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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 NTRS2014

Advanced Supported Liquid Membranes for CO2 Control in Extravehicular Activity Applications

Developing a new, robust, portable life support system (PLSS) is currently a high priority for NASA in order to support longer and safer extravehicular activity (EVA) missions. One of the critical PLSS functions is maintaining the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the suit at acceptable levels. Although the Metal Oxide (MetOx) canister has worked well, it has a finite CO2 adsorption capacity. Consequently, the unit would have to be larger and heavier to extend EVA times. Therefore, new CO2 control technologies must be developed to meet mission objectives without increasing the size of the PLSS. Although recent work has centered on sorbents that can be regenerated during the EVA, this strategy increases the system complexity and power consumption. A simpler approach is to use a membrane that selectively vents CO2 to space. A membrane has many advantages over current technology: it is a continuous system with no theoretical capacity limit, it requires no consumables, and it requires no hardware for switching beds between absorption and regeneration. Unfortunately, conventional gas separation membranes do not have adequate selectivity for use in the PLSS. However, the required performance could be obtained with a supported liquid membrane (SLM), which consists of a micro porous material filled with a liquid that selectively reacts with CO2 over oxygen (O2). In a current Phase II SBIR project, Reaction Systems has developed a new reactive liquid, which has effectively zero vapor pressure making it an ideal candidate for use in an SLM. The SLM function has been demonstrated with representative pressures of CO2, O2, and water (H2O). In addition to being effective for CO2 control, the SLM also vents moisture to space. Therefore, this project has demonstrated the feasibility of using an SLM to control CO2 in an EVA application.

Wickham, David T.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Lithium-Air Cell Development

Lithium-air (Li-air) primary batteries have a theoretical specific capacity of 11,400 Wh/kg, the highest of any common metal-air system. NASA is developing Li-air technology for a Mobile Oxygen Concentrator for Spacecraft Emergencies, an application which requires an extremely lightweight primary battery that can discharge over 24 hours continuously. Several vendors were funded through the NASA SBIR program to develop Li-air technology to fulfill the requirements of this application. New catalysts and carbon cathode structures were developed to enhance the oxygen reduction reaction and increase surface area to improve cell performance. Techniques to stabilize the lithium metal anode surface were explored. Experimental results for prototype laboratory cells are given. Projections are made for the performance of hypothetical cells constructed from the materials that were developed.

Lithium-air↗
NASA NTRS2015

Continued Advancement of Supported Liquid Membranes for Carbon Dioxide Control in Extravehicular Activity Applications

The development of a new, robust, portable life support system (PLSS) is a high priority for NASA in order to support longer and safer extravehicular activity (EVA) missions. One of the critical PLSS functions is maintaining the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the suit at acceptable levels. Although the Metal Oxide (MetOx) canister has historically performed very well, it has a finite CO2 adsorption capacity. Therefore, the size and weight of the unit would have to be increased to extend EVA times. Consequently, new CO2 control technologies must be developed in order to meet mission objectives without increasing the size of the PLSS. Recent work has centered on sorbents that can be regenerated during the EVA; however, this strategy increases the system complexity and power consumption. A much simpler approach is to employ a membrane that vents CO2 to space and retains oxygen (O2). A membrane has many advantages over current technology: it is a continuous system with no limit on capacity, it requires no consumables, and it does not need any hardware to switch beds between absorption and regeneration. Unfortunately, conventional gas separation membranes do not have the needed selectivity for use in the PLSS. However, the required performance could be obtained with a supported liquid membrane (SLM), which consists of a microporous material filled with a liquid that selectively reacts with CO2 over O2. In a recently completed Phase II SBIR project, Reaction Systems, Inc. achieved the required CO2 permeance and selectivity with an SLM in a flat sheet configuration. This paper describes work to convert the SLM into a more compact form and to scale it up to handle more representative process flow rates.

