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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 451 records · Page 25

A Generalized Framework for Service Restoration in a Resilient Power Distribution System

An electric power grid is one of the complex infrastructures, and because of its complex nature, there is simply no way that outages can be completely avoided. Thus, a modern society that depends on reliable electric supply requires a resilient electric system that can recover from disruptions while integrating emerging smart grid technologies. Here, this article presents a novel approach for service restoration in a modern power distribution system with controllable switches and distributed generation (DG) resources for any kind of outage. The proposed framework supports both the traditional service restoration using feeder reconfiguration and the grid-forming DG-assisted intentional islands that are dynamically sized using algorithms based on the fault scenario, available resources, and priority of loads. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program that incorporates critical system connectivity and operating constraints. Simulations are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach using a large-scale four-feeder 1069-bus three-phase unbalanced distribution test system. It is demonstrated that the framework is effective in utilizing all available resources in quickly restoring the power supply to improve resiliency during extreme events and is scalable for a large-scale unbalanced power distribution system.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Advanced Gas Turbine (AGT) technology development project

This report is the final in a series of Technical Summary Reports for the Advanced Gas Turbine (AGT) Technology Development Project, authorizrd under NASA Contract DEN3-167 and sponsored by the DOE. The project was administered by NASA-Lewis Research Center of Cleveland, Ohio. Plans and progress are summarized for the period October 1979 through June 1987. This program aims to provide the US automotive industry the high risk, long range technology necessary to produce gas turbine engines for automobiles that will reduce fuel consumption and reduce environmental impact. The intent is that this technology will reach the marketplace by the 1990s. The Garrett/Ford automotive AGT was designated AGT101. The AGT101 is a 74.5 kW (100 shp) engine, capable of speeds to 100,000 rpm, and operates at turbine inlet temperatures to 1370 C (2500 F) with a specific fuel consumption level of 0.18 kg/kW-hr (0.3 lbs/hp-hr) over most of the operating range. This final report summarizes the powertrain design, power section development and component/ceramic technology development.

Source record↗

A bottom-up evolution of terrestrial ecosystem modeling theory, and ideas toward global vegetation modeling

A primary purpose of this review is to convey lessons learned in the development of a forest ecosystem modeling approach, from it origins in 1973 as a single-tree water balance model to the current regional applications. The second intent is to use this accumulated experience to offer ideas of how terrestrial ecosystem modeling can be taken to the global scale: earth systems modeling. A logic is suggested where mechanistic ecosystem models are not themselves operated globally, but rather are used to 'calibrate' much simplified models, primarily driven by remote sensing, that could be implemented in a semiautomated way globally, and in principle could interface with atmospheric general circulation models (GCM's).

Running, Steven W.↗

Modeling Efforts to Gain Insight into Historical Leak Events from the Single-Shell Tank A-105 in the Hanford 241-A Tank Farm - 20113

