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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 55 records · Page 3

NASA CSTI Earth-to-orbit propulsion R/T program overview

The topics presented are covered in viewgraph form. The programmatic objectives are to develop and validate technology, design tools, and methodologies needed for the development of a new generation of lower cost, operationally-efficient, long-life, highly reliable ETO propulsion systems. The technical objectives are: (1) high quality, low cost, inspectable manufacturing; (2) safe shutdown to fault tolerance operations for safety; (3) condition monitoring diagnostics for maintainability; (4) automatic servicing and checkout for ground operations; (5) max commensurate with life for performance; and full flow, combined cycle for advanced cycles.

Moses, James L.↗

Discrete changes in solar coronal hole boundaries

Sequences of Skylab X-ray images near central meridian passages of a large solar coronal hole are used here to examine hole boundary changes with a time resolution of 90 min. It is found that X-ray bright points play a key role in both the expansion and contraction of the coronal hole. The size scale of the boundary changes is about 20,000 km, and the time scale is 3 hr or less. A scenario is suggested in which a large-scale closed magnetic field interacts with a bright point to effect a change in the hole boundary.

Kahler, S. W.↗

Automation of a Versatile Crane (the LSMS) for Lunar Outpost Construction, Maintenance and Inspection

Devices for lifting, translating and precisely placing payloads are critical for efficient Earth-based construction operations. Both recent and past studies have demonstrated that devices with similar functionality will be needed to support lunar outpost operations. Although several designs have been developed for Earth based applications, these devices lack unique design characteristics necessary for transport to and use on the harsh lunar surface. These design characteristics include: a) lightweight components, b) compact packaging for launch, c) automated deployment, d) simple in-field reconfiguration and repair, and e) support for tele-operated or automated operations. Also, because the cost to transport mass to the lunar surface is very high, the number of devices that can be dedicated to surface operations will be limited. Thus, in contrast to Earth-based construction, where many single-purpose devices dominate a construction site, a lunar outpost will require a limited number of versatile devices that provide operational benefit from initial construction through sustained operations. The first generation test-bed of a new high performance device, the Lunar Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) has been designed, built and field tested. The LSMS has many unique features resulting in a mass efficient solution to payload handling on the lunar surface. Typically, the LSMS device mass is estimated at approximately 3% of the mass of the heaviest payload lifted at the tip, or 1.8 % of the mass of the heaviest mass lifted at the elbow or mid-span of the boom for a high performance variant incorporating advanced structural components. Initial operational capabilities of the LSMS were successfully demonstrated during field tests at Moses Lake, Washington using a tele-operated approach. Joint angle sensors have been developed for the LSMS to improve operator situational awareness. These same sensors provide the necessary information to support fully automated operations, greatly expanding the operational versatility of the LSMS. This paper develops the equations describing the forward and inverse relation between LSMS joint angles and Cartesian coordinates of the LSMS tip. These equations allow a variety of schemes to be used to maneuver the LSMS to optimize the maneuver. One such scheme will be described in detail that eliminates undesirable swinging of the payload at the conclusion of a maneuver, even when the payload is suspended from a passive rigid link. The swinging is undesirable when performing precision maneuvers, such as aligning an object for mating or positioning a camera. Use of the equations described here enables automated control of the LSMS greatly improving its operational versatility.

Doggett, William R.↗

Acoustical and Intelligibility Test of the Vocera(Copyright) B3000 Communication Badge

To communicate with each other or ground support, crew members on board the International Space Station (ISS) currently use the Audio Terminal Units (ATU), which are located in each ISS module. However, to use the ATU, crew members must stop their current activity, travel to a panel, and speak into a wall-mounted microphone, or use either a handheld microphone or a Crew Communication Headset that is connected to a panel. These actions unnecessarily may increase task times, lower productivity, create cable management issues, and thus increase crew frustration. Therefore, the Habitability and Human Factors and Human Interface Branches at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) are currently investigating a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) wireless communication system, Vocera(C), as a near-term solution for ISS communication. The objectives of the acoustics and intelligibility testing of this system were to answer the following questions: 1. How intelligibly can a human hear the transmitted message from a Vocera(c) badge in three different noise environments (Baseline = 20 dB, US Lab Module = 58 dB, Russian Module = 70.6 dB)? 2. How accurate is the Vocera(C) badge at recognizing voice commands in three different noise environments? 3. What body location (chest, upper arm, or shoulder) is optimal for speech intelligibility and voice recognition accuracy of the Vocera(C) badge on a human in three different noise environments?

Archer, Ronald↗

“Max-tech FHR”: What is the maximum technically achievable water delivery capacity from a single 120 V plug?