Wickham, David T.↗
NASA NTRS2014

2014 Overview of NASA GRC Electrochemical Power and Energy Storage Technology

Overview presentation to the IAPG Chemical Working Group meeting, discussing current electrochemical power and energy storage R and D at NASA GRC including missions, demonstrations, and reserch projects. Activities such as ISS Lithium-Ion Battery Replacements, the Advanced Exploration Systems Modular Power Systems project, Enabling Electric Aviation with Ultra-High Energy Litium Metal Batteries, Advanced Space Power Systems project, and SBIR STTR work, will be discussed.

space power↗
NASA NTRS2015

Advancement of Miniature Optic Gas Sensor (MOGS) Probe Technology

Advancement of Miniature Optic Gas Sensor (MOGS) Probe Technology" project will investigate newly developed optic gas sensors delivered from a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II effort. A ventilation test rig will be designed and fabricated to test the sensors while integrated with a Suited Manikin Test Apparatus (SMTA). Once the sensors are integrated, a series of test points will be completed to verify that the sensors can withstand Advanced Suit Portable Life Support System (PLSS) environments and associated human metabolic profiles for changes in pressure and levels of Oxygen (ppO2), carbon dioxide (ppCO2), and humidity (ppH2O).

Chullen, Cinda↗
NASA NTRS2015

Flight Controller Software Protects Lightweight Flexible Aircraft

Lightweight flexible aircraft may be the future of aviation, but a major problem is their susceptibility to flutter-uncontrollable vibrations that can destroy wings. Armstrong Flight Research Center awarded SBIR funding to Minneapolis, Minnesota-based MUSYN Inc. to develop software that helps program flight controllers to suppress flutter. The technology is now available for aircraft manufacturers and other industries that use equipment with automated controls.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Laser Imaging Video Camera Sees Through Fire, Fog, Smoke

Under a series of SBIR contracts with Langley Research Center, inventor Richard Billmers refined a prototype for a laser imaging camera capable of seeing through fire, fog, smoke, and other obscurants. Now, Canton, Ohio-based Laser Imaging through Obscurants (LITO) Technologies Inc. is demonstrating the technology as a perimeter security system at Glenn Research Center and planning its future use in aviation, shipping, emergency response, and other fields.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Gas Conversion Systems Reclaim Fuel for Industry

A human trip to Mars will require astronauts to utilize resources on the Red Planet to generate oxygen and fuel for the ride home, among other things. Lakewood, Colorado-based Pioneer Energy has worked under SBIR agreements with Johnson Space Center to develop technology for those purposes, and now uses a commercialized version of the technology to recover oil and gas that would otherwise be wasted at drilling sites.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Probes Measure Gases for Environmental Research

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite will make the first space-based measurements of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. In support of the mission, Goddard Space Flight Center will fly air missions from Wallops Flight Facility to gather finer-grained data in areas of interest. Goddard started working with Blacksburg, Virginia-based Aeroprobe Corporation through the SBIR program in 2008 to develop sensors for such flights, and the company has since commercialized the resulting product.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Sound Modeling Simplifies Vehicle Noise Management

Under two SBIR contracts with Langley Research Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Comet Technology Corporation developed Comet EnFlow, a software program capable of predicting both high- and low-frequency noise and vibration behavior in plane fuselages and other structures. The company now markets the software to airplane, automobile, and ship manufacturers, and Langley has found an unexpected use for it in leak detection on the International Space Station.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Custom 3D Printers Revolutionize Space Supply Chain

Under a series of SBIR contracts with Marshall Space Flight Center, start-up company Made In Space, located on the center's campus, developed a high-precision 3D printer capable of manufacturing items in microgravity. The company will soon have a printer installed on the International Space Station, altering the space supply chain. It will print supplies and tools for NASA, as well as nanosatellite shells and other items for public and private entities.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Improved Calibration Shows Images True Colors

Innovative Imaging and Research, located at Stennis Space Center, used a single SBIR contract with the center to build a large-scale integrating sphere, capable of calibrating a whole array of cameras simultaneously, at a fraction of the usual cost for such a device. Through the use of LEDs, the company also made the sphere far more efficient than existing products and able to mimic sunlight.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Micromachined Parts Advance Medicine, Astrophysics, and More

