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NASA NTRS2012

Investigation of Twin Jet Aeroacoustic Properties in the Presence of a Hybrid Wing Body Shield

In preparation for upcoming wind tunnel acoustic experiments of a Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) vehicle with two jet engine simulator units, a series of twin jet aeroacoustic investigations were conducted leading to increased understanding and risk mitigation. A previously existing twin jet nozzle system and a fabricated HWB aft deck fuselage are combined for a 1.9% model scale study of jet nozzle spacing and jet cant angle effects, elevon deflection into the jet plume, and acoustic shielding by the fuselage body. Linear and phased array microphone measurements are made, and data processing includes the use of DAMAS (Deconvolution Approach for the Mapping of Acoustic Sources). Closely-spaced twin jets with a 5 inward cant angle exhibit reduced noise levels compared to their parallel flow counterparts at similar and larger nozzle spacings. A 40 elevon deflection into the twin jet plume, which is required for HWB ground rotation, can significantly increase upstream noise levels (more than 5 dB OASPL) with only minimal increases in the downstream direction. Lastly, DAMAS processing can successfully measure the noise source distribution of multiple shielded jet sources.

Doty, Michael J.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Shielded-Twisted-Pair Cable Model for Chafe Fault Detection via Time-Domain Reflectometry

This report details the development, verification, and validation of an innovative physics-based model of electrical signal propagation through shielded-twisted-pair cable, which is commonly found on aircraft and offers an ideal proving ground for detection of small holes in a shield well before catastrophic damage occurs. The accuracy of this model is verified through numerical electromagnetic simulations using a commercially available software tool. The model is shown to be representative of more realistic (analytically intractable) cable configurations as well. A probabilistic framework is developed for validating the model accuracy with reflectometry data obtained from real aircraft-grade cables chafed in the laboratory.

Schuet, Stefan R.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Effect of Solar Exposure on the Atomic Oxygen Erosion of Hubble Space Telescope Aluminized-Teflon Thermal Shields

When exposed to low Earth orbital (LEO) environment, external spacecraft materials degrade due to radiation, thermal cycling, micrometeoroid and debris impacts, and atomic oxygen (AO) interaction. Collisions between AO and spacecraft can result in oxidation of external spacecraft surface materials, which can lead to erosion and severe structural and/or optical property deterioration. It is therefore essential to understand the AO erosion yield (Ey), the volume loss per incident oxygen atom (cu cm/atom), of polymers to assure durability of spacecraft materials. The objective of this study was to determine whether solar radiation exposure can increase the rate of AO erosion of polymers in LEO. The material studied was a section of aluminized-Teflon (DuPont) fluorinated ethylene propylene (Al-FEP) thermal shield exposed to space on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) for 8.25 years. Retrieved samples were sectioned from the circular thermal shield and exposed to ground laboratory thermal energy AO. The results indicate that the average Ey of the solar facing HST Al-FEP was 1.9 10(exp -24)cu cm/atom, while the average Ey of the anti-solar HST Al-FEP was 1.5 10(exp -24)cu cm/atom. The Ey of the pristine samples was 1.6- 1.7 10(exp -24)cu cm/atom. These results indicate that solar exposure affects the post-flight erosion rate of FEP in a plasma asher. Therefore, it likely affects the erosion rate while in LEO.

Guo, Aobo↗

NASA NTRS2012

Gas Shielding Technology for Welding and Brazing

Welding is a common method that allows two metallic materials to be joined together with high structural integrity. When joints need to be leak-tight, light-weight, or free of contaminant-trapping seams or surface asperities, welding tends to be specified. There are many welding techniques, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of these techniques include Forge Welding, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, Friction Stir Welding, and Laser Beam Welding to name a few. Whichever technique is used, the objective is a structural joint that meets the requirements of a particular component or assembly. A key practice in producing quality welds is the use of shielding gas. This article discusses various weld techniques, quality of the welds, and importance of shielding gas in each of those techniques. Metallic bonds, or joints, are produced when metals are put into intimate contact. In the solid-state "blacksmith welding" process, now called Forge Welding (FOW), the site to be joined is pounded into intimate contact. The surfaces to be joined usually need to be heated to make it easier to deform the metal. The surfaces are sprinkled with a flux to melt surface oxides and given a concave shape so that surface contamination can be squeezed out of the joint as the surfaces are pounded together; otherwise the surface contamination would be trapped in the joint and would weaken the weld. In solid-state welding processes surface oxides or other contamination are typically squeezed out of the joint in "flash."

