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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 523 records · Page 29

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1977

Results of an investigation of the space shuttle integrated vehicle aerodynamic heating characteristics obtained using the 0.0175-scale model 60-OTS in AEDC tunnel A during tests IH41 and IH41A

A thin skin thermocouple test was conducted to obtain heat-transfer data on the space shuttle integrated vehicle during the ascent phase of the flight profile. The test model was the 0.0175-scale thin skin thermocouple model (60-OTS) of the Rockwell International vehicle 5 configuration. The test was conducted at nominal Mach numbers of 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5, and a free stream unit Reynolds number of 5 million per ft. Heat transfer data were obtained for angles of attack of 0, + or - 5, and 10 deg and yaw angles of 0, 3, and 6 deg. The integrated vehicle model was tested with the external tank configured with both a smooth ogive nose and an ogive nose with a spherical nose tip (nipple nose). The remainder of the test was conducted with the external tank installed alone in the tunnel.

Cummings, J. W.↗

NASA NTRS1977

An analytical and experimental study for surface heat flux determination

A numerical method by which data from a single embedded thermocouple can be used to predict the transient thermal environment for both high- and low-conductivity materials is described. The results of an investigation performed to verify the method clearly demonstrate that accurate transient surface heating conditions can be obtained from a thermocouple 1.016 cm from the surface in a low-conductivity material. Space Shuttle Orbiter thermal protection system materials having temperature- and pressure-dependent properties and typical Orbiter entry heating conditions were used to verify the accuracy of the analytical procedure. Analytically generated, as well as experimental, data were used to compare predicted and measured surface temperatures.

Williams, S. D.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Precision temperature gradient measurements on window glass

Surface temperature gradients were measured with miniature thermocouples installed in a 58.5 cm (23-inch) square window. Test measurements at 25 locations were made under vacuum and with the window operating in radiant heat transfer mode. The analysis of thermocouple design and installation is presented along with a lead wire routing scheme to allow for both differential and absolute temperature measurements while using a minimum number of signal feedthru paths through the test chamber wall. Typical test data and operational precautions are presented along with the accuracy analysis for installation effects and measurement effects to support differential temperature measurement precision values of + or - 0.06 C RMS + or - 0.1 F RMS).

Mikk, G.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Heat-pipe sensor for remote leveling

System gives level readings in inaccessible areas. Level sensor is equipped with three thermocouples used to measure temperature differences that arise when pipe is tilted. When platform on which pipe is resting is level, three thermocouple recordings are identical. When readings are unequal, platform is leveled by remote control. System can replace expensive optical equipment and can function in cold, vacuum, and hot humid environments that produce nonlinear expansion and contraction in conventional equipment. Other advantages include low cost, no moving parts, and operation in toxic environments.

Marshburn, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Temperature controller adapts to fatigue tester

Identical blocks of aluminum, held against front and back of specimen, each contain electrical heaters, liquid nitrogen cavity with input and exhaust tubes, and thermocouple. Thermocouples are connected to control unit, which adjusts specimen temperature during fatigue tests over range of 850 degrees F.

Imig, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Thin film temperature sensor

Thin film surface temperature sensors were developed. The sensors were made of platinum-platinum/10 percent rhodium thermocouples with associated thin film-to-lead wire connections and sputtered on aluminum oxide coated simulated turbine blades for testing. Tests included exposure to vibration, low velocity hydrocarbon hot gas flow to 1250 K, and furnace calibrations. Thermal electromotive force was typically two percent below standard type S thermocouples. Mean time to failure was 42 hours at a hot gas flow temperature of 1250 K and an average of 15 cycles to room temperature. Failures were mainly due to separation of the platinum thin film from the aluminum oxide surface. Several techniques to improve the adhesion of the platinum are discussed.

Grant, H. P.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Comparison of Orbiter STS-2 development flight instrumentation data with thermal math model predictions

Thermal performance verification of Reusable Surface Insulation (RSI) has been accomplished by comparisons of STS-2 Orbiter Flight Test (OFT) data with Thermal Math Model (TMM) predictions. The OFT data was obtained from Development Flight Instrumentation RSI plug and gap thermocouples. Quartertile RSI TMMs were developed using measured flight data for surface temperature and pressure environments. Reference surface heating rates, derived from surface temperature data, were multiplied by gap heating ratios to obtain tile sidewall heating rates. This TMM analysis resulted in good agreement of predicted temperatures with flight data for thermocouples located in the RSI, Strain Isolation Pad, filler bar and structure.

