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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 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Mission planning for space based satellite surveillance experiments with the MSX

The Midcourse Space Experiment is a BMDO-sponsored scientific satellite set for launch within the year. The satellite will collect phenomenology data on missile targets, plumes, earth limb backgrounds and deep space backgrounds in the LWIR, visible and ultra-violet spectral bands. It will also conduct functional demonstrations for space-based space surveillance. The Space-Based Visible sensor, built by Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the primary sensor on board the MSX for demonstration of space surveillance. The SBV Processing, Operations and Control Center (SPOCC) is the mission planning and commanding center for all space surveillance experiments using the SBV and other MSX instruments. The guiding principle in the SPOCC Mission Planning System was that all routine functions be automated. Manual analyst input should be minimal. Major concepts are: (I) A high level language, called SLED, for user interface to the system; (2) A group of independent software processes which would generally be run in a pipe-line mode for experiment commanding but can be run independently for analyst assessment; (3) An integrated experiment cost computation function that permits assessment of the feasibility of the experiment. This paper will report on the design, implementation and testing of the Mission Planning System.

Sridharan, R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Optimal design of solidification processes

An optimal design algorithm is presented for the analysis of general solidification processes, and is demonstrated for the growth of GaAs crystals in a Bridgman furnace. The system is optimal in the sense that the prespecified temperature distribution in the solidifying materials is obtained to maximize product quality. The optimization uses traditional numerical programming techniques which require the evaluation of cost and constraint functions and their sensitivities. The finite element method is incorporated to analyze the crystal solidification problem, evaluate the cost and constraint functions, and compute the sensitivities. These techniques are demonstrated in the crystal growth application by determining an optimal furnace wall temperature distribution to obtain the desired temperature profile in the crystal, and hence to maximize the crystal's quality. Several numerical optimization algorithms are studied to determine the proper convergence criteria, effective 1-D search strategies, appropriate forms of the cost and constraint functions, etc. In particular, we incorporate the conjugate gradient and quasi-Newton methods for unconstrained problems. The efficiency and effectiveness of each algorithm is presented in the example problem.

Dantzig, Jonathan A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Modeling Personnel Turnover in the Parametric Organization

A primary issue in organizing a new parametric cost analysis function is to determine the skill mix and number of personnel required. The skill mix can be obtained by a functional decomposition of the tasks required within the organization and a matrixed correlation with educational or experience backgrounds. The number of personnel is a function of the skills required to cover all tasks, personnel skill background and cross training, the intensity of the workload for each task, migration through various tasks by personnel along a career path, personnel hiring limitations imposed by management and the applicant marketplace, personnel training limitations imposed by management and personnel capability, and the rate at which personnel leave the organization for whatever reason. Faced with the task of relating all of these organizational facets in order to grow a parametric cost analysis (PCA) organization from scratch, it was decided that a dynamic model was required in order to account for the obvious dynamics of the forming organization. The challenge was to create such a simple model which would be credible during all phases of organizational development. The model development process was broken down into the activities of determining the tasks required for PCA, determining the skills required for each PCA task, determining the skills available in the applicant marketplace, determining the structure of the dynamic model, implementing the dynamic model, and testing the dynamic model.

Dean, Edwin B.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Technical Challenges for Next Generation Liquid Rocket Engine Nozzles

Next generation launch and propulsion systems face significant challenges of providing increased performance at lower cost with shorter development cycles. The use of existing materials in new application areas and the development and application of "advanced" material systems are enabling for the achievement of these aggressive goals. An area which offers substantial opportunity to decrease liquid rocket engine systems weight, and thus provide a measure of increased performance, is the nozzle. This presentation will examine the technical issues and showstoppers limiting the application of alternate materials to liquid rocket engine nozzles and identify the key material systems which have the potential for high payoff relative to the forcing functions of cost and performance (weight). Existing nozzle material development projects will be cited and opportunities for future joint partnerships to address these materials and processes challenges will be addressed. The presentation will include overviews of activities in low cost ablative nozzles, ceramic matrix composite cooled and uncooled nozzles, and advanced metallics.

Clinton, R. G., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Experimental Determination of the Dynamic Hydraulic Transfer Function for the J-2X Oxidizer Turbopump: Methodology - Part One

An advanced methodology for extracting the hydraulic dynamic pump transfer matrix (Yp) for a cavitating liquid rocket engine turbopump inducer+impeller has been developed. The transfer function is required for integrated vehicle pogo stability analysis as well as optimization of local inducer pumping stability. Laboratory pulsed subscale waterflow test of the J-2X oxygen turbo pump is introduced and our new extraction method applied to the data collected. From accurate measures of pump inlet and discharge perturbational mass flows and pressures, and one-dimensional flow models that represents complete waterflow loop physics, we are able to derive Yp and hence extract the characteristic pump parameters: compliance, pump gain, impedance, mass flow gain. Detailed modeling is necessary to accurately translate instrument plane measurements to the pump inlet and discharge and extract Yp. We present the MSFC Dynamic Lump Parameter Fluid Model Framework and describe critical dynamic component details. We report on fit minimization techniques, cost (fitness) function derivation, and resulting model fits to our experimental data are presented. Comparisons are made to alternate techniques for spatially translating measurement stations to actual pump inlet and discharge.