Nunes, Arthur J.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Hybrid Wing Body Shielding Studies Using an Ultrasonic Configurable Fan Artificial Noise Source Generating Simple Modes

An Ultrasonic Configurable Fan Artificial Noise Source (UCFANS) was designed, built, and tested in support of the Langley Research Center s 14- by 22-Foot wind tunnel test of the Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) full three-dimensional 5.8 percent scale model. The UCFANS is a 5.8 percent rapid prototype scale model of a high-bypass turbofan engine that can generate the tonal signature of candidate engines using artificial sources (no flow). The purpose of the test was to provide an estimate of the acoustic shielding benefits possible from mounting the engine on the upper surface of an HWB aircraft and to provide a database for shielding code validation. A range of frequencies, and a parametric study of modes were generated from exhaust and inlet nacelle configurations. Radiated acoustic data were acquired from a traversing linear array of 13 microphones, spanning 36 in. Two planes perpendicular to the axis of the nacelle (in its 0 orientation) and three planes parallel were acquired from the array sweep. In each plane the linear array traversed five sweeps, for a total span of 160 in. acquired. The resolution of the sweep is variable, so that points closer to the model are taken at a higher resolution. Contour plots of Sound Pressure Level, and integrated Power Levels are presented in this paper; as well as the in-duct modal structure.

Sutliff, Daniel, L.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Woven Thermal Protection System Based Heat-shield for Extreme Entry Environments Technology (HEEET)

NASA's future robotic missions utilizing an entry system into Venus and the outer planets, namely, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, result in extremely severe entry conditions that exceed the capabilities of state of the art low to mid density ablators such as PICA or Avcoat. Therefore mission planners typically assume the use of a fully dense carbon phenolic heat shield similar to what was flown on Pioneer Venus and Galileo. Carbon phenolic (CP) is a robust TPS material however its high density and relatively high thermal conductivity constrain mission planners to steep entries, with high heat fluxes and pressures and short entry durations, in order for CP to be feasible from a mass perspective. The high entry conditions pose challenges for certification in existing ground based test facilities and the longer-‐term sustainability of CP will continue to pose challenges. In 2012 the Game Changing Development Program (GCDP) in NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate funded NASA ARC to investigate the feasibility of a Woven Thermal Protection System (WTPS) to meet the needs of NASA's most challenging entry missions. This project was highly successful demonstrating that a Woven TPS solution compares favorably to CP in performance in simulated reentry environments and provides the opportunity to manufacture graded materials that should result in overall reduced mass solutions and enable a much broader set of missions than does CP. Building off the success of the WTPS project GCDP has funded a follow on project to further mature and scale up the WTPS concept for insertion into future NASA robotic missions. The matured WTPS will address the CP concerns associated with ground based test limitations and sustainability. This presentation will briefly discuss results from the WTPS Project and the plans for WTPS maturation into a heat-‐shield for extreme entry environment.

Chinnapongse, Ronald↗

NASA NTRS2013

Woven Thermal Protection System Based Heat-shield for Extreme Entry Environments Technology (HEEET)

NASA's future robotic missions utilizing an entry system into Venus and the outer planets, namely, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, result in extremely high entry conditions that exceed the capabilities of state of the art low to mid density ablators such as PICA or Avcoat. Therefore mission planners typically assume the use of a fully dense carbon phenolic heat shield similar to what was flown on Pioneer Venus and Galileo. Carbon phenolic is a robust TPS material however its high density and relatively high thermal conductivity constrain mission planners to steep entries, with high heat fluxes and pressures and short entry durations, in order for CP to be feasible from a mass perspective. The high entry conditions pose challenges for certification in existing ground based test facilities and the longer‐term sustainability of CP will continue to pose challenges. In 2012 the Game Changing Development Program (GCDP) in NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate funded NASA ARC to investigate the feasibility of a Woven Thermal Protection System (WTPS) to meet the needs of NASA's most challenging entry missions. This project was highly successful demonstrating that a Woven TPS solution compares favorably to CP in performance in simulated reentry environments and provides the opportunity to manufacture graded materials that should result in overall reduced mass solutions and enable a much broader set of missions than does CP. Building off the success of the WTPS project GCDP has funded a follow on project to further mature and scale up the WTPS concept for insertion into future NASA robotic missions. The matured WTPS will address the CP concerns associated with ground based test limitations and sustainability. This presentation will briefly discuss results from the WTPS Project and the plans for WTPS maturation into a heat‐shield for extreme entry environment.

