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This guideline was developed as an aid to help in the understanding of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) reliability and to facilitate the insertion of this technology into high reliability applications. Modeled after the GaAs MMIC Reliability Assurance Guideline for Space Applications by Kayali, et al., is was felt that a guideline would be more advantageous to people than a strict specification.
The high-reliability operation of three-level inverters is crucial to prevent equipment damage, process downtime, and economic losses. This article investigates a three-level neutral-point-clamped inverter under all possible combinations of open-circuit and short-circuit faults and proposes a new postfault operation method without adding extra hardware. This method provides comprehensive solution for operations after single and multiple-device failures, increasing the inverter reliability by 24%. This article classified postfault modulations and uncovered previously unknown fault scenarios that can be addressed using the proposed control method. A new postfault modulation based on space vector modulation with virtual vectors is proposed. The feasibility of the proposed control method is verified by simulation and an experiment for one fault scenario in a three-level neutral-point-clamped inverter with a 3.73 kW motor load. Furthermore, this article contributes to improving the reliability of three-level inverters.
Future manned and unmanned space missions will require reliable, high efficiency energy conversion systems. For a manned Mars mission, power levels in the range of 10 to 100 kWe will be needed. The Alkali Metal Thermoelectric Converter (AMTEC) is a direct energy conversion technology with the potential to meet these needs. The AMTEC is a thermally regenerative electrochemical device that derives its operation from the sodium ion conducting properties of beta-alumina solid electrolyte (BASE). To date, an efficiency of 19%, area power density of 1 W/sq cm, and a lifetime of 10,000 hours at high temperature were demonstrated in laboratory devices. Systems studies show that projected AMTEC systems equal or surpass the performance of other static or dynamic systems in applications of 1 kWe-1 MWe. Thus, the laboratory experiments and applications studies conducted to date have shown that the AMTEC posseses great potential. In order to bring this technology to the stage where prototype units can be built and operated, several technical issues must be addressed. These include the need for long life, high power electrodes, minimization of radiative parasitic losses, and high temperature seals. In summary, the evidence shows that if AMTEC is developed, it can play a significant role in future space power applications.
Software which is used in life critical functions must be known to be highly reliable before installation. This requires a strong testing program to estimate the reliability, since neither formal methods, software engineering nor fault tolerant methods can guarantee perfection. Prior to the final testing software goes through a debugging period and many models have been developed to try to estimate reliability from the debugging data. However, the existing models are poorly validated and often give poor performance. This paper emphasizes the fact that part of their failures can be attributed to the random nature of the debugging data given to these models as input, and it poses the problem of correcting this defect as an area of future research.
NASA, the aerospace community, and other high reliability (hi-rel) users of advanced microelectronic products face many challenges as technology continues to scale into the deep sub-micron region. Decreasing the feature size of CMOS devices not only allows more components to be placed on a single chip, but it increases performance by allowing faster switching (or clock) speeds with reduced power compared to larger scaled devices. Higher performance, and lower operating and stand-by power characteristics of Ultra-Low Power (ULP) microelectronics are not only desirable, but also necessary to meet low power consumption design goals of critical spacecraft systems. The integration of these components in such systems, however, must be balanced with the overall risk tolerance of the project.
R&D Dynamics Corporation (RDD) is developing a fuel cell system compressor-expander designed for heavy-duty vehicle applications. The system emphasizes high reliability, versatility, long service life, and cost-effective mass production. Its design integrates a high-speed centrifugal compressor/expander, oil-free foil air/gas bearings, a direct current permanent magnet (DCPM) motor, and an inverter utilizing silicon carbide (SiC) switches. Key advantages include high efficiency, compact size and reduced weight, enhanced reliability, and elimination of oil contamination risks. The technology targets multiple sectors such as long-haul semi-trucks, mining and construction equipment, power generation, data centers, marine systems, and other heavy machinery. Evaluation units are ready for shipment, and manufacturing capabilities are currently being developed. Contract Number: DE-EE0009617 (2021).
