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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

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NASA NTRS2002

Plant Production Systems for Microgravity: Critical Issues in Water, Air, and Solute Transport Through Unsaturated Porous Media

This NASA Technical Memorandum is a compilation of presentations and discussions in the form of minutes from a workshop entitled 'Plant Production Systems for Microgravity: Critical Issues in Water, Air, and Solute Transport Through Unsaturated Porous Media' held at NASA's Johnson Space Center, July 24-25, 2000. This workshop arose from the growing belief within NASA's Advanced Life Support Program that further advances and improvements in plant production systems for microgravity would benefit from additional knowledge of fundamental processes occurring in the root zone. The objective of the workshop was to bring together individuals who had expertise in various areas of fluid physics, soil physics, plant physiology, hardware development, and flight tests to identify, discuss, and prioritize critical issues of water and air flow through porous media in microgravity. Participants of the workshop included representatives from private companies involved in flight hardware development and scientists from universities and NASA Centers with expertise in plant flight tests, plant physiology, fluid physics, and soil physics.

Steinberg, Susan L.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Improved Boundary Conditions for Cell-centered Difference Schemes

Cell-centered finite-volume (CCFV) schemes have certain attractive properties for the solution of the equations governing compressible fluid flow. Among others, they provide a natural vehicle for specifying flux conditions at the boundaries of the physical domain. Unfortunately, they lead to slow convergence for numerical programs utilizing them. In this report a method for investigating and improving the convergence of CCFV schemes is presented, which focuses on the effect of the numerical boundary conditions. The key to the method is the computation of the spectral radius of the iteration matrix of the entire demoralized system of equations, not just of the interior point scheme or the boundary conditions.

VanderWijngaart, Rob F.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Innovative Solution to Video Enhancement

Through a licensing agreement, Intergraph Government Solutions adapted a technology originally developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for enhanced video imaging by developing its Video Analyst(TM) System. Marshall's scientists developed the Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR) technology to help FBI agents analyze video footage of the deadly 1996 Olympic Summer Games bombing in Atlanta, Georgia. VISAR technology enhanced nighttime videotapes made with hand-held camcorders, revealing important details about the explosion. Intergraph's Video Analyst System is a simple, effective, and affordable tool for video enhancement and analysis. The benefits associated with the Video Analyst System include support of full-resolution digital video, frame-by-frame analysis, and the ability to store analog video in digital format. Up to 12 hours of digital video can be stored and maintained for reliable footage analysis. The system also includes state-of-the-art features such as stabilization, image enhancement, and convolution to help improve the visibility of subjects in the video without altering underlying footage. Adaptable to many uses, Intergraph#s Video Analyst System meets the stringent demands of the law enforcement industry in the areas of surveillance, crime scene footage, sting operations, and dash-mounted video cameras.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1999

Portable Inspection

The portable SpectroReflectometer, an instrument developed by AZ Technology, Inc. in partnership with NASA's Kennedy Space Center is now being manufactured and sold as a cost-effective solution to the development of scientific space flight hardware. This technology originated with the efforts to determine the degradation mechanisms of the space environment on space craft materials. AZ Technology's mission is to provide high quality products and services in electro-mechanical-optical design and hardware integration, advanced thermal and optical coatings and materials, and in the development of custom hardware systems for scientific measurements.

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NASA NTRS2003

GPS Navigation Results from the Low Power Transceiver CANDOS Experiment on STS-107

This paper presents the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation results from the Communications and Savigation Demonstration on Shuttle (CANDOS) experiment flown on STS- 107. The CAkDOS experiment consisted of the Low Power Transceiver (LPT) that hosted the GPS Enhanced Orbit Determination Experiment (GEODE) orbit determination software. All CANDOS test data were recovered during the mission using the LPT's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) uplinh'downlink communications capabilit! . An overview of the LPT's navigation software and the GPS experiment timeline is presented. In addition. this paper discusses GEODE performance results. including comparisons ibith the Best Estimate of Trajectory (BET). N.ASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) real-time ground navigation vectors. and post-processed solutions using the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS).

