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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 NTRS1992

On protection of Freedom's solar dynamic radiator from the orbital debris environment. I - Preliminary analysis and testing

A great deal of experimentation and analysis was performed to quantify penetration thresholds of components which will experience orbital debris impacts. Penetration was found to depend upon mission specific parameters such as orbital altitude, inclination, and orientation of the component; and upon component specific parameters such as material, density and the geometry particular to its shielding. Experimental results are highly dependent upon shield configuration and cannot be extrapolated with confidence to alternate shield configurations. Also, current experimental capabilities are limited to velocities which only approach the lower limit of predicted orbital debris velocities. Therefore, prediction of the penetrating particle size for a particular component having a complex geometry remains highly uncertain. An approach is described which was developed to assess on-orbit survivability of the solar dynamic radiator due to micrometeoroid and space debris impacts. Preliminary analyses are presented to quantify the solar dynamic radiator survivability, and include the type of particle and particle population expected to defeat the radiator bumpering (i.e., penetrate a fluid flow tube). Results of preliminary hypervelocity impact testing performed on radiator panel samples (in the 6 to 7 km/sec velocity range) are also presented.

Rhatigan, Jennifer L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The Fe/Mn constraint on precursors of basaltic achondrites

Most achondritic meteorites have Fe/Mn ratios that are lower than those of carbonaceous chondrites and of course are lower than the solar system abundance ratio of these elements. Models of the origin of achondritic assemblages must, therefore, account for these ratios. Fe/Mn ratios are suggested to be distinctive for samples from each achondrite parent body and for the Earth and Moon, but the correspondence between the Fe/Mn systematics of achondrites and chondritic precursors is unclear. Most models of achondrite genesis involve magmatic differentiation of chondritic precursors. The Fe/Mn difference between achondrites and chondrites is particularly significant since Fe and Mn are geochemically similar elements with similar partitioning behavior in familiar magmatic systems and are generally coupled during crystal-liquid fractionation. In contrast, however, Mn is more volatile than Fe in a nebular setting. Variation of Fe/Mn ratios based on the relative volatility of these elements in the early nebula provides a constraint for models by which the basaltic achondrites (with Fe/Mn ratios approximately = 25-50) are derived from mixtures of nebular components that were enriched in volatile components such as Mn. However, such volatile enriched components have not been identified in chondrites. When the abundance in achondrites of elements of similar volatility is examined, anomalies appear. For example, Na is massively depleted in basaltic achondrites when compared to Mn. These anomalies might be explained using current models but the alternative hypothesis, that Fe/Mn ratio is controlled not by nebular volatility constraints, but by planetary differentiation should be explored.

Delaney, Jeremy S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Lightning tests and analyses of tunnel bond straps and shielded cables on the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster

The purposes of the tests and analyses described in this report are as follows: (1) determine the lightning current survivability of five alternative changed designs of the bond straps which electrically bond the solid rocket booster (SRB) systems tunnel to the solid rocket motor (SRM) case; (2) determine the amount of reduction in induced voltages on operational flight (OF) tunnel cables obtained by a modified design of tunnel bond straps (both tunnel cover-to-cover and cover-to-motor case); (3) determine the contribution of coupling to the OF tunnel cables by ground electrical and instrumentation (GEI) cables which enter the systems tunnel from unshielded areas on the surfaces of the motor case; and (4) develop a model (based on test data) and calculate the voltage levels at electronic 'black boxes' connected to the OF cables that run in the systems tunnel.

Druen, William M.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Shape Control of Solar Collectors Using Shape Memory Alloy Actuators

Solar collectors that are focused on a central receiver are designed with a mechanism for defocusing the collector or disabling it by turning it out of the path of the sun's rays. This is required to avoid damaging the receiver during periods of inoperability. In either of these two cases a fail-safe operation is very desirable where during power outages the collector passively goes to its defocused or deactivated state. This paper is principally concerned with focusing and defocusing the collector in a fail-safe manner using shape memory alloy actuators. Shape memory alloys are well suited to this application in that once calibrated the actuators can be operated in an on/off mode using a minimal amount of electric power. Also, in contrast to other smart materials that were investigated for this application, shape memory alloys are capable of providing enough stroke at the appropriate force levels to focus the collector. Design and analysis details presented, along with comparisons to test data taken from an actual prototype, demonstrate that the collector can be repeatedly focused and defocused within accuracies required by typical solar energy systems. In this paper the design, analysis and testing of a solar collector which is deformed into its desired shape by shape memory alloy actuators is presented. Computations indicate collector shapes much closer to spherical and with smaller focal lengths can be achieved by moving the actuators inward to a radius of approximately 6 inches. This would require actuators with considerably more stroke and some alternate SMA actuators are currently under consideration. Whatever SMA actuator is finally chosen for this application, repeatability and fatigue tests will be required to investigate the long term performance of the actuator.