This paper presents the Planck Multi-frequency Catalogue of Non-thermal (i.e. synchrotron-dominated) Sources (PCNT) observed between 30 and 857 GHz by the ESA Planck mission. This catalogue was constructed by selecting objects detected in the full mission all-sky temperature maps at 30 and 143 GHz, with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N)> 3 in at least one of the two channels after filtering with a particular Mexican hat wavelet. As a result, 29 400 source candidates were selected. Then, a multi-frequency analysis was performed using the Matrix Filters methodology at the position of these objects, and flux densities and errors were calculated for all of them in the nine Planck channels. This catalogue was built using a different methodology than the one adopted for the Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources (PCCS) and the Second Planck Catalogue of Compact Sources (PCCS2), although the initial detection was done with the same pipeline that was used to produce them. The present catalogue is the first unbiased, full-sky catalogue of synchrotron-dominated sources published at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths and constitutes a powerful database for statistical studies of non-thermal extragalactic sources, whose emission is dominated by the central active galactic nucleus. Together with the full multi-frequency catalogue, we also define the Bright Planck Multi-frequency Catalogue of Non-thermal Sources (PCNTb), where only those objects with a S/N > 4 at both 30 and 143 GHz were selected. In this catalogue 1146 compact sources are detected outside the adopted Planck GAL070 mask; thus, these sources constitute a highly reliable sample of extragalactic radio sources. We also flag the high-significance subsample (PCNThs), a subset of 151 sources that are detected with S/N > 4 in all nine Planck channels, 75 of which are found outside the Planck mask adopted here. The remaining 76 sources inside the Galactic mask are very likely Galactic objects.
The article devotes a brief description of the recent development and current status of an ongoing research of plasma optical systems based on the fundamental plasma optical idea magnetic electron isolation, equipotentialization magnetic field lines, and the axi-symmetric cylindrical electrostatic plasma lens (PL) configuration. The experimental, theoretical, and simulation investigations have been carried out over recent years collaboratively between IP NASU (Kiev), LBNL (Berkeley, USA), and HCEI RAS (Tomsk). The crossed electric and magnetic fields inherent the PL configuration that provides the attractive method for establishing a stable plasma discharge at low pressure. Using PL configuration, several high reliability plasma devices were developed. These devices are attractive for many high-tech applications.
Particle physics has arrived at an important moment of its history. The discovery of the Higgs boson, with a mass of 125 GeV, completes the matrix of particles and interactions that has constituted the “Standard Model” for several decades. This model is a consistent and predictive theory, which has so far proven successful at describing all phenomena accessible to collider experiments. However, several experimental facts do require the extension of the Standard Model and explanations are needed for observations such as the abundance of matter over antimatter, the striking evidence for dark matter and the non-zero neutrino masses. Theoretical issues such as the hierarchy problem, and, more in general, the dynamical origin of the Higgs mechanism, do likewise point to the existence of physics beyond the Standard Model. This report contains the description of a novel research infrastructure based on a highest-energy hadron collider with a centre-of-mass collision energy of 100 TeV and an integrated luminosity of at least a factor of 5 larger than the HL-LHC. It will extend the current energy frontier by almost an order of magnitude. The mass reach for direct discovery will reach several tens of TeV, and allow, for example, to produce new particles whose existence could be indirectly exposed by precision measurements during the earlier preceding e+e– collider phase. This collider will also precisely measure the Higgs self-coupling and thoroughly explore the dynamics of electroweak symmetry breaking at the TeV scale, to elucidate the nature of the electroweak phase transition. WIMPs as thermal dark matter candidates will be discovered, or ruled out. As a single project, this particle collider infrastructure will serve the world-wide physics community for about 25 years and, in combination with a lepton collider (see FCC conceptual design report volume 2), will provide a research tool until the end of the 21st century. Collision energies beyond 100 TeV can be considered when using high-temperature superconductors. The European Strategy for Particle Physics (ESPP) update 2013 stated “To stay at the forefront of particle physics, Europe needs to be in a position to propose an ambitious post-LHC accelerator project at CERN by the time of the next Strategy update”. The FCC study has implemented the ESPP recommendation by developing a long-term vision for an “accelerator project in a global context”. This document describes the detailed design and preparation of a construction project for a post-LHC circular energy frontier collider “in collaboration with national institutes, laboratories and universities worldwide”, and enhanced by a strong participation of industrial partners. Now, a coordinated preparation effort can be based on a core of an ever-growing consortium of already more than 135 institutes worldwide. The technology for constructing a high-energy circular hadron collider can be brought to the technology readiness level required for constructing within the coming ten years through a focused R&D programme. The FCC-hh concept comprises in the baseline scenario a power-saving, low-temperature superconducting magnet system based on an evolution of the Nb3Sn technology pioneered at the HL-LHC, an energy-efficient cryogenic refrigeration infrastructure based on a neon-helium (Nelium) light gas mixture, a high-reliability and low loss cryogen distribution infrastructure based on Invar, high-power distributed beam transfer using superconducting elements and local magnet energy recovery and re-use technologies that are already gradually introduced at other CERN accelerators. On a longer timescale, high-temperature superconductors can be developed together with industrial partners