The 241-A Tank Farm is a single-shell tank (SST) farm constructed to store process waste from Hanford nuclear operations. Millions of gallons of nuclear waste were stored in the 241-A Tank Farm SSTs and some of the SSTs leaked in the past. In addition, spills and pipeline leaks during transfers and storage and intentional discharges to cribs and trenches resulted in releasing waste to the ground. Tank liner leaks are referred to as 'leaks' and all other discharges to the soil are referred to as 'releases.' Liquid waste that could be removed by pumping has been removed from all of the SSTs to reduce the potential for future leaks. The most significant historical leak event in 241-A Tank Farm occurred in 1965 when tank A-105 experienced a pressurized steam event. This event resulted in damage to the inner steel liner flooring of A-105, which was separated from the sidewalls over part of its circumference and buckled up to 2.5 m, vertically. During this event up to 7,570 L of contaminated liquid may have leaked to the adjacent soil. This leak occurred under extreme temperature and pressure conditions. Modeling efforts to better understand the nature and extent of historical leaks from subsurface SSTs that were used to store highly radioactive, self-boiling liquid wastes at 241-A Tank Farm have recently been undertaken. These efforts have compiled the available historical information to support a preliminary non-isothermal, multiphase flow and chemical transport modeling effort to re-create the conditions under which the leaks occurred and to formulate a conceptual model as to the extent and distribution of leaked radioactive contaminants in the adjacent soil material. The focus of this work was on developing an understanding of the key features, processes and bounding conditions related to tank A-105 leak events that occurred in the 1960's. The activities include estimation of leak composition, non-isothermal multiphase flow and transport modeling, and geochemical modeling. The STOMP{sup C} Water-Air-Energy modeling code was utilized to implement the three-dimensional representation of the subsurface tank and the surrounding flow field. Once constructed, the model was used to evaluate the conceptual understanding of leaks originating from different parts of the tank under the elevated temperature boundary conditions that were imposed by surrounding tanks at the time of the historical leaks. The chemical evolution of the liquid waste was also evaluated as it leaked from the tank under transient pressure and temperature gradients. The results of the preliminary evaluation suggested the presence of a heat-pipe effect beneath tank A-105 in which water vapor at an elevated temperature is driven away from the base of the tank to a position where water vapor cools, condenses and is then drawn back toward the tank by the strong capillary attraction of the dry soil. A non-sorbing contaminant (Tc-99) was introduced into this flow field to better understand the potential distribution patterns of leaked contaminants that may have occurred during the historical leak events. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Shatter Thresholds and Fragment Size Distributions of Deuterium–Neon Mixture Cryogenic Pellets for Tokamak Thermal Mitigation

Reliable mitigation is necessary to eliminate the detrimental effects of a disruption event in large high-current tokamaks such as ITER. To avoid serious damage to plasma-facing components during the thermal quench phase of a disruption, material is injected to radiate the plasma energy over the inner surface of the machine. The most promising method of material injection is a process known as shattered pellet injection (SPI). SPI utilizes cryogenic cooling to desublimate gas into the barrel of a pipe gun to form a solid pellet. High-pressure gas or a mechanical punch is used to dislodge the pellet and accelerate it into a bent tube to intentionally fracture it. Pellets made of a mixture of deuterium and neon are likely candidates for thermal mitigation. The survivability of these pellets throughout their flight path, before striking the shatter tube, is essential for reliable SPI operation. Experiments were conducted to determine intact speed limits for various mixtures. In this paper, we outline the details of brittle fracture theory and compare a theory-based model to experimental results from various mixtures of deuterium and neon pellets.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Heat Pipe Materials Compatibility

An experimental program to evaluate noncondensable gas generation in ammonia heat pipes was completed. A total of 37 heat pipes made of aluminum, stainless steel and combinations of these materials were processed by various techniques, operated at different temperatures and tested at low temperature to quantitatively determine gas generation rates. In order of increasing stability are aluminum/stainless combination, all aluminum and all stainless heat pipes. One interesting result is the identification of intentionally introduced water in the ammonia during a reflux step as a means of surface passivation to reduce gas generation in stainless-steel/aluminum heat pipes.

Eninger, J. E.↗

The structure of separated flow regions occurring near the leading edge of airfoils, including transition

The structure and behavior of the separation bubble including transition and the redeveloping boundary layer after reattachment over an airfoil at low Reynolds numbers was studied. The intent is to further the understanding of the complex flow phenomena so that analytic methods for predicting their formation and development can be improved. These analytic techniques have applications in the design and performance prediction of airfoils operating in the low Reynolds number flight regime.

Mueller, T. J.↗

Energy efficient engine high-pressure turbine component rig performance test report

A rig test of the cooled high-pressure turbine component for the Energy Efficient Engine was successfully completed. The principal objective of this test was to substantiate the turbine design point performance as well as determine off-design performance with the interaction of the secondary flow system. The measured efficiency of the cooled turbine component was 88.5 percent, which surpassed the rig design goal of 86.5 percent. The secondary flow system in the turbine performed according to the design intent. Characterization studies showed that secondary flow system performance is insensitive to flow and pressure variations. Overall, this test has demonstrated that a highly-loaded, transonic, single-stage turbine can achieve a high level of operating efficiency.

