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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 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Project MEDSAT

During the winter term of 1991, two design courses at the University of Michigan worked on a joint project, MEDSAT. The two design teams consisted of the Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Spacite System Design and Aerospace Engineering 483 (Aero 483) Aerospace System Design. In collaboration, they worked to produce MEDSAT, a satellite and scientific payload whose purpose was to monitor environmental conditions over Chiapas, Mexico. Information gained from the sensing, combined with regional data, would be used to determine the potential for malaria occurrence in that area. The responsibilities of AOSS 605 consisted of determining the remote sensing techniques, the data processing, and the method to translate the information into a usable output. Aero 483 developed the satellite configuration and the subsystems required for the satellite to accomplish its task. The MEDSAT project is an outgrowth of work already being accomplished by NASA's Biospheric and Disease Monitoring Program and Ames Research Center. NASA's work has been to develop remote sensing techniques to determine the abundance of disease carriers and now this project will place the techniques aboard a satellite. MEDSAT will be unique in its use of both a Synthetic Aperture Radar and visual/IR sensor to obtain comprehensive monitoring of the site. In order to create a highly feasible system, low cost was a high priority. To obtain this goal, a light satellite configuration launched by the Pegasus launch vehicle was used.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2004

Acquisition and Analysis of NASA Ames Sunphotometer Measurements during SAGE III Validation Campaigns and other Tropospheric and Stratospheric Research Missions

NASA Cooperative Agreement NCC2-1251 provided funding from April 2001 through December 2003 for Mr. John Livingston of SRI International to collaborate with NASA Ames Research Center scientists and engineers in the acquisition and analysis of airborne sunphotometer measurements during various atmospheric field studies. Mr. Livingston participated in instrument calibrations at Mauna Loa Observatory, pre-mission hardware and software preparations, acquisition and analysis of sunphotometer measurements during the missions, and post-mission analysis of data and reporting of scientific findings. The atmospheric field missions included the spring 2001 Intensive of the Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia), the Asian Dust Above Monterey-2003 (ADAM-2003) experiment, and the winter 2003 Second SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE II).

Livingston, John M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Transient Approximation of SAFE-100 Heat Pipe Operation

Engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have designed several heat pipe cooled reactor concepts, ranging in power from 15 kWt to 800 kWt, for both surface power systems and nuclear electric propulsion systems. The Safe, Affordable Fission Engine (SAFE) is now being developed in a collaborative effort between LANL and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA/MSFC). NASA is responsible for fabrication and testing of non-nuclear, electrically heated modules in the Early Flight Fission Test Facility (EFF-TF) at MSFC. In-core heat pipes must be properly thawed as the reactor power starts. Computational models have been developed to assess the expected operation of a specific heat pipe design during start-up, steady state operation, and shutdown. While computationally intensive codes provide complete, detailed analyses of heat pipe thaw, a relatively simple. concise routine can also be applied to approximate the response of a heat pipe to changes in the evaporator heat transfer rate during start-up and power transients (e.g., modification of reactor power level) with reasonably accurate results. This paper describes a simplified model of heat pipe start-up that extends previous work and compares the results to experimental measurements for a SAFE-100 type heat pipe design.

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

An Integrated Approach to Risk Assessment for Concurrent Design

This paper describes an approach to risk assessment and analysis suited to the early phase, concurrent design of a space mission. The approach integrates an agile, multi-user risk collection tool, a more in-depth risk analysis tool, and repositories of risk information. A JPL developed tool, named RAP, is used for collecting expert opinions about risk from designers involved in the concurrent design of a space mission. Another in-house developed risk assessment tool, named DDP, is used for the analysis.