Lobitz, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Nondestructive Test Probe

Under the Aircraft Structural Integrity program, Langley Research Center invented a device to detect fatigue cracks in aluminum alloy plates. Krautkramer Branson obtained an exclusive license and commercialized a hand-held device, the "CrackFinder," an electromagnetic probe for nondestructive evaluation, used to scan aircraft skins for surface breaks. The technology involves an eddy current, which is an electrical current induced by an alternating magnetic field. The CrackFinder also employs an innovative self-nulling feature, where the device automatically recalibrates to zero so that each flaw detected produces a reading. Compared to conventional testing systems, the CrackFinder is affordable, small, simple to use, and needs no calibration.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2009

The Principle of Energetic Consistency

A basic result in estimation theory is that the minimum variance estimate of the dynamical state, given the observations, is the conditional mean estimate. This result holds independently of the specifics of any dynamical or observation nonlinearity or stochasticity, requiring only that the probability density function of the state, conditioned on the observations, has two moments. For nonlinear dynamics that conserve a total energy, this general result implies the principle of energetic consistency: if the dynamical variables are taken to be the natural energy variables, then the sum of the total energy of the conditional mean and the trace of the conditional covariance matrix (the total variance) is constant between observations. Ensemble Kalman filtering methods are designed to approximate the evolution of the conditional mean and covariance matrix. For them the principle of energetic consistency holds independently of ensemble size, even with covariance localization. However, full Kalman filter experiments with advection dynamics have shown that a small amount of numerical dissipation can cause a large, state-dependent loss of total variance, to the detriment of filter performance. The principle of energetic consistency offers a simple way to test whether this spurious loss of variance limits ensemble filter performance in full-blown applications. The classical second-moment closure (third-moment discard) equations also satisfy the principle of energetic consistency, independently of the rank of the conditional covariance matrix. Low-rank approximation of these equations offers an energetically consistent, computationally viable alternative to ensemble filtering. Current formulations of long-window, weak-constraint, four-dimensional variational methods are designed to approximate the conditional mode rather than the conditional mean. Thus they neglect the nonlinear bias term in the second-moment closure equation for the conditional mean. The principle of energetic consistency implies that, to precisely the extent that growing modes are important in data assimilation, this term is also important.

Cohn, Stephen E.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Collaborative Supervised Learning for Sensor Networks

Collaboration methods for distributed machine-learning algorithms involve the specification of communication protocols for the learners, which can query other learners and/or broadcast their findings preemptively. Each learner incorporates information from its neighbors into its own training set, and they are thereby able to bootstrap each other to higher performance. Each learner resides at a different node in the sensor network and makes observations (collects data) independently of the other learners. After being seeded with an initial labeled training set, each learner proceeds to learn in an iterative fashion. New data is collected and classified. The learner can then either broadcast its most confident classifications for use by other learners, or can query neighbors for their classifications of its least confident items. As such, collaborative learning combines elements of both passive (broadcast) and active (query) learning. It also uses ideas from ensemble learning to combine the multiple responses to a given query into a single useful label. This approach has been evaluated against current non-collaborative alternatives, including training a single classifier and deploying it at all nodes with no further learning possible, and permitting learners to learn from their own most confident judgments, absent interaction with their neighbors. On several data sets, it has been consistently found that active collaboration is the best strategy for a distributed learner network. The main advantages include the ability for learning to take place autonomously by collaboration rather than by requiring intervention from an oracle (usually human), and also the ability to learn in a distributed environment, permitting decisions to be made in situ and to yield faster response time.

