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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 613 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1998

SoftLab: A Soft-Computing Software for Experimental Research with Commercialization Aspects

SoftLab is a software environment for research and development in intelligent modeling/control using soft-computing paradigms such as fuzzy logic, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and genetic programs. SoftLab addresses the inadequacies of the existing soft-computing software by supporting comprehensive multidisciplinary functionalities from management tools to engineering systems. Furthermore, the built-in features help the user process/analyze information more efficiently by a friendly yet powerful interface, and will allow the user to specify user-specific processing modules, hence adding to the standard configuration of the software environment.

Akbarzadeh-T, M.-R.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Advanced Design and Implementation of a Control Architecture for Long Range Autonomous Planetary Rovers

An advanced design and implementation of a Control Architecture for Long Range Autonomous Planetary Rovers is presented using a hierarchical top-down task decomposition, and the common structure of each design is presented based on feedback control theory. Graphical programming is presented as a common intuitive language for the design when a large design team is composed of managers, architecture designers, engineers, programmers, and maintenance personnel. The whole design of the control architecture consists in the classic control concepts of cyclic data processing and event-driven reaction to achieve all the reasoning and behaviors needed. For this purpose, a commercial graphical tool is presented that includes the mentioned control capabilities. Messages queues are used for inter-communication among control functions, allowing Artificial Intelligence (AI) reasoning techniques based on queue manipulation. Experimental results show a highly autonomous control system running in real time on top the JPL micro-rover Rocky 7 controlling simultaneously several robotic devices. This paper validates the sinergy between Artificial Intelligence and classic control concepts in having in advanced Control Architecture for Long Range Autonomous Planetary Rovers.

Martin-Alvarez, A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Carbon Nanotubes: Miracle of Materials Science?

Article to be sent to Advanced Materials and Processes, journal of ASM International, as attached. This is a news-type technical journal for a large organization of scientists, engineers, salesmen, and managers. The article is quite general, meant to be an introduction to the properties of nanotubes. This is a materials science organization, therefore the article is geared toward using nanotubes for materials uses. Pictures have not been included in this version.

Files, Bradley S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Demographics of Investigators Involved in OSSA-Funded Research

The birth of the U.S. civil space program and the subsequent, dramatic growth in the ranks of the space science research population occurred in the 1950s and 1960s'. The large, post- Sputnik/ Apollo buildup in space program manpower is now approximately one career-lifetime in the past. It is therefore natural to anticipate that a large fraction of the space program engineers, scientists, and managers who pioneered the early exploration of space are approaching retirement. Such a "retirement wave" bodes both a loss of manpower and, more fundamentally, a loss of experience from the civil-space manpower base. Such losses could play a critical role constraining in NASA's ability to expand or maintain its technical capabilities. If this indeed applies to the NASA space science research population, then the potential for problems is exacerbated by the anticipated growth in flight rates, data volume, and data-set diversity which will accompany the planned expansion in the OSSA science effort during the 1990s and 2000s. The purpose of this study was to describe the OSSA PI/Co-I population and to determine the degree to which the OSSA space science investigator population faces a retirement wave, and to estimate the future population of PIs in the 1990-2010 era. To conduct such a study, we investigated the present demographics of the PI and Co-1 population contained in the NASA/OSSA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) mailing list. PIs represent the "leadership" class of the OSSA scientific researcher population, and Co-Is represent one important, oncoming component of the "replacement" generation. Using the PI population data, we then make projection estimates of the future PI population from 1991 through 2010, under various NASA growth/PI demand scenarios.

Stern, S. Alan↗
NASA NTRS2001

Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology

The next millennium challenges us to produce innovative materials, processes, manufacturing, and environmental technologies that meet low-cost aerospace transportation needs while maintaining US leadership. The pursuit of advanced aerospace materials, manufacturing processes, and environmental technologies supports the development of safer, operational, next-generation, reusable, and expendable aeronautical and space vehicle systems. The Aerospace Materials, Processes, and Environmental Technology Conference (AMPET) provided a forum for manufacturing, environmental, materials, and processes engineers, scientists, and managers to describe, review, and critically assess advances in these key technology areas.

Griffin, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Power Station Design

Kuljian Corporation provides design engineering and construction management services for power generating plants in more than 20 countries. They used WASP (Calculating Water and Steam Properties), a COSMIC program to optimize power station design. This enabled the company to substantially reduce lead time and software cost in a recent design project.