defect detection and prevention (DDP)↗
NASA NTRS2009

Medical Devices Assess, Treat Balance Disorders

You may have heard the phrase as difficult as walking and chewing gum as a joking way of referring to something that is not difficult at all. Just walking, however, is not all that simple physiologically speaking. Even standing upright is an undertaking requiring the complex cooperation of multiple motor and sensory systems including vision, the inner ear, somatosensation (sensation from the skin), and proprioception (the sense of the body s parts in relation to each other). The compromised performance of any of these elements can lead to a balance disorder, which in some form affects nearly half of Americans at least once in their lifetimes, from the elderly, to those with neurological or vestibular (inner ear) dysfunction, to athletes with musculoskeletal injuries, to astronauts returning from space. Readjusting to Earth s gravity has a significant impact on an astronaut s ability to balance, a result of the brain switching to a different "model" for interpreting sensory input in normal gravity versus weightlessness. While acclimating, astronauts can experience headaches, motion sickness, and problems with perception. To help ease the transition and study the effects of weightlessness on the body, NASA has conducted many investigations into post-flight balance control, realizing this research can help treat patients with balance disorders on Earth as well. In the 1960s, the NASA-sponsored Man Vehicle Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) studied the effects of prolonged space flight on astronauts. The lab s work intrigued MIT doctoral candidate Lewis Nashner, who began conducting NASA-funded research on human movement and balance under the supervision of Dr. Larry Young in the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In 1982, Nashner s work resulted in a noninvasive clinical technique for assessing the cooperative systems that allow the body to balance, commonly referred to as computerized dynamic posturography (CDP). CDP employs a series of dynamic protocols to isolate and assess balance function deficiencies. The technology was based on Nashner s novel, engineering-inspired concept of balance as an adaptable collaboration between multiple sensory and motor systems. CDP proved useful not only for examining astronauts, but for anyone suffering from balance problems. Today, CDP is the standard medical tool for objectively evaluating balance control.

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NASA NTRS2003

Translating Vision into Design: A Method for Conceptual Design Development

One of the most challenging tasks for engineers is the definition of design solutions that will satisfy high-level strategic visions and objectives. Even more challenging is the need to demonstrate how a particular design solution supports the high-level vision. This paper describes a process and set of system engineering tools that have been used at the Johnson Space Center to analyze and decompose high-level objectives for future human missions into design requirements that can be used to develop alternative concepts for vehicles, habitats, and other systems. Analysis and design studies of alternative concepts and approaches are used to develop recommendations for strategic investments in research and technology that support the NASA Integrated Space Plan. In addition to a description of system engineering tools, this paper includes a discussion of collaborative design practices for human exploration mission architecture studies used at the Johnson Space Center.

Carpenter, Joyce E.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Potential Use of In Situ Material Composites such as Regolith/Polyethylene for Shielding Space Radiation

NASA has an extensive program for studying materials and methods for the shielding of astronauts to reduce the effects of space radiation when on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, especially in the use of in situ materials native to the destination reducing the expense of materials transport. The most studied material from the Moon is Lunar regolith and has been shown to be as efficient as aluminum for shielding purposes (1). The addition of hydrogenous materials such as polyethylene should increase shielding effectiveness and provide mechanical properties necessary of structural materials (2). The neutron radiation shielding effectiveness of polyethylene/regolith stimulant (JSC-1A) composites were studied using confluent human fibroblast cell cultures exposed to a beam of high-energy spallation neutrons at the 30deg-left beam line (ICE house) at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. At this angle, the radiation spectrum mimics the energy spectrum of secondary neutrons generated in the upper atmosphere and encountered when aboard spacecraft and high-altitude aircraft. Cell samples were exposed in series either directly to the neutron beam, within a habitat created using regolith composite blocks, or behind 25 g/sq cm of loose regolith bulk material. In another experiment, cells were also exposed in series directly to the neutron beam in T-25 flasks completely filled with either media or water up to a depth of 20 cm to test shielding effectiveness versus depth and investigate the possible influence of secondary particle generation. All samples were sent directly back to JSC for sub-culturing and micronucleus analysis. This presentation is of work performed in collaboration with the NASA sponsored Center for Radiation Engineering and Science for Space Exploration (CRESSE) at Prairie View A&M.

Theriot, Corey A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Retrofits Convert Gas Vehicles into Hybrids

Successful space missions can rarely be attributed to a single thing. Rather, they are the result of a system of systems: integrated elements functioning effectively in their individual roles and together with related components, then those systems interacting with and supporting other systems to form a collaborative whole - from the spacecraft itself to the engineering and research teams that design and build it. An example is found in spacecraft power systems. Unlike a gas-powered car or a battery-powered laptop, most spacecraft are powered by multiple energy sources - such as photovoltaic panels, fuel cells, and batteries - working in tandem to ensure the spacecraft functions throughout the course of a mission. As with any system, the appropriate combination of elements and the method of their management are key to high performance and efficiency. One initiative at Glenn Research Center, the Hybrid Power Management (HPM) program, focused on joining new and mature technologies for optimal power systems applications in space and on Earth, with the goal not only to develop ultra-efficient space power systems, but to advance HPM to address global energy issues. The HPM program emerged from Glenn s long history of electric vehicle research dating back to the 1970s, including the NASA Hybrid Electric Transit Bus (HETB) project in the 1990s, which was the largest vehicle to use supercapacitor energy storage.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2012

