SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “wheeled”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1974

Magnetically suspended momentum wheels for spacecraft stabilization

Magnetic bearings for spacecraft momentum wheels offer the promise of low friction and unlimited life. This paper describes how magnetic bearings work and their advantages and disadvantages. The present status of magnetic bearings is described and examples are shown of the various and widely-different magnetically suspended momentum wheels that have been built to date. These include wheels whose bearings exhibit high stiffness and wheels with zero-power suspensions. The future of magnetically suspended momentum wheels is discussed including the possibility of wheels with neither spokes nor shaft.

Henrikson, C. H.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Reaction wheels for kinetic energy storage

In contrast to all existing reaction wheel implementations, an order of magnitude increase in speed can be obtained efficiently if power to the actuators can be recovered. This allows a combined attitude control-energy storage system to be developed with structure mounted reaction wheels. The feasibility of combining reaction wheels with energy storage wwheels is demonstrated. The power required for control torques is a function of wheel speed but this energy is not dissipated; it is stored in the wheel. The I(2)R loss resulting from a given torque is shown to be constant, independent of the design speed of the motor. What remains, in order to efficiently use high speed wheels (essential for energy storage) for control purposes, is to reduce rotational losses to acceptable levels. Progress was made in permanent magnet motor design for high speed operation. Variable field motors offer more control flexibility and efficiency over a broader speed range.

Studer, P. A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Stabilizing Wheels For Rover Vehicle

Proposed articulated, normally-four-wheeled vehicle holds extra pair of wheels in reserve. Deployed to lengthen wheelbase on slopes, thereby making vehicle more stable, and to aid vehicle in negotiating ledge or to right vehicle if turned upside down. Extra wheels are drive wheels mounted on arms so they pivot on axis of forward drive wheels. Both extra wheels and arms driven by chains, hydraulic motors, or electric motors. Concept promises to make remotely controlled vehicles more stable and maneuverable in such applications as firefighting, handling hazardous materials, and carrying out operations in dangerous locations.

Collins, Earl R., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A simulation model for risk assessment of turbine wheels

A simulation model has been successfully developed to evaluate the risk of the Space Shuttle auxiliary power unit (APU) turbine wheels for a specific inspection policy. Besides being an effective tool for risk/reliability evaluation, the simulation model also allows the analyst to study the trade-offs between wheel reliability, wheel life, inspection interval, and rejection crack size. For example, in the APU application, sensitivity analysis results showed that the wheel life limit has the least effect on wheel reliability when compared to the effect of the inspection interval and the rejection crack size. In summary, the simulation model developed represents a flexible tool to predict turbine wheel reliability and study the risk under different inspection policies.

Safie, Fayssal M.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Design of a compliant wheel for a miniature rover to be used on Mars

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has identified the need for a compliant wheel for a miniature martian rover vehicle. This wheel must meet requirements of minimum mass, linear radial deflection, and reliability in cryogenic conditions over a five year lifespan. Additionally, axial and tangential deflections must be no more than 10 percent of the radial value. The team designed a wheel by use of finite element and dimensionless parameter analysis. Due to the complex geometry of the wheel, a finite element model describing its behavior was constructed to investigate different wheel configurations. Axial and tangential deflections were greatly reduced but did not meet design criteria. A composite material was selected for its high strength, toughness, fatigue resistance, and damping characteristics. The team chose a Kevlar fiber filled thermoplastic composite. This report is divided into four primary sections. First, the introduction section gives background information, defines the task, and discusses the scope and limitations of the project. Second, the alternative designs section introduces alternative design solutions, addresses advantages and disadvantages of each, and identifies the parameters used to determine the best design. Third, the design solution section introduces the methods used to evaluate the alternates, and gives a description of the design process used. Finally, the conclusion and recommendations section evaluates the wheel design, and offers recommendations pertaining to improvement of the design solution.

Carroll, Mark↗

NASA NTRS1991

Wheel speed management control system for spacecraft

A spacecraft attitude control system uses at least four reaction wheels. In order to minimize reaction wheel speed and therefore power, a wheel speed management system is provided. The management system monitors the wheel speeds and generates a wheel speed error vector. The error vector is integrated, and the error vector and its integral are combined to form a correction vector. The correction vector is summed with the attitude control torque command signals for driving the reaction wheels.

