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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 541 records · Page 30

Effects of surface temperature and Reynolds number on heat transfer to the Shuttle Orbiter leeward fuselage

Heat-transfer data obtained at hypersonic shock tunnel conditions and three-dimensional flow field computations were used to study the influence of surface temperature and Reynolds number on the heating experienced by the leeward fuselage area of the Space Shuttle Orbiter configuration. The basic results of this study indicate that systematic variations in the average total enthalpy within a boundary layer (as obtained through controlled nonadiabatic processes) has an influence on the heat transfer to downstream areas which can be correlated; even in three-dimensional separated flow areas. Specifically, the average separated-flow Stanton number for the fuselage leeward surface is shown to be moderately dependent on the windward-wall to free-stream total temperature ratio.

Bertin, J. J.↗

Performance Characteristics of a Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet - Distortion Tolerant Fan Through CFD Code Coupling

A method of constructing a high-fidelity simulation using two NASA CFD codes, Launch Ascent and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA), which is the general-purpose solver, and a turbomachinery specific code NASA-TURBO (TURBO), will be presented. Validation of the code coupling is performed through comparison to experimental data obtained in the 2017 wind tunnel test of NASA’s Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet - Distortion Tolerant Fan (BLI2DTF). For the simulation, the external flow field is computed by LAVA utilizing a steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) methodology. Data from LAVA is exchanged with TURBO, which simulated the propulsor utilizing an unsteady-RANS methodology. A sensitivity analysis is performed using averaged and instantaneous data transfer between the two codes, as well as varying the amount of simulation time TURBO computes between updates. The results of the coupled simulations appear to replicate the BLI2DTF experiment correctly. Static pressure taps leading into and around the nacelle, total pressure ratio and efficiency of the propulsor, and profiles of total temperature, pressure, and Mach number at the rear measurement plane, aft of the propulsor, are in good agreement with experimental data. These results provide confidence that the coupled simulation is behaving in a physically realizable manner.

CFD↗

Cognitive Communications for NASA Space Systems

The growing complexity of spacecraft constellations, communication relay offerings, and mission architectures drives the need for the development of autonomous communication systems. NASA has traditionally launched single spacecraft missions that are served by the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program. Operations on SCaN networks are typically scheduled weeks in advance, and often each asset serves a single user spacecraft at a time. Recent movement towards swarm missions could make the current approach unsustainable. Additionally, the integration of commercial communication service providers will substantially increase the data transfer options available to new missions. NASA science missions have found benefit in launching swarms of spacecraft, allowing coordinated simultaneous observations from different perspectives. Inter-spacecraft communication (mesh networking) is an enabler for this architecture, as are CubeSats that allow cost-effective provisioning of distributed mission assets. As more complex swarm missions launch, one challenge is coordinating communication within the swarm and choosing the appropriate mechanism for telemetry, tracking, control, and data services to and from Earth. Cognitive communications research conducted by SCaN aims to mitigate the increasing communication complexity for mission users by increasing the autonomy of links, networks, and service scheduling. By considering automation techniques including recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, cognitive algorithms and related approaches enable increased mission science return, improved resource utilization for service provider networks, and resiliency in unpredictable or unplanned environments. The Cognitive Communications Project at the NASA Glenn Research Center develops applications of data-driven, non-deterministic methods to improve the autonomy of space communication. The project emphasizes development of decentralized space networks with artificial intelligence agents optimizing communication link throughput, data routing, and system-wide asset management. This paper discusses the objectives, approaches, and opportunities of the research to address growing needs of the space communications community.