Haas, Lin↗

NASA NTRS2004

Freeing Water from Viruses and Bacteria

Four years ago, Argonide Corporation, a company focused on the research, production, and marketing of specialty nano materials, was seeking to develop applications for its NanoCeram[R] fibers. Only 2 nanometers in diameter, these nano aluminum oxide fibers possessed unusual bio-adhesive properties. When formulated into a filter material, the electropositive fibers attracted and retained electro-negative particles such as bacteria and viruses in water-based solutions. This technology caught the interest of NASA as a possible solution for improved water filtration in space cabins. NASA's Johnson Space Center awarded Sanford, Florida-based Argonide a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to determine the feasibility of using the company's filter for purifying recycled space cabin water. Since viruses and bacteria can be carried aboard space cabins by space crews, the ability to detect and remove these harmful substances is a concern for NASA. The Space Agency also desired an improved filter to polish the effluent from condensed and waste water, producing potable drinking water. During its Phase I partnership with NASA, Argonide developed a laboratory-size filter capable of removing greater than 99.9999 percent of bacteria and viruses from water at flow rates more than 200 times faster than virus-rated membranes that remove particles by sieving. Since the new filter s pore size is rather large compared to other membranes, it is also less susceptible to clogging by small particles. In September 2002, Argonide began a Phase II SBIR project with Johnson to develop a full-size cartridge capable of serving a full space crew. This effort, which is still ongoing, enabled the company to demonstrate that its filter media is an efficient absorbent for DNA and RNA.

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NASA NTRS2008

Concept of Operations Visualization for Ares I Production

Establishing Computer Aided Design models of the Ares I production facility, tooling and vehicle components and integrating them into manufacturing visualizations/simulations allows Boeing and NASA to collaborate real time early in the design/development cycle. This collaboration identifies cost effective and lean solutions that can be easily shared with Ares stakeholders (e.g., other NASA Centers and potential science users). These Ares I production visualizations and analyses by their nature serve as early manufacturing improvement precursors for other Constellation elements to be built at the Michoud Assembly Facility such as Ares V and the Altair Lander. Key to this Boeing and Marshall Space Flight Center collaboration has been the use of advanced virtual manufacturing tools to understand the existing Shuttle era infrastructure and trade potential modifications to support Ares I production. These approaches are then used to determine an optimal manufacturing configuration in terms of labor efficiency, safety and facility enhancements. These same models and tools can be used in an interactive simulation of Ares I and V flight to the Space Station or moon to educate the human space constituency (e.g., government, academia, media and the public) in order to increase national and international understanding of Constellation goals and benefits.

Chilton, Jim↗

NASA NTRS2009

Gas-Liquid Supersonic Cleaning and Cleaning Verification Spray System

NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) recently entered into a nonexclusive license agreement with Applied Cryogenic Solutions (ACS), Inc. (Galveston, TX) to commercialize its Gas-Liquid Supersonic Cleaning and Cleaning Verification Spray System technology. This technology, developed by KSC, is a critical component of processes being developed and commercialized by ACS to replace current mechanical and chemical cleaning and descaling methods used by numerous industries. Pilot trials on heat exchanger tubing components have shown that the ACS technology provides for: Superior cleaning in a much shorter period of time. Lower energy and labor requirements for cleaning and de-scaling uper.ninih. Significant reductions in waste volumes by not using water, acidic or basic solutions, organic solvents, or nonvolatile solid abrasives as components in the cleaning process. Improved energy efficiency in post-cleaning heat exchanger operations. The ACS process consists of a spray head containing supersonic converging/diverging nozzles, a source of liquid gas; a novel, proprietary pumping system that permits pumping liquid nitrogen, liquid air, or supercritical carbon dioxide to pressures in the range of 20,000 to 60,000 psi; and various hoses, fittings, valves, and gauges. The size and number of nozzles can be varied so the system can be built in configurations ranging from small hand-held spray heads to large multinozzle cleaners. The system also can be used to verify if a part has been adequately cleaned.