Goodzeit, Neil E.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Optimization of Angular-Momentum Biases of Reaction Wheels

RBOT [RWA Bias Optimization Tool (wherein RWA signifies Reaction Wheel Assembly )] is a computer program designed for computing angular momentum biases for reaction wheels used for providing spacecraft pointing in various directions as required for scientific observations. RBOT is currently deployed to support the Cassini mission to prevent operation of reaction wheels at unsafely high speeds while minimizing time in undesirable low-speed range, where elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication films in bearings become ineffective, leading to premature bearing failure. The problem is formulated as a constrained optimization problem in which maximum wheel speed limit is a hard constraint and a cost functional that increases as speed decreases below a low-speed threshold. The optimization problem is solved using a parametric search routine known as the Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm. To increase computational efficiency for extended operation involving large quantity of data, the algorithm is designed to (1) use large time increments during intervals when spacecraft attitudes or rates of rotation are nearly stationary, (2) use sinusoidal-approximation sampling to model repeated long periods of Earth-point rolling maneuvers to reduce computational loads, and (3) utilize an efficient equation to obtain wheel-rate profiles as functions of initial wheel biases based on conservation of angular momentum (in an inertial frame) using pre-computed terms.

Lee, Clifford↗

NASA NTRS2016

The Matsu Wheel: A Cloud-Based Framework for Efficient Analysis and Reanalysis of Earth Satellite Imagery

Project Matsu is a collaboration between the Open Commons Consortium and NASA focused on developing open source technology for cloud-based processing of Earth satellite imagery with practical applications to aid in natural disaster detection and relief. Project Matsu has developed an open source cloud-based infrastructure to process, analyze, and reanalyze large collections of hyperspectral satellite image data using OpenStack, Hadoop, MapReduce and related technologies. We describe a framework for efficient analysis of large amounts of data called the Matsu "Wheel." The Matsu Wheel is currently used to process incoming hyperspectral satellite data produced daily by NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. The framework allows batches of analytics, scanning for new data, to be applied to data as it flows in. In the Matsu Wheel, the data only need to be accessed and preprocessed once, regardless of the number or types of analytics, which can easily be slotted into the existing framework. The Matsu Wheel system provides a significantly more efficient use of computational resources over alternative methods when the data are large, have high-volume throughput, may require heavy preprocessing, and are typically used for many types of analysis. We also describe our preliminary Wheel analytics, including an anomaly detector for rare spectral signatures or thermal anomalies in hyperspectral data and a land cover classifier that can be used for water and flood detection. Each of these analytics can generate visual reports accessible via the web for the public and interested decision makers. The result products of the analytics are also made accessible through an Open Geospatial Compliant (OGC)-compliant Web Map Service (WMS) for further distribution. The Matsu Wheel allows many shared data services to be performed together to efficiently use resources for processing hyperspectral satellite image data and other, e.g., large environmental datasets that may be analyzed for many purposes.

0↗

DOE OSTI2025

Advances in Desiccant Wheels for Dehumidification, VOC Mitigation, and CO 2 Removal for Energy-Efficient IAQ Management

Humidity control is pivotal to maintain occupant thermal comfort and suppress mold growth in indoor environments. Furthermore, poor indoor air quality (IAQ) due to the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and high concentrations (>1,000 ppm) of CO 2 can cause health issues and negatively affect cognitive performance. Therefore, providing high-quality indoor air has gained significant attention over the past decade. Conventional cooling coil and filter-based HVAC systems have limited capability to meet the augmented demand for occupant thermal comfort and high indoor air quality. Moreover, modern buildings are increasingly airtight to save energy, and increasing ventilation to mitigate VOC and CO 2 concentration is discouraged. Separate sensible and latent cooling technology using a rotary desiccant wheel presents a promising solution in this respect. Because of the development of desiccant materials with high water vapor, VOC, and CO 2 uptake, desiccant wheels can be used as an integrated technology option for IAQ management. Here, to promote desiccant wheel use for energy-efficient management of IAQ in buildings, this article reviews recent advancements in using desiccant wheels for dehumidification, VOC mitigation, and CO 2 capture from outdoor air. Finally, the article presents the authors’ perspective by summarizing the key research gaps in the field and discussing the future direction of research to address these gaps from two different aspects, namely, suitable adsorbent material development and desiccant wheel design.