Wagstaff, Kiri L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Approach to an Affordable and Productive Space Transportation System

This paper describes an approach for creating space transportation architectures that are affordable, productive, and sustainable. The architectural scope includes both flight and ground system elements, and focuses on their compatibility to achieve a technical solution that is operationally productive, and also affordable throughout its life cycle. Previous papers by the authors and other members of the Space Propulsion Synergy Team (SPST) focused on space flight system engineering methods, along with operationally efficient propulsion system concepts and technologies. This paper follows up previous work by using a structured process to derive examples of conceptual architectures that integrate a number of advanced concepts and technologies. The examples are not intended to provide a near-term alternative architecture to displace current near-term design and development activity. Rather, the examples demonstrate an approach that promotes early investments in advanced system concept studies and trades (flight and ground), as well as in advanced technologies with the goal of enabling highly affordable, productive flight and ground space transportation systems.

McCleskey, Carey M.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Graphical Visualization of Human Exploration Capabilities

NASA's pioneering space strategy will require advanced capabilities to expand the boundaries of human exploration on the Journey to Mars (J2M). The Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) architecture serves as a framework to identify critical capabilities that need to be developed and tested in order to enable a range of human exploration destinations and missions. Agency-wide System Maturation Teams (SMT) are responsible for the maturation of these critical exploration capabilities and help formulate, guide and resolve performance gaps associated with the EMC-identified capabilities. Systems Capability Organization Reporting Engine boards (SCOREboards) were developed to integrate the SMT data sets into cohesive human exploration capability stories that can be used to promote dialog and communicate NASA's exploration investments. Each SCOREboard provides a graphical visualization of SMT capability development needs that enable exploration missions, and presents a comprehensive overview of data that outlines a roadmap of system maturation needs critical for the J2M. SCOREboards are generated by a computer program that extracts data from a main repository, sorts the data based on a tiered data reduction structure, and then plots the data according to specified user inputs. The ability to sort and plot varying data categories provides the flexibility to present specific SCOREboard capability roadmaps based on customer requests. This paper presents the development of the SCOREboard computer program and shows multiple complementary, yet different datasets through a unified format designed to facilitate comparison between datasets. Example SCOREboard capability roadmaps are presented followed by a discussion of how the roadmaps are used to: 1) communicate capability developments and readiness of systems for future missions, and 2) influence the definition of NASA's human exploration investment portfolio through capability-driven processes. The paper concludes with a description of planned future work to modify the computer program to include additional data and of alternate capability roadmap formats currently under consideration.

Rodgers, Erica M.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Is Water Necessary for Life?

The universality of water as the solvent for life is usually justified by its role in supporting the rich organic chemistry. It has been pointed out, however, that even richer synthetic chemistry is possible in other organic solvents. Does it mean that water is not necessary for life? Here, other, essential criteria for solvent for life that have not been sufficiently considered are discussed. In biological systems, complex molecules are not only constantly synthesized but also degraded. Solvent-mediated degradation is essential for regulating cell content, preventing overcrowding and allowing for recycling organic material. Achieving a balance between synthetic and degradative processes is facile in water, but not in many other organic liquids. Thus, the so-called “water paradox” according to which water is both necessary to life and toxic to biopolymer synthesis might not be paradoxical at all. The machinery of life is based on non-covalent interactions that do not involve making or breaking chemical bonds. Their strength needs to be properly tuned. If they are too weak, there might be undesired response to natural fluctuations of physical or chemical parameters. If they are too strong, the kinetics and energetics of cellular processes could adversely influenced. The solvent must allow for balancing these interactions, which provides strong, universal constraints on the medium for life. Water influences non-covalent interactions mainly by two mechanisms. First, it reduces strong, electrostatic interactions between molecules, chemical groups or atoms carrying electric charge or dipole. Second, it induces the hydrophobic effect, the tendency to remove non-polar (hydrophobic) molecules and groups from direct contact with aqueous solution and, instead, interact with each other. In living systems, the hydrophobic effect is largely responsible for self-organization of molecules to more complex structures, such as aggregation of lipid molecules to form biological membranes and protein folding. Water exists as stable liquid in a large temperature range, and the hydrophobic effects are a consequence of the temperature insensitivity of essential properties of its liquid state. In summary, water accomplishes an amazing feat – it reduces strong interactions between dissolved species and simultaneously increases the strength of weak interactions, bringing all of them to the right range. Once we consider not only synthetic capabilities but also other required traits of the solvent for life, no viable alternative to water is currently known.

