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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

Preparing for the Huygens Probe Mission, Cassini orbit determination results for the first and second targeted Titan encounters

Dynamic modeling of the spacecraft and Saturn system, tracking data, including radio-metric and optical navigation data, and measurement modeling associated with the final trajectory analysis are described. Navigation predictions produced during the operational phase are compared with the final trajectory in order to gain insight into navigation performance and maneuver execution errors. Special attention is given to refinement of the dynamical environment of Saturn, particularly Titan, during the first two orbits.

navigation↗
NASA NTRS1994

Optimal nonlinear estimation for aircraft flight control in wind shear

The most recent results in an ongoing research effort at Princeton in the area of flight dynamics in wind shear are described. The first undertaking in this project was a trajectory optimization study. The flight path of a medium-haul twin-jet transport aircraft was optimized during microburst encounters on final approach. The assumed goal was to track a reference climb rate during an aborted landing, subject to a minimum airspeed constraint. The results demonstrated that the energy loss through the microburst significantly affected the qualitative nature of the optimal flight path. In microbursts of light to moderate strength, the aircraft was able to track the reference climb rate successfully. In severe microbursts, the minimum airspeed constraint in the optimization forced the aircraft to settle on a climb rate smaller than the target. A tradeoff was forced between the objectives of flight path tracking and stall prevention.

Mulgund, Sandeep S.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Estimation With Range Depended Sensor Model

This paper focuses on the improvement of object detection accuracy taking into account the sensor’s reading degradation as the relative range increases. The approach is based on the assumption that range measurement error depends on the actual range. Specifically, we model the measurement error as a proportional to the actual range term plus a zero-mean, Gaussian distributed, and uncorrelated process. The tracking problem is considered in a mixed continuous-discrete time domain, where the target dynamics is in continuous-time and the measurements are in discrete-time, which is an optimal choice in many tracking and navigation applications. We adopt a commonly used continuous time coordinate-uncoupled white-noise acceleration model for a point object to describe the target motion, and use Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) framework to estimate the target's state and the unknown proportionality coefficient.

Vahram Stepanyan↗
NASA NTRS2001

An Advanced Video Sensor for Automated Docking

This paper describes the current developments in video-based sensors at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The Advanced Video Guidance Sensor is the latest in a line of video-based sensors designed for use in automated docking systems. The X-33, X-34, X-38, and X-40 are all designed to be unpiloted vehicles; such vehicles will require a sensor system that will provide adequate data for the vehicle to accomplish its mission. One of the primary tasks planned for re-usable launch vehicles is to resupply the space station. In order to approach the space station in a self-guided manner, the vehicle must have a reliable and accurate sensor system to provide relative position and attitude information between the vehicle and the space station. The Advanced Video Guidance Sensor is being designed and built to meet this requirement, as well as requirements for other vehicles docking to a variety of target spacecraft. The Advanced Video Guidance Sensor is being designed to allow range and bearing information to be measured at ranges up to 2 km. The sensor will measure 6-degree-of-freedom information (relative positions and attitudes) from approximately 40 meters all the way in to final contact (approximately 1 meter range). The sensor will have a data output rate of 20 Hz during tracking mode, and will be able to acquire a target within one half of a second. The prototype of the sensor will be near completion at the time of the conference.

Howard, Richard T.↗
DOE OSTI2020

A non-intrusive optical (NIO) approach to characterize heliostats in utility-scale power tower plants: Methodology and in-situ validation