Zoladz, Tom↗
NASA NTRS1980

Cost of Czochralski wafers as a function of diameter

The impact of diameter in the range of 10 to 15 cm on the cost of wafers sliced from Czochralski ingots was analyzed. Increasing silicon waste and decreasing ingot cost with increasing ingot size were estimated along with projected costs. Results indicate a small but continuous decrease in sheet cost with increasing ingot size in this size range. Sheet costs including silicon are projected to be $50 to $60/sq m (1980 $) depending upon technique used.

Leipold, M. H.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Identifying the Molecular Edge Termination of Exfoliated Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanosheets with Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy and Plane-Wave DFT Calculations

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS), the isoelectronic analog to graphene, have received interest over the past decade due to their high thermal oxidative resistance, high bandgap, catalytic activity, and low cost. The functional groups that terminate boron and nitrogen zigzag and/or armchair edges directly affect their chemical, physical, and electronic properties. However, an understanding of the molecular edge termination present in h-BNNS is lacking. Here, high-resolution magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy, and plane-wave density-functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to determine the molecular edge termination in exfoliated h-BNNS. 1 H → 11 B cross-polarization MAS (CPMAS) SSNMR spectra of h-BNNS revealed multiple hydroxyl/oxygen coordinated boron edge sites that were not detectable in direct excitation experiments. A dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-enhanced 1 H → 15 N CPMAS spectrum of h-BNNS displayed four distinct 15 N resonances while a 2D 1 H{ 14 N} dipolar-HMQC spectrum acquired with fast MAS revealed three distinct 14 N environments. Plane-wave DFT calculations were used to construct model edge structures and predict the corresponding 11 B, 14 N and 15 N SSNMR spectra. Comparison of the experimental and predicted SSNMR spectra confirms that zigzag and armchair edges with both amine and boron hydroxide/oxide termination are present. The detailed characterization of h-BNNS molecular edge termination will prove useful for many material science applications. The techniques outlined here should also be applicable to understand the molecular edge terminations in other 2D materials

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Accelerating the Discovery of New, Single Phase High Entropy Ceramics via Active Learning

High-entropy ceramics have garnered interest due to their remarkable hardness, compressive strength, thermal stability, and fracture toughness; yet the discovery of new high-entropy ceramics (out of a tremendous number of possible elemental permutations) still largely requires costly, inefficient, trial-and-error experimental and computational approaches. The entropy forming ability (EFA) factor was recently proposed as a computational descriptor that positively correlates with the likelihood that a 5-metal high-entropy carbide (HECs) will form the desired single phase, homogeneous solid solution; however, discovery of new compositions is computationally expensive. If you consider 8 candidate metals, the HEC EFA approach uses 49 optimizations for each of the 56 unique 5-metal carbides, requiring a total of 2744 costly density functional theory calculations. Here, we describe an orders-of-magnitude more efficient active learning (AL) approach for identifying novel HECs. To begin, we compared numerous methods for generating composition-based feature vectors (e.g., magpie and mat2vec), deployed an ensemble of machine learning (ML) models to generate an average and distribution of predictions, and then utilized the distribution as an uncertainty. Here we then deployed an AL approach to extract new training data points where the ensemble of ML models predicted a high EFA value or was uncertain of the prediction. Our approach has the combined benefit of decreasing the amount of training data required to reach acceptable prediction qualities and biases the predictions toward identifying HECs with the desired high EFA values, which are tentatively correlated with the formation of single phase HECs. Using this approach, we increased the number of 5-metal carbides screened from 56 to 15,504, revealing 4 compositions with record-high EFA values that were previously unreported in the literature. Our AL framework is also generalizable and could be modified to rationally predict optimized candidate materials/combinations with a wide range of desired properties (e.g., mechanical stability, thermal conductivity).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1974

Propulsion system sizing for powered lift and mechanical flap quiet aircraft

A method of propulsion system sizing for mechanical flap and externally blown flap aircraft is demonstrated. Included in this study is the effect of various levels of noise suppression on the aircraft final design characteristics. Both aircraft are sized to operate from a 3000-ft runway and perform the same mission. For each aircraft concept, propulsion system sizing is demonstrated for two different engine cycles - one having a fan pressure ratio of 1.5 and a bypass ratio of 9 and the other having a fan pressure ratio of 1.25 and a bypass ratio of 17.8. The results presented include the required thrust to weight ratio and wing loading and the resulting gross weight and direct operating costs as functions of the engine noise level for each of the four combinations of engine cycles and aircraft concepts.

