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At least 469 records · Page 26

Cryogenic Fluid Management Technologies for Advanced Green Propulsion Systems

In support of the Exploration Vision for returning to the Moon and beyond, NASA and its partners are developing and testing critical cryogenic fluid propellant technologies that will meet the need for high performance propellants on long-term missions. Reliable knowledge of low-gravity cryogenic fluid management behavior is lacking and yet is critical in the areas of tank thermal and pressure control, fluid acquisition, mass gauging, and fluid transfer. Such knowledge can significantly reduce or even eliminate tank fluid boil-off losses for long term missions, reduce propellant launch mass and required on-orbit margins, and simplify vehicle operations. The Propulsion and Cryogenic Advanced Development (PCAD) Project is performing experimental and analytical evaluation of several areas within Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) to enable NASA's Exploration Vision. This paper discusses the status of the PCAD CFM technology focus areas relative to the anticipated CFM requirements to enable execution of the Vision for Space Exploration.

Motil, Susan M.↗

Flight performance of the Voyager electrical power system

The Voyager power subsystem is described, and its flight performance to date is discussed. Special attention is given to the performance of the primary power source radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), to the autonomous operation features of the power system, and to the load management strategy developed to maintain an adequate power margin during application of transient loads and as normal degradation reduces RTG capability. It is found that the flight performance of the power system has been without significant problems to date and that RTG performance has exceeded mission requirements.

Packard, L. A.↗

Experimental study of low aspect ratio compressor blading

The paper presents a study of low aspect blading for the inlet stages of a high pressure ratio, high-speed core compressor. The basic overall design variables were stage pressure ratio and blade aspect ratio; these four stages represent two levels of total pressure ratio, two levels of rotor blade aspect ratio, and two levels of stator vane aspect ratios. Comparisons of the overall performance, radial distributions of performance parameters, diffusion factors at the near-stall conditions, blade element data, and the axial distribution of rotor tip static pressures yielded the following results: (1) higher peak pressure ratio, high stage and rotor efficiencies, and greater stall margin were obtained with the lower aspect ratio blading, (2) the lower aspect ratio blading showed improved performance over the entire blade span, and (3) the lower aspect ratio rotors operated at higher diffusion factors and higher incidence angles over the entire blade span.