No reliable in-situ optical characterization tool is available that can efficiently and accurately measure various optical errors of individual heliostats in a utility-scale power-tower plant. Here, an innovative non-intrusive optical (NIO) approach is proposed to measure mirror surface slope error, mirror facet canting error, and heliostat tracking error based on reflection images using the natural target—the tower—in a heliostat field. The NIO approach adopts various techniques in photogrammetry, reflectometry, and geometrical optics to first determine the camera position and the actual tower position with respect to the heliostat. Then, Snell’s law is applied to find the surface normal at the reflection point or line of a reflection image and derive the surface slope error, mirror facet canting error, and heliostat tracking error accordingly. In addition, an in-situ validation is performed to demonstrate the feasibility of the NIO approach. Analysis with multiple sets of reflection images on one single heliostat of interest demonstrates that the NIO method can achieve a measurement uncertainty of 0.22 mrad for mirror facet slope error (root-mean-square) at the given test conditions. The sensitivity of measurement uncertainty to various parameters will be presented in a separate work. In the future, state-of-the-art unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are planned to perform the efficient image collection with a goal to complete the survey across a utility-scale field of over 10,000 heliostats within one or a few days depending on the number of UASs. The development of the NIO approach is expected to fill the critical gap for successful solar-field operation and maintenance, which is necessary for the global growth of the solar power-tower technology. The NIO approach can also be applied to any relevant industry requiring high-precision mirror surface shape characterization.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1991

Video guidance sensor for autonomous capture

A video-based sensor has been developed specifically for the close-range maneuvering required in the last phase of autonomous rendezvous and capture. The system is a combination of target and sensor, with the target being a modified version of the standard target used by the astronauts with the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The system, as currently configured, works well for autonomous docking maneuvers from approximately forty feet in to soft-docking and capture. The sensor was developed specifically to track and calculate its position and attitude relative to a target consisting of three retro-reflective spots, equally spaced, with the center spot being on a pole. This target configuration was chosen for its sensitivity to small amounts of relative pitch and yaw and because it could be used with a small modification to the standard RMS target already in use by NASA.

Howard, Richard T.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Analytical Calculation of the Energy Deposition Spectrum and Average Dose to A Spherical Target at All Impact Parameters

Microdosimetry is used to estimate quality factors for risk assessment in radiation protection and to quantify relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for treatment planning of hadron radiation therapy. Radiation physics has shown that energetic ions deposit energy in a complex manner: the track structure. The Local Effect Model (LEM) is often used as an approximation to describe this complex track structure. We have previously calculated an analytical expression for the dose to a spherical target fully located in the penumbra of an ion track using the LEM. In this work, the calculation has been extended to all impact parameters. Furthermore, using these analytical expressions, it was possible to obtain the theoretical energy deposition spectra to a sphere irradiated uniformly.

Ianik Plante↗
DOE OSTI2026

Multi-scale structural analysis of swift heavy ion-irradiated ZrO 2 and HfO 2

The radiation-induced monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transition in ZrO 2 and HfO 2 has been the subject of many investigations, but the transformation pathways and underlying structural mechanisms are still not well understood. In this study, microcrystalline powder samples of ZrO 2 and HfO 2 were irradiated with 946 MeV and 1470 MeV Au ions to a wide fluence range up to 3 × 10 13 ions/cm 2 . To characterize beam-induced structural modifications across all spatial length scales, complementary experimental techniques such as synchrotron X-ray diffraction and spallation neutron total scattering were used. The phase evolution of the tetragonal polymorph with increasing ion fluence is accurately described by a heterogeneous track-overlap model that incorporates both direct- and double-impact processes. These damage accumulation processes are an expression of a core-shell ion track morphology that depends on irradiation conditions and target material. Neutron pair distribution function analysis revealed that ion-beam-induced tetragonal ZrO 2 is merely a configurational average of short-range orthorhombic (Pbcn) domains stabilized by a dense network of domain walls. Furthermore, this knowledge is critical for a better understanding of how crystalline-to-crystalline phase transformations proceed at the atomic scale under extreme conditions.