Electrifying water heating will require affordable, direct drop-in replacements for existing gas water heaters that meet consumer expectations for hot water delivery. For many replacement scenarios, affordability requires a replacement option with like-for-like physical product dimensions, and existing consumer expectations presume a large delivery capacity from a small water heater. This work explores the technical potential for hot water delivery capacity for a heat pump water heater (HPWH) powered from a common 120 V plug. Delivery capability in this work is quantified by two metrics: the First Hour Rating (FHR) defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, and a real-world draw profile that resulted in hot water runout during field studies of 120 V HPWHs. The work focuses on the common “tall-and-slim” gas water heater product category, with external product dimensions of 20 inch diameter and 60 inch height. Using a simulation model in DOE/ORNL Heat Pump Design Model, validated by experimental baseline testing of a commercially available 120 V HPWH model, several measures were evaluated to maximize the delivery capacity of a 120 V HPWH. The 120 V HPWH was constrained by 1) external product dimensions of 20 in diameter and 60 inch height, 2) electrical power of 1.5 kW (85% of the available power from a dedicated 120 V, 15 A circuit), and 3) commercially-available components. The measures implemented included a large compressor, a pumped loop with plate heat exchanger to maximize tank stratification, enlarged heat exchangers, and relatively thin insulation to maximize the water storage volume.

Gluesenkamp, Kyle↗

Bandwidth extension and conversion efficiency improvements beyond phase matching limitations using cavity-enhanced OPCPA

The conversion efficiency and phase matching bandwidth of ultrafast optical parametric amplification (OPA) are constrained by the dispersion and nonlinear coefficient of the employed crystal as well as pulse shaping effects. In our work we show that an enhancement cavity resonant with the pump seeded at the full repetition rate of the pump laser can automatically reshape the small-signal gain in optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) to achieve close-to-optimal operation. This new method termed cavity-enhanced OPCPA or C-OPCPA significantly increases both the gain bandwidth and the conversion efficiency, in addition to boosting gain for high-repetition-rate amplification. The goal in C-OPCPA is to arrive at a condition of impedance matching at all temporal coordinates, such that, in the absence of linear losses, all the incident pump power is dissipated in the nonlinear loss element, i.e., converted to signal and idler. The use of a low finesse enhancement cavity resonant with a low average power (<1W) and a high repetition rate (78MHz) pump source is shown to achieve more than 50% conversion efficiency into signal and idler from the coupled pump in an optical parametric process, whereas an equivalent amount of pump power in a single-pass configuration leads to negligible conversion. Additionally, the gain bandwidth is extended by a factor of 3-4 beyond the phase-matching limit. Our empirical observations are corroborated by a numerical analysis of depletion optimizing the single-pass case, which assesses the underlying impedance matching that is responsible for the observed performance improvements.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Frontier In-Situ Resource Utilization for Enabling Sustained Human Presence on Mars

The currently known resources on Mars are massive, including extensive quantities of water and carbon dioxide and therefore carbon, hydrogen and oxygen for life support, fuels and plastics and much else. The regolith is replete with all manner of minerals. In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) applicable frontier technologies include robotics, machine intelligence, nanotechnology, synthetic biology, 3-D printing/additive manufacturing and autonomy. These technologies combined with the vast natural resources should enable serious, pre- and post-human arrival ISRU to greatly increase reliability and safety and reduce cost for human colonization of Mars. Various system-level transportation concepts employing Mars produced fuel would enable Mars resources to evolve into a primary center of trade for the inner solar system for eventually nearly everything required for space faring and colonization. Mars resources and their exploitation via extensive ISRU are the key to a viable, safe and affordable, human presence beyond Earth. The purpose of this paper is four-fold: 1) to highlight the latest discoveries of water, minerals, and other materials on Mars that reshape our thinking about the value and capabilities of Mars ISRU; 2) to summarize the previous literature on Mars ISRU processes, equipment, and approaches; 3) to point to frontier ISRU technologies and approaches that can lead to safe and affordable human missions to Mars; and 4) to suggest an implementation strategy whereby the ISRU elements are phased into the mission campaign over time to enable a sustainable and increasing human presence on Mars.