Reid, L.↗

22 N HPGP Thruster Life Testing

In the ever-changing paradigm of efficient and capable spacecraft design, scientific missions continue pushing the envelope enabling spacecraft subsystems to deliver effective solutions to meet challenging new mission/spacecraft needs. From an in-space storable liquid chemical propulsion perspective, monopropellant hydrazine has been, and continues to be, a dependable propellant with considerable flight heritage, a variety of engine thrust classes available from multiple vendors, with repeatable and reliable performance. Additionally, the space propulsion industry has learned to successfully handle hydrazine, its regulations, the safety protocols, the personnel protective equipment, and the unique training standards–all requisite for loading spacecraft propulsion systems with toxic hypergolic hydrazine. The question now arises as to “what is next for in-space chemical propulsion?” Further, with the evolution and concrete advancements in innovative in-space green propellant technologies, capable of providing realizable benefits to scientific missions, concern over the reliability and availability of this higher performing and safer to handle class of propellants is waning. As science missions move forward with the potential flight in fusion of High Performance Green Propulsion (HPGP), NASA and its industry partners are working to address any gaps in system reliability, performance, or unique operational considerations. Propellant technology that offers both higher performance and significant reduction in personnel hazards compared to hydrazine presents an attractive propulsion subsystem design opportunity. Increased propulsion subsystem performance can result in lower spacecraft launch mass, larger scientific payloads, or extended on-orbit lifetimes. Mission trades using green propulsion technologies have been documented on multiple NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) mission classes, examining various parameters and requirements to support mission architectures in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), High Earth Orbit (HEO), geostationary, lunar, planetary, and Quasi-halo orbit around Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2). The results of these trade studies show promising, attainable benefits. The perceived programmatic risk of flying a newer propulsion technology has, unfortunately, not outweighed the benefits to date. To take advantage of the improved performance and mitigate programmatic risk, HPGP engines must demonstrate life testing at higher propellant throughputs than have currently been demonstrated. In an effort to proactively address the challenges with technology infusion into a risk-averse community, NASA and the Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA) outlined a collaborative Implementing Arrangement (IA) for the respective agencies to pursue increased HPGP technology maturation. This initial IA effort began in 2013, fresh off the heels of the successful PRISMA HPGP technology demonstration mission. The IA targeted objective is to reduce risk to potential future HPGP missions and fully characterize the LMP-103S propellant and associated engine performance. Over the past eight years, HPGP has flown in propulsion systems on twenty-five(25) spacecraft from seven(7) different Launch Ranges around the globe and on seven (7) different Launch Vehicles. Six(6) of these launches involved multiple loading operations for multiple spacecraft. For U.S. Range operations, nine (9) HPGP systems have been processed at Vandenberg Space Force Base(VSFB):six(6) in 2017, and three (3) in 2018. Six (6) more have been processed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)in May 2020, with three (3) systems launched in June 2020 and the remaining three (3) system were left loaded and ready until their launch in August of 2020. Three (3) more systems have been processed at Wallops Flight Facility(WFF)and launched in June 2021. In addition, these propulsion subsystems employed heritage propulsion subsystem component such as valves, filters, and pressure transducers, and have further demonstrated nominal functionality in both diaphragm and Propellant Management Device (PDM) propellant tanks. Based on these successes, HPGP technology continues to be considered for NASA Science Mission Directorate missions at GSFC. The work presented herein represents many years of development and collaborative efforts to successfully align higher performance, low toxicity hydrazine alternatives into scientific missions. NASA GSFC Propulsion Engineering, in collaboration with Bradford ECAPS, has developed mission specific thruster design and testing requirements to establish GSFC’s desired test conditions and firing sequences.In2017, the first flight-like 22N HPGP thruster Engineering Qualification Model (EQM-1)was designed and built by Bradford ECAPS to prove out the thruster design, materials, build process, and test campaign with respect to NASA GSFC critical component and mission requirements. This test program was developed to comprehensively test the thruster, the technology, and ultimately increase the 22N HPGP Technology Readiness Level(TRL). EQM-1was tested to environmental qualification levels prior to hot fire performance testing to represent the relevant end-to-end environment (launch to on-orbit operation)with required margin. This thruster demonstrated steady-state and pulse mode operational capability with propellant thruster throughput up to~53kg.At this throughput level, the EQM-1 engine began to present off-nominal performance and the test campaign was halted to allow for non-destructive testing and identify the root cause for the an omalous performance. Capitalizing on the successful elements of the EQM-1 campaign, an upgraded 22N HPGP EQM-2 has been manufactured by Bradford ECAPS to meet the complete GSFC requirements. The EQM-2 thruster’s test campaign has further demonstrated the robustness of the HPGP propulsion technology and increased the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) by undergoing a full acceptance test program, then proceeding into qualification, including environmental testing (vibration and shock to qualification levels),as well as hot-fire life testing, operating at steady-state and pulse modes with increased propellant thruster throughput to~150kg. The HPGP thruster performance testing enables effective HPGP thruster readiness evaluation to meet NASA candidate mission requirements in the future.

High↗

Upper-surface-blowing flow-turning performance

Jet exhaust flow-turning characteristics were determined for systematic variations in upper-surface blowing exhaust nozzles and trailing-edge flap configuration variables from experimental wind-off (static) flow studies. For conditions with parallel flow exhausting from the nozzle, jet height (as indicated by nozzle exit height) and flap radius were found to be the most important parameters relating to flow turning. Nonparallel flow from the nozzle, as obtained from an internal roof angle and/or side spread angle, had a large favorable effect on flow turning. Comparisons made between static turning results and wind tunnel aerodynamic studies of identical configurations indicated that static flow-turning results can be indicative of wind-on powered lift performance for both good and poor nozzle-flap combinations but, for marginal designs, can lead to overly optimistic assessment of powered lift potential.