Monoclinic-to-tetragonal phase transformation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Power handling in a highly-radiative negative triangularity pilot plant

Abstract This work explores detailed power handling solutions for a class of high-field, highly-radiative negative triangularity (NT) reactors based around the MANTA concept (Rutherford et al 2024 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion ). The divertor design is kept as simple as possible, opting for a standard divertor with standard leg length. FreeGS is used to create an equilibrium for the boundary region, prioritizing a short outer leg length of only ∼50 cm (∼40% of the minor radius). The UEDGE code package is used for the boundary plasma solution to track plasma temperatures and fluxes to the divertor targets. It is found that for P SOL = 25 MW and n sep = 0.96 × 10 20 m −3 , conditions consistent with initial core transport modeling, little additional power mitigation is necessary. For a fixed impurity fraction of just 0.13% Ne in the plasma, the peak heat flux density at the more heavily loaded outer targets falls to 7.8 MW m −2 , while the electron temperature T e remains just under 5 eV. Scans around the parameter space reveal that even at densities lower than in the primary operating scenario, P SOL can be increased up to 50 MW, so long as a slightly higher fraction of extrinsic radiator is used. With less than 1% neon (Ne) impurity content, the divertor still experiences less than 10 MW m −2 at the outer target. Design of the plasma-facing components includes a close-fitting vacuum vessel with a tungsten inner surface as well as FLiBe-carrying cooling channels fashioned into the VV wall directly behind the divertor targets. For the seeded heat flux profile, Ansys Fluent heat transfer simulations estimate that the outer target temperature remains at just below 1550 ∘ C. Initial scoping of advanced divertor designs shows that for an X-divertor, detachment of the outer target becomes much simpler, and plasma fluxes to the targets drop considerably with only 0.01% Ne content.

Miller, M. A. (ORCID:0000000265406533)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Signal-Compensation-Based Adaptive PID Control for Fused Magnesia Smelting Processes

For fused magnesia smelting processes, the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is difficult to regulate the smelting currents within desired ranges due to unexpected variations of the dynamics caused by material feeding operations. To solve this problem, we first proposed its dynamic model composed of a linear model and an uncertain nonlinear dynamic system that describes the unknown time-varying dynamics of nonlinearity and strong couplings among controlled variables. Then, using the accurately calculated value of the uncertain part at the previous sampling time instant and the tracking error that reflects the influence of its change rate, we developed a feedforward and a one-step optimal control to obtain two signal compensators to eliminate the impact of frequent variations of the uncertainties. For the compensators, we proposed a weight selection method to minimize the sum of the squared tracking error with ensured closed-loop stability. Based on the abovementioned modeling and control structure, we finally developed a novel adaptive PID controller augmented with signal compensators to control the whole process. Industrial applications have shown that the proposed method can always keep the tracking error and the control input within their targeted ranges, leading to a significantly reduced energy consumption per ton and increased fused magnesia production.

Wang, Weizhou↗
DOE OSTI2021

Orange County Transportation Authority Fuel Cell Electric Bus Progress Report (Feb-Jul 2020) [Slides]

This report presents early results from a deployment of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operated by Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in Southern California. The ten FCEBs, produced by New Flyer, feature an electric drive propulsion system powered by a Ballard fuel cell system. The project team is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The goal of this evaluation is to compare the FCEB performance to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting the technical targets set by DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FCEBs were delivered beginning in late-2019, and were placed in service on February 9, 2020. The data period covers February 2020 through July 2020. NREL collects data on ten 2016 model year compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as a baseline comparison at OCTA.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2021

SunLine Transit Agency Fuel Cell Electric Bus Progress Report (Data Period Focus Jan-Jun 2020) [Slides]

This report presents early results from a deployment of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operated by SunLine Transit Agency in the Coachella Valley area of California. The five FCEBs, produced by New Flyer, feature an electric drive propulsion system powered by a Ballard fuel cell system. The project team is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The goal of this evaluation is to compare the FCEB performance to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting the technical targets set by DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FCEBs were delivered beginning in mid-2019. The data period covers January 2020 through July 2020. NREL collects data on five 2019 model year compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as a baseline comparison at SunLine. These new CNG buses were phased into service beginning in April 2020.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Orange County Transportation Authority Fuel Cell Electric Bus Progress Report - Data Period Focus: Feb. 2020 through Jul. 2021 [Slides]

This report presents early results from a deployment of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operated by Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in Southern California. The ten FCEBs, produced by New Flyer, feature an electric drive propulsion system powered by a Ballard fuel cell system. The project team is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The goal of this evaluation is to compare the FCEB performance to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting the technical targets set by DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FCEBs were delivered beginning in late-2019, and were placed in service on February 9, 2020. The data period covers February 2020 through July 2021. NREL collects data on ten 2016 model year compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as a baseline comparison at OCTA.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2022

