong↗

Aerodynamic characteristics of several current helicopter tail boom cross sections including the effect of spoilers

Aerodynamic characteristics were determined of three cylindrical shapes representative of tail boom cross sections of the U.S. Army AH-64, UH-60, and UH-1H helicopters. Forces and pressures were measured in a wind-tunnel investigation at the Langley Research Center. Data were obtained for a flow incidence range from -45 to 90 deg and a dynamic pressure range from 1.5 to 50 psf. These ranges provided data representative of full-scale Reynolds numbers and the full range of flow incidence to which these helicopter tail boom shapes would be subjected at low flight speeds. The effects of protuberances such as tail rotor drive-shaft covers and spoilers were evaluated. The data indicate that significant side loads on tail booms of helicopters can be generated and that the addition of spoilers can beneficially alter the side loads. Although an increase in vertical drag occurs, the net effect through reduction of tail rotor thrust required can be an improvement in helicopter performance.

Wilson, J. C.↗

Control of forebody three-dimensional flow separations

The development of the turbulent symmetric and asymmetric vortex flow about the lee side of a 5 deg semiangle conical forebody at high relative incidence was investigated. The cone was immersed in a Mach 0.6 airstream at a Reynolds number of 13.5 x 10 to the 6th power based on the 1.4 m axial length of the cone. Small amounts of air injected normally or tangentially to the cone surface, but on one side of the leeward meridian and beneath the vortex farthest from the wall, were effective in biasing the asymmetry. With this reorientation of the forebody vortices, the amplitude of the side force could be reduced to the point where its direction was reversed. This phenomenon was obtained either by changing the blowing rate at constant incidence or by changing incidence at constant blowing rate. Normal injection appeared more effective than tangential injection. The contrarotating vortices in the penetrating jet flow were of opposite hand to the rotational directions of the forebody vortices. A distinctively organized and stable flow structure emerged with the jet vortices positioned above the forebody vortices.

Peake, D. J.↗

Control of forebody three-dimensional flow separations

Some experiments involving the development of the turbulent symmetric vortex flow about the lee side of a 5 deg semiangle conical forebody at high relative incidence are discussed. The cone was immersed in a Mach 0.6 airstream at a Reynolds number of 13.5 million based on the 1.4 - m axial length of the cone. Novel means of controlling the degree of asymmetry using blowing very close to the nose were investigated. Small amounts of air injected normally or tangentially to the cone surface, but on one side of the leeward meridian and beneath the vortex farthest from the wall, were effective in biasing the asymmetry. With this reorientation of the forebody vortices, the amplitude of the side force could be reduced to the point where its direction was reversed. This phenomenon could be obtained either by changing the blowing rate at constant incidence or by changing incidence at constant blowing rate. Normal injection was more effective than tangential injection. An organized and stable flow structure emerged with the jet vortices positioned above the forebody vortices.

Peake, D. J.↗

Propellers in yaw

It was realized as early as 1909 that a propeller in yaw develops a side force like that of a fin. In 1917, R. G. Harris expressed this force in terms of the torque coefficient for the unyawed propeller. Of several attempts to express the side force directly in terms of the shape of the blades, however, none has been completely satisfactory. An analysis that incorporates induction effects not adequately covered in previous work and that gives good agreement with experiment over a wide range of operating conditions is presented. The present analysis shows that the fin analogy may be extended to the form of the side-force expression and that the effective fin area may be taken as the projected side area of the propeller.

Ribner, Herbert S↗