Sleeman, W. C., Jr.↗

Self-Tuning Adaptive-Controller Using Online Frequency Identification

A real time adaptive controller was designed and tested successfully on a fourth order laboratory dynamic system which features very low structural damping and a noncolocated actuator sensor pair. The controller, implemented in a digital minicomputer, consists of a state estimator, a set of state feedback gains, and a frequency locked loop (FLL) for real time parameter identification. The FLL can detect the closed loop natural frequency of the system being controlled, calculate the mismatch between a plant parameter and its counterpart in the state estimator, and correct the estimator parameter in real time. The adaptation algorithm can correct the controller error and stabilize the system for more than 50% variation in the plant natural frequency, compared with a 10% stability margin in frequency variation for a fixed gain controller having the same performance at the nominal plant condition. After it has locked to the correct plant frequency, the adaptive controller works as well as the fixed gain controller does when there is no parameter mismatch. The very rapid convergence of this adaptive system is demonstrated experimentally, and can also be proven with simple root locus methods.

Chiang, W. W.↗

A fast time domain digital simulation technique for power converters - Application to a buck converter with feedforward compensation

Small signal analysis was performed earlier to demonstrate the marked improvement of dynamic properties and stability margins of a switching regulator employing a novel feedforward input filter compensation scheme. A large signal nonlinear recurrent time domain model is presented for the converter to analyse the transient response due to a step input change with and without the presence of the proposed feedforward loop. The results are verified with experimental data.

Kelkar, S. S.↗

The experimental results of a self tuning adaptive controller using online frequency identification

A fourth-order laboratory dynamic system featuring very low structural damping and a noncolocated actuator-sensor pair has been used to test a novel real-time adaptive controller, implemented in a minicomputer, which consists of a state estimator, a set of state feedback gains, and a frequency-locked loop for real-time parameter identification. The adaptation algorithm employed can correct controller error and stabilize the system for more than 50 percent variation in the plant's natural frequency, compared with a 10 percent stability margin in frequency variation for a fixed gain controller having the same performance as the nominal plant condition. The very rapid convergence achievable by this adaptive system is demonstrated experimentally, and proven with simple, root-locus methods.

Chiang, W.-W.↗

Task 7: Endwall treatment inlet flow distortion analysis

The overall objective of this study was to develop a 3-D numerical analysis for compressor casing treatment flowfields, and to perform a series of detailed numerical predictions to assess the effectiveness of various endwall treatments for enhancing the efficiency and stall margin of modern high speed fan rotors. Particular attention was given to examining the effectiveness of endwall treatments to counter the undesirable effects of inflow distortion. Calculations were performed using three different gridding techniques based on the type of casing treatment being tested and the level of complexity desired in the analysis. In each case, the casing treatment itself is modeled as a discrete object in the overall analysis, and the flow through the casing treatment is determined as part of the solution. A series of calculations were performed for both treated and untreated modern fan rotors both with and without inflow distortion. The effectiveness of the various treatments were quantified, and several physical mechanisms by which the effectiveness of endwall treatments is achieved are discussed.

Hall, E. J.↗

Strength Analysis Report Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for SXI Stepper Motor/Encoder

The strength analysis report for FRR shall include only revisions to update the strength analysis reports for the flight design configuration. Since there have been no revisions to the design configuration since the PDR and the CDR this report shall consist of re-submitting the analysis previously performed. In addition the motors have been subjected to Sine vibration, Random vibration, and shock per the SM specification. Both motor/encoders have passed all three tests. There was no evidence of damage to the motor/encoder and the motor/encoder performed as required by the Acceptance test procedure. No degradation was seen between the before and after performance tests. The testing verified the analysis that there were adequate safety margins with regard to structural integrity. Separate reports are available from the test facility and are apart of the FRR submittal.

Source record↗

Battery Systems for X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) and Deorbit Propulsion Stage (DPS)

A 28V 32 Ah cell Li/MnO2 and a 28V NiMH battery systems for the Deorbit Propulsion Stage (DPS) and the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) are developed in Friwo-Silforkraft, Germany with the following objectives and approach: Provide safe battery designs for lowest volume and cost, and within schedule; Take advantage of less complex requests for V201 vs OPS CRV to simplify design and reduce cost; Use only existing commercial cell designs as building blocks for larger battery; Derive battery designs from the ASTRO-SPAS design which is the largest lithium battery design with Shuttle flight experience; Place maximum amount of battery energy on DPS; DPS battery is non rechargeable; and CRV batteries are rechargeable. This paper contains the following sections: a brief introduction on CRV requirements, CRV advantages over Soyuz, and X-38 programs; Battery objectives and approach; Battery requirements and groundrules (performance, on-orbit operation, etc); Design trades, solutions, redundancy plan, and margins; Envelope, size, and mass; Interfaces (structural, electrical & thermal); and Deviation from OPS CRV.