Norman, I.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Predictions of entry heating for lower surface of shuttle orbiter

A broad base of thermocouple and phase change paint data was assembled and correlated to the nominal design 14414.1 and proposed STS-1 (first flight of the space transportation system) entry trajectories. Averaged data from phase change paint tests compared favorably with thermocouple data for predicting heating rates. Laminar and turbulent radiation equilibrium heating rates were computed on the lower surface of the Shuttle orbiter for both trajectories, and the lower surface center line results were compared both with aerodynamic heating design data and with flight values from the STS-1 and STS-2 trajectories. The peak laminar heating values from the aerodynamic heating design data book were generally 40 to 60 percent higher than the laminar estimates of this study, except at the 55 percent location of maximum span where the design data book values were less than 10 percent higher. Estimates of both laminar and turbulent heating rates compared favorably with flight data.

Edwards, C. L. W.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Fabricating Thin-Shell Heat-Transfer Models

Freestanding shells produced for experimental aerodynamic-heating tests. Heat transfer shells require several steps and several precise molds. First, interlocking aluminum male and female molds fabricated. Holes for thermocouples drilled through male mold at desired locations. Wires having same diameter as thermocouple wire placed through holes in male mold flush to female mold. Epoxy exposed to vacuum to remove air bubbles poured between male and female molds to form thin female mold. Once mold cured, wires removed and aluminum molds separated.

Avery, D. E.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Dynamic gas temperature measurement system

The development of an advanced measuring system which measures the rapidly varying gas temperature at the exit of an aircraft jet engine combustor during ground based testing of hot section components was identified. Sensor guidelines, technical approach/program schedule, and the accomplishments are reviewed. The environment of a present generation combustor is shown. The method uses two beadless junctions type-B thermocouples to measure heat transfer coefficient in situ. Heat conduction effects are shown by a finite element model of the thermocouple.

Elmore, D.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Transient technique for measuring heat transfer coefficients on stator airfoils in a jet engine environment

A transient technique was used to measure heat transfer coefficients on stator airfoils in a high-temperature annular cascade at real engine conditions. The transient response of thin film thermocouples on the airfoil surface to step changes in the gas stream temperature was used to determine these coefficients. In addition, gardon gages and paired thermocouples were also utilized to measure heat flux on the airfoil pressure surface at steady state conditions. The tests were conducted at exit gas stream Reynolds numbers of one-half to 1.9 million based on true chord. The results from the transient technique show good comparison with the steady-state results in both trend and magnitude. In addition, comparison is made with the STAN5 boundary layer code and shows good comparison with the trends. However, the magnitude of the experimental data is consistently higher than the analysis.

Gladden, H. J.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Transient technique for measuring heat transfer coefficients on stator airfoils in a jet engine environment

Gladden, H. J.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Temperature and velocity profiles in sooting free boundary layer flames

Temperature and velocity profiles are presented for cyclohexane, n-heptane, and iso-octane free, laminar, boundary layer, sooting, diffusion flames. Temperatures are measured with 3 mil Pt/Pt-13 percent Rh thermocouples. Corrected gas temperatures are derived by performing an energy balance of convection to and radiation from the thermocouple bead incorporating the variation of air conductivity and platinum emissivity with temperature. Velocities are measured using laser doppler velocimetry techniques. Profiles are compared with previously reported analytic temperature and velocity fields. Comparison of theoretical and experimental temperature profiles suggests improvement in the analytical treatment is needed, which accounts more accurately for the local soot radiation. The velocity profiles are in good agreement, with the departure of the theory from observation partially due to the small fluctuations inherent in these free flows.

Ang, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Progress on thin-film sensors for space propulsion technology

The objective is to develop thin-film thermocouples for Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) components. Thin-film thermocouples have been developed for aircraft gas turbine engines and are in use for temperature measurement on turbine blades to 1800 F. The technology established for aircraft gas turbine engines will be adapted to the materials and environment encountered in the SSME. Specific goals are to expand the existing in-house thin-film sensor technology and to test the survivability and durability of thin-film sensors in the SSME environment.

