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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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Brief report proposes use of jet boost pumps in conjunction with main pumps supplying liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to main engine of Space Shuttle. Main part of pump has no moving parts. Benefits include increased reliability, simplified ducts, and decreased weight.
A flashlamp-pumped 2.1 micron Ho:Tm:Cr:YAG laser was studied for both normal mode and Q-switched operations under a wide variety of experimental conditions in order to optimize performance. Laser output energy, slope efficiency, threshold and pulselength were determined as a function of operating temperature, output mirror reflectivity, input electrical energy and Q-switch opening time. The measured normal-mode laser thresholds of a Ho(3+) (0.45 atomic percent):Tm(3+) (2.5 atomic percent):Cr(3+) (0.8 atomic percent):YAG crystal ranged form 26 to 50 J between 120 and 200 K with slope efficiencies up to 0.36 percent with a 60 percent reflective output mirror. Under Q-switched operation the slope efficiency was 90 percent of the normal-mode result. Development of solid state lasers with Ho(3+), Tm(3+) and/or Er(3+) doped crystals has been pursued by NASA for eye-dafe mid-infrared LIDAR (light detection and ranging) application. As a part of the project, the authors have been working on evaluating Ho(3+):Tm(3+):Cr(3+):YAG crystals for normal-mode and Q-switched 2.1 micron laser operations in order to determine an optimum Tm(3+) concentration under flashlamp pumping conditions. Lasing properties of the Ho(3+) in the mid-infrared region have been studied by many research groups since the early 1960's. However, the technology of those lasers is still premature for lidar application. In order to overcome the inefficiency related to narrow absorption bands of the Ho(3+), Tm(3+) and Er(3+), the erbium has been replaced by chromium. The improvement in flashlamp-pumped Ho(3+) laser efficiency has been demonstrated recently by several research groups by utilizing the broad absorption spectrum of Cr(3+) which covers the flashlamp's emission spectrum. Efficient energy transfer to the Tm(3+) and then the Ho(3+) occurs subsequently. It is known that high Tm(3+) concentration and low Ho(3+) concentration are preferred to achieve a quantum efficiency approaching two and to avoid large reabsorption losses. However, determination of the optimum Tm(3+) concentration required to ensure efficient energy transfer from Cr(3+) to Tm(3+) and from Tm(3+) to Ho(3+) has not been made in the Ho:Tm:CR:YAG crystal. The results obtained so far are given.
A small, low specific speed centrifugal pump stage with a 2 inch tip diameter, .030 inch tip width shrouded impeller and volute collector was tested with liquid hydrogen as the pumped fluid. The hydrodynamic design of the pump stage is summarized and the noncavitating and cavitating performance results are presented. Test speeds were 60 and 80 percent of the 77,000 rpm design speed. Liquid hydrogen test results are compared with data from previous tests of the stage in water.
Recent advances in laser technology for intersatellite optical communication systems are reviewed and illustrated with graphs and diagrams. Topics addressed include (1) single-frequency diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers of monolithic ring configuration (yielding 368-384 mW output power with 1-W pumping), (2) injection chaining of up to 10 monolithic resonators to achieve redundancy and/or higher output power, (3) 2-kHz-linewidth 5-mW versions of (1) which are tunable over a 30-MHz range for use as local oscillators in coherent communication, (4) resonant external modulation and doubling or resonant phase modulation of diode-pumped lasers, and (5) wavelength multiplexing.
The axial forces developed on a pump impeller shroud surfaces are analyzed using a bulk-flow model of the leakage path between the impeller and the housing. Shear stresses at the impeller and the housing surfaces are modeled according to Hirs's turbulent lubrication model. The calculated results yield predictions of resonance peaks of the fluid within the annulus formed by the impeller shroud and housing. Numerical results are presented for a double-suction single-stage pump, showing that the direct stiffness of the perturbed impeller shroud forces is negligible; the forces become important only for pumps with very low axial natural frequencies in comparison to the running speed.