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NASA NTRS2001

Facility Monitoring: A Qualitative Theory for Sensor Fusion

Data fusion and sensor management approaches have largely been implemented with centralized and hierarchical architectures. Numerical and statistical methods are the most common data fusion methods found in these systems. Given the proliferation and low cost of processing power, there is now an emphasis on designing distributed and decentralized systems. These systems use analytical/quantitative techniques or qualitative reasoning methods for date fusion.Based on other work by the author, a sensor may be treated as a highly autonomous (decentralized) unit. Each highly autonomous sensor (HAS) is capable of extracting qualitative behaviours from its data. For example, it detects spikes, disturbances, noise levels, off-limit excursions, step changes, drift, and other typical measured trends. In this context, this paper describes a distributed sensor fusion paradigm and theory where each sensor in the system is a HAS. Hence, given the reach qualitative information from each HAS, a paradigm and formal definitions are given so that sensors and processes can reason and make decisions at the qualitative level. This approach to sensor fusion makes it possible the implementation of intuitive (effective) methods to monitor, diagnose, and compensate processes/systems and their sensors. This paradigm facilitates a balanced distribution of intelligence (code and/or hardware) to the sensor level, the process/system level, and a higher controller level. The primary application of interest is in intelligent health management of rocket engine test stands.

Figueroa, Fernando↗
NASA NTRS2003

Guide for Hydrogen Hazards Analysis on Components and Systems

The physical and combustion properties of hydrogen give rise to hazards that must be considered when designing and operating a hydrogen system. One of the major concerns in the use of hydrogen is that of fire or detonation because of hydrogen's wide flammability range, low ignition energy, and flame speed. Other concerns include the contact and interaction of hydrogen with materials, such as the hydrogen embrittlement of materials and the formation of hydrogen hydrides. The low temperature of liquid and slush hydrogen bring other concerns related to material compatibility and pressure control; this is especially important when dissimilar, adjoining materials are involved. The potential hazards arising from these properties and design features necessitate a proper hydrogen hazards analysis before introducing a material, component, or system into hydrogen service. The objective of this guide is to describe the NASA Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility hydrogen hazards analysis method that should be performed before hydrogen is used in components and/or systems. The method is consistent with standard practices for analyzing hazards. It is recommended that this analysis be made before implementing a hydrogen component qualification procedure. A hydrogen hazards analysis is a useful tool for hydrogen-system designers, system and safety engineers, and facility managers. A hydrogen hazards analysis can identify problem areas before hydrogen is introduced into a system-preventing damage to hardware, delay or loss of mission or objective, and possible injury or loss of life.

Beeson, Harold↗
NASA NTRS2004

Going Up

The accelerated Leadership Option (ALO) combines business management and systems engineering studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) culminating in a Master of Science degree, with a one year developmental assignment. The program accelerates the development process of exceptionally promising project leaders to positions of increased responsibility. Participants are selected because of technical expertise and proven leadership abilities.

Douglas, Freddie, III↗
NASA NTRS2004

Explanation Constraint Programming for Model-based Diagnosis of Engineered Systems

We can expect to see an increase in the deployment of unmanned air and land vehicles for autonomous exploration of space. In order to maintain autonomous control of such systems, it is essential to track the current state of the system. When the system includes safety-critical components, failures or faults in the system must be diagnosed as quickly as possible, and their effects compensated for so that control and safety are maintained under a variety of fault conditions. The Livingstone fault diagnosis and recovery kernel and its temporal extension L2 are examples of model-based reasoning engines for health management. Livingstone has been shown to be effective, it is in demand, and it is being further developed. It was part of the successful Remote Agent demonstration on Deep Space One in 1999. It has been and is being utilized by several projects involving groups from various NASA centers, including the In Situ Propellant Production (ISPP) simulation at Kennedy Space Center, the X-34 and X-37 experimental reusable launch vehicle missions, Techsat-21, and advanced life support projects. Model-based and consistency-based diagnostic systems like Livingstone work only with discrete and finite domain models. When quantitative and continuous behaviors are involved, these are abstracted to discrete form using some mapping. This mapping from the quantitative domain to the qualitative domain is sometimes very involved and requires the design of highly sophisticated and complex monitors. We propose a diagnostic methodology that deals directly with quantitative models and behaviors, thereby mitigating the need for these sophisticated mappings. Our work brings together ideas from model-based diagnosis systems like Livingstone and concurrent constraint programming concepts. The system uses explanations derived from the propagation of quantitative constraints to generate conflicts. Fast conflict generation algorithms are used to generate and maintain multiple candidates whose consistency can be tracked across multiple time steps.