Moses, Robert W.↗

Design and Field Test of a Mass Efficient Crane for Lunar Payload Handling and Inspection: The Lunar Surface Manipulation System

Devices for lifting, translating and precisely placing payloads are critical for efficient Earthbased construction operations. Both recent and past studies have demonstrated that devices with similar functionality will be needed to support lunar outpost operations. Lunar payloads include: a) prepackaged hardware and supplies which must be unloaded from landers and then accurately located at their operational site, b) sensor packages used for periodic inspection of landers, habitat surfaces, etc., and c) local materials such as regolith which require grading, excavation and placement. Although several designs have been developed for Earth based applications, these devices lack unique design characteristics necessary for transport to and use on the harsh lunar surface. These design characteristics include: a) composite components, b) compact packaging for launch, c) simple in-field reconfiguration and repair, and d) support for tele-operated or automated operations. Also, in contrast to Earth-based construction, where special purpose devices dominate a construction site, a lunar outpost will require versatile devices which provide operational benefit from initial construction through sustained operations. This paper will detail the design of a unique, high performance, versatile lifting device designed for operations on the lunar surface. The device is called the Lunar Surface Manipulation System to highlight the versatile nature of the device which supports conventional cable suspended crane operations as well as operations usually associated with a manipulator such as precise positioning where the payload is rigidly grappled by a tool attached to the tip of the device. A first generation test-bed to verify design methods and operational procedures is under development at the NASA Langley Research Center and recently completed field tests at Moses Lake Washington. The design relied on non-linear finite element analysis which is shown to correlate favorably with laboratory experiments. A key design objective, reviewed in this paper, is the device s simplicity, resulting from a focus on the minimum set of functions necessary to perform payload offload. Further development of the device has the potential for significant mass savings, with a high performance device incorporating composite elements estimated to have a mass less than 3% of the mass of the maximum lunar payload lifted at the tip. The paper will conclude with future plans for expanding the operational versatility of the device.

Doggett, William R.↗

Atmospheric Entry Studies for Uranus

The Objectives of this work are: 1) Establish a range of probe atmospheric entry environments based on the Uranus Flagship mission outlined in the Planetary Science Decadal Survey for two launch windows: Year 2021 and 2034. 2) Define Uranus entry trade space by performing parametric studies, by varying vehicle mass and size and entry Flight Path Angle (FPA). 3) Investigate various trajectory options, including direct ballistic entry and aero-capture entry. 4) Identify entry technologies that could be leveraged to enable a viable mission to Uranus that meets science objectives.

Thermal protection material↗

Stratospheric Benzene and Hydrocarbon Aerosols Detected in Saturn's Auroral Regions

Context. Saturn's polar upper atmosphere exhibits significant auroral activity; however, its impact on stratospheric chemistry (i.e. the production of benzene and heavier hydrocarbons) and thermal structure remains poorly documented. Aims. We aim to bring new constraints on the benzene distribution in Saturn's stratosphere, to characterize polar aerosols (their vertical distribution, composition, thermal infrared optical properties), and to quantify the aerosols' radiative impact on the thermal structure. Methods. Infrared spectra acquired by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) on board Cassini in limb viewing geometry are analysed to derive benzene column abundances and aerosol opacity profiles over the 3 to 0.1 mbar pressure range. The spectral dependency of the haze opacity is assessed in the ranges 680-900 and 1360-1440 cm(exp −1). Then, a radiative climate model is used to compute equilibrium temperature profiles, with and without haze, given the haze properties derived from CIRS measurements. Results. On Saturn's auroral region (80 deg S), benzene is found to be slightly enhanced compared to its equatorial and mid-latitude values. This contrasts with the Moses & Greathouse (2005, J. Geophys. Res., 110, 9007) photochemical model, which predicts a benzene abundance 50 times lower at 80◦S than at the equator. This advocates for the inclusion of ion-related reactions in Saturn's chemical models. The polar stratosphere is also enriched in aerosols, with spectral signatures consistent with vibration modes assigned to aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, and presenting similarities with the signatures observed in Titan's stratosphere. The aerosol mass loading at 80 deg S is estimated to be 1−4 × 10(exp −5) g cm(exp −2), an order of magnitude less than on Jupiter, which is consistent with the order of magnitude weaker auroral power at Saturn.We estimate that this polar haze warms the middle stratosphere by 6 K in summer and cools the upper stratosphere by 5 K in winter. Hence, aerosols linked with auroral activity can partly account for the warm polar hood observed in Saturn's summer stratosphere.

satellites↗

Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Using Mesoporous Honeycomb Iron Titanate