SunLine Transit Agency Fuel Cell Electric Bus Progress Report - Data Period Focus: Jan. 2020 through Dec. 2021 [Slides]

This report presents early results from a deployment of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operated by SunLine Transit Agency in the Coachella Valley area of California. The five FCEBs, produced by New Flyer, feature an electric drive propulsion system powered by a Ballard fuel cell system. The project team is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The goal of this evaluation is to compare the FCEB performance to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting the technical targets set by DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FCEBs were delivered beginning in mid-2019. The data period covers January 2020 through December 2021. NREL collects data on five 2019 model year compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as a baseline comparison at SunLine. These new CNG buses were phased into service beginning in April 2020.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

AC Transit Fuel Cell Electric Bus Progress Report (Data Period Focus: Jan. 2020 through Dec. 2020) [Slides]

This report presents early results from a deployment of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operated by Alameda Contra-Costa Transit (AC Transit) in the east bay area of California. The ten FCEBs, produced by New Flyer, feature an electric drive propulsion system powered by a Ballard fuel cell system. The project team is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The goal of this evaluation is to compare the FCEB performance to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting the technical targets set by DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FCEBs were delivered beginning in late-2019. The data period covers January 2020 through July 2020. NREL collects data on two different baseline bus fleets for comparison: five 2017 model year diesel buses and five 2016 model year diesel hybrid buses.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
NASA NTRS1993

Quantitative EEG patterns of differential in-flight workload

Four test pilots were instrumented for in-flight EEG recordings using a custom portable recording system. Each flew six, two minute tracking tasks in the Calspan NT-33 experimental trainer at Edwards AFB. With the canopy blacked out, pilots used a HUD display to chase a simulated aircraft through a random flight course. Three configurations of flight controls altered the flight characteristics to achieve low, moderate, and high workload, as determined by normative Cooper-Harper ratings. The test protocol was administered by a command pilot in the back seat. Corresponding EEG and tracking data were compared off-line. Tracking performance was measured as deviation from the target aircraft and combined with control difficulty to achieve an estimate of 'cognitive workload'. Trended patterns of parietal EEG activity at 8-12 Hz were sorted according to this classification. In all cases, high workload produced a significantly greater suppression of 8-12 Hz activity than low workload. Further, a clear differentiation of EEG trend patterns was obtained in 80 percent of the cases. High workload produced a sustained suppression of 8-12 Hz activity, while moderate workload resulted in an initial suppression followed by a gradual increment. Low workload was associated with a modulated pattern lacking any periods of marked or sustained suppression. These findings suggest that quantitative analysis of appropriate EEG measures may provide an objective and reliable in-flight index of cognitive effort that could facilitate workload assessment.

Sterman, M. B.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Sustaining Space Systems for Strategic and Theater Operations: A Study Perspective

Our Desert Storm experience in the tactical utility of DoD space vehicles demonstrated that DoD's investment in space technology can provide a significant military advantage during times of crisis and war. The satellites what gave us such marvelous intelligence in locating, tracking, and enabling the successful attack of key targets resulted in a spectacular military success. However, without an on-orbit servicing capability, the fuel consumed to maneuver these satellites into position over the battlefield shortened their useful life by as much as two years. During the 1970's and 1980's, the Air Force aggressively pursued an or-orbit support capability to support and maintain it's space-based assets. However, in the early 1990's, budgetary and political priorities canceled the programs that would have made this a reality. Realizing that a future decision may be made to re-investigate on-orbit support, the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) sponsored a study to document efforts undertaken by the Air Force during the 1970's and 1980's in developing strategies and actions to achieve certain tenets of on-orbit support. The study represents an attempt to gather, review, summarize, and archive the most important research performed during this period. It will serve as a historical perspective upon which to base future research and development activities. This paper presents an overview of that study.

McCoy, Walbert↗