CO2 capture↗

NASA NTRS2010

A Flight-Calibrated Methodology for Determination of Cassini Thruster On-Times for Reaction Wheel Biases

This paper describes a methodology for accurate and flight-calibrated determination of the on-times of the Cassini spacecraft Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, without any form of dynamic simulation, for the reaction wheel biases. The hydrazine usage and the delta V vector in body frame are also computed from the respective thruster on-times. The Cassini spacecraft, the largest and most complex interplanetary spacecraft ever built, continues to undertake ambitious and unique scientific observations of planet Saturn, Titan, Enceladus, and other moons of Saturn. In order to maintain a stable attitude during the course of its mission, this three-axis stabilized spacecraft uses two different control systems: the RCS and the reaction wheel assembly control system. The RCS is used to execute a commanded spacecraft slew, to maintain three-axis attitude control, control spacecraft's attitude while performing science observations with coarse pointing requirements, e.g. during targeted low-altitude Titan and Enceladus flybys, bias the momentum of reaction wheels, and to perform RCS-based orbit trim maneuvers. The use of RCS often imparts undesired delta V on the spacecraft. The Cassini navigation team requires accurate predictions of the delta V in spacecraft coordinates and inertial frame resulting from slews using RCS thrusters and more importantly from reaction wheel bias events. It is crucial for the Cassini spacecraft attitude control and navigation teams to be able to, quickly but accurately, predict the hydrazine usage and delta V for various reaction wheel bias events without actually having to spend time and resources simulating the event in flight software-based dynamic simulation or hardware-in-the-loop simulation environments. The methodology described in this paper, and the ground software developed thereof, are designed to provide just that. This methodology assumes a priori knowledge of thrust magnitudes and thruster pulse rise and tail-off time constants for eight individual attitude control thrusters, the spacecraft's wet mass and its center of mass location, and a few other key parameters.

Earth Mean Equatorial↗

NASA NTRS1988

Two wheeled lunar dumptruck

The design of a two wheel bulk material transport vehicle is described in detail. The design consists of a modified cylindrical bowl, two independently controlled direct drive motors, and two deformable wheels. The bowl has a carrying capacity of 2.8 m (100 ft) and is constructed of aluminum. The low speed, high HP motors are directly connected to the wheels, thus yielding only two moving parts. The wheels, specifically designed for lunar applications, utilize the chevron tread pattern for optimum traction. The vehicle is maneuvered by varying the relative angular velocities of the wheels. The bulk material being transported is unloaded by utilizing the motors to oscillate the bowl back and forth to a height at which dumping is achieved. The analytical models were tested using a scaled prototype of the lunar transport vehicle. The experimental data correlated well with theoretical predictions. Thus, the design established provides a feasible alternative for the handling of bulk material on the moon.

Brus, Michael R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

High-Clearance Six-Wheel Suspension

Multilevered suspension system gives body of vehicle high clearance and allows wheels to be steered independently. Suspension linkages above wheels enable body to skim over obstacles as high as wheel. Levers and independently steered wheels enable vehicle to climb steps 1 1/2 wheel diameters high and cross gaps 1 3/4 wide. Adaptable to off-the-road recreational vehicles, military scout vehicles, and robotic emergency vehicles.

Bickler, Donald B.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Analytic and simulation studies on the use of torque-wheel actuators for the control of flexible robotic arms

This paper presents results of analytic and simulation studies to determine the effectiveness of torque-wheel actuators in suppressing the vibrations of two-link telerobotic arms with attached payloads. The simulations use a planar generic model of a two-link arm with a torque wheel at the free end. Parameters of the arm model are selected to be representative of a large space-based robotic arm of the same class as the Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator, whereas parameters of the torque wheel are selected to be similar to those of the Mini-Mast facility at the Langley Research Center. Results show that this class of torque-wheel can produce an oscillation of 2.5 cm peak-to-peak in the end point of the arm and that the wheel produces significantly less overshoot when the arm is issued an abrupt stop command from the telerobotic input station.

Montgomery, Raymond C.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Reaction/Momentum Wheel

CTA Space Systems, Inc. has been licensed to sell commercially a reaction/momentum wheel originally developed for NASA's scientific satellites. NASA originally identified a need for the wheel in its Small Explorer program. The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite required extremely low jitter and a reaction/momentum wheel with a torque greater than any comparably sized commercially available wheel to keep the instrument pointed at celestial objects to a high degree of precision. After development, a market assessment by Research Triangle Institute was completed, showing commercial potential for the flywheel technology. A license was granted to CTA in the fall of 1996. The company currently uses the technology in its complete spacecraft fabrication services and has built over 10 reaction/momentum wheels for commercial, scientific, and military customers.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1992

Finite Element Modeling of the Bulk Magnitization of Railroad Wheels to Improve Test Conditions for Magnetoacoustic Residual Stress Measurements