International Space Station Benefits for Humanity

The ISS partnership has seen a substantial increase in research accomplished, crew efforts devoted to research, and results of ongoing research and technology development. The ISS laboratory is providing a unique environment for research and international collaboration that benefits humankind. Benefits come from the engineering development, the international partnership, and from the research results. Benefits can be of three different types: scientific discovery, applications to life on Earth, and applications to future exploration. Working across all ISS partners, we identified key themes where the activities on the ISS improve the lives of people on Earth--not only within the partner nations, but also in other nations of the world. Three major themes of benefits to life on earth emerged from our review: benefits to human health, education, and Earth observation and disaster response. Other themes are growing as use of the ISS continues. Benefits to human health range from advancements in surgical technology, improved telemedicine, and new treatments for disease. Earth observations from the ISS provide a wide range of observations that include: marine vessel tracking, disaster monitoring and climate change. The ISS participates in a number of educational activities aimed to inspire students of all ages to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To date over 63 countries have directly participated in some aspect of ISS research or education. In summarizing these benefits and accomplishments, ISS partners are also identifying ways to further extend the benefits to people in developing countries for the benefits of humankind.

Thumm, Tracy L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Porous Foam Based Wick Structures for Loop Heat Pipes

As part of an effort to identify cost efficient fabrication techniques for Loop Heat Pipe (LHP) construction, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Cryogenics and Fluids Branch collaborated with the U.S. Naval Academy s Aerospace Engineering Department in Spring 2012 to investigate the viability of carbon foam as a wick material within LHPs. The carbon foam was manufactured by ERG Aerospace and machined to geometric specifications at the U.S. Naval Academy s Materials, Mechanics and Structures Machine Shop. NASA GSFC s Fractal Loop Heat Pipe (developed under SBIR contract #NAS5-02112) was used as the validation LHP platform. In a horizontal orientation, the FLHP system demonstrated a heat flux of 75 Watts per square centimeter with deionized water as the working fluid. Also, no failed start-ups occurred during the 6 week performance testing period. The success of this study validated that foam can be used as a wick structure. Furthermore, given the COTS status of foam materials this study is one more step towards development of a low cost LHP.

Silk, Eric A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

International Space Station Research Benefits for Humanity

The ISS partnership has seen a substantial increase in research accomplished, crew efforts devoted to research, and results of ongoing research and technology development. The ISS laboratory is providing a unique environment for research and international collaboration that benefits humankind. Benefits come from the engineering development, the international partnership, and from the research results. Benefits can be of three different types: scientific discovery, applications to life on Earth, and applications to future exploration. Working across all ISS partners, we identified key themes where the activities on the ISS improve the lives of people on Earth -- not only within the partner nations, but also in other nations of the world. Three major themes of benefits to life on earth emerged from our review: benefits to human health, education, and Earth observation and disaster response. Other themes are growing as use of the ISS continues. Benefits to human health range from advancements in surgical technology, improved telemedicine, and new treatments for disease. Earth observations from the ISS provide a wide range of observations that include: marine vessel tracking, disaster monitoring and climate change. The ISS participates in a number of educational activities aimed to inspire students of all ages to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To date over 63 countries have directly participated in some aspect of ISS research or education. In summarizing these benefits and accomplishments, ISS partners are also identifying ways to further extend the benefits to people in developing countries for the benefits of humankind.

Thumm, Tracy↗
NASA NTRS2019

A Proposal for Standardized MMOD Shielding for Robotic Spacecraft

NASA robotic spacecraft are required to assess the potential for small debris induced failure for all disposal-critical components. Additional shielding might then be necessary in order to meet the acceptable risk requirement for the overall mission. Traditionally this requirement had been met with little or no additional shielding. Since the introduction of a high density debris population in ORDEM 3.0, some missions, especially those in higher portions of Low Earth Orbit, have needed additional MMOD-specific shielding in order for the mission to meet the requirement. This is a costly design effort when performed late in the project life cycle, which adds unexpected mass to the spacecraft components during the integration phase, and could disrupt thermal management.A proposal is discussed to develop a more cost-effective approach to MMOD-shielding, which can be employed earlier in the hardware design phase. The development and adoption of standardized shielding assemblies allows early tailoring of the shielding around a component, so that the mass is accounted for, as well as the small particle penetration risk, at a point in the design phase when the cost and schedule impact are more manageable. A set of several assemblies can be developed with a range of protection thresholds, in order to control mass where less shielding is needed. Such shielding assemblies would be developed in collaboration with blanket assembly specialists and thermal control engineers to ensure manufacturability and thermal performance challenges are known and acceptable. One clear benefit of such an approach is that hypervelocity testing can be performed on each of the standard shield assemblies to refine and confirm their performance prior to use.The challenges inherent in designing supplemental MMOD shielding will be discussed, including variations in the orbital debris environment and performance prediction. The benefits of a standardized shielding approach and example applications will also be presented.

