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At least 55 records · Page 3

Hydrogen leak detection in the Space Shuttle

This study focuses on a helium gas jet flowing into room air. Measurements of helium concentration and velocity in the jet-air mixture are reported. The objective is to learn about jet characteristics so that dynamically similar hydrogen leaks may be located in the Space Shuttle. The hazardous gas detection system (HGDS) in the mobile launch pad uses mass spectrometers to monitor the shuttle environment for leaks. The mass spectrometers are fed by long sample tubes which draw gas from the payload bay, mid body, aft engine compartment and external tank. The overall purpose of this study is to improve the HGDS especially in its potential for locating hydrogen leaks. A rapid-response leak detection experiment was designed, built, and tested, following on the work done in this program last summer. The apparatus included a Perkin Elmer MGA-1200 mass spectrometer and air velocity transducer, both monitored by a Macintosh IIFX computer using LabVIEW software. A jet of helium flowing into the lab air simulated a gas leak. Steady helium or hydrogen-nitrogen jets were logged for concentration and velocity, and the power spectral density of each was computed. Last year, large eddies and vortices were visually seen with Schlieren imaging, and they were detected in the time plots of the various instruments. The response time of the MGA-1200 was found in the range of 0.05 to 0.1 sec. Pulsed concentration waves were clearly detected at 25 cycles per sec by spectral analysis of MGA data. No peaks were detected in the power spectrum, so in the present study, 10 Hz bandwidth-averaged power levels were examined at regular frequency intervals. The practical consequences of last year's study are as follows: sampling frequency should be increased above the present rate of 1 sample per second so that transients could be observed and analyzed with frequency response methods. Many more experiments and conditions were observed in this second summer, including the effects of orifice diameter, jet velocity, sample tube design, radial effects, vertical flow, and low hydrogen concentrations (1 percent). A frequent observation was that the power spectrum, calculated from the Fourier transform of concentration fluctuations, gives a separate piece of information from concentration. Many of the tests suggest that power is high where mixing occurs at the helium-air interface. This fact is apparently independent of the concentration level, which could be high or low, but depends on the sample location relative to the jet (leak) origin, whereas high concentration may be due to a strong leak far away or a small leak close to the sample tube. If the power is low for any concentration level, this would signify helium is arriving at the sample tube by diffusion, not chaotic mixing caused by the jet interaction with air. The practical result is to propose a modification of the HGDL mass spectrometer data sampling and software so that sampling rates could be capable of observing at least 25 Hz fluctuations.

Barile, Ronald G↗

Rotor fatigue monitoring data acquisition system

The 40 by 80 Foot Wind Tunnel of the National Full Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC) had a requirement to monitor rotor fatigue during a test. This test subjected various rotor components to stress levels higher than their structural fatigue limits. A data acquisition system was developed to monitor the cumulative fatigue damage of rotor components using National Instruments hardware and LabVIEW software. A full description of the data acquisition system including its configuration and salient features, is presented in this paper.

Smith, Scott M.↗

Pyrolaser Operating System

Software provides for control and acquisition of data from optical pyrometer. There are six individual programs in PYROLASER package. Provides quick and easy way to set up, control, and program standard Pyrolaser. Temperature and emisivity measurements either collected as if Pyrolaser in manual operating mode or displayed on real-time strip charts and stored in standard spreadsheet format for posttest analysis. Shell supplied to allow macros, which are test-specific, added to system easily. Written using Labview software for use on Macintosh-series computers running System 6.0.3 or later, Sun Sparc-series computers running Open-Windows 3.0 or MIT's X Window System (X11R4 or X11R5), and IBM PC or compatible computers running Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later.

Roberts, Floyd E., III↗

A fuzzy logic controller for hormone administration using an implantable pump

This paper describes the requirements for a Fuzzy Logic Controller for the physiologic administration of hormones by means of a FDA-approved surgically implantable infusion pump. Results of a LabVIEW computer simulation for the administration of insulin for diabetic adult patients as well as human growth hormone for pediatric patients are presented. A VHS video tape of the simulation in action has been prepared and is available for viewing.