The authors present the design and preliminary results of the performance of a hybrid chemical/mechanical, low-lift (20 C) heat pump. Studies have indicated that this heat pump has several advantages over the traditional single fluid vapor compression (reverse Rankine) heat pump. Included in these benefits are: 1) increased COPc due to the approximation of the cycle to the Lorenz cycle and due to the availability of the heat of solution, along with the heat of vaporization, to provide cooling; and 2) ease of variation in system cooling capacity by changing the fluid composition. The system performance is predicted for a variety of refrigerant-absorbent pairs. Cooling capacity is determined for systems operating with ammonia as the refrigerant and lithium nitrate and sodium thiocyanate as the absorbents and also with water as the refrigerant and magnesium chloride, potassium hydroxide, lithium bromide, sodium hydroxide, and sulfuric acid as the absorbents. Early indications have shown that the systems operating with water as the refrigerant operate at 2-4 times the capacity of the ammonia-refrigerant-based systems. Using existing working fluids in the proposed innovative design, a coefficient-of-performance improvement of 21 percent is possible when compared to the best vapor compression systems analyzed.
The first observation of laser-induced optical pumping in a remote sensing application is reported. We have observed a large variation in the amount of laser light resonantly backscattered from the earth's mesospheric sodium layer depending on the laser polarization. This is consistent with optical pumping of the mesospheric sodium atoms. A new lidar capability is being developed based on measurements of the rethermalization rate of the optically pumped sodium atoms. These measurements have potential applications in the fields of global warming research, spacecraft re-entry, and upper atmospheric dynamics.
The properties of alexandrite laser-pumped optical parametric oscillators are reported for potassium titanyl arsenate. Near-infrared tuning curves and slope efficiencies were measured as functions of pump wavelength and pump power. In addition, sum frequency mixing of red and infrared wavelengths to produce green emission is also reported.
Design for pump that handles mixtures of liquid and gas efficiently. Containing only one rotor, pump is combination of centrifuge, pitot pump, and blower. Applications include turbomachinery in powerplants and superchargers in automobile engines. Efficiencies lower than those achieved in separate components. Nevertheless, design is practical and results in low consumption of power.
This report describes the fabrication, design of flow director, fluid flow direction analysis and testing of flow director of a magnetic heat pump. The objectives of the project are: (1) to fabricate a demonstration magnetic heat pump prototype with flow directors installed; and (2) analysis and testing of flow director and to make sure working fluid loops flow through correct directions with minor mixing. The prototype was fabricated and tested at the Development Testing Laboratory of Kennedy Space Center. The magnetic heat pump uses rear earth metal plates rotate in and out of a magnetic field in a clear plastic housing with water flowing through the rotor plates to provide temperature lift. Obtaining the proper water flow direction has been a problem. Flow directors were installed as flow barriers between separating point of two parallel loops. Function of flow directors were proven to be excellent both analytically and experimentally.
TEM(sub 00)-mode output energies up to 22.5 mJ with 23 percent slope efficiencies were generated at 1.064 microns in a diode-laser pumped Nd:YAG laser using a transverse-pumping geometry. 1.32-micron performance was equally impressive at 10.2 mJ output energy with 15 percent slope efficiency. The same pumping geometry was successfully carried forward to several complex Q-switched laser resonator designs with no noticeable degradation of beam quality. Output beam profiles were consistently shown to have greater than 90 percent correlation with the ideal TEM(sub 00)-order Gaussian profile. A comparison study on pulse-reflection-mode (PRM), pulse-transmission-mode (PTM), and passive Q-switching techniques was undertaken. The PRM Q-switched laser generated 8.3 mJ pulses with durations as short as 10 ns. The PTM Q-switch laser generated 5 mJ pulses with durations as short as 5 ns. The passively Q-switched laser generated 5 mJ pulses with durations as short as 2.4 ns. Frequency doubling of both 1.064 microns and 1.32 microns with conversion efficiencies of 56 percent in lithium triborate and 10 percent in rubidium titanyl arsenate, respectively, was shown. Sum-frequency generation of the 1.064 microns and 1.32 microns radiations was demonstrated in KTP to generate 1.1 mJ of 0.589 micron output with 11.5 percent conversion efficiency.