Darcy, Eric↗

Ionosphere Delay Calibration and Calibration Errors for Satellite Navigation of Aircraft

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is implementing a satellite-based navigation system for aircraft using the Global Positioning System (GPS). Positioning accuracy of a few meters will be achieved by broadcasting corrections to the direct GPS signal. These corrections are derived using the wide-area augmentation system (WAAS), which includes a ground network of at least 24 GPS receivers across the Continental US (CONUS). WAAS will provide real-time total electron content (TEC) measurements that can be mapped to fixed grid points using a real-time mapping algorithm. These TECs will be converted into vertical delay corrections for the GPS L1 frequency and broadcast to users every five minutes via geosynchronous satellite. Users will convert these delays to slant calibrations along their own lines-of-sight (LOS) to GPS satellites. Uncertainties in the delay calibrations will also be broadcast, allowing users to estimate the uncertainty of their position. To maintain user safety without reverting to excessive safety margins an empirical model of user calibration errors has been developed. WAAS performance depends on factors that include geographic location (errors increase near WAAS borders), and ionospheric conditions, such as the enhanced spatial electron density gradients found during ionospheric storms.

Harris, Ian↗

Development of Ceramic Matrix Composite Turbine Blisks for Rocket Engines

Ceramic matrix composite (CMC) integrally bladed turbine disks (blisks) are being considered for use in various advanced propulsion systems for space vehicles. The successful development of this technology can significantly impact National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space transportation missions, by enabling new efficient systems that can operate at higher temperatures, while reducing costs. Composite blisks comprised of carbon (C) fibers and a silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic matrix were designed, fabricated, characterized, and tested by a multidisciplinary team involving materials, design, structural analysis, turbomachinery, and nondestructive evaluation representatives from government, academia, and industry during a 4.5 year effort led by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The testing of several of these blisks, which were developed in the Simplex Turbopump CMC Blisk ]Program for use in rocket engine turbopumps, was recently completed. CMC blisks offer potential advantages in rocket engine turbopumps including increased safety resulting from increased operating temperature margins and greater pump reliability, and decreased costs resulting from improved turbopump performance. The progress that was achieved in that development effort is reviewed, and some of the technology that could be applied to other advanced space transportation propulsion systems is discussed.

Effinger, Mike↗

Development of Eddy Current Technique for the Detection of Stress Corrosion Cracking in Space Shuttle Primary Reaction Control Thrusters

A recent identification of stress corrosion cracking in the Space Shuttle Primary Reaction Control System (PRCS) thrusters triggered an extensive nondestructive evaluation effort to develop techniques capable of identifying such damage on installed shuttle hardware. As a part of this effort, specially designed eddy current probes inserted into the acoustic cavity were explored for the detection of such flaws and for evaluation of the remaining material between the crack tip and acoustic cavity. The technique utilizes two orthogonal eddy current probes which are scanned under stepper motor control in the acoustic cavity to identify cracks hidden with as much as 0.060 remaining wall thickness to the cavity. As crack growth rates in this area have been determined to be very slow, such an inspection provides a large safety margin for continued operation of the critical shuttle hardware. Testing has been performed on thruster components with both actual and fabricated defects. This paper will review the design and performance of the developed eddy current inspection system. Detection of flaws as a function of remaining wall thickness will be presented along with the proposed system configuration for depot level or on-vehicle inspection capabilities.