to achieve an even more energy efficient particle collider or to reach even higher collision energies.The re-use of the LHC and its injector chain, which also serve for a concurrently running physics programme, is an essential lever to come to an overall sustainable research infrastructure at the energy frontier. Strategic R&D for FCC-hh aims at minimising construction cost and energy consumption, while maximising the socio-economic impact. It will mitigate technology-related risks and ensure that industry can benefit from an acceptable utility. Concerning the implementation, a preparatory phase of about eight years is both necessary and adequate to establish the project governance and organisation structures, to build the international machine and experiment consortia, to develop a territorial implantation plan in agreement with the host-states’ requirements, to optimise the disposal of land and underground volumes, and to prepare the civil engineering project. Such a large-scale, international fundamental research infrastructure, tightly involving industrial partners and providing training at all education levels, will be a strong motor of economic and societal development in all participating nations. The FCC study has implemented a set of actions towards a coherent vision for the world-wide high-energy and particle physics community, providing a collaborative framework for topically complementary and geographically well-balanced contributions. This conceptual design report lays the foundation for a subsequent infrastructure preparatory and technical design phase.
Particle physics has arrived at an important moment of its history. The discovery of the Higgs boson, with a mass of 125 GeV, completes the matrix of particles and interactions that has constituted the “Standard Model” for several decades. This model is a consistent and predictive theory, which has so far proven successful at describing all phenomena accessible to collider experiments. However, several experimental facts do require the extension of the Standard Model and explanations are needed for observations such as the abundance of matter over antimatter, the striking evidence for dark matter and the non-zero neutrino masses. Theoretical issues such as the hierarchy problem, and, more in general, the dynamical origin of the Higgs mechanism, do likewise point to the existence of physics beyond the Standard Model. This report contains the description of a novel research infrastructure based on a high-energy hadron collider, which extends the current energy frontier by almost a factor 2 (27 TeV collision energy) and an integrated luminosity of at least a factor of 3 larger than the HL-LHC. In connection with four experimental detectors, this infrastructure will deepen our understanding of the origin of the electroweak symmetry breaking, allow a first measurement of the Higgs self-coupling, double the HL-LHC discovery reach and allow for in-depth studies of new physics signals arising from future LHC measurements. This collider would directly produce particles at significant rates at scales up to 12 TeV. The project re-uses the existing LHC underground infrastructure and large parts of the injector chain at CERN. This particle collider would succeed the HL-LHC directly and serve the world-wide physics community for about 20 years beyond the middle of the 21st century. The European Strategy for Particle Physics (ESPP) update 2013 stated “To stay at the forefront of particle physics, Europe needs to be in a position to propose an ambitious post-LHC accelerator project at CERN by the time of the next Strategy update”. The FCC study has implemented the ESPP recommendation by developing a vision for an “accelerator project in a global context”. This document describes the detailed design and preparation of a construction project for a post-LHC circular high-energy hadron collider “in collaboration with national institutes, laboratories and universities worldwide”, and enhanced by a strong participation of industrial partners. Now, a coordinated preparation effort can be based on a core of an ever-growing consortium of already more than 135 institutes worldwide. The technology for constructing a High-Energy LHC can be brought to the technology readiness level required for construction within the coming ten years through a committed and focused R&D programme. The concept comprises a power-saving, low-temperature superconducting magnet system based on an evolution of the Nb3Sn technology pioneered at the HL-LHC, an energy-efficient cryogenic refrigeration infrastructure based on a neon-helium (Nelium) light gas mixture, a high-reliability and low loss cryogen distribution infrastructure based on Invar, high-power distributed beam transfer using superconducting elements and local magnet energy recovery and re-use technologies that are already gradually introduced at other CERN accelerators. Re-use of the LHC underground civil infrastructure worth about 500 million CHF at the time of its construction, extension of the surface sites and use of the existing injector chain that also serve for a concurrently running physics programme are levers to come to a sustainable research infrastructure at the energy frontier. Strategic R&D for HE-LHC aims at minimising construction cost and energy consumption, while maximising the socio-economic impact. It needs to mitigate technology-related risks and ensure that industry can benefit from an acceptable economic utility. Concerning the implementation, a preparatory phase of about eight years is both necessary and adequate to establish the project governance and organisation structures, to build the international machine and experiment consortia, to develop a territorial implantation plan considering the constraints emerging from using the existing infrastructure and the host states’ requirements, optimising the use of land, resources and preparing the construction project. Such a large-scale, international fundamental research infrastructure, tightly involving industrial partners and providing training at all education levels, will be a strong motor of economic and societal development in all participating nations. The FCC study has implemented a set of actions towards a coherent vision for the world-wide high-energy and particle physics community, providing a collaborative framework for topically complementary and geographically well-balanced contributions. This conceptual design report lays the foundation for a subsequent infrastructure preparatory and technical design phase.