Bowles, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The economic value of remote sensing of earth resources from space: An ERTS overview and the value of continuity of service. Volume 3: Intensive use of living resources, agriculture. Part 2: Distribution effects

The results of an investigation of the value of improving information for forecasting future crop harvests are described. A theoretical model is developed to calculate the value of increased speed of availablitiy of that information. The analysis of U.S. domestic wheat consumption was implemented. New estimates of a demand function for wheat and of a cost of storage function were involved, along with a Monte Carlo simulation for the wheat spot and future markets and a model of market determinations of wheat inventories. Results are shown to depend critically on the accuracy of current and proposed measurement techniques.

Bradford, D. F.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Thrust and wing loading requirements for short haul aircraft constrained by engine noise and field length

Propulsion system and wing loading requirements are determined for a mechanical flap and an externally blown flap aircraft for various engine noise levels and two engine cycles. Both aircraft are sized to operate from a 914m (3000 ft) runway and perform the same mission. For each aircraft concept, propulsion system sizing is demonstrated for two different engine cycles - one having a fan pressure ratio of 1.5 and a bypass ratio of 9, and the other having a fan pressure ratio of 1.25 and a bypass ratio of 17.8. The results presented include the required thrust-to-weight ratio, wing loading, resulting gross weight, and direct operating costs, as functions of the engine noise level, for each combination of engine cycle and aircraft concept.

Bowles, J. V.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The kW power module evolution study: Executive summary

Using the Marshall Space Flight Center 25 kW Power Module (PM) reference design as a point of departure, the study defined evolutionary growth paths to 100 kW and above. A recommended development approach and initial configurations were described. Specific hardware changes from the reference design are recommended for the initial PM configuration to ensure evolutionary growth, improved replicability, and reduced cost. Certain functional changes are also recommended to enhance system capabilities.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1983

Space station needs, attributes and architectural options study

All the candidate Technology Development missions investigated during the space station needs, attributes, and architectural options study are described. All the mission data forms plus additional information such as, cost, drawings, functional flows, etc., generated in support of these mission is included with a computer generated mission data form.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1985

A mathematical formulation of the problem of optimal use of ground resources for future space missions

An approximate mathematical formulation for scheduling of future space missions is proposed. The objective is to schedule the flights to efficiently use the available ground resources, to minimize the inventory level of ground resources needed and to minimize the overlapping or conflicting periods during which the same types of resources are used by the various flights. The development of the mathematical formulation of the problem considers the presence of a large number of sequencing and resource constraints: (1) the order in which the flights are to be launched is predetermined; and (2) some types of resources are to be used only by certain flights. A linear objective function based on cost considerations is constructed and this function is minimized subject to the various constraints.

Scott, M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Living in contained environments: Research implications from undersea habitats

A cost-reward model is used to frame a discussion of differences in observed behavior of individuals and groups in confined environments. It has been observed that the high cost of functioning in a stressful environment is likely to produce poor performance when anticipated rewards are low but that participants can manage the stress and achieve high performance if they anticipate high rewards. The high-reward environment is exemplified by early undersea habitats such as Sealab and Tektite and by early space missions. Other aspects of behavior occur in all confined environments and point to an important area for future research. Of particular interest are intergroup conflicts arising between the confined group and its external control. Also, individual differences in personality seem always to have an impact in confined environments. Recent research has focused on: (1) predicting performance and adjustment based on instrumental and expressive aspects of the self; (2) the differential predictive power of achievement striving and irritation/irritability in Type A personalities; and (3) the nature and role of leadership in small, isolated groups.

Helmreich, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Balancing reliability and cost to choose the best power subsystem

A mathematical model is presented for computing total (spacecraft) subsystem cost including both the basic subsystem cost and the expected cost due to the failure of the subsystem. This model is then used to determine power subsystem cost as a function of reliability and redundancy. Minimum cost and maximum reliability and/or redundancy are not generally equivalent. Two example cases are presented. One is a small satellite, and the other is an interplanetary spacecraft.

Suich, Ronald C.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Balancing reliability and cost to choose the best power subsystem

The justification of the increased cost of a more reliable power subsystem is discussed. A mathematical model is presented for computing total spacecraft subsystem cost including both the basic subsystem cost and the expected cost due to the failure of the subsystem. This is then used to determine the power subsystem cost as a function of reliability and redundancy. Minimum cost and maximum reliability and/or redundancy are not generally equivalent. Two example cases are presented. One is a small satellite, and the other is an interplanetary spacecraft.

Suich, Ronald C.↗