Kim, Walter S.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Experiments on thermoacoustic convection heat transfer in gravity and zero-gravity environments

The results of an experimental study of thermoacoustic convection (TAC) heat transfer in gravity and zero-gravity environments are presented. The experimental apparatus consisted of a cylinder containing air as the compressible fluid. The enclosed air was heated electrically at the top surface which consisted of a thin high-resistance steel foil connected to a power source. Thermocouples were used to measure the transient temperature of the air on the axis of the cylinder and the heated surface in the both zero-gravity and gravity environments. The zero-gravity tests were performed in the Zero-Gravity Drop Tower Facility of NASA-Lewis Research Center. The experimental results were corrected for the error due to radiation absorption by the thermocouples. A conduction-only numerical heat transfer model was developed to compute the transient air temperature in the cylindrical geometry. The results were compared to the experimental data to determine the significance of the thermoacoustic convection heat transfer mechanism. It is observed that the rate of heat transfer to the air measured during the experiments is consistently higher than that obtained by the conduction-only solution indicating a significant presence of the TAC heat transfer. Further experiments are planned to measure directly (1) the radiative heat transfer contribution to the rise in the air temperature, and (2) the air pressure oscillations within the cylinder that are responsible for the convective heat transfer mode.

Parang, Masood↗

NASA NTRS1988

Prototype thin-film thermocouple/heat-flux sensor for a ceramic-insulated diesel engine

A platinum versus platinum-13 percent rhodium thin-film thermocouple/heat-flux sensor was devised and tested in the harsh, high-temperature environment of a ceramic-insulated, low-heat-rejection diesel engine. The sensor probe assembly was developed to provide experimental validation of heat transfer and thermal analysis methodologies applicable to the insulated diesel engine concept. The thin-film thermocouple configuration was chosen to approximate an uninterrupted chamber surface and provide a 1-D heat-flux path through the probe body. The engine test was conducted by Purdue University for Integral Technologies, Inc., under a DOE-funded contract managed by NASA Lewis Research Center. The thin-film sensor performed reliably during 6 to 10 hr of repeated engine runs at indicated mean surface temperatures up to 950 K. However, the sensor suffered partial loss of adhesion in the thin-film thermocouple junction area following maximum cyclic temperature excursions to greater than 1150 K.

Kim, Walter S.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Design, calibration and error analysis of instrumentation for heat transfer measurements in internal combustion engines

The paper reports the methodology and uncertainty analyses of instrumentation for heat transfer measurements in internal combustion engines. Results are presented for determining the local wall heat flux in an internal combustion engine (using a surface thermocouple-type heat flux gage) and the apparent flame-temperature and soot volume fraction path length product in a diesel engine (using two-color pyrometry). It is shown that a surface thermocouple heat transfer gage suitably constructed and calibrated will have an accuracy of 5 to 10 percent. It is also shown that, when applying two-color pyrometry to measure the apparent flame temperature and soot volume fraction-path length, it is important to choose at least one of the two wavelengths to lie in the range of 1.3 to 2.3 micrometers. Carefully calibrated two-color pyrometer can ensure that random errors in the apparent flame temperature and in the soot volume fraction path length will remain small (within about 1 percent and 10-percent, respectively).

Ferguson, C. R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Low cost Get-Away-Special (GAS) furnace

A simple and inexpensive Space Shuttle experimental apparatus to conduct microgravity melting and solidification is presented. A GAS space furnace was initially developed as a student design project at the USAF Academy and further refined at NASA Lewis. The experiment package consists of a melting chamber, battery power system, temperature data recording systems, and electronic controller. The melting chamber is a thin-walled tube wrapped by heating resistance wire. Thermocouples are used to record the specimen thermal history. Power is supplied by 2-V batteries wired to produce 360 W. The mV output of the thermocouples is amplified, cold-junction compensated, and converted to a frequency which is then recorded on an off-the-shelf cassette tape recorder. A backup data recording system which digitizes the amplified signal and records the data on EEPROMs has also been included. This experimental device demonstrates that basic science research can be kept simple and inexpensive.

Turner, Glon D.↗