Narasimhan, Sriram↗
NASA NTRS1998

Aerospace Power Systems Design and Analysis (APSDA) Tool

The conceptual design of space and/or planetary electrical power systems has required considerable effort. Traditionally, in the early stages of the design cycle (conceptual design), the researchers have had to thoroughly study and analyze tradeoffs between system components, hardware architectures, and operating parameters (such as frequencies) to optimize system mass, efficiency, reliability, and cost. This process could take anywhere from several months to several years (as for the former Space Station Freedom), depending on the scale of the system. Although there are many sophisticated commercial software design tools for personal computers (PC's), none of them can support or provide total system design. To meet this need, researchers at the NASA Lewis Research Center cooperated with Professor George Kusic from the University of Pittsburgh to develop a new tool to help project managers and design engineers choose the best system parameters as quickly as possible in the early design stages (in days instead of months). It is called the Aerospace Power Systems Design and Analysis (APSDA) Tool. By using this tool, users can obtain desirable system design and operating parameters such as system weight, electrical distribution efficiency, bus power, and electrical load schedule. With APSDA, a large-scale specific power system was designed in a matter of days. It is an excellent tool to help designers make tradeoffs between system components, hardware architectures, and operation parameters in the early stages of the design cycle. user interface. It operates on any PC running the MS-DOS (Microsoft Corp.) operating system, version 5.0 or later. A color monitor (EGA or VGA) and two-button mouse are required. The APSDA tool was presented at the 30th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference (IECEC) and is being beta tested at several NASA centers. Beta test packages are available for evaluation by contacting the author.

Truong, Long V.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Simulant Materials of Lunar Dust: Requirements and feasibility

As NASA turns its exploration ambitions towards the Moon once again, the research and development of new technologies for lunar operations face the challenge of meeting the milestones of a fast-pace schedule, reminiscent of the 1960 s Apollo program. While the lunar samples returned by the Apollo and Luna missions have revealed much about the Moon, these priceless materials exist in too scarce quantities to be used for technology development and testing. The need for mineral materials chosen to simulate the characteristics of lunar regoliths is a pressing issue that must be addressed today through the collaboration of scientists, engineers and program managers. While the larger size fraction of the lunar regolith has been reproduced in several simulants in the past, little attention has been paid to the fines fraction, commonly refered to as lunar dust. As reported by McKay, this fraction of the lunar regolith below 20 microns can represent upto 30% by mass of the total regolith mass. The issue of reproducing the properties of these fines for research and technology development purposes was addressed by the recently held Workshop on Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials at Marshall Space Flight Center. Preliminary conclusions from the workshop and con- side-rations concerning the feasibility of producing such materials will be presented here.

Sibille, L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

STS-114: Discovery Mission Status Briefing

Paul Hill, STS-114 Lead Shuttle Flight Director and Wayne Hale, Space Shuttle Deputy Program Director is shown during this mission status briefing. Hill talks about the first 24 hours of the Space Shuttle Discovery in orbit. He expresses that he has acquired data from the launch through imagery and hand held photographs of the external tank. Hale answers questions from the news media about how the engineers may be managing this data and if there is an overwhelming amount of data. Live downlink television pictures from the end-effectors camera on the Robotic Arm as it has completed its reberthing of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) are shown.