Life↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Limitations on the Use of Eye-Tracking Data to Understand Operator Awareness

In the last 20 years, a number of accidents and incidents in commercial aviation have pointed to poor flight crew awareness of basic flight path parameters (e.g., airspeed, bank, pitch). As a result, there is a desire to improve pilot situation awareness and how attention is allocated. Eye-tracking has been a commonly used measure of awareness; it can aid in understanding whether specific indications were fixated, and perhaps how a pilot gathered information (that is, which indications in which sequence). In this paper, we discuss limitations on what eye-tracking data can reveal about pilot awareness and understanding. First, previous studies (e.g., Sarter et al., 2007) have shown that fixation on an indication may not ensure awareness or understanding. Further, an operator may have awareness of information not fixated. Additional measures—such as self-report or control inputs—can help to better establish the extent of pilot awareness and understanding. Second, sequences of fixations (scan patterns) have also become a performance measure. While a small number of recognized scan patterns have been validated for a small set of parameters on the Primary Flight Display (PFD), scan patterns have not been identified to support the broader context of flight path management or flight operations. More important is to understand the full set of drivers underlying the larger pattern of eye fixations; this approach moves away from the idea of well-established scan patterns as a marker of skilled performance and gives a larger role to pilot cognition. Pilots have various reasons to direct attention to specific elements on the interface, such as: - feedback tied to control inputs - a check on compliance with flight path targets - a reaction to an alert or a call out - attempt to understand an unexpected indication - assess progress toward a flight path target The importance of cognition is further implicated in the finding that pilot interviews show that fixating typically is accompanied by expectation; generally, pilots have a strong expectation of what value or indication they will see, which allows more efficient integration of information and an ability to identify indications that suggest an alternative account of the current system state. We will describe a range of eye-tracking measures and how they should and should not be used.

aviation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Characterizing The Internal Morphology of Transition Regions in Large-Scale Extrusion Deposition Additive Manufacturing

A dual-hopper feed system that was developed for the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system allows for transitioning between different materials while maintaining continuous deposition. This technique creates a step-change in material feedstock by switching the pellet feeding system to alternate which hopper is currently supplying material, allowing for multi-material construction. The step-change in feedstock material produces a transition region that is characterized by a compositional gradient and blended internal morphology. Initial cross-sectional imaging of the transition region revealed a non-homogenous blend of materials with distinct domains of each material, likely due to incomplete mixing within the screw. This study used a carbon fiber reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (CF-ABS) and an unfilled ABS to characterize the internal structure and to correlate it to mechanical performance by tracking microhardness across cross-sections of the transition region.

Brackett, James↗
DOE OSTI2023

Apparatus and methods of detecting transient discharge modes and/or closed loop control of pulsed systems and method employing same

A system and method for differentiating between different modes of pulsed electrical discharges via of an amplitude to time (ATC) conversion circuit is described. A bipolar ATC circuit is used to add together the positive and negative portions of an attenuated and filtered signal derived either from the voltage or current of a pulse. Alternatively, a unipolar ATC circuit may be employed. The resulting processed signal is compared against a reference voltage to generate an output signal that is active for the amount of time that the processed signal exceeds the reference voltage. Discharge mode is determined based on three factors: did a pulse occur, if a pulse occurred when did the pulse start relative to the original pulse event, and what is the duty cycle of the pulse. Subsequent pulse generated may be controlled accordingly.

Fitzpatrick, Joseph F.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Communication engine for hybrid interconnect technologies

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for dynamically selecting between wired and wireless interconnects for sending packets are disclosed. A system includes at least a hybrid communication engine and a plurality of interconnects for connecting to various end-points. The communication engine dynamically discovers and utilizes the best interconnect technology available in between given end-points. The communication engine dynamically chooses the physical interconnect that is best suited at any given time to send data from one source to one or multiple destinations. This communication can be either on-chip or across nodes. The communication engine makes a decision based on a set of predetermined parameters that can be re-adjusted by the application layer, such as latency of the transmission, message data size, physical distance from source to destination, the energy cost, and the current congestion on the alternative interconnects.