Ellerby, Donald↗

NASA NTRS2014

Magnet Architectures and Active Radiation Shielding Study - SR2S Workshop

Analyze new coil configurations with maturing superconductor technology -Develop vehicle-level concept solutions and identify engineering challenges and risks -Shielding performance analysis Recent advances in superconducting magnet technology and manufacturing have opened the door for re-evaluating active shielding solutions as an alternative to mass prohibitive passive shielding.Publications on static magnetic field environments and its bio-effects were reviewed. Short-term exposure information is available suggesting long term exposure may be okay. Further research likely needed. center dotMagnetic field safety requirements exist for controlled work environments. The following effects have been noted with little noted adverse effects -Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects on ionized fluids (e.g. blood) creating an aortic voltage change -MHD interaction elevates blood pressure (BP) center dot5 Tesla equates to 5% BP elevation -Prosthetic devises and pacemakers are an issue (access limit of 5 gauss).

Westover, Shane↗

NASA NTRS2014

Metal Hydrides, MOFs, and Carbon Composites as Space Radiation Shielding Mitigators

Recently, metal hydrides and MOFs (Metal-Organic Framework/microporous organic polymer composites - for their hydrogen and methane storage capabilities) have been studied with applications in fuel cell technology. We have investigated a dual-use of these materials and carbon composites (CNT-HDPE) to include space radiation shielding mitigation. In this paper we present the results of a detailed study where we have analyzed 64 materials. We used the Band fit spectra for the combined 19-24 October 1989 solar proton events as the input source term radiation environment. These computational analyses were performed with the NASA high energy particle transport/dose code HZETRN. Through this analysis we have identified several of the materials that have excellent radiation shielding properties and the details of this analysis will be discussed further in the paper.

Atwell, William↗

NASA NTRS2014

Open Rotor Tone Shielding Methods for System Noise Assessments Using Multiple Databases

Advanced aircraft designs such as the hybrid wing body, in conjunction with open rotor engines, may allow for significant improvements in the environmental impact of aviation. System noise assessments allow for the prediction of the aircraft noise of such designs while they are still in the conceptual phase. Due to significant requirements of computational methods, these predictions still rely on experimental data to account for the interaction of the open rotor tones with the hybrid wing body airframe. Recently, multiple aircraft system noise assessments have been conducted for hybrid wing body designs with open rotor engines. These assessments utilized measured benchmark data from a Propulsion Airframe Aeroacoustic interaction effects test. The measured data demonstrated airframe shielding of open rotor tonal and broadband noise with legacy F7/A7 open rotor blades. Two methods are proposed for improving the use of these data on general open rotor designs in a system noise assessment. The first, direct difference, is a simple octave band subtraction which does not account for tone distribution within the rotor acoustic signal. The second, tone matching, is a higher-fidelity process incorporating additional physical aspects of the problem, where isolated rotor tones are matched by their directivity to determine tone-by-tone shielding. A case study is conducted with the two methods to assess how well each reproduces the measured data and identify the merits of each. Both methods perform similarly for system level results and successfully approach the experimental data for the case study. The tone matching method provides additional tools for assessing the quality of the match to the data set. Additionally, a potential path to improve the tone matching method is provided.

Bahr, Christopher J.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Novel Concepts for Radiation Shielding Materials

It is critical that safety factors be maximized with respect to long duration, extraterrestrial space flight. Any significant improvement in radiation protection will be critical in ensuring the safety of crew and hardware on such missions. The project goal is to study novel concepts for radiation shielding materials that can be used for long-duration space missions. As part of this project we will investigate the use of thin films for the evaluation of a containment system that can retain liquid hydrogen and provide the necessary hydrogen density for effective shielding.

Technology Portfolio System↗

NASA NTRS2014

Mode Transitions in Magnetically Shielded Hall Effect Thrusters

A mode transition study is conducted in magnetically shielded thrusters where the magnetic field magnitude is varied to induce mode transitions. Three different oscillatory modes are identified with the 20-kW NASA-300MS-2 and the 6-kW H6MS: Mode 1) global mode similar to unshielded thrusters at low magnetic fields, Mode 2) cathode oscillations at nominal magnetic fields, and Mode 3) combined spoke, cathode and breathing mode oscillations at high magnetic fields. Mode 1 exhibits large amplitude, low frequency (1-10 kHz), breathing mode type oscillations where discharge current mean value and oscillation amplitude peak. The mean discharge current is minimized while thrust-to-power and anode efficiency are maximized in Mode 2, where higher frequency (50-90 kHz), low amplitude, cathode oscillations dominate. Thrust is maximized in Mode 3 and decreases by 5-6% with decreasing magnetic field strength. The presence or absence of spokes and strong cathode oscillations do not affect each other or discharge current. Similar to unshielded thrusters, mode transitions and plasma oscillations affect magnetically shielded thruster performance and should be characterized during system development.