Chelmins, David↗

In-pixel AI for lossy data compression at source for X-ray detectors

Integrating neural networks for data compression directly in the Read-Out Integrated Circuits (ROICs), i.e. the pixelated front-end, would result in a significant reduction in off-chip data transfer, overcoming the I/O bottleneck. Our ROIC test chip (AI-In-Pixel-65) is designed in a 65 nm Low Power CMOS process for the readout of pixelated X-ray detectors. Each pixel consists of an analog front-end for signal processing and a 10b analog-to-digital converter operating at 100KSPS. Here, we compare two non-reconfigurable techniques, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and an AutoEncoder (AE) as lossy data compression engines implemented within the pixelated area. The PCA algorithm achieves 50$×$ compression, adds one clock cycle latency, and results in a 21% increase in the pixel area. The AE achieves 70$×$ compression, adds 30 clock cycle latency, and results in a similar area increase.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Shipboard fisheries management terminals

The needs of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMGS), National Weather Service, and the U.S. Coast Guard for locational, biological, and environmental data were assessed. The fisheries conservation zones and the yellowfin tuna jurisdiction of the NMFS operates observer programs on foreign and domestic fishing vessels. Data input terminal and data transfer and processing technology are reviewed to establish available capability. A matrix of implementation options is generated to identify the benefits of each option, and preliminary cost estimates are made. Recommendations are made for incremental application of available off the shelf hardware to obtain improved performance and benefits within a well bounded cost. Terminal recommendations are made for three interdependent shipboard units emphasizing: (1) the determination of location and fishing activity; (2) hand held data inputting and formatting in the fishing work areas; and (3) data manipulation, merging, and editing.

Nagler, R. G.↗

The effects of inlet turbulence and rotor/stator interactions on the aerodynamics and heat transfer of a large-scale rotating turbine model, volume 1

A combined experimental and analytical program was conducted to examine the effects of inlet turbulence on airfoil heat transfer. Heat transfer measurements were obtained using low conductivity airfoils with miniature thermocouples welded to a thin, electrically heated surface skin. Heat transfer data were acquired for various combinations of low or high inlet turbulence intensity, flow coefficient (incidence), first-stator/rotor axial spacing, Reynolds number, and relative circumferential position of the first and second stators. Aerodynamic measurements include distributions of the mean and fluctuating velocities at the turbine inlet and, for each airfoil row, midspan airfoil surface pressures and circumferential distributions of the downstream steady state pressures and fluctuating velocities. Analytical results include airfoil heat transfer predictions and a examination of solutions of the unstead boundary layer equipment.

Dring, R. P.↗

AAH Cage Out-Link and In-Link Antenna Characterization

This final report encapsulates the accomplishments of the third year of work on an Advanced Biotelemetry System (ABTS). Overall MU/ABTS project objectives are to provide a biotelemetry system that can collect data from and send commands to an implanted biotransceiver. This system will provide for studies of rodent development in space. The system must be capable of operating in a metal animal cage environment. An important goal is the development of a small, "smart", micropower, -channel data output and single channel command implantable biotransceiver with eight input capabilities with the flexibility for easy customization for a variety of physiologic investigations. The NASA Ames/Marquette University Joint Research work has been devoted to the system design of such a new state of the art biotelemetry system, having multiple physiologic inputs, and bi-directional data transfer capabilities. This work has provided a successful prototype system that connects, by two-way radio links, an addressable biotelemetry system that provides communication between an animal biotelemeter prototype and a personal computer. The operational features of the prototype system are listed below: Two-Way PCM Communication with Implanted Biotelemeter Microcontroller Based Biotelemeter Out-Link: Wideband FSK (60 kbaud) In-Link: OOK (2.4 kbaud) Septum Antenna Arrays (In/Out-Links) Personal Computer Data Interface The important requirement of this third year's work, to demonstrate two-way communication with transmit and receive antennas inside the metal animal cage, has been successfully accomplished. The advances discussed in this report demonstrate that the AAH cage antenna system can provide Out-link and In-link capability for the ABTS bi-directional telemetry system, and can serve as a benchmark for project status.

Jeutter, Dean C.↗

Flight Mechanics Analysis Tools Interoperability and Component Sharing

As multiple flight mechanics (FM) analysis tools are developed to meet the unique scientific and operational requirements of NASA missions, sharing data, transferring models and trajectory information between tools can be complicated. The NESC recently explored ways that increase interoperability of three mission analysis tools: Copernicus, General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT), and Mission-Analysis Operations Navigation Toolkit Environment (MONTE). These tools are used to generate a variety of products throughout all phases of a mission including: maneuver planning, trajectory optimization and design, orbit determination, performance and error analysis, trade studies and sizing. Establishing a framework to share models, component data and trajectory information is an efficient way to leverage the benefits of an analysis tool without expending development costs to duplicate functionality.