Coles, L. Stephen↗

F/A-18 forebody vortex control. Volume 2: Rotary-balance tests

A rotary-balance wind tunnel test was conducted on a six percent model of the F/A-18 at the NASA Ames 7 X 10-Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel. The data reduction was specially written for the test in National Instruments' LabVIEW. The data acquisition, reduction and analysis was performed with a Macintosh computer. The primary objective of the test was to evaluate the effectiveness of several forebody vortex control configurations in a rotary flow field. The devices that were found to be the most effective during the static tests (Volume 1) were investigated and included both mechanical and pneumatic configurations. The mechanical systems evaluated were small, single and dual, rotating nose tip strakes and a vertical nose strake. The jet blowing configuration used nozzles canted inboard 60 degrees. A two segment tangential slot was also evaluated. The different techniques were evaluated at angles of attack of 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 51 degrees, and 60 degrees. Sideslip and Reynolds number were varied for some of the configurations. All of the techniques proved to be effective in the rotating flow field. The vertical nose strake had the largest 'envelope' of effectiveness. Forebody vortex control provides large, robust yawing moments at medium to high angles of attack, even during combat maneuvers such as loaded roll.

Kramer, Brian R.↗

Study and Analysis of The Robot-Operated Material Processing Systems (ROMPS)

This is a report presenting the progress of a research grant funded by NASA for work performed during 1 Oct. 1994 - 31 Sep. 1995. The report deals with the development and investigation of potential use of software for data processing for the Robot Operated Material Processing System (ROMPS). It reports on the progress of data processing of calibration samples processed by ROMPS in space and on earth. First data were retrieved using the I/O software and manually processed using MicroSoft Excel. Then the data retrieval and processing process was automated using a program written in C which is able to read the telemetry data and produce plots of time responses of sample temperatures and other desired variables. LabView was also employed to automatically retrieve and process the telemetry data.

Nguyen, Charles C.↗

Experimental testing using a remotely operated flap with a 2D high lift model

The problem of efficient wind tunnel testing for multi-element airfoils was first addressed by the author during a previous ASEE fellowship. A modern three element model with internal actuators to position a flap in two degrees of freedom was designed and later built. Some preliminary testing proved that the approach was viable. The purpose of this summer's work was to fully develop experimental methods including efficient data acquisition. The final goal is to develop dense data sets for both lift and drag measurements as a function of flap position for both take-off and landing configurations. The model has a span of 36 in. and chord of 18 in. and is currently being fitted for a 3 ft. x 4 ft. low speed wind tunnel. The flap was reworked to allow all pressure taps to function after initial tests showed two blocked ports. The serial method of obtaining pressures from the surface taps was found to be exceedingly slow so a new method using 12 pressure transducers and a 12 port parallel scanning valve were developed. A new automated data acquisition and control algorithm was developed using LabView software and a PC platform. Flow two-dimensionality is currently under investigation with boundary layer control by blowing; this was previously omitted for initial testing. By the end of the summer a detailed data set (uncorrected) consisting of lift coefficient versus flap position for the landing configuration should be available.

Landman, Drew↗

Active Flow Control: Instrumentation Automation and Experimental Technique

In investigating the potential of a new actuator for use in an active flow control system, several objectives had to be accomplished, the largest of which was the experimental setup. The work was conducted at the NASA Langley 20x28 Shear Flow Control Tunnel. The actuator named Thunder, is a high deflection piezo device recently developed at Langley Research Center. This research involved setting up the instrumentation, the lighting, the smoke, and the recording devices. The instrumentation was automated by means of a Power Macintosh running LabVIEW, a graphical instrumentation package developed by National Instruments. Routines were written to allow the tunnel conditions to be determined at a given instant at the push of a button. This included determination of tunnel pressures, speed, density, temperature, and viscosity. Other aspects of the experimental equipment included the set up of a CCD video camera with a video frame grabber, monitor, and VCR to capture the motion. A strobe light was used to highlight the smoke that was used to visualize the flow. Additional effort was put into creating a scale drawing of another tunnel on site and a limited literature search in the area of active flow control.