Leach, K. P.↗

A study of the application of differential techniques to the global positioning system for a helicopter precision approach

The results of a simulation study to define the functional characteristics of a airborne and ground reference GPS receiver for use in a Differential GPS system are doumented. The operations of a variety of receiver types (sequential-single channel, continuous multi-channel, etc.) are evaluated for a typical civil helicopter mission scenario. The math model of each receiver type incorporated representative system errors including intentional degradation. The results include the discussion of the receiver relative performance, the spatial correlative properties of individual range error sources, and the navigation algorithm used to smooth the position data.

Mccall, D. L.↗

The structure of separated flow regions occurring near the leading edge of airfoils including transition

All the time and effort was directed toward acquiring, reducing, and analyzing more hot-wire anemometer data. Some static pressure distribution data were also acquired to support the analysis of the velocity profile data. Laser Doppler Velocimetry data were not acquired due to equipment problems. Included were seven combinations of chord Reynolds number, angle of attack, and acoustic forcing using the NACA 663-018 airfoil. This research has as its objective the detailed documentation of the structure and behavior of the transitional separation bubble and the redeveloping boundary layer after reattachment over an airfoil at low Reynolds numbers. The intent is to further the understanding of the complex flow phenomena so that analytic methods for predicting their formulation and development can be improved. These analytic techniques have applications in the design and performance prediction of airfoils operating in the low Reynolds number flight regime.

Mueller, Thomas J.↗

Requirements Development Issues for Advanced Life Support Systems: Solid Waste Management

Long duration missions pose substantial new challenges for solid waste management in Advanced Life Support (ALS) systems. These possibly include storing large volumes of waste material in a safe manner, rendering wastes stable or sterilized for extended periods of time, and/or processing wastes for recovery of vital resources. This is further complicated because future missions remain ill-defined with respect to waste stream quantity, composition and generation schedule. Without definitive knowledge of this information, development of requirements is hampered. Additionally, even if waste streams were well characterized, other operational and processing needs require clarification (e.g. resource recovery requirements, planetary protection constraints). Therefore, the development of solid waste management (SWM) subsystem requirements for long duration space missions is an inherently uncertain, complex and iterative process. The intent of this paper is to address some of the difficulties in writing requirements for missions that are not completely defined. This paper discusses an approach and motivation for ALS SWM requirements development, the characteristics of effective requirements, and the presence of those characteristics in requirements that are developed for uncertain missions. Associated drivers for life support system technological capability are also presented. A general means of requirements forecasting is discussed, including successive modification of requirements and the need to consider requirements integration among subsystems.

Levri, Julie A.↗

Lead-Free Experiment in a Space Environment

This Technical Memorandum addresses the Lead-Free Technology Experiment in Space Environment that flew as part of the seventh Materials International Space Station Experiment outside the International Space Station for approximately 18 months. Its intent was to provide data on the performance of lead-free electronics in an actual space environment. Its postflight condition is compared to the preflight condition as well as to the condition of an identical package operating in parallel in the laboratory. Some tin whisker growth was seen on a flight board but the whiskers were few and short. There were no solder joint failures, no tin pest formation, and no significant intermetallic compound formation or growth on either the flight or ground units.