Hull, Scott M.↗
NASA NTRS2019

A Proposal for Standardized MMOD Shielding for Robotic Spacecraft

NASA robotic spacecraft are required to assess the potential for small debris induced failure for all disposal-critical components. Additional shielding might then be necessary in order to meet the acceptable risk requirement for the overall mission. Traditionally this requirement had been met with little or no additional shielding. Since the introduction of a high density debris population in ORDEM 3.0, some missions, especially those in higher portions of Low Earth Orbit, have needed additional MMOD-specific shielding in order for the mission to meet the requirement. This is a costly design effort when performed late in the project life cycle, which adds unexpected mass to the spacecraft components during the integration phase, and could disrupt thermal management. A proposal is discussed to develop a more cost-effective approach to MMOD-shielding, which can be employed earlier in the hardware design phase. The development and adoption of standardized shielding assemblies allows early tailoring of the shielding around a component, so that the mass is accounted for, as well as the small particle penetration risk, at a point in the design phase when the cost and schedule impact are more manageable. A set of several assemblies can be developed with a range of protection thresholds, in order to control mass where less shielding is needed. Such shielding assemblies would be developed in collaboration with blanket assembly specialists and thermal control engineers to ensure manufacturability and thermal performance challenges are known and acceptable. One clear benefit of such an approach is that hypervelocity testing can be performed on each of the standard shield assemblies to refine and confirm their performance prior to use.The challenges inherent in designing supplemental MMOD shielding will be discussed, including variations in the orbital debris environment and performance prediction. The benefits of a standardized shielding approach and example applications will also be presented.

Hull, Scott M.↗
DOE OSTI2020

The TRANSCEND University Consortium: Theme 4: Nuclear Materials - 20431

The safe and secure management of Pu is a matter of international concern, with ∼250 t of separated Pu currently stockpiled worldwide. The UK's civil inventory of nuclear materials contains significant stocks of separated Pu from the reprocessing of Magnox and AGR spent fuels. The preferred option for the 138.5 tonnes of Pu is re-use as mixed oxide (MOx) fuel, although 5% is not suitable for re-use and is recommended for direct disposal. However, it will take more than 15 years to implement re-use, requiring that the Pu be kept in interim storage in its current state for that period, i.e. as PuO{sub 2} powder within inert steel storage cans at Sellafield. The focus of the work presented here is thus plutonium storage and the direct disposal of plutonium. The Research and Development needs of both are now pressing: in the case of storage due to it being the current default; in the case of immobilization and disposal because of a comparative lack of Research and Development on Pu conditioning and packaging due to policy uncertainty as to whether it would be disposed of in a Geologic Disposal Facility (GDF). Addressing these needs is complicated by Pu's high radioactivity, decay heat and radiotoxicity, criticality, nuclear safeguard requirements and, for some UK Pu contaminated materials targeted for disposal, poor inventory. Thus, there is also a critical requirement for underpinning research on Pu bearing materials in these two contexts. In response to these needs, the TRANSCEND Consortium (Transformative Science and Engineering for Nuclear Decommissioning, a multi-disciplinary collaboration of 11 universities and 8 key industry partners from across the UK's civil nuclear sector) is seeking to provide technical underpinning to ongoing option development for the UK's civil Pu stockpile. Whilst understanding the behaviour of plutonium during its re-use as MOx is beyond the scope of the TRANSCEND Consortium work plan, the main objectives of the work are: (1) For interim storage: to understand how the surface structure and properties of pristine and radiation damaged PuO{sub 2} change with time in the absence and presence of water; and (2) For immobilization and disposal: to understand the mechanisms of incorporation of Pu into ceramic and glass-ceramic waste-forms, as well as the effect on these of self-induced radiation damage. Each objective is being addressed through separate work packages, the details of which are discussed in this paper. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS1997

Parallelization of Rocket Engine Simulator Software (PRESS)