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been conducting marine testing of uranium adsorbent materials for the Fuel Resources Program, Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) beginning in FY 2012. The marine testing program is being conducted at PNNL’s Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL), located at Sequim Bay, along the coast of Washington. One of the main efforts of the marine testing program is the determination of adsorption capacity and adsorption kinetics for uranium and selected other elements (e.g. vanadium, iron, copper, nickel, and zinc) for adsorbent materials provided primarily by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), but also includes other Fuel Resources Program participants. This report summarizes the major marine testing results that have been obtained to date using time series sampling for 42 to 56 days using either flow-through column or recirculating flume exposures. The major results are highlighted in this report, and the full data sets are appended as a series of Excel spreadsheet files. Over the four year period (2012-2016) that marine testing of amidoxime-based polymeric adsorbents was conducted at PNNL’s Marine Science Laboratory, there has been a steady progression of improvement in the 56-day adsorbent capacity from 3.30 g U/kg adsorbent for the ORNL 38H adsorbent to the current best performing adsorbent prepared by a collaboration between the University of Tennessee and ORNL to produce the adsorbent SB12-8, which has an adsorption capacity of 6.56 g U/kg adsorbent. This nearly doubling of the adsorption capacity in four years is a significant advancement in amidoxime-based adsorbent technology and a significant achievement for the Uranium from Seawater program. The achievements are evident when compared to the several decades of work conducted by the Japanese scientists beginning in the 1980’s (Kim et al., 2013). The best adsorbent capacity reported by the Japanese scientists was 3.2 g U/kg adsorbent for a 180 day deployment at temperatures between 15 and 25 °C (Kim et al., 2013) The majority of the capacities the Japanese scientists reported were less than 2 g U/kg adsorbent (Kim et al., 2013). Repeated time series measurements of a common formulation of amidoxime-based adsorbent, the ORNL AF series, by both flow-through column (3.91 ± 0.11 g U/kg adsorbent). and recirculating flume exposures (4.03 ± 0.12 g U/kg adsorbent) produced 56-day adsorption capacities that agreed extremely well. This excellent agreement generates confidence that the testing procedures are accurate and reliable, and, moreover, that the technology to produce the adsorbents is highly reliable and reproducible, lending additional confidence of the robustness and homogeneity of the production technology.
The analysis followed five selected motors through initial design, development, test, qualification, manufacture, and final flight reports. An audit was conducted at the manufacturing plants to complement the literature search with firsthand observations of the current philosophies and practices that affect reliability of the motors. A second literature search emphasized acquisition of spacecraft and satellite data bearing on solid motor reliability. It was concluded that present practices at the plants yield highly reliable flight hardware. Reliability can be further improved by new developments of aft-end bonding and initiator/igniter nondestructive test methods, a safe/arm device, and an insulation formulation. Minimum diagnostic instrumentation is recommended for all motor flights. Surplus motors should be used in margin testing. Criteria should be established for pressure and zone curing. The motor contractor should be represented at launch. New design analyses should be made of stretched motors and spacecraft/motor pairs.