Knowledge of the temperature distribution of laser rods end pumped by laser diodes or other laser systems is relevant when thermal stress and crystal damage are expected. The temperature of a multipulsed or continuously pumped laser rod is given as a double-series expression and as a function of time. The mathematical model considers all surface cooling rates, the spatial and temporal variations of the pump beam, and the specific heat and thermal conductivity of the rod material. This eigenfunction expansion representation was employed to predict the spatial and time-dependent quasi-steady-state temperature in Ti:sapphire, Nd:YAG, and Cr:LiSAF laser rods of specific dimensions.
Laser studies were performed to examine the amplifier characteristics of holmium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride (YLF) at 300 K. An inversion ratio of 0.37 was reached resulting in a measured small-signal gain coefficient of 0.50/cm. In a flashlamp pumping experiment, an output energy of 240 mJ was achieved for 38.5 mJ of input energy resulting in a large gain of 6.2. An amplifier model was developed for diode laser pumping and adapted to consider this flashlamp-pumped case. There is good agreement between the theory and experiment. Multipass amplifier calculations using the model suggest that the Ho: Tm: YLF laser crystal can support a 12 percent electrical to optical efficiency at 300 K even in the presence of upconversion.
The study reviews the research and development of a prototype laser used to study one possible method of short-pulse production and amplification, in particular, a pulsed Nd:YAG ring laser pumped by laser diode arrays and injected seeded by a 100-ps source. The diode array pumped, regenerative amplifier consists of only five optical elements, two mirrors, one thin film polarizer, one Nd:YAG crystal, and one pockels cell. The pockels cell performed both as a Q-switch and a cavity dumper for amplified pulse ejection through the thin film polarizer. The total optical efficiency was low principally due to the low gain provided by the 2-bar pumped laser head. After comparison with a computer model, a real seed threshold of about 10 exp -15 J was achieved because only about 0.1 percent of the injected energy mode-matched with the ring.
Results of a study to determine the optimum laser rod diameter for maximum output energy in a solid state neodymium laser transversely pumped with multiple laser diode arrays are reported here. Experiments were performed with 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm rod radii of both neodymium doped Y3Al5O12 (Nd:YAG) and La2Be2O5 (Nd:BeL) pumped with laser diode arrays having a maximum combined energy of 10.5 mJ. Equations were derived which predict the optimum rod radius and corresponding output mirror reflectivity for a given laser material and total pump energy. Predictions of the equations agreed well with the experiments for each of the laser materials which possessed significantly different laser properties from one another.
Discussed here is research on a spring activated fuel pump for solid or airless injection with small, high speed internal combustion engines. The pump characteristics under investigation were the interval of fuel injection in terms of degrees of crank travel and in absolute time, the lag between the time the injection pump plunger begins its stroke and the appearance of the jet at the orifice, and the manner in which the fuel spray builds up to a maximum when the fuel valve is opened, and then diminishes.
High-speed motion pictures were taken of individual fuel sprays from a pump injection system. The changes in the spray-tip penetration with changes in the pump speed, injection-valve opening and closing pressures, discharge-orifice area, injection-tube length and diameter, and pump throttle setting were measured. In addition, the effects of the variables on the time lag and duration of injection can be controlled by the dimensions of the injection tube, the area of the discharge orifice, and the injection-valve opening and closing pressures.
This report presents the results of performance test conducted on a six-cylinder commercial fuel-injection pump that was adjusted to give uniform fuel distribution among the cylinders at a throttle setting of 0.00038 pound per injection and a pump speed of 750 revolutions per minute. The throttle setting and pump speed were then varied through the operating range to determine the uniformity of distribution and regularity of injection.