Flight Mechanics Simulation↗

AAH Cage Out-Link and In-Link Antenna Characterization

This final report encapsulates the accomplishments of the third year of work on an Advanced Biotelemetry System (ABTS). Overall MU/ABTS project objectives are to provide a biotelemetry system that can collect data from and send commands to an implanted biotransceiver. This system will provide for studies of rodent development in space. The system must be capable of operating in a metal animal cage environment. An important goal is the development of a small, "smart", micropower, implantable biotransceiver with eight-channel data output and single channel command input capabilities with the flexibility for easy customization for a variety of physiologic investigations. The NASA Ames/Marquette University Joint Research work has been devoted to the system design of such a new state of the art biotelemetry system, having multiple physiologic inputs, and bi-directional data transfer capabilities. This work has provided a successful prototype system that connects, by two-way radio links, an addressable biotelemetry system that provides communication between an animal biotelemeter prototype and a personal computer. The operational features of the prototype system are: (1) two-way PCM communication with implanted biotelemeter; (2) microcontroller based biotelemeter; (3) out-link: wideband FSK (60 kBaud); (4) in-link: OOK (2.4 kbaud); (5) septum antenna arrays (In/Out-Links); and (6) personal computer data interface. The important requirement of this third year's work, to demonstrate two-way communication with transmit and receive antennas inside the metal animal cage, has been successfully accomplished. The advances discussed in this report demonstrate that the AAH cage antenna system can provide Out-link and In-link capability for the ABTS bi-directional telemetry system, and can serve as a benchmark for project status. Additions and enhancements to the most recent (April 1997) prototype cage and antenna have been implemented. The implementation, testing, and documentation was accomplished at the Biotelemetry Laboratory at Marquette University with Out-Link (slot) antenna design assistance was provided.

Jeutter, Dean C.↗

Linear Regression Model for Predictive Service Provider Selection

The increasing number of satellites in orbit has led to a growing reliance on third-party service providers for data transfer between Earth and space. Traditional approaches to managing satellite communications require human intervention, which becomes more burdensome with the escalating number of satellites. This research addresses the need for an efficient and automated system to optimize service provider selection for NASA space communication. Previous research has utilized human-operated approaches for service provider management. Our study fills a gap by developing a cognitive algorithm that automates and optimizes the selection process based on various parameters, such as data volume, priority, quality of service and cost. This novel solution reduces user burden, facilitates service management, and contributes to the development of cognitive spaceflight missions, ultimately supporting NASA’s research into Cognitive Communications technology. The algorithm design consists of three major steps: modeling data, developing a Link Selection Algorithm (LSA) based on a grading system, and applying machine learning using linear regression. The LSA evaluates providers based on user-defined constraints, considering factors such as delivery time, cost, and quality of service. We define a suitability metric which allows our algorithm to make a recommendation to a user regarding which commercial service providers to select. The addition of Linear Regression predicts the future suitability value. Our main findings demonstrate that the resulting algorithm can autonomously manage connections between satellites and providers, maximizing communication channel efficiency. This research has significant implications, as it not only addresses a pressing issue in satellite communication management but also advances the field of cognitive spaceflight missions.