Blanche, J. F.↗

Tone and Broadband Noise Separation from Acoustic Data of a Scale-Model Counter-Rotating Open Rotor

Renewed interest in contra-rotating open rotor technology for aircraft propulsion application has prompted the development of advanced diagnostic tools for better design and improved acoustical performance. In particular, the determination of tonal and broadband components of open rotor acoustic spectra is essential for properly assessing the noise control parameters and also for validating the open rotor noise simulation codes. The technique of phase averaging has been employed to separate the tone and broadband components from a single rotor, but this method does not work for the two-shaft contra-rotating open rotor. A new signal processing technique was recently developed to process the contra-rotating open rotor acoustic data. The technique was first tested using acoustic data taken of a hobby aircraft open rotor propeller, and reported previously. The intent of the present work is to verify and validate the applicability of the new technique to a realistic one-fifth scale open rotor model which has 12 forward and 10 aft contra-rotating blades operating at realistic forward flight Mach numbers and tip speeds. The results and discussions of that study are presented in this paper.

Acoustic Data↗

Tone and Broadband Noise Separation from Acoustic Data of a Scale-Model Contra-Rotating Open Rotor

Renewed interest in contra-rotating open rotor technology for aircraft propulsion application has prompted the development of advanced diagnostic tools for better design and improved acoustical performance. In particular, the determination of tonal and broadband components of open rotor acoustic spectra is essential for properly assessing the noise control parameters and also for validating the open rotor noise simulation codes. The technique of phase averaging has been employed to separate the tone and broadband components from a single rotor, but this method does not work for the two-shaft contra-rotating open rotor. A new signal processing technique was recently developed to process the contra-rotating open rotor acoustic data. The technique was first tested using acoustic data taken of a hobby aircraft open rotor propeller, and reported previously. The intent of the present work is to verify and validate the applicability of the new technique to a realistic one-fifth scale open rotor model which has 12 forward and 10 aft contra-rotating blades operating at realistic forward flight Mach numbers and tip speeds. The results and discussions of that study are presented in this paper.

Noise Separation↗

Enabling Future Science and Human Exploration with NASA's Next Generation near Earth and Deep Space Communications and Navigation Architecture

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is studying alternatives for the United States space communications architecture through the 2040 timeframe. This architecture provides communication and navigation services to both human exploration and science missions throughout the solar system. Several of NASA's key space assets are approaching their end of design life and major systems are in need of replacement. The changes envisioned in the relay satellite architecture and capabilities around both Earth and Mars are significant undertakings and occur only once or twice each generation, and therefore is referred to as NASA's next generation space communications architecture. NASA's next generation architecture will benefit from technology and services developed over recent years. These innovations will provide missions with new operations concepts, increased performance, and new business and operating models. Advancements in optical communications will enable high-speed data channels and the use of new and more complex science instruments. Modern multiple beam/multiple access technologies such as those employed on commercial high throughput satellites will enable enhanced capabilities for on-demand service, and with new protocols will help provide Internet-like connectivity for cooperative spacecraft to improve data return and coordinate joint mission objectives. On-board processing with autonomous and cognitive networking will play larger roles to help manage system complexity. Spacecraft and ground systems will coordinate among themselves to establish communications, negotiate link connectivity, and learn to share spectrum to optimize resource allocation. Spacecraft will autonomously navigate, plan trajectories, and handle off-nominal events. NASA intends to leverage the ever-expanding capabilities of the satellite communications industry and foster its continued growth. NASA's technology development will complement and extend commercial capabilities to meet unique space environment requirements and to provide capabilities that are beyond the commercial marketplace. The progress of the communications industry, including the emerging global space internet segment and its planned constellations of 100's of satellites offer additional opportunities for new capability and mission concepts. The opportunities and challenges of a future space architecture require an optimal solution encompassing a global perspective. The concepts and technologies intentionally define an architecture that applies not only to NASA, but to other U.S. government agencies, international space and government agencies, and domestic and international industries to advance the openness, interoperability, and affordability of space communications. Cooperation among the worlds space agencies, their capabilities, standards, operations, and interoperability are key to advancing humankind's understand of the universe and extending human presence into the solar system.