The magnetoacoustic measurement technique has been used successfully for residual stress measurements in laboratory samples. However, when used to field test samples with complex geometries, such as railroad wheels, the sensitivity of the method declines dramatically. It has been suggested that the decrease in performance may be due, in part, to an insufficient or nonuniform magnetic induction in the test sample. The purpose of this paper is to optimize the test conditions by using finite element modeling to predict the distribution of the induced bulk magnetization of railroad wheels. The results suggest that it is possible to obtain a sufficiently large and uniform bulk magnetization by altering the shape of the electromagnet used in the tests. Consequently, problems associated with bulk magnetization can be overcome, and should not prohibit the magnetoacoustic technique from being used to make residual stress measurements in railroad wheels. We begin by giving a brief overview of the magnetoacoustic technique as it applies to residual stress measurements of railroad wheels. We then define the finite element model used to predict the behavior of the current test configuration along with the nonlinear constitutive relations which we obtained experimentally through measurements on materials typically used to construct both railroad wheels and electromagnets. Finally, we show that by modifying the pole of the electromagnet it is possible to obtain a significantly more uniform bulk magnetization in the region of interest.

Fulton, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Two Dimensional Viscoelastic Stress Analysis of a Prototypical JIMO Turbine Wheel

The designers of the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) are investigating the potential of nuclear powered-electric propulsion technology to provide deep space propulsion. In one design scenario a closed-Brayton-cycle power converter is used to convert thermal energy from a nuclear reactor to electrical power for the spacecraft utilizing an inert gas as the working fluid to run a turboalternator as described in L.S. Mason, "A Power Conversion for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter," Journal of Propulsion and Power, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 902-910. A key component in the turboalternator is the radial flow turbine wheel which may be fabricated from a cast superalloy. This turbine wheel is envisioned to run continuously over the life of the mission, which is anticipated to be about ten years. This scenario places unusual material requirements on the turbine wheel. Unlike the case of terrestrial turbine engines, fatigue, associated with start-up and shut-down of the engine, foreign-object damage, and corrosion issues are insignificant and thus creep issues become dominate. The purpose of this paper is to present estimates for creep growth of a prototypical JIMO turbine wheel over a ten year life. Since an actual design and bill of materials does not exist, the results presented in this paper are based on preliminary concepts which are likely to evolve over time. For this reason, as well as computational efficiency, a simplified 2-D, in lieu of a 3-D, viscoelastic, finite element model of a prototypical turbine wheel will be utilized employing material properties for the cast superalloy MAR-M247. The creep data employed in this analysis are based on preliminary data being generated at NASA Glenn Research Center.

Gayda, John↗

NASA NTRS2005

Wheel Electrometer System

Two documents describe a prototype system of electrometers for measuring electrostatic fields and electrostatic responses of soils on Mars and the Moon. The electrodes of this electrometer are embedded in a wheel of an exploratory robotic vehicle, utilizing the wheel motion to bring the electrodes into proximity or contact with the soil. Each electrode resides in one of two types of sensor modules: electric-field (ELF) or triboelectric (TRIBO). In either type, what is measured is simply the electric charge induced on the electrode by exposure to the external distribution of electrostatic charge. In an ELF module, the electrode is bare and recessed radially from the wheel surface. The ELF sensor provides a measure of the charge on a small patch of undisturbed soil as the wheel rolls forward. In a TRIBO module, the electrode is only slightly recessed and covered with a polymeric insulator flush with the wheel surface. Through contact electrification, the insulator exchanges charge with the soil. There are five TRIBO sensors, each containing an insulator made of a different polymer. The charge data gathered by the five TRIBO sensors can be used to determine how the soil fits into a triboelectric series.

Calle, Carlos I.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Brush-Wheel Samplers for Planetary Exploration

A report proposes brush-wheel mechanisms for acquiring samples of soils from remote planets. In simplest terms, such a mechanism would contain brush wheels that would be counter-rotated at relatively high speed. The mechanism would be lowered to the ground from a spacecraft or other exploratory vehicle. Upon contact with the ground, the counter-rotating brush wheels would kick soil up into a collection chamber. Thus, in form and function, the mechanism would partly resemble traditional street and carpet sweepers. The main advantage of using of brush wheels (in contradistinction to cutting wheels or other, more complex mechanisms) is that upon encountering soil harder than expected, the brushes could simply deflect and the motor(s) could continue to turn. That is, sufficiently flexible brushes would afford resistance to jamming and to overloading of the motors used to rotate the brushes, and so the motors could be made correspondingly lighter and less power hungry. Of course, one could select the brush stiffnesses and motor torques and speeds for greatest effectiveness in sampling soil of a specific anticipated degree of hardness.

Rivellini, Tommaso↗