Linear regression↗

Development of Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment on the International Space Station- Normal and Low Gravity Flow Boiling Experiment Development and Test Results

Flow boiling and condensation have been identified as two key mechanisms for heat transport that are vital for achieving weight and volume reduction as well as performance enhancement in future space systems. Since inertia driven flows are demanding on power usage, lower flows are desirable. However, in microgravity, lower flows are dominated by forces other than inertia (like the capillary force). It is of paramount interest to investigate limits of low flows beyond which the flow is inertial enough to be gravity independent. One of the objectives of the Flow Boiling and Condensation Flight Experiment sets to investigate these limits for flow boiling and condensation. A two-phase flow loop consisting of a Flow Boiling Module and two Condensation Modules has been developed to experimentally study flow boiling condensation heat transfer in the reduced gravity environment provided by the reduced gravity platform. This effort supports the development of a flow boiling and condensation facility for the International Space Station (ISS). The closed loop test facility is designed to deliver the test fluid, FC-72 to the inlet of any one of the test modules at specified thermodynamic and flow conditions. The zero-g-aircraft tests will provide subcooled and saturated flow boiling critical heat flux and flow condensation heat transfer data over wide range of flow velocities. Additionally, these tests will verify the performance of all gravity sensitive components, such as evaporator, condenser and accumulator associated with the two-phase flow loop. We will present in this paper the breadboard development and testing results which consist of detailed performance evaluation of the heater and condenser combination in reduced and normal gravity. We will also present the design of the reduced gravity aircraft rack and the results of the ground flow boiling heat transfer testing performed with the Flow Boiling Module that is designed to investigate flow boiling heat transfer and Critical Heat Flux (CHF) phenomena.

microgravity↗

World-wide interactive access to scientific databases via satellite and terrestrial data network

In order to demonstrate the possibilities for scientific networking and data transfer, a first temporary satellite network link was installed between Czecholovakia and the European space operations center in Darmstadt, during the meeting of the inter-agency consultative group for space science in Prague. Several experiments to show interactive nature of the facility and the capability of the system were carried out, and it was proven that, despite the temporary nature of the installation, the planned demonstrations could be conducted in real time. Demonstrations included electronic mail message, orbit prediction and solar X-ray data. The results of the experiment provided insight into possibilities of data exchange.

Sanderson, T. R.↗

High-Rate Delay Tolerant Networking (HDTN) User Guide Version 1.0

Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) has been identified as a key technology to enable and facilitate the development and growth of future space networks. Classically, space communications networks are collections of disparate links that are manually managed either point-to-point or use space relays. The accelerating accessibility of space enables a new scaling of space nodes, yet both the manual management of configurations and scheduling and the lack of structure connecting links precisely prohibit scaling. This challenge gives rise to newer and larger classes of communications needs that are met by DTN, which must overcome the disconnection, disruption, latency, and mobility featured in space communications systems. DTN joins the underlying links as an overlay, and can be made to communicate over any protocol stack. The core actions of DTN are store, carry, and forward, where data are stored instead of dropped if there is no immediately available outduct. It does this by taking the DTN unit of data, bundles, and providing necessary layers to adapt these bundles to the underlying transport protocols of choice; these are called convergence layers. DTN's Bundle Protocol (BP) can then be used on top of terrestrial protocol stacks, such as TCP/IP, as well as protocols for space, such as LTP/AOS, all in the same network. For emphasis it is noted that bundles can be of essentially any size, and hence this convergence to lower layers of choice is necessary. Existing DTN implementations have operated in constrained environments with limited resources, resulting in low data speeds. However, as various technologies have advanced, data transfer rates and efficiency have advanced, which has pushed the need for a DTN implementation for ground systems and for spacecraft that is performance-oriented in order to not impose an unnecessary bottleneck. High-rate Delay Tolerant Networking (HDTN) takes advantage of modern hardware platforms to substantially reduce latency and improve throughput compared to today’s DTN operations. The HDTN implementation maintains interoperability with existing deployments of DTN that conform to IETF RFCs 4838, 5050, and 9171. At the same time, HDTN defines a new data format better suited to higher-rate operation. It defines and adopts a massively parallel pipelined and message-oriented architecture, allowing the system to scale gracefully as its resources increase. HDTN’s architecture also supports hooks to replace various processing pipeline elements with specialized hardware accelerators. This offers improved Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) characteristics while reducing development complexity and cost.