Ground Tests↗

NASA NTRS2014

Design of Two RadWorks Storm Shelters for Solar Particle Event Shielding

In order to enable long-duration human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, the risks associated with exposure of astronaut crews to space radiation must be mitigated with practical and affordable solutions. The space radiation environment beyond the magnetosphere is primarily a combination of two types of radiation: galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE). While mitigating GCR exposure remains an open issue, reducing astronaut exposure to SPEs is achievable through material shielding because they are made up primarily of medium-energy protons. In order to ensure astronaut safety for long durations beyond low-Earth orbit, SPE radiation exposure must be mitigated. However, the increasingly demanding spacecraft propulsive performance for these ambitious missions requires minimal mass and volume radiation shielding solutions which leverage available multi-functional habitat structures and logistics as much as possible. This paper describes the efforts of NASA's RadWorks Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Project to design two minimal mass SPE radiation shelter concepts leveraging available resources: one based upon reconfiguring habitat interiors to create a centralized protection area and one based upon augmenting individual crew quarters with waterwalls and logistics. Discussion items include the design features of the concepts, a radiation analysis of their implementations, an assessment of the parasitic mass of each concept, and the result of a human in the loop evaluation performed to drive out design and operational issues.

Simon, Matthew↗

NASA NTRS2014

EMC Test Report Electrodynamic Dust Shield

This report documents the Electromagnetic Interference E M I evaluation performed on the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) which is part of the MISSE-X System under the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center. Measurements are performed to document the emissions environment associated with the EDS units. The purpose of this report is to collect all information needed to reproduce the testing performed on the Electrodynamic Dust Shield units, document data gathered during testing, and present the results. This document presents information unique to the measurements performed on the Bioculture Express Rack payload; using test methods prepared to meet SSP 30238 requirements. It includes the information necessary to satisfy the needs of the customer per work order number 1037104. The information presented herein should only be used to meet the requirements for which it was prepared.

Electrostatics↗

NASA NTRS2014

Methods of Making Z-Shielding

Methods of building Z-graded radiation shielding and covers. In one aspect, the method includes: providing a substrate surface having about medium Z-grade; plasma spraying a first metal having higher Z-grade than the substrate surface; and infusing a polymer layer to form a laminate. In another aspect, the method includes electro/electroless plating a first metal having higher Z-grade than the substrate surface. In other aspects, the methods include improving an existing electronics enclosure to build a Z-graded radiation shield by applying a temperature controller to at least part of the enclosure and affixing at least one layer of a first metal having higher Z-grade from the enclosure.

Thomsen, III, Donald Laurence↗

NASA NTRS2010

Magnetic Shielding of the Acceleration Channel Walls in a Long-Life Hall Thruster

In a Qualification Life Test (QLT) of the BPT-4000 Hall thruster that recently accumulated greater than 10,000 h it was found that the erosion of the acceleration channel practically stopped after approximately 5,600 h. Numerical simulations of this thruster using a 2-D axisymmetric, magnetic field-aligned-mesh (MFAM) plasma solver reveal that the process that led to this significant reduction of the erosion was multifaceted. It is found that when the channel receded from its early-in-life geometry to its steady-state configuration several changes in the near-wall plasma and sheath were induced by the magnetic field that, collectively, constituted an effective shielding of the walls from any significant ion bombardment. Because all such changes in the behavior of the ionized gas near the eroding surfaces were caused by the topology of the magnetic field there, we term this process "magnetic shielding."

life modeling↗

NASA NTRS2015

Space Vehicle Heat Shield Having Edgewise Strips of Ablative Material

A heat shield for a space vehicle comprises a plurality of phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) blocks secured to a surface of the space vehicle and arranged in a pattern with gaps therebetween. The heat shield further comprises a plurality of PICA strips disposed in the gaps between the PICA blocks. The PICA strips are mounted edgewise, such that the structural orientation of the PICA strips is substantially perpendicular to the structural orientation of the PICA blocks.

Blosser, Max L.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Empirical Models for the Shielding and Reflection of Jet Mixing Noise by a Surface

Empirical models for the shielding and refection of jet mixing noise by a nearby surface are described and the resulting models evaluated. The flow variables are used to non-dimensionalize the surface position variables, reducing the variable space and producing models that are linear function of non-dimensional surface position and logarithmic in Strouhal frequency. A separate set of coefficients are determined at each observer angle in the dataset and linear interpolation is used to for the intermediate observer angles. The shielding and rejection models are then combined with existing empirical models for the jet mixing and jet-surface interaction noise sources to produce predicted spectra for a jet operating near a surface. These predictions are then evaluated against experimental data.

Jet↗