Lunar rock coring device design study Final report
Lunar rock drilling device for extracting core samples
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Lunar rock drilling device for extracting core samples
Superpower lasers and magnetic field tools for use in drilling and welding
A spectroscopic survey by Drilling (1983) of nonemission OB+ stars in the Case-Hamburg survey and its extension to b = + or - 30 deg for l = + or - 60 deg has turned up 12 hot, relatively bright O-type subdwarfs (V less than 13). The color temperatures of the subdwarf O stars are estimated at 60,000 to over 100,000 K. The loci or these objects are shown in the H-R diagram together with those of previously analyzed subdwarf O stars. The new hot subdwarfs occupy a previously empty region in the H-R diagram, filling the luminosity range from central stars to white dwarfs. This spread in luminosity is in agreement with their spectral appearance and indicates differences in their origin. The possible origins of these stars are briefly discussed.
Radial velocities measured from the spectra of nearly all of the extreme helium stars and very hot sdO stars discovered by Drilling (1983) are presented. The radial velocities are plotted against Galactic longitude. The large dispersion in radial velocity for the Galactic plane extreme helium stars, particularly for those which lie in the direction of the Galactic center, indicates that they do not have circular orbits and hence belong to an old population. The dispersion in radial velocity of the sdOs is similar to that of the 'local' planetary nebulae.
Ultrasonic horns are used in a variety of industrial and medical applications. At JPL a rock-sampling tool based on an ultrasonic horn was developed to drill, abrade and core rock samples including hard basalts. This device is an impact device, which uses ultrasonic vibratlons that occur at the horn tip to produce a sonic resonance with the aid of a loosely connected mass. Although standard horns are found in many current industrial designs they suffer from a few key limitations when used for USDC applications. Manufacturing a horn requires turning down stock material (e.g. Titanium) from the larger outer diameter to the horn tip diameter, and this process is both time consuming and wasteful. In this paper, we present novel horn designs that are specifically designed for impact applications as the USDC. One such design addressed the excasive length that is involved with the use of the horn limiting its applications when system dimensions are constrained. For this purpose, a folded horn design was conceived that reduces the overall length of the resonator (physical length) but maintains or increases the acoustic length. Initial experiments with horns having such P design indicate that the tip displacement can be further adjusted by phasing the bending displacements and the extensional displacements. Another conceived horn design is the 'dog bone' horn that uses an end mass on the horn tip io increase the impact efficiency of the horn. In this paper, the experimental results for these novel born designs are presented and compared to the results predicted by theory.
The Construction Resource Utilization Explorer (CRUX) is a technology maturation project for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration to provide enabling technology for lunar and planetary surface operations (LPSO). The CRUX will have 10 instruments, a data handling function (Mapper - with features of data subscription, fusion, interpretation, and publication through geographical information system [GIs] displays), and a decision support system DSS) to provide information needed to plan and conduct LPSO. Six CRUX instruments are associated with an instrumented drill to directly measure regolith properties (thermal, electrical, mechanical, and textural) and to determine the presence of water and other hydrogen sources to a depth of about 2 m (Prospector). CRUX surface and geophysical instruments (Surveyor) are designed to determine the presence of hydrogen, delineate near subsurface properties, stratigraphy, and buried objects over a broad area through the use of neutron and seismic probes, and ground penetrating radar. Techniques to receive data from existing space qualified stereo pair cameras to determine surface topography will also be part of the CRUX. The Mapper will ingest information from CRUX instruments and other lunar and planetary data sources, and provide data handling and display features for DSS output. CRUX operation will be semi-autonomous and near real-time to allow its use for either planning or operations purposes.
Lunar Polar Volatiles: Permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles contain water, 5 wt according to LCROSS. Interest in water for ISRU applications. Desire to ground truth water using surface prospecting e.g. Resource Prospector and RESOLVE. How to access subsurface water resources and accurately measure quantity. Excavation operations and exposure to lunar environment may affect the results. Volatile capture tests: A series a ground based dirty thermal vacuum tests are being conducted to better understand the subsurface sampling operations. Sample removal and transfer. Volatiles loss during sampling operations. Concept of operations, Instrumentation. This presentation is a progress report on volatiles capture results from these tests with lunar polar drill prototype hardware.
Robotic drilling and autonomous sample acquisition are considered as the key technology requirements in future planetary or small body exploration missions.