Communications↗

Enabling Future Science and Human Exploration with NASA's Next Generation Near Earth and Deep Space Communications and Navigation Architecture

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is studying alternatives for the United States space communications architecture through the 2040 timeframe. This architecture provides communication and navigation services to both human exploration and science missions throughout the solar system. Several of NASA's key space assets are approaching their end of design life and major systems are in need of replacement. The changes envisioned in the relay satellite architecture and capabilities around both Earth and Mars are significant undertakings and occur only once or twice each generation, and therefore is referred to as NASA's next generation space communications architecture. NASA's next generation architecture will benefit from technology and services developed over recent years. These innovations will provide missions with new operations concepts, increased performance, and new business and operating models. Advancements in optical communications will enable high-speed data channels and the use of new and more complex science instruments. Modern multiple beam/multiple access technologies such as those employed on commercial high throughput satellites will enable enhanced capabilities for on-demand service, and with new protocols will help provide Internet-like connectivity for cooperative spacecraft to improve data return and coordinate joint mission objectives. On-board processing with autonomous and cognitive networking will play larger roles to help manage system complexity. Spacecraft and ground systems will coordinate among themselves to establish communications, negotiate link connectivity, and learn to share spectrum to optimize resource allocation. Spacecraft will autonomously navigate, plan trajectories, and handle off-nominal events. NASA intends to leverage the ever-expanding capabilities of the satellite communications industry and foster its continued growth. NASA's technology development will complement and extend commercial capabilities to meet unique space environment requirements and to provide capabilities that are beyond the commercial marketplace. The progress of the communications industry, including the emerging global space internet segment and its planned constellations of 100's of satellites offer additional opportunities for new capability and mission concepts. The opportunities and challenges of a future space architecture require an optimal solution encompassing a global perspective. The concepts and technologies intentionally define an architecture that applies not only to NASA, but to other U.S. government agencies, international space and government agencies, and domestic and international industries to advance the openness, interoperability, and affordability of space communications. Cooperation among the worlds space agencies, their capabilities, standards, operations, and interoperability are key to advancing humankinds understand of the universe and extending human presence into the solar system.

deep space↗

Development of Displacement Gages Exposed to Solid Rocket Motor Internal Environments

The Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) has three non-vented segment-to-segment case field joints. These joints use an interference fit J-joint that is bonded at assembly with a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) inboard of redundant O-ring seals. Full-scale motor and sub-scale test article experience has shown that the ability to preclude gas leakage past the J-joint is a function of PSA type, joint moisture from pre-assembly humidity exposure, and the magnitude of joint displacement during motor operation. To more accurately determine the axial displacements at the J-joints, two thermally durable displacement gages (one mechanical and one electrical) were designed and developed. The mechanical displacement gage concept was generated first as a non-electrical, self-contained gage to capture the maximum magnitude of the J-joint motion. When it became feasible, the electrical displacement gage concept was generated second as a real-time linear displacement gage. Both of these gages were refined in development testing that included hot internal solid rocket motor environments and simulated vibration environments. As a result of this gage development effort, joint motions have been measured in static fired RSRM J-joints where intentional venting was produced (Flight Support Motor #8, FSM-8) and nominal non-vented behavior occurred (FSM-9 and FSM-10). This data gives new insight into the nominal characteristics of the three case J-joint positions (forward, center and aft) and characteristics of some case J-joints that became vented during motor operation. The data supports previous structural model predictions. These gages will also be useful in evaluating J-joint motion differences in a five-segment Space Shuttle solid rocket motor.

Bolton, D. E.↗

Aeronautical fuel conservation possibilities for advanced subsonic transports

The anticipated growth of air transportation is in danger of being constrained by increased prices and insecure sources of petroleum-based fuel. Fuel-conservation possibilities attainable through the application of advances in aeronautical technology to aircraft design are identified with the intent of stimulating NASA R and T and systems-study activities in the various disciplinary areas. The material includes drag reduction; weight reduction; increased efficiency of main and auxiliary power systems; unconventional air transport of cargo; and operational changes.

Braslow, A. L.↗