Gimbert, N. Wes↗

Automated Liquid-Level Control of a Nutrient Reservoir for a Hydroponic System

A microprocessor-based system for control of the liquid level of a nutrient reservoir for a plant hydroponic growing system has been developed. The system uses an ultrasonic transducer to sense the liquid level or height. A National Instruments' Multifunction Analog and Digital Input/Output PC Kit includes NI-DAQ DOS/Windows driver software for an IBM 486 personal computer. A Labview Full Development system for Windows is the graphical programming system being used. The system allows liquid level control to within 0.1 cm for all levels tried between 8 and 36 cm in the hydroponic system application. The detailed algorithms have been developed and a fully automated microprocessor based nutrient replenishment system has been described for this hydroponic system.

Smith, Boris↗

Electronic Regulator: Breadboard and Conceptual Space Flight Versions

The Electronic Regulator Project at TRW has constructed a breadboard system demonstrating pressure regulator operation over a wide range of flow conditions. The test hardware is composed of pneumatic-actuated, solenoid-controlled valves and associated tubing, gas volumes and transducers. System control, data recording and data reduction functions are controlled by a 486-class PC running Labview software. This breadboard system has demonstrated that a single system, using several control modes, is versatile enough to be used across the TRW spacecraft product line, from the very low Xenon flows associated with an electric propulsion system, to the high Helium flows required in a constant thrust situation such as in the AXAF spacecraft. A conceptual flight version, composed largely of off-the-shelf parts, has been designed and evaluated relative to requirements of various TRW spacecraft.

Seymour, N. F.↗

Design of a Channel Error Simulator using Virtual Instrument Techniques for the Initial Testing of TCP/IP and SCPS Protocols

There exists a need for designers and developers to have a method to conveniently test a variety of communications parameters for an overall system design. This is no different when testing network protocols as when testing modulation formats. In this report, we discuss a means of providing a networking test device specifically designed to be used for space communications. This test device is a PC-based Virtual Instrument (VI) programmed using the LabVIEW(TM) version 5 software suite developed by National Instruments(TM)TM. This instrument was designed to be portable and usable by others without special, additional equipment. The programming was designed to replicate a VME-based hardware module developed earlier at New Mexico State University (NMSU) and to provide expanded capabilities exceeding the baseline configuration existing in that module. This report describes the design goals for the VI module in the next section and follows that with a description of the design of the VI instrument. This is followed with a description of the validation tests run on the VI. An application of the error-generating VI to networking protocols is then given.

Horan, Stephen↗

Cloud Thickness from Diffusion of Lidar Pulses in Clouds

Measurements of the distribution of reflected light from a laser beam incident on an aqueous suspension of particles or "cloud" with known thickness and particle size distribution are reported. The distribution is referred to as the "cloud radiative Green's function", G. In the diffusion domain, G is sensitive to cloud thickness, allowing that important quantity to be retrieved. The goal of the laboratory simulation is to provide preliminary estimates of sensitivity of G to cloud thickness,for use in the optimal design of an offbeam Lidar instrument for remote sensing of cloud thickness (THOR, Thickness from Offbeam Returns). These clouds of polystyrene microspheres suspended in water are analogous to real clouds of water droplets suspended in air. The microsphere size distribution is roughly lognormal, from 0.5 microns to 25 microns, similar to real clouds. Density of suspended spheres is adjusted so mean-free-path of visible photons is about 10 cm, approximately 1000 times smaller than in real clouds. The light source is a ND:YAG laser at 530 nm. Detectors are flux and photon-counting Photomultiplier Tube (PMTS), with a glass probe for precise positioning. A Labview 5 VI controls positioning, and data acquisition, via an NI Motion Control board connected to a stepper motor driving an Edmund linear slider, and a 16-channel 16-bit NI-DAQ board. The stepper motor is accurate to 10 microns, and step size is selectable from the VI software. Far from the incident beam, the rate of exponential increase as the direction of the incident beam is approached scales as expected from diffusion theory, linearly with the cloud thickness, and inversely as the square root of the reduced optical thickness, and is independent of particle size. Near the beam the signal begins to increase faster than exponential, due to single and low-order scattering near the backward direction, and here the distribution depends on particle size. Results are being used to verify 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations, used to estimate signal-to-noise ratios for remotely sensed off beam returns, for both homogeneous and inhomogeneous clouds. Signal-to-noise estimates show that unfiltered observations are straight forward at night, while narrow band pass filters are being studied for day.