In the mid-1990s, Marshall Space Flight Center awarded two SBIR contracts to Potomac Photonics, now based in Baltimore, for the development of computerized workstations capable of mass-producing tiny, intricate, diffractive optical elements. While the company has since discontinued the workstations, those contracts set the stage for Potomac Photonics to be a leader in the micromachining industry, where NASA remains one of its clients.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Compact Vapor Chamber Cools Critical Components

Advancements in the production of proton exchange membrane fuel cells have NASA considering their use as a power source for spacecraft and robots in future space missions. With SBIR funding from Glenn Research Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Thermacore Inc. developed strong, lightweight titanium vapor chambers to keep the fuel cells operating at optimum temperatures. The company is now selling the technology for cooling electronic components.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2011

The Winter 2010 and 2011 FRONT/NIRSS In-Flight Icing Hazard Detection Project

The NASA Icing Remote Sensing System (NIRSS) deploys a vertically-pointing K-band radar, a lidar ceiliometer, and a profiling microwave radiometer to obtain measurements for diagnosing local inflight icing conditions. RAL is working with NASA GRC to develop algorithms and data ingest and display software for the system. NASA has an ongoing activity to develop remote sensing technologies for the detection and measurement of icing conditions aloft. As part of that effort NASA teamed with NCAR to develop software that fuses data from multiple instruments into a single detected icing condition product. The multiple instrument approach, which is the current emphasis of this activity, utilizes a K-band vertical staring radar, a microwave radiometer that detects twelve frequencies between 22 and 59 GHz, and a lidar ceilometer. The radar data determine cloud boundaries, the radiometer determines the sub-freezing temperature heights and total liquid water content, and the ceilometer refines the lower cloud boundary. Data is post-processed in C++ program with a Java-based web display of resultant supercooled LWC profile and aircraft hazard identification. In 2010, a multi-channel scanning radiometer, designed and built by Radiometrics, Inc. under a SBIR grant,,was added to the system to assess its utility in improving icing diagnoses.

Serke, David↗
NASA NTRS2015

Funding and Strategic Alignment Guidance for Infusing Small Business Innovation Research Technology into NASA Programs Associated with the Science Mission Directorate

This report is intended to help NASA program and project managers incorporate Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) technologies that have gone through Phase II of the SBIR program into NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) programs. Other Government and commercial project managers can also find this information useful.

earth science↗
NASA NTRS2015

Funding and Strategic Alignment Guidance for Infusing Small Business Innovation Research Technology into NASA Programs Associated with the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

This report is intended to help NASA program and project managers incorporate Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) technologies that have gone through Phase II of the SBIR program into NASA Aeronautics and Mission Directorate (ARMD) programs. Other Government and commercial program managers can also find this information useful.

safety system↗
NASA NTRS2015

In-Space Manufacturing: Pioneering a Sustainable Path to Mars

In order to provide meaningful impacts to exploration technology needs, the In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) Initiative must influence exploration systems design now. In-space manufacturing offers: dramatic paradigm shift in the development and creation of space architectures; efficiency gain and risk reduction for low Earth orbit and deep space exploration; and "pioneering" approach to maintenance, repair, and logistics leading to sustainable, affordable supply chain model. In order to develop application-based capabilities in time to support NASA budget and schedule, ISM must be able to leverage the significant commercial developments, which requires innovative, agile collaborative mechanisms (contracts, challenges, SBIR's, etc.); and NASA-unique investments to focus primarily on adapting the technologies and processes to the microgravity environment. We must do the foundational work - it is the critical path for taking these technologies from lab curiosities to institutionalized capabilities: characterize, certify, institutionalize, design for Additive Manufacturing (AM). Ideally, International Space Station (ISS) U.S. lab rack or partial rack space should be identified for in-space manufacturing utilization in order to continue technology development of a suite of capabilities required for exploration missions, as well as commercialization on ISS.

Werkheiser, Niki↗