The relaunching of unsuccessful experiments or satellites will become a real option with the advent of the space shuttle. An examination was made of the cost effectiveness of relaxing reliability requirements for experiment hardware by allowing more than one flight of an experiment in the event of its failure. Any desired overall reliability or probability of mission success can be acquired by launching an experiment with less reliability two or more times if necessary. Although this procedure leads to uncertainty in total cost projections, because the number of flights is not known in advance, a considerable cost reduction can sometimes be achieved. In cases where reflight costs are low relative to the experiment's cost, three flights with overall reliability 0.9 can be made for less than half the cost of one flight with a reliability of 0.9. An example typical of shuttle payload cost projections is cited where three low reliability flights would cost less than $50 million and a single high reliability flight would cost over $100 million. The ratio of reflight cost to experiment cost is varied and its effect on the range in total cost is observed. An optimum design reliability selection criterion to minimize expected cost is proposed, and a simple graphical method of determining this reliability is demonstrated.
Under the Department of Energy's (DOE) Solar Thermal Technology Program, Sandia National Laboratories (SNLA) is developing heat engines for terrestrial Solar Distributed Heat Receivers. SNLA has identified the Stirling to be one of the most promising candidates for the terrestrial applications. The free-piston Stirling engine (FPSE) has the potential to meet the DOE goals for both performance and cost. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center (LeRC) is conducting free-piston Stirling activities which are directed toward a dynamic power source for space applications. Space power system requirements include high efficiency, very long life, high reliability and low vibration. The FPSE has the potential for future high power space conversion systems, either solar or nuclear. Generic free-piston technology is currently being developed by LeRC for DOE/ORNL for use with a residential heat pump under an Interagency Agreement. Since 1983, the SP-100 Program (DOD/NASA/DOE) is developing dynamic power sources for space. Although both applications (heat pump and space power) appear to be quite different, their requirements complement each other. A cooperative Interagency Agreement (IAA) was signed in 1985 with NASA Lewis to provide technical management for an Advanced Stirling Conversion System (ASCS) for SNLA. Conceptual design(s) using a free-piston Stirling (FPSE), and a heat pipe will be discussed. The ASCS will be designed using technology which can reasonably be expected to be available in the 1980's.
A user's workshop for CARE 3, a reliability assessment tool designed and developed especially for the evaluation of high reliability fault tolerant digital systems, was held at NASA Langley Research Center on October 6 to 7, 1987. The main purpose of the workshop was to assess the evolutionary status of CARE 3. The activities of the workshop are documented and papers are included by user's of CARE 3 and NASA. Features and limitations of CARE 3 and comparisons to other tools are presented. The conclusions to a workshop questionaire are also discussed.
In the design phase of a system, how a design engineer or manager choose between a subsystem with .990 reliability and a more costly subsystem with .995 reliability is examined, along with the justification of the increased cost. High reliability is not necessarily an end in itself but may be desirable in order to reduce the expected cost due to subsystem failure. However, this may not be the wisest use of funds since the expected cost due to subsystem failure is not the only cost involved. The subsystem itself may be very costly. The cost of the subsystem nor the expected cost due to subsystem failure should not be considered separately but the total of the two costs should be maximized, i.e., the total of the cost of the subsystem plus the expected cost due to subsystem failure.
Upper and lower bounds are derived for the probability of failure for a class of highly reliable process control computers. The bounds are synthetic in the sense that the descriptions of component failure and system recovery are assumed to be obtained from different sources. The reliability model is constructed under the assumption that the processes are independent.
A Zinc-iodine flow battery (ZIFB) with super long cycle life, high energy, power density and self-healing behavior was presented. The long cycle life was achieved by employing a low-cost porous polyolefin membrane with optimized pore structure and stable electrolytes. The pores in the polyolefin membrane can be filled with a solution containing oxidized I 3 - that can react with zinc dendrite. Therefore, by consuming zinc dendrite, the battery can self-recover from micro-short circuiting resulting from overcharging the battery. By using KI and ZnBr 2 as electrolytes and a high ion conductivity porous membrane, a very high power density can be achieved. As a result, the ZIFB exhibits an energy efficiency (EE) of 82% at 80 mA/cm 2 and 71% at 140 mA/cm 2 , which is 8 times higher than the currently reported for ZIFBs. In addition, a long cycling life of more than 1000 cycles over 3 months with an energy density of more than 80 Wh/L was obtained at 80 mA/cm 2 . Furthermore, a kW-class cell stack with an output of 700 W was assembled and continuously run for more than 300 cycles. We believe this ZIFB with its high power density, long cycle life, and high reliability can lead the way to development of new-generation, high-performance flow batteries.