Cahalan, Robert F.↗

Diffuse Reflection of Laser Light From Clouds

Laser light reflected from an aqueous suspension of particles or "cloud" with known thickness and particle size distribution defines the "cloud radiative Green's function", G. G is sensitive to cloud thickness, allowing retrieval of that important quantity. We describe a laboratory simulation of G, useful in design of an offbeam Lidar instrument for remote sensing of cloud thickness. Clouds of polystyrene microspheres suspended in water are analogous to real clouds of water droplets suspended in air. The size distribution extends from 0.5 microns to 25 microns, roughly lognormal, similar to real clouds. Density of suspended spheres is adjusted so photon mean-free-path is about 10 cm, 1000 times smaller than in real clouds. The light source is a Nd:YAG laser at 530 nm. Detectors are flux and photon-counting PMTs, with a glass probe for precise positioning. A Labview 5 VI controls position and data acquisition, via an NI Motion Control board connected to a stepper motor driving an Edmund linear slider,and a 16-channel 16-bit NI-DAQ board. The stepper motor is accurate to 10 microns. Step size is selectable. Far from the beam, the rate of exponential increase in the beam direction scales as expected from diffusion theory, linearly with cloud thickness, and inversely as the square root of the reduced optical thickness, independent of particle size. Nearer the beam the signal increases faster than exponential and depends on particle size. Results verify 3D Monte Carlo simulations that demonstrate detectability of remotely sensed offbeam returns, without filters at night, with narrow bandpass filter in day.

Cahalan, R. F.↗

A System for Managing Replenishment of a Nutrient Solution Using an Electrical Conductivity Controller

Control of nutrient solution parameters is very important for the growth and development of plants grown hydroponically. Protocols involving different nutrient solution replenishment times (e.g. one-week, two-week, or two-day replenishment) provide manual periodic control of the nutrient solution's electrical conductivity (EC). Since plants take-up nutrients as they grow, manual control has a drawback in that EC is not held constant between replenishments. In an effort to correct this problem the Center for Food and Environmental Systems for Human Exploration of Space at Tuskegee University has developed a system for managing and controlling levels of EC over a plant's entire growing cycle. A prototype system is being tested on sweetpotato production using the nutrient film technique (NFT), and it is being compared to a system in which sweetpotatoes are grown using NFT with manual control. NASA has played an important role in the development of environmental control systems. They have become a forerunner in growing plants hydroponically with some control systems through the use of networked data acquisition and control using environmental growth chambers. Data acquisition systems which involve the use of real-time, calibration, set points, user panel, and graphical representation programming provide a good method of controlling nutrient solution parameters such as EC and pH [Bledsoe, 19931]. In NASA's Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) at Kennedy Space Center, control is provided by a programmable logic controller (PLC). This is an industrial controller which combines ladder computer logic which has the ability to handle various levels of electrical power. The controller controls temperature, light and other parameters that affect the plant's environment, in the BPC, the Nutrient Delivery System (NIX), a sub-system of the PLC, controls nutrient solution parameters such as EC, pH, and solution levels. When the nutrient EC measurement goes outside a preset range (120-130 mS/m) a set amount of a stock solution of nutrients is automatically added by a metering pump to bring the EC back into operating range [Fortson, 1992]. This paper describes a system developed at Tuskegee University for controlling the EC of a nutrient solution used for growing sweetpotatoes with an EC controller and a computer with LabView data acquisition and instrumentation software. It also describes the preliminary data obtained from the growth of sweetpotatoes using this prototype control system.