Wincheski, Buzz↗

Turbulent Aeroheating Testing of Mars Science Laboratory Entry Vehicle in Perfect-Gas Nitrogen

An experimental investigation of turbulent aeroheating on the Mars Science Laboratory entry vehicle heat shield has been conducted in the Arnold Engineering Development Center Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel No. 9. Testing was performed on a 6-in. (0.1524 m) diameter MSL model in pure N2 gas in the tunnel s Mach 8 and Mach 10 nozzles at free stream Reynolds numbers of 4.1x10(exp 6)/ft to 49x10(exp 6)/ft (1.3x10(exp 7)/m to 16x10(exp 7)/m) and 1.2x10(exp 6)/ft to 19x10(exp 6)/ft (0.39x10(exp 7)/m to 62x10(exp 7)/m), respectively. These conditions were sufficient to span the regime of boundary-layer flow from completely laminar to fully-developed turbulent flow over the entire forebody. A supporting aeroheating test was also conducted in the Langley Research Center 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel at free stream Reynolds number of 1x10(exp 6)/ft to 7x10(exp 6)/ft (0.36x10(exp 7)/m to 2.2x10(exp 7)/m) in order to help corroborate the Tunnel 9 results. A complementary computational fluid dynamics study was conducted in parallel to the wind tunnel testing. Laminar and turbulent predictions were generated for all wind tunnel test conditions and comparisons were performed with the data for the purpose of helping to define uncertainty margins on predictions for aeroheating environments during entry into the Martian atmosphere. Data from both wind tunnel tests and comparisons with the predictions are presented herein. It was concluded from these comparisons that for perfect-gas conditions, the computational tools could predict fully-laminar or fully-turbulent heating conditions to within 10% of the experimental data

Hollis, Brian R.↗

Flutter Analysis of the Shuttle Tile Overlay Repair Concept

The Space Shuttle tile overlay repair concept, developed at the NASA Johnson Space Center, is designed for on-orbit installation over an area of damaged tile to permit safe re-entry. The thin flexible plate is placed over the damaged area and secured to tile at discreet points around its perimeter. A series of flutter analyses were performed to determine if the onset of flutter met the required safety margins. Normal vibration modes of the panel, obtained from a simplified structural analysis of the installed concept, were combined with a series of aerodynamic analyses of increasing levels of fidelity in terms of modeling the flow physics to determine the onset of flutter. Results from these analyses indicate that it is unlikely that the overlay installed at body point 1800 will flutter during re-entry.

Bey, Kim S.↗

Development of Eddy Current Techniques for the Detection of Cracking in Space Shuttle Primary Reaction Control Thrusters

A recent identification of cracking in the Space Shuttle Primary Reaction Control System (PRCS) thrusters triggered an extensive nondestructive evaluation effort to develop techniques capable of identifying such damage on installed shuttle hardware. As a part of this effort, specially designed eddy current probes inserted into the acoustic cavity were explored for the detection of such flaws and for evaluation of the remaining material between the crack tip and acoustic cavity. The technique utilizes two orthogonal eddy current probes which are scanned under stepper motor control in the acoustic cavity to identify cracks hidden with as much as 0.060 remaining wall thickness to the cavity. As crack growth rates in this area have been determined to be very slow, such an inspection provides a large safety margin for continued operation of the critical shuttle hardware. Testing has been performed on thruster components with both actual and fabricated defects. This paper will review the design and performance of the developed eddy current inspection system. Detection of flaws as a function of remaining wall thickness will be presented along with the proposed system configuration for depot level or on-vehicle inspection capabilities.

Wincheski, Buzz A.↗

Resilient Propulsion Control Research for the NASA Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) Project

Gas turbine engines are designed to provide sufficient safety margins to guarantee robust operation with an exceptionally long life. However, engine performance requirements may be drastically altered during abnormal flight conditions or emergency maneuvers. In some situations, the conservative design of the engine control system may not be in the best interest of overall aircraft safety; it may be advantageous to "sacrifice" the engine to "save" the aircraft. Motivated by this opportunity, the NASA Aviation Safety Program is conducting resilient propulsion research aimed at developing adaptive engine control methodologies to operate the engine beyond the normal domain for emergency operations to maximize the possibility of safely landing the damaged aircraft. Previous research studies and field incident reports show that the propulsion system can be an effective tool to help control and eventually land a damaged aircraft. Building upon the flight-proven Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) experience, this area of research will focus on how engine control systems can improve aircraft safe-landing probabilities under adverse conditions. This paper describes the proposed research topics in Engine System Requirements, Engine Modeling and Simulation, Engine Enhancement Research, Operational Risk Analysis and Modeling, and Integrated Flight and Propulsion Controller Designs that support the overall goal.

Guo, Ten-Huei↗