Parrish, Lewis M.↗

NASA NTRS2013

NextGen Operations in a Simulated NY Area Airspace

A human-in-the-loop simulation conducted in the Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) at NASA Ames Research Center explored the feasibility of a Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) solution to address airspace and airport capacity limitations in and around the New York metropolitan area. A week-long study explored the feasibility of a new Optimal Profile Descent (OPD) arrival into the airspace as well as a novel application of a Terminal Area Precision Scheduling and Spacing (TAPSS) enhancement to the Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) arrival scheduling tool to coordinate high volume arrival traffic to intersecting runways. In the simulation, four en route sector controllers and four terminal radar approach control (TRACON) controllers managed traffic inbound to Newark International Airport's primary runway, 22L, and its intersecting overflow runway, 11. TAPSS was used to generate independent arrival schedules for each runway and a traffic management coordinator participant adjusted the arrival schedule for each runway 11 aircraft to follow one of the 22L aircraft. TAPSS also provided controller-managed spacing tools (slot markers with speed advisories and timelines) to assist the TRACON controllers in managing the arrivals that were descending on OPDs. Results showed that the tools significantly decreased the occurrence of runway violations (potential go-arounds) when compared with a Baseline condition with no tools. Further, the combined use of the tools with the new OPD produced a peak arrival rate of over 65 aircraft per hour using instrument flight rules (IFR), exceeding the current maximum arrival rate at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) of 52 per hour under visual flight rules (VFR). Although the participants rated the workload as relatively low and acceptable both with and without the tools, they rated the tools as reducing their workload further. Safety and coordination were rated by most participants as acceptable in both conditions, although the TRACON Runway Coordinator (TRC) rated neither as acceptable in the Baseline condition. Regarding the role of the TRC, the two TRACON controllers handling the 11 arrivals indicated that the TRC was very much needed in the Baseline condition without tools, but not needed in the condition with tools. This indicates that the tools were providing much of the sequencing and spacing information that the TRC had supplied in the Baseline condition.

NextGen↗

NASA NTRS2015

Space Environment Testing of Photovoltaic Array Systems at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

To successfully operate a photovoltaic (PV) array system in space requires planning and testing to account for the effects of the space environment. It is critical to understand space environment interactions not only on the PV components, but also the array substrate materials, wiring harnesses, connectors, and protection circuitry (e.g. blocking diodes). Key elements of the space environment which must be accounted for in a PV system design include: Solar Photon Radiation, Charged Particle Radiation, Plasma, and Thermal Cycling. While solar photon radiation is central to generating power in PV systems, the complete spectrum includes short wavelength ultraviolet components, which photo-ionize materials, as well as long wavelength infrared which heat materials. High energy electron radiation has been demonstrated to significantly reduce the output power of III-V type PV cells; and proton radiation damages material surfaces - often impacting coverglasses and antireflective coatings. Plasma environments influence electrostatic charging of PV array materials, and must be understood to ensure that long duration arcs do not form and potentially destroy PV cells. Thermal cycling impacts all components on a PV array by inducing stresses due to thermal expansion and contraction. Given such demanding environments, and the complexity of structures and materials that form a PV array system, mission success can only be ensured through realistic testing in the laboratory. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a broad space environment test capability to allow PV array designers and manufacturers to verify their system's integrity and avoid costly on-orbit failures. The Marshall Space Flight Center test capabilities are available to government, commercial, and university customers. Test solutions are tailored to meet the customer's needs, and can include performance assessments, such as flash testing in the case of PV cells.

Phillips, Brandon S.↗

NASA NTRS2020

Human Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Architecture Study: Phase 3 Summary

Over the past four years, NASA has directed the Entry, Descent and Landing Architecture Study (EDLAS) to evaluate candidate technologies to deliver human-scale vehicles (carrying 20t payloads) to the surface of Mars. The study focused on two vehicles in Phase 3 (during 2018 and 2019), one low and one mid lift-to-drag (L/D) vehicle. This paper summarizes updates to the structural and aeroshell outer mold line design for the mid-L/D Mars entry lander vehicle that occurred during EDLAS Phase 3. The design efforts used parametric optimization to arrive at a solution for total vehicle primary and secondary structure mass, and vehicle center-of-gravity location. Additionally, the end of Phase 2 provided an updated surface payload manifest that required three 22 t landers. This paper also summarizes the results of the packaging feasibility study of the updated payload configurations for those three reference missions. The study verified an arrangement of the payload elements within the mid-L/D vehicle that satisfied the center of gravity location limitations for flight.