Delay Tolerant Networking↗

High-Rate Delay Tolerant Networking (HDTN) User Guide Version 1.3.0

Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) has been identified as a key technology to enable and facilitate the development and growth of future space networks. Classically, space communications networks are collections of disparate links that are manually managed either point-to-point or use space relays. The accelerating accessibility of space enables a new scaling of space nodes, yet both the manual management of configurations and scheduling and the lack of structure connecting links precisely prohibit scaling. This challenge gives rise to newer and larger classes of communications needs that are met by DTN, which must overcome the disconnection, disruption, latency, and mobility featured in space communications systems. DTN joins the underlying links as an overlay, and can be made to communicate over any protocol stack. The core actions of DTN are store, carry, and forward, where data are stored instead of dropped if there is no immediately available outduct. It does this by taking the DTN unit of data, bundles, and providing necessary layers to adapt these bundles to the underlying transport protocols of choice; these are called convergence layers. DTN's Bundle Protocol (BP) can then be used on top of terrestrial protocol stacks, such as TCP/IP, as well as protocols for space, such as LTP/AOS, all in the same network. For emphasis it is noted that bundles can be of essentially any size, and hence this convergence to lower layers of choice is necessary. Existing DTN implementations have operated in constrained environments with limited resources, resulting in low data speeds. However, as various technologies have advanced, data transfer rates and efficiency have advanced, which has pushed the need for a DTN implementation for ground systems and for spacecraft that is performance-oriented in order to not impose an unnecessary bottleneck. High-rate Delay Tolerant Networking (HDTN) takes advantage of modern hardware platforms to substantially reduce latency and improve throughput compared to today’s DTN operations. The HDTN implementation maintains interoperability with existing deployments of DTN that conform to IETF RFCs 4838, 5050, and 9171. At the same time, HDTN defines a new data format better suited to higher-rate operation. It defines and adopts a massively parallel pipelined and message-oriented architecture, allowing the system to scale gracefully as its resources increase. HDTN’s architecture also supports hooks to replace various processing pipeline elements with specialized hardware accelerators. This offers improved Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) characteristics while reducing development complexity and cost.

Delay Tolerant Networking↗

Blade-to-coolant heat-transfer results and operating data from a natural-convection water-cooled single-stage turbine

Blade-to-coolant heat-transfer data and operating data were obtained with a natural-convection water-cooled turbine over range of turbine speeds and inlet-gas temperatures. The convective coefficients were correlated by the general relation for natural-convection heat transfer. The turbine data were displaced from a theoretical equation for natural convection heat transfer in the turbulent region and from natural-convection data obtained with vertical cylinders and plates; possible disruption of natural convection circulation within the blade coolant passages was thus indicated. Comparison of non dimensional temperature-ratio parameters for the blade leading edge, midchord, and trailing edge indicated that the blade cooling effectiveness is greatest at the midchord and least at the trailing edge.

COOLING - GAS TURBINE SYSTEMS↗

Field validation of dynamic mechanical torque measurements using fiber-optic strain sensors for geared wind turbines

Abstract Accurate knowledge of the mechanical loads of wind turbine gearboxes has become essential in modern, highly loaded gearbox designs, as maintaining or even improving gearbox reliability with increasing torque density demands is proving to be challenging. Unfortunately, the traditional method of measuring dynamic mechanical torque using strain gauges placed on the outer surface of a rotating shaft and transmitting the resulting signal is unsuitable for serial deployment due to technical and economic constraints. An alternative method based on fiber-optic strain sensors placed on the stationary outer surface of the gearbox ring gear has been proposed. Like shaft torsion, the radial deformation of the ring gear is proportionate to the rotor torque. Placing the sensors on a stationary component is a cost-effective alternative for serial implementation because the need for complex and expensive data transfer via wireless transmission or a slip ring is eliminated. In this paper, we present the results of an extensive field experiment conducted to evaluate the torque measurement accuracy of this novel sensing solution installed on the gearbox of a Gamesa G97 2-MW wind turbine at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Flatirons Campus. Torque measurements derived from fiber-optic strain sensors placed on the ring gear of the planetary stage are compared to conventional torque measurements from strain gauges placed on the main shaft. Two different torque estimation data processing methods were evaluated, with the method based on operational deflection shapes providing the most accurate results with an average normalized root mean square error below 0.7% for a load revolution distribution analysis. The effect of operating conditions on the torque estimate was also investigated, and the third planet-passing operational deflection shape was found to be the least sensitive to nontorque load-related effects. The fiber-optic strain sensors’ successful operation during the complete test campaign has demonstrated a robust and accurate solution for fleet-wide enhanced gearbox remaining useful life estimation.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Field Validation of Dynamic Mechanical Torque Measurements for Geared Wind Turbines