Blagodurov, Sergey↗
DOE OSTI2024

SHOCK TUBE IGNITION STUDIES OF RENEWABLE DIESEL FUELS FOR MEDIUM AND HEAVY-DUTY TRANSPORTATION

Currently extensive research on alternative fuels is being conducted due to their increasing demand to reduce greenhouse emissions. One renewable fuel studied in this work is dimethyl ether (DME) blended with propane(C3H8) as a potential mixture for heavy-duty engines used in semi-trucks. The blend has the potential to drastically reduce particulate and greenhouse gas emissions compared to a conventional diesel engine operating under similar conditions. To develop the use of mixture, one must conduct detailed conceptual and simulation studies before progressing to detail studies in CFD, engine modifications, and live testing. For simulations, accurate high-fidelity chemical kinetic models are necessary. However, the validity of the chemical kinetic mechanism for operating conditions of a heavy-duty mixing-controlled compression (MCCI) engine was widely unknown until recent work presented here and published. In this work, we studied the ignition of DME and propane blends in a shock tube under MCCI engine conditions. Ignition delay time (IDT) gathered behind the reflected shock for DME-propane mixtures for heavy-duty compression ignition (CI) engine parameters. Testing was conducted for undiluted varieties spanning from temperatures of 700 to 1100 K at pressures ranging from 55 to 84 bar for various blends (100% CH3OCH3, 100% C3H8, 60% CH3OCH3/ 40% C3H8) of DME and propane were combusted in synthetic air (21% O2/ 79% N2). Several experiments were conducted at higher pressures (90-120 bar) to improve the model performance and accuracy. The ignition delay times (IDTs) were compared to recent mechanisms, including Aramco3.0, NUIG, and Dames et al. A common trend among the mechanisms was overpredicted experimental IDTs. Further studies were conducted by a sensitivity analysis using the Dames et al. model, and critical reactions sensitive to IDTs of DME-propane mixture near 60 bar are outlined. Chemical analysis was conducted on the NTC region to explain chemical kinetics which is critical for developing MCCI heavy duty engines.

Mohammed, Zuhayr Pasha↗
DOE OSTI2022

Limiting Current Density in Single-Ion-Conducting and Conventional Block Copolymer Electrolytes

The limiting current density of a conventional polymer electrolyte (PS-PEO/LiTFSI) and a single-ion-conducting polymer electrolyte (PSLiTFSI-PEO) was measured using a new approach based on the fitted slopes of the potential obtained from lithium-polymer-lithium symmetric cells at a constant current density. The results of this method were consistent with those of an alternative framework for identifying the limiting current density taken from the literature. We found the limiting current density of the conventional electrolyte is inversely proportional to electrolyte thickness as expected from theory. The limiting current density of the single-ion-conducting electrolyte was found to be independent of thickness. There are no theories that address the dependence of the limiting current density on thickness for single-ion-conducting electrolytes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1977

An alternative analysis of low- and high-altitude observations of ring current ions during a storm recovery phase

Explorer 45 equatorial observations of ring current ions during a storm recovery phase have shown pitch angle distributions and decay rates inconsistent with proton charge exchange with neutral hydrogen. This inconsistency has led to the suggestion that recovery phase ring current ions at L less than or equal to 4 and energies not greater than 50 keV are dominated by He(+) rather than protons. The absence of He(+) on flux tubes from which H(+) and O(+) were precipitating in ion mass spectrometer measurements made during the same period by the low-altitude polar-orbiting satellite 1971-089A led Sharp et al. to suggest a source of H(+) and O(+) to L = 3 during this period. An alternative explanation, in which the magnetic field lines labeled L = 3 at the earth's surface near local midnight were mapped to about 3.7 earth radii in the equatorial plane during the storm recovery phase and during the period of enhanced activity, is proposed. If the proposed explanation is correct, the observations of Sharp et al. are not incompatible with the conclusion that the recovery phase ions at less than 50 keV were dominated by He(+) for L not greater than 3.7.

Lyons, L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Impact of uniform electrode current distribution on ETF

The design impacts on the ETF electrode consolidation network associated with uniform channel electrode current distribution are examined and the alternate consolidation design which occur are presented compared to the baseline (non-uniform current) design with respect to performance, and hardware requirements. A rational basis is given for comparing the requirements for the different designs and the savings that result from uniform current distribution. Performance and cost impacts upon the combined cycle plant are discussed.

Bents, D. J.↗