Mesoporous honeycomb iron titanate using a sol-gel, evaporation-induced self-assembly method is synthesized. A triblock copolymer, F127, serves as a structure-directing agents, with iron chloride and titanium (IV) isopropoxide as inorganic precursors. The strong intermolecular force of attraction among urea, metal precursors, and polymer led to the formation of the mesoporous honeycomb structure. The study of physicochemical properties using different techniques reveals the formation of microstructures with a remarkable degree of porosity. The amorphous iron titanate outperforms the photochemical generation of H 2 due to its disorderly structural arrangement and incomplete crystal formation. The randomness on the structure provides more area for catalytic reaction by providing more contact with the reactant and superior light absorption capability. The high amount of hydrogen gas, 40.66 mmolg -1 h -1 , is observed in the investigation over 3 h of activity for the iron titanate honeycomb sample. This yield is a more significant amount compared to the obtained for the commercially available TiO 2 (23.78 mmolg -1 h -1 ). The iron titanate materials synthesized with low-cost materials and methods are very effective and have the potential for hydrogen generation.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

The primary cosmic ray electron spectrum 1978-1980

In August of 1978 the ISEE-3 spacecraft carried the University of Chicago electron spectrometer into interplanetary space. Strong intensity variations of Jovian electrons have been observed in the energy range from 5 to 25 MeV in conjunction with 3 Jovian seasons. The spectral shape of the extra electrons has a shallow maximum around 15 MeV. No measurable long term variation in the average electron spectrum has been observed since 1968 up to energies of about 50 MeV. However, strong solar cycle modulation occurs at energies around a few hundred MeV.

Evenson, P.↗

Data for The utility of transfer learning to improve the performance of deep learning in axon segmentation

The utility of transfer learning to improve the performance of deep learning in axon segmentation Data Data: All the input and labeled volumes tf-logs: Tensorflow logs, view with command "tensorboard --logdir [name of folder]" Model Weights: model_weights: the argument list under variable combo indicate 1) no oversampling, 2) no rotation, 3) no learn scheduler, and 4) flipping on all three dimensions, and the additional values indicate 5) elastic deformation percentage, 6) rotate deformation percentage, 7) layer setting , 8) learning rate, and 9) training/validation/test data division suffix (leave '' if not using suffix). Results: Output from inference segment_total_results_validation_final: All validation results and calculations segment_total_results: All test results and calculations Authors The modified code was created for a paper by: Marjolein Oostrom, Michael A. Muniak, Rogene Eichler West, Sarah Akers, Paritosh Pande, Moses Obiri, Wei Wang, Kasey Bowyer, Zhuhao Wu, Lisa Bramer, Tianyi Mao, Bobbie Jo Webb-Robertson The work is adapted from Github TrailMap, which was created by Albert Pun and Drew Friedmann Acknowledgments MO, RMEW, SA, MO, LB, BJWR were supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a Department of Energy facility operated by Battelle under contract DE-AC05-76RLO01830. WW, KB, and ZW were supported in part by a NIH/BRAIN Initiative Grant RF1MH128969. MAM and TM were supported by two NIH/BRAIN Initiative Grants R01NS104944, RF1MH120119 and NIH R01NS081071. This research is affiliated with the Pacific northwest bioMedical Innovation Co-laboratory (PMedIC) collaboration between OHSU and PNNL.

Oostrom, Marjolein T↗

Effect of Acid Etching Time in Ti 3 C 2 MXene’s Interlayer Spacing and Conductivity

Materials with sheet-like morphologies often form interconnected networks of layers or flakes, offering continuous channels for electron and ion transport in electrochemical energy storage applications. One such material is the recently discovered class of 2-D transition metal carbides/nitrides, called MXene, whose general formula is M n+1 X n T x (where M = transition metal; n = 1, 2, or 3; X = carbon or nitrogen; and T x = termination group such as –F, –OH, and/or =O). Ti 3 C 2 , one of the most studied MXene, can be synthesized by selectively etching the aluminum layer in Ti 3 AlC 2 (also called MAX phase). The most straightforward technique to exfoliate this layer is by wet-chemical etching with high-concentration hydrofluoric acid (HF). In this study, the effect of etching time on the morphology, interlayer spacing, and electrical conductivity of the resultant MXene was studied.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Report from the Passive Microwave Data Set Management Workshop

Passive microwave data sets are some of the most important data sets in the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), providing data as far back as the early 1970s. The widespread use of passive microwave (PM) radiometer data has led to their collection and distribution over the years at several different Earth science data centers. The user community is often confused by this proliferation and the uneven spread of information about the data sets. In response to this situation, a Passive Microwave Data Set Management Workshop was held 17 ]19 May 2011 at the Global Hydrology Resource Center, sponsored by the NASA Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project. The workshop attendees reviewed all primary (Level 1 ]3) PM data sets from NASA and non ]NASA sensors held by NASA Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), as well as high ]value data sets from other NASA ]funded organizations. This report provides the key findings and recommendations from the workshop as well as detailed tabluations of the datasets considered.

Armstrong, Ed↗