Davis, D.↗

Experimental Investigation of Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Enhancement in Microgravity in the Presence of Electric Fields

In boiling high heat fluxes are possible driven by relatively small temperature differences, which make its use increasingly attractive in aerospace applications. The objective of the research is to develop ways to overcome specific problems associated with boiling in the low gravity environment by substituting the buoyancy force with the electric force to enhance bubble removal from the heated surface. Previous studies indicate that in terrestrial applications nucleate boiling heat transfer can be increased by a factor of 50, as compared to values obtained for the same system without electric fields. The goal of our research is to experimentally explore the mechanisms responsible for EHD heat transfer enhancement in boiling in low gravity conditions, by visualizing the temperature distributions in the vicinity of the heated surface and around the bubble during boiling using real-time holographic interferometry (HI) combined with high-speed cinematography. In the first phase of the project the influence of the electric field on a single bubble is investigated. Pool boiling is simulated by injecting a single bubble through a nozzle into the subcooled liquid or into the thermal boundary layer developed along the flat heater surface. Since the exact location of bubble formation is known, the optical equipment can be aligned and focused accurately, which is an essential requirement for precision measurements of bubble shape, size and deformation, as well as the visualization of temperature fields by HI. The size of the bubble and the frequency of bubble departure can be controlled by suitable selection of nozzle diameter and mass flow rate of vapor. In this approach effects due to the presence of the electric field can be separated from effects caused by the temperature gradients in the thermal boundary layer. The influence of the thermal boundary layer can be investigated after activating the heater at a later stage of the research. For the visualization experiments a test cell was developed. All four vertical walls of the test cell are transparent, and they allow transillumination with laser light for visualization experiments by HI. The bottom electrode is a copper cylinder, which is electrically grounded. The copper block is heated with a resistive heater and it is equipped with 6 thermocouples that provide reference temperatures for the measurements with HI. The top electrode is a mesh electrode. Bubbles are injected with a syringe into the test cell through the bottom electrode. The working fluids presently used in the interferometric visualization experiments, water and PF 5052, satisfy requirements regarding thermophysical, optical and electrical properties. A 30kV power supply equipped with a voltmeter allows to apply the electric field to the electrodes during the experiments. The magnitude of the applied voltage can be adjusted either manually or through the LabVIEW data acquisition and control system connected to a PC. Temperatures of the heated block are recorded using type-T thermocouples, whose output is read by a data acquisition system. Images of the bubbles are recorded with 35mm photographic and 16mm high-speed cameras, scanned and analyzed using various software packages. Visualized temperature fields HI allows the visualization of temperature fields in the vicinity of bubbles during boiling in the form of fringes. Typical visualized temperature distributions around the air bubbles injected into the thermal boundary layer in PF5052 are shown. The temperature of the heated surface is 35 C. The temperature difference for a pair of fringes is approximately 0.05 C. The heat flux applied to the bottom surface is moderate, and the fringe patterns are regular. In the image a bubble penetrating the thermal boundary layer is visible. Because of the axial symmetry of the problem, simplified reconstruction techniques can be applied to recover the temperature field. The thermal plume developing above the heated surface for more intensive heating is shown. The temperature distribution in the liquid is clearly 3D, and tomographic techniques have to be applied to recover the temperature distribution in such a physical situation. A sequence of interferometric images showing the temperature distribution around the rising bubble, recorded with a high-speed camera is shown. Again, the temperature distribution is 3D, and a more complex approach to the evaluation, the tomographic reconstruction has to be taken. Measurement of the temperature distribution from the fringe pattern temperature distributions that yield important information regarding heat transfer are determined. Two algorithms that allow the quantitative evaluation of interferometric fringe patterns and the reconstruction of temperature fields during boiling have been developed at the Heat Transfer Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University. In the first algorithm the bubble is assumed to be axially symmetrical, which significantly reduces the computational effort for quantifying the temperature distribution around the bubble. For this purpose the thermal boundary layer around the bubble is divided into equidistant concentric shells, and the refractive index is assumed to be constant in each of the shells. Since large temperature gradients are expected in the vicinity of the bubble during boiling, the deflection of the light beam cannot be neglected in boiling experiments. Since the exit angle of the light beam is known, this allows to account for the deflections and phase shifts outside the boundary layer (in the bulk fluid and in the windows of the test cell). Three dimensional temperature distributions in the vicinity of the bubble are reconstructed using tomographic techniques. In tomography, the measurement volume is sliced into 2D planes. In the present study these planes are parallel to the heated surface. The objective is to determine the values of the field parameter of interest in form of the field function in these 2D planes. The field parameter is the change of the refractive index of the liquid in the measurement volume caused by temperature changes. By superimposing data for many 2D planes recorded at the same time instant, the 3D temperature distribution in the measurement volume is recovered.