Accurate knowledge of the mechanical loads of wind turbine gearboxes has become essential in modern, highly loaded gearbox designs, as maintaining or even improving gearbox reliability with increasing torque density demands is proving to be challenging. Unfortunately, the traditional method of measuring dynamic mechanical torque using strain gauges placed on the outer surface of a rotating shaft and transmitting the resulting signal is unsuitable for serial deployment due to technical and economic constraints. An alternative method based on fiber-optic strain sensors placed on the stationary outer surface of the gearbox ring gear has been proposed. Like shaft torsion, the radial deformation of the ring gear is proportionate to the rotor torque. Placing the sensors on a stationary component is a cost-effective alternative for serial implementation because the need for complex and expensive data transfer via wireless transmission or a slip ring is eliminated. In this paper, we present the results of an extensive field experiment conducted to evaluate the torque measurement accuracy of this novel sensing solution installed on the gearbox of a Gamesa G97 2-MW wind turbine at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Flatirons Campus. Torque measurements derived from fiber-optic strain sensors placed on the ring gear of the planetary stage are compared to conventional torque measurements from strain gauges placed on the main shaft. Two different torque estimation data processing methods were evaluated, with the method based on operational deflection shapes providing the most accurate results with an average normalized root mean square error below 0.7% for a load revolution distribution analysis. The effect of operating conditions on the torque estimate was also investigated, and the third planet-passing operational deflection shape was found to be the least sensitive to nontorque load-related effects. The fiber-optic strain sensors' successful operation during the complete test campaign has demonstrated a robust and accurate solution for fleet-wide enhanced gearbox remaining useful life estimation.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Viability of S3 Object Storage for the ASC Program at Sandia

Recent efforts at Sandia such as DataSEA are creating search engines that enable analysts to query the institution’s massive archive of simulation and experiment data. The benefit of this work is that analysts will be able to retrieve all historical information about a system component that the institution has amassed over the years and make better-informed decisions in current work. As DataSEA gains momentum, it faces multiple technical challenges relating to capacity storage. From a raw capacity perspective, data producers will rapidly overwhelm the system with massive amounts of data. From an accessibility perspective, analysts will expect to be able to retrieve any portion of the bulk data, from any system on the enterprise network. Sandia’s Institutional Computing is mitigating storage problems at the enterprise level by procuring new capacity storage systems that can be accessed from anywhere on the enterprise network. These systems use the simple storage service, or S3, API for data transfers. While S3 uses objects instead of files, users can access it from their desktops or Sandia’s high-performance computing (HPC) platforms. S3 is particularly well suited for bulk storage in DataSEA, as datasets can be decomposed into object that can be referenced and retrieved individually, as needed by an analyst. In this report we describe our experiences working with S3 storage and provide information about how developers can leverage Sandia’s current systems. We present performance results from two sets of experiments. First, we measure S3 throughput when exchanging data between four different HPC platforms and two different enterprise S3 storage systems on the Sandia Restricted Network (SRN). Second, we measure the performance of S3 when communicating with a custom-built Ceph storage system that was constructed from HPC components. Overall, while S3 storage is significantly slower than traditional HPC storage, it provides significant accessibility benefits that will be valuable for archiving and exploiting historical data. There are multiple opportunities that arise from this work, including enhancing DataSEA to leverage S3 for bulk storage and adding native S3 support to Sandia’s IOSS library.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