Parallelization of Rocket Engine System Software (PRESS) project is part of a collaborative effort with Southern University at Baton Rouge (SUBR), University of West Florida (UWF), and Jackson State University (JSU). The second-year funding, which supports two graduate students enrolled in our new Master's program in Computer Science at Hampton University and the principal investigator, have been obtained for the period from October 19, 1996 through October 18, 1997. The key part of the interim report was new directions for the second year funding. This came about from discussions during Rocket Engine Numeric Simulator (RENS) project meeting in Pensacola on January 17-18, 1997. At that time, a software agreement between Hampton University and NASA Lewis Research Center had already been concluded. That agreement concerns off-NASA-site experimentation with PUMPDES/TURBDES software. Before this agreement, during the first year of the project, another large-scale FORTRAN-based software, Two-Dimensional Kinetics (TDK), was being used for translation to an object-oriented language and parallelization experiments. However, that package proved to be too complex and lacking sufficient documentation for effective translation effort to the object-oriented C + + source code. The focus, this time with better documented and more manageable PUMPDES/TURBDES package, was still on translation to C + + with design improvements. At the RENS Meeting, however, the new impetus for the RENS projects in general, and PRESS in particular, has shifted in two important ways. One was closer alignment with the work on Numerical Propulsion System Simulator (NPSS) through cooperation and collaboration with LERC ACLU organization. The other was to see whether and how NASA's various rocket design software can be run over local and intra nets without any radical efforts for redesign and translation into object-oriented source code. There were also suggestions that the Fortran based code be encapsulated in C + + code thereby facilitating reuse without undue development effort. The details are covered in the aforementioned section of the interim report filed on April 28, 1997.

Cezzar, Ruknet↗
DOE OSTI2022

Prototype HB650 Transportation Validation For The PIP-II Project

The PIP-II Project at Fermilab is centered around a superconducting 800 MeV proton linac to upgrade and modernize the Fermilab accelerator complex, allowing increased beam current to intensity frontier experiments such as LBNF-DUNE. PIP-II includes strong international collaborations, including the delivery of 12 cryomodules from European labs to FNAL (3 from STFC-UKRI in the UK and 9 from CEA in France). The transatlantic shipment of these completed modules is identifed as a serious risk for the project. To mitigate this risk, a rigorous and systematic process has been developed to design and validate a transport system, including specifcation, procedures, logistics, and realistic testing. This paper will detail the engineering process used to manage this effort across the collaboration and the results of the first major validation testing of the integrated shipping system prior to use with a cryomodule.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Collaborative Host Facility for Lunar Operations

This project establishes a new collaborative simulation connectivity capability for JSC utilizing existing facilities. The principal collaborating organizations are Safety & Mission Assurance (Code NA) and Engineering Directorate (Code EA), but the capability is open for any JSC user. The core of the connectivity resides in Code ER7’s Concept Exploration Laboratory (CEL) and is part of ER7’s Systems Engineering Simulator (SES) complex. NA Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) work proactively in situ with EA and commercial crew counterparts to evaluate Safety Review Panel (SRP) protocols for landers, habitation modules, and lunar roving systems using the same tools, terrain models and data as the designers. NA software initiated under two JSC Center Innovation Fund (CIF) and Innovation Charge account (ICA) funded projects will be used to configure the CEL to function as an EA maintained facility. Collaboration via the CEL with the U.S. Space Force (USSF) provides visibility for USSF. The potential for commercial crew and vehicle suppliers will require IT security and associated security architecture to be implemented in additional CIF based proposals.

Collaborative Simulation Hosting↗
DOE OSTI2018

Gasoline Engine and Fuels Offering Reduced fuel Consumption and Emissions (GEFORCE)

The GEFORCE project resulted from a collaborative proposal submitted to a U.S. DOE funding opportunity announcement. The CRADA reported herein was put in place to support the GEFORCE project. The project objective was to establish key engine technologies and fuel characteristics that enable very high fuel efficiency with very low emissions in future vehicles. A matrix of study fuels was designed and produced to support engine experiments in an advanced engine. The advanced engine was constructed and prepared for operation in an engine test cell at a 3rd party laboratory. ORNL conducted engine experiments using a 2.0 LTG engine and used the resulting data to estimatefuel economy values for a mid-size sedan using a vehicle model established in Autonomie. The projected fuel economy trends versus driving schedule were consistent with those identified in a previous projectconducted in partnership with the Coordinating Research Council (CRC), AVFL-20. Additional vehicle modeling is anticipated when data are available from the advanced engine.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