Herman, Cila↗

The New Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) Software: One Model for NASA Remote Sensing Virtual Instruments

The Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) instrument has been the most frequently used airborne instrument built in-house at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, having flown scientific research missions on-board various aircraft to many locations in the United States, Azores, Brazil, and Kuwait since 1983. The CAR instrument is capable of measuring scattered light by clouds in fourteen spectral bands in UV, visible and near-infrared region. This document describes the control, data acquisition, display, and file storage software for the new version of CAR. This software completely replaces the prior CAR Data System and Control Panel with a compact and robust virtual instrument computer interface. Additionally, the instrument is now usable for the first time for taking data in an off-aircraft mode. The new instrument is controlled via a LabVIEW v5. 1.1-developed software interface that utilizes, (1) serial port writes to write commands to the controller module of the instrument, and (2) serial port reads to acquire data from the controller module of the instrument. Step-by-step operational procedures are provided in this document. A suite of other software programs has been developed to complement the actual CAR virtual instrument. These programs include: (1) a simulator mode that allows pretesting of new features that might be added in the future, as well as demonstrations to CAR customers, and development at times when the instrument/hardware is off-location, and (2) a post-experiment data viewer that can be used to view all segments of individual data cycles and to locate positions where 'start' and stop' byte sequences were incorrectly formulated by the instrument controller. The CAR software described here is expected to be the basis for CAR operation for many missions and many years to come.

Roth, Don J.↗

Biotelemeters for Space Flights and Fetal Monitoring

Pill-shaped biotelemeters originally designed for space flight applications will soon be used for monitoring the health of a fetus during and after in-utero fetal surgery. The authors developed a family of biotelemeters that are not only small enough for rodent studies on board the space shuttle or international space station, but also fit through a 10 mm trocar, a plastic tube that is used in endoscopic fetal surgery to obtain minimally invasive access to the fetus. The first 'pill' measures pressure and temperature, and is currently undergoing long-term leakage and biocompatibility tests. A second pill under development measures pH and temperature. A prototype of the 'pH-pill' has been built and successfully tested and is presently being miniaturized into the same dimensions as the 'pressure pill'. Additional pills measuring heart rate, ECG, other ions such as calcium and potassium, and eventually glucose and blood gases, will follow. All pills are designed for ultra-low power consumption yielding lifetimes of up to 10 months in order to meet the requirements of fetal monitoring, but also to provide the capability of long-term space station experiments. Each pill transmits its pulse-interval-modulated signal on a unique carrier frequency in the frequency range of 174-216MHz. A custom-designed multi-channel receiver demodulates and decodes each pill signal and sends the data to a LabVIEW program that performs real-time data analysis and display. A patent for the pill family and its data analysis system is pending.

Mundt, Carsten W.↗

International Space Station Internal Thermal Control System Lab Module Simulator Build-Up and Validation

As part of the Sustaining Engineering program for the International Space Station (ISS), a ground simulator of the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) in the Lab Module was designed and built at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). To support prediction and troubleshooting, this facility is operationally and functionally similar to the flight system and flight-like components were used when available. Flight software algorithms, implemented using the LabVIEW(Registered Trademark) programming language, were used for monitoring performance and controlling operation. Validation testing of the low temperature loop was completed prior to activation of the Lab module in 2001. Assembly of the moderate temperature loop was completed in 2002 and validated in 2003. The facility has been used to address flight issues with the ITCS, successfully demonstrating the ability to add silver biocide and to adjust the pH of the coolant. Upon validation of the entire facility, it will be capable not only of checking procedures, but also of evaluating payload timelining, operational modifications, physical modifications, and other aspects affecting the thermal control system.

Paul Wieland↗