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NASA NTRS2006

An Integrated Approach to Exploration Launch Office Requirements Development

The proposed paper will focus on the Project Management and Systems Engineering approach utilized to develop a set of both integrated and cohesive requirements for the Exploration Launch Office, within the Constellation Program. A summary of the programmatic drivers which influenced the approach along with details of the resulting implementation will be discussed as well as metrics evaluating the efficiency and accuracy of the various requirements development activities. Requirements development activities will focus on the procedures utilized to ensure that technical content was valid and mature in preparation for the Crew Launch Vehicle and Constellation System s Requirements Reviews. This discussion will begin at initial requirements development during the Exploration Systems Architecture Study and progress through formal development of the program structure. Specific emphasis will be given to development and validation of the requirements. This discussion will focus on approaches to garner the appropriate requirement owners (or customers), project infrastructure utilized to emphasize proper integration, and finally the procedure to technically mature, verify and validate the requirements. Examples of requirements being implemented on the Launch Vehicle (systems, interfaces, test & verification) will be utilized to demonstrate the various processes and also provide a top level understanding of the launch vehicle(s) performance goals. Details may also be provided on the approaches for verification, which range from typical aerospace hardware development (qualification/acceptance) through flight certification (flight test, etc.). The primary intent of this paper is to provide a demonstrated procedure for the development of a mature, effective, integrated set of requirements on a complex system, which also has the added intricacies of both heritage and new hardware development integration. Ancillary focus of the paper will include discussion of Test and Verification approaches along with top level systems/elements performance capabilities.

Holladay, Jon B.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Guide for Oxygen Compatibility Assessments on Oxygen Components and Systems

Understanding and preventing fire hazards is necessary when designing, maintaining, and operating oxygen systems. Ignition risks can be minimized by controlling heat sources and using materials that will not ignite or will not support burning in the end-use environment. Because certain materials are more susceptible to ignition in oxygen-enriched environments, a compatibility assessment should be performed before the component is introduced into an oxygen system. This document provides an overview of oxygen fire hazards and procedures that are consistent with the latest versions of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standards G63 (1999) and G94 (2005) to address fire hazards associated with oxygen systems. This document supersedes the previous edition, NASA Technical Memorandum 104823, Guide for Oxygen Hazards Analyses on Components and Systems (1996). The step-by-step oxygen compatibility assessment method described herein (see Section 4) enables oxygen-system designers, system engineers, and facility managers to determine areas of concern with respect to oxygen compatibility and, ultimately, prevent damage to a system or injury to personnel.

Rosales, Keisa R.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Risk-Informed Decision Making: Application to Technology Development Alternative Selection

NASA NPR 8000.4A, Agency Risk Management Procedural Requirements, defines risk management in terms of two complementary processes: Risk-informed Decision Making (RIDM) and Continuous Risk Management (CRM). The RIDM process is used to inform decision making by emphasizing proper use of risk analysis to make decisions that impact all mission execution domains (e.g., safety, technical, cost, and schedule) for program/projects and mission support organizations. The RIDM process supports the selection of an alternative prior to program commitment. The CRM process is used to manage risk associated with the implementation of the selected alternative. The two processes work together to foster proactive risk management at NASA. The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA Headquarters has developed a technical handbook to provide guidance for implementing the RIDM process in the context of NASA risk management and systems engineering. This paper summarizes the key concepts and procedures of the RIDM process as presented in the handbook, and also illustrates how the RIDM process can be applied to the selection of technology investments as NASA's new technology development programs are initiated.

Dezfuli, Homayoon↗
NASA NTRS2010

Exploration Life Support Critical Questions for Future Human Space Missions

Exploration Life Support (ELS) is a current project under NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. The ELS Project plans, coordinates and implements the development of advanced life support technologies for human exploration missions in space. Recent work has focused on closed loop atmosphere and water systems for long duration missions, including habitats and pressurized rovers. But, what are the critical questions facing life support system developers for these and other future human missions? This paper explores those questions and how progress in the development of ELS technologies can help answer them. The ELS Project includes the following Elements: Atmosphere Revitalization Systems, Water Recovery Systems, Waste Management Systems, Habitation Engineering, Systems Integration, Modeling and Analysis, and Validation and Testing, which includes the Sub-Elements Flight Experiments and Integrated Testing. Systems engineering analysis by ELS seeks to optimize overall mission architectures by considering all the internal and external interfaces of the life support system and the potential for reduction or reuse of commodities. In particular, various sources and sinks of water and oxygen are considered along with the implications on loop closure and the resulting launch mass requirements. Systems analysis will be validated through the data gathered from integrated testing, which will demonstrate the interfaces of a closed loop life support system. By applying a systematic process for defining, sorting and answering critical life support questions, the ELS project is preparing for a variety of future human space missions

Kwert, Michael K.↗