Offshore drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico are particularly vulnerable during hurricane season. When a weather threat arises, a decision to evacuate the rig and/or move to a safe location may need to be made. Depending on the activities in progress at the time of the threat, securing the well, evacuating, and/or moving to a safe location can take a considerable amount of time. This transition time is called T-time. T-time is not only rig dependent, but also depends on the activity being performed at the time of the threat. For these reasons it is important to assess tropical cyclone threats and the time it takes for them to reach the rig location. The objective of this study is to use the available 50 years of past cyclone history to estimate cyclone threats at any location in the Gulf of Mexico. The cyclone threat is estimated based on the rig location as well as the start date and duration of the offshore activity. By threat, it is meant the likelihood that a specific location with an associated offshore activity would be exposed to an upcoming cyclone whose forecasted track cone and storm size lies within that location. Three representative rig locations in the Gulf of Mexico were selected as assessment sites to evaluate the threat of incoming cyclones for different T-times. To conduct this tropical cyclone study, an Excel spreadsheet tool was developed to automate the analysis of the tropical cyclone data from the Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) Version 4. The spreadsheet tool allows the user to input any location (i.e., longitude and latitude) in the Gulf of Mexico and displays a list of historical cyclones that have passed within 150 nautical miles of that location during the activity period selected by the user. Also, the tool allows the user to input a T-time to assess the threat of cyclones that would not provide adequate time to secure the well, evacuate, and/or move to a safe location.
Offshore drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico are particularly vulnerable during hurricane season. When a weather threat arises, a decision to evacuate the rig and/or move to a safe location may need to be made. Securing the well, evacuating, and/or moving to a safe location can take a considerable amount of time. This transition time is called T-time. T-time is not only rig dependent, but also depends on the activity being performed at the time of the threat. For these reasons, it is important to assess tropical cyclone threats and the estimated time it will take the storm to reach the rig location from the time it is first detected. The objective of this study is to use 50 years of cyclone history from a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) database, the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) to estimate cyclone threats at any location in the Gulf of Mexico. The cyclone threat is estimated based on the rig location as well as the start date and duration of the offshore activity. By threat, it is meant the likelihood that a specific location with an associated offshore activity lies within the forecasted track cone and storm size of the upcoming cyclone. Three representative rig locations in the Gulf of Mexico were selected as assessment sites to evaluate the threat of incoming cyclones for different T-times. To conduct this tropical cyclone study, an Excel spreadsheet tool was developed to automate the analysis of the tropical cyclone data. The spreadsheet tool allows the user to input any location (i.e., longitude and latitude) in the Gulf of Mexico and displays a list of historical cyclones that have passed within 150 nautical miles of that location during the activity period selected by the user. In addition, the tool allows the user to input any T-time to assess the threat of cyclones that would not provide adequate time to secure the well, evacuate, and/or move to a safe location.
Composite gear configuration provides a reliable automatic means for replenishing gear mechanism lubricants that dissipate in the harsh environment of space. The center or hub section of the gear consists of a porous, oil impregnated material, and the outer or toothed section has radially drilled passages to cause the oil to gradually flow to the gear teeth surface.
Portable tool cleans and polishes the external surfaces of tubes and pipes without contaminating the interior areas with loose particles. The tool is driven by an electric drill and is connected to a vacuum source that removes debris resulting from the cleaning and polishing action.
Portable pipe cutting tool is used in areas of limited space. The pipe is clamped in the tool and then cut by a rotating cutter assembly that is internally connected to a drive shaft engaged in the chuck of a portable electric drill. The tool is held in a fixed position during the cutting operation.
Attachment for machine tools provides a visual indication of the depth of cut and a positive stop to prevent overcutting. This attachment is used with drill presses, vertical milling machines, and jig borers.
Nylon router bit in an electric hand-held drill removes small quantities of cork insulation from a metal or fiber glass surface without cutting or scratching the surface.
Combination indexer and drive unit drills equally spaced circular hole patterns on rotary tables. It automatically rotates the table a distance exactly equal to one hole spacing for each revolution of a special idler gear.
Flexible, compressible spring-loaded pressure probe measures the static pressure between the rotor stages on an axial-flow fuel pump. This probe is used in installation where a drilled static pressure tap or a rigid impulse tube cannot be used. Its parameters must be specially determined for each installation.
Calorimeter apparatus accurately measures very small temperature rises on a test surface subjected to aerodynamic heating. A continuous thin sheet of a sensing material is attached to a base support plate through which a series of holes of known diameter have been drilled for attaching thermocouples to the material.