Calderon, Damien↗

NASA NTRS2019

Evaluation of a Multizone Impedance Eduction Method

A computational study is used to evaluate the PyCHE impedance eduction method developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. This method combines an aeroacoustic duct propagation code based on numerical solution to the convected Helmholtz equation with a global optimizer that uses the Differential Evolution algorithm. The efficacy of this method is evaluated with acoustic pressure data simulated to represent that measured with one-zone, two-zone, and three-zone liners mounted in the NASA Langley Grazing Flow Impedance Tube. The PyCHE method has a normalized impedance error of approximately 0.2 for (uniform) one-zone liners with a length of at least 5”, and produces quite reasonable results for liners as short as 2”. Whereas the impedance of the liner has an effect on eduction accuracy, the amount of attenuation is shown to be the dominant parameter. Similar results are observed for two-zone liners, for which the impedance of each zone is unique. The two-zone results also indicate it is more difficult to accurately educe resistance than reactance, and a zone length of at least 6” (slightly longer than for uniform liners) is needed to limit the normalized error to 0.2. The PyCHE method is also demonstrated to successfully educe the impedances for each zone of a three-zone liner. These results are sufficiently encouraging to warrant the continued usage of the PyCHE impedance eduction method for single and multizone liners.

Jones, M. G.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

GlennICE 2.2 Capabilities and Results

GlennICE (Glenn Icing Computational Environment) is a computational tool designed to calculate ice growth on complex three-dimensional geometries using the input from a user-supplied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution for the geometry of interest. The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is developing this tool to aid those evaluating, designing and certifying aircraft, engines, and aircraft components for flight in icing conditions. This domestically available software is being developed to enable the introduction of new icing physics into a computational environment in a manner that is open for evaluation and eventual use by industry, academia, and other government organizations. This paper will document the current capabilities for version 2.1 of this software and provide example cases with comparison to available experimental data.

Icing↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

GlennICE 2.2 Capabilities and Results

Icing↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

In Pursuit of CFD-based Wind Tunnel Calibrations

Computational fluid dynamic simulations of models tested in wind tunnels require a high level of fidelity and accuracy, particularly for the purposes of CFD validation efforts. Considerable effort is required to ensure a sufficient characterization of both the physical geometry of the wind tunnel, the thermodynamics of the tunnel, and flow conditions in the test section. The condition setting process among subsonic wind tunnels, closed or open throat, is generally the same, though they can differ in specific details of the thermodynamics. The derivation, application, and error estimation of condition setting and calibration is discussed. Computational flow solutions of the high-speed leg of the NASA Langley Research Center 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel are used to evaluate the calibration process and discuss calibration curve sensitivities. Duplicating the characteristics of a particular wind tunnel is difficult at best. A calibration curve derived from the computational method is the most consistent method to use for tunnel condition setting.

wind tunnel↗

NASA NTRS2024

GlennICE Manual 4.1.0

Icing↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Browser trajectory tool

The Lunar Browser is a tool developed at NASA Ames Research Center for building, processing, and analyzing a database of lunar transfer trajectory solutions. Examples of intended uses include design trades for lunar missions and preliminary assessments of key parameters such as launch opportunities, delta-v and propulsion budgets, communication windows, eclipse durations, and lunar landing windows. The Lunar Browser tool is in the development phase and it is already producing results in its current form to address various NASA program requirements, proposals, and mission trajectories. The tool has also been used for research analysis in trajectory design, including a first publication regarding its application to the CLPS and Artemis programs. In particular, the results included transfers to lunar frozen orbits. Future work include the generation of more trajectories to expand the existing database and the optimization of the results.

Lunar Browser trajectory tool↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Improvements to GlennICE Collection Efficiency Algorithm

GlennICE (Glenn Icing Computational Environment) is a computational tool designed to calculate ice growth on complex three-dimensional geometries using the input from a user-supplied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution for the geometry of interest. The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is developing this tool to aid those evaluating, designing and certifying aircraft, engines, and aircraft components for flight in icing conditions. This domestically available software is being developed to enable the introduction of new icing physics into a computational environment in a manner that is open for evaluation and eventual use by industry, academia, and other government organizations. This paper will document recent improvements that reduce the number of trajectories needed to converge on collection efficiency. These improvements are documented using example cases with complex geometries.

Aircraft Icing↗