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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 631 records · Page 35
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2022

Ruggedness Evaluation of ASTM International Standard Test Methods for Shape Memory Materials: E3097 Standard Test Method for Mechanical Uniaxial Constant Force Thermal Cycling of Shape Memory Alloys

This paper evaluates the ruggedness testing of the newly released ASTM International E3097 Standard Test Method for Mechanical Uniaxial Constant Force Thermal Cycling of Shape Memory Alloys. The ruggedness experiment was designed with eight runs in two replicates, consisting of seven factors of strain rate (ė), heating and cooling rates (Ṫ(heat) and Ṫ(cool), respectively), upper and lower cycle temperatures (UCT and LCT, respectively), hold time (thold), and minimum load (Fmin) imparted on the samples. The results indicate that the hold time factor had no effect on any result variable. The minimum load factor, alternatively, had the greatest effect on several result variables, with the greatest influence on the strains at martensite start and finish (strain variation ~0.1 percent), and the strains at the upper and lower cycle temperatures (strain variation of 0.14 percent). The UCT was found to have a large effect on the austenite and martensite finish tangent line and data intersect, denoted by Af* and Mf*, by ~17 and 4 °C, respectively. The testing methodology, analysis techniques, and resulting conclusions on the ruggedness of the test methods are presented.

shape memory alloy↗
NASA NTRS2024

Mechanical Testing of Soils from the South Range of the Utah Test and Training Range: Derivation of Soil Properties to Support the Earth Entry System Landing for Mars Sample Return

This report summarizes results from laboratory tests conducted by Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) on soil samples collected from multiple sites within the South Range of the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The goal of the laboratory tests was to establish soil constitutive properties and develop computational soil models enabling NASA to simulate impact landings of the Earth Entry System (EES) for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. Test methods and results are presented describing the strength, compressibility, and stiffness of soils in the UTTR South Range including methods to incorporate the measured properties into Ansys LS-DYNAÒ constitutive material models for EES landing simulations.

Soil↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Space Launch System: Comprehensive Test Program Leads to Mission Success during Artemis I Flight Test

NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket had a successful first launch on Nov. 16, 2022, sending an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the Moon on the agency’s Artemis I mission. Ten 6U CubeSats were also deployed from SLS during the mission. Orbital insertion parameters, including insertion velocity and altitude, were within hundredths and tenths of a percent from predicted values, corroborating data collected from the individual elements that showed similar performance accuracy. While launch remains the main test – and Artemis I was a true test flight – to collect data, confirm and refine computer models, and validate hardware test data, multiple test programs led up to the first flight and enabled the historic launch. Additionally, SLS was designed from the beginning to be a crew-rated launch vehicle, and teams put the astronauts who will fly on it at the forefront of the development process. This paper and presentation will cover the SLS design and development programs that led to the successful Artemis I mission, and which have set the stage to send the first astronauts back to cislunar space since the Apollo 17 crew in 1972.

John Honeycutt↗
DOE OSTI2023

Release of a High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) Steady-State Multiphysics Model to the Virtual Test Bed

The National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) accelerates the demonstration and deployment of advanced nuclear energy through inspiring stakeholders and the public, empowering innovators, and delivering successful outcomes. The Virtual Test Bed (VTB) supports this mission by providing an open-source repository of advanced test reactor models for industry, academia, and the public to utilize. During my time at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), I: • Verified the input files of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor • Generated computational results • Created user documentation for the HTTR • Uploaded a steady-state HTTR model to the Virtual Test Bed • Authored a conference publication on the model

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Qualifying the Instrument Thimble 11 Test Position in the Advanced Test Reactor Critical

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is a versatile nuclear research reactor located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Eastern Idaho, United States of America. It is one of the most powerful and flexible research reactors in the world and is primarily used for materials testing, isotope production and basic nuclear science research. The ATR is a light-water-cooled, beryllium-moderated reactor with a nominal thermal power capacity of 250 MW utilizing specially designed fuel, arranged in a serpentine pattern to create 9 flux traps. The special design of ATR allows for the neutron flux within each of the flux traps providing flexibility for experiments, programs and allowing experiments with different dose requirements to be irradiated simultaneously. The Advance Test Reactor Critical (ATRC) is a full-scale replica of the ATR core but is housed in a pool instead of a pressure vessel. ATRC is usually operated at less than 600 watts [1]. There are 12 dry instrument thimbles located around the outside of the core tank where a variety of measurement equipment is housed to facilitate reactor operations. Currently Instrument Thimble 11 (IT-11) is not utilized in ATR or ATRC. A range of measurements is ongoing to qualify IT-11 as a test platform for nuclear instrumentation research, development and further experimentation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cold Test Results of Pre-Production PIP-II SSR2 Cavities with High-Power Couplers in the Fermilab Spoke Test Cryostat

As part of the PIP-II project at Fermilab, a pre-production cryomodule featuring 325 MHz Single Spoke Resonator type 2 (SSR2) superconducting RF cavities is under construction. These SSR2 cavities are fabricated by industry partners and undergo initial cold testing at our collaborating institution, IJCLab in France, utilizing low-power coupler. Subsequently, the cavities are subjected to final qualification at Fermilab, complete with tuner and high-power coupler assemblies. This paper provides an overview of the ongoing efforts dedicated to high-power testing of jacketed SSR2 cavities in the Spoke Test Cryostat (STC) at Fermilab. Performance parameters obtained from these tests are presented, offering valuable insights into the cavities operational characteristics and readiness for integration into the PIP-II cryomodule.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS2019

Ground Vibration Testing at NASA Armstrong, Emphasizing on Passive Aeroelastic Tailored Wing Ground Vibration Test Using Fixed Base Correction Method

How does experimental mechanics contribute to aircraft aeroelastic airworthiness? The aviation community is always improving analysis and testing techniques to realize quicker, cheaper, reliable solutions. A ground vibration test (GVT) is conducted to identify structural mode shapes, frequencies, and damping values to validate analytical models used for flutter analysis, which shows whether a structure has acceptable aeroelastic flutter margins for airworthiness. The FLL recently conducted a GVT of the Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) Wing using an experimental modal technique called Fixed Base Correction (FBC). The GVT objective was to obtain the PAT wing modal characteristics to compare test results with finite element model (FEM) results for the tow-steered wingbox.

loads testing↗
DOE OSTI2024

High Temperature Test Facility At Scale Testing, Validation, and Demonstration

Theses slides will be used to brief the Tribal DOE and Council Chairman for the project listed below. The High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF) is a demonstration-scale high temperature electrolysis (HTE) system that provides the ability to produce, process, store, and dispense electrolytically produced hydrogen. The system will be designed to accommodate electrolysis systems from various industry partners. The HTTF will be supplied up to 10 MW of power for electrolysis at 5 separate test article locations, each up to 2MW. The system will include post-processing and compression, storage, and capabilities to provide hydrogen for consumption by future end users. The HTTF will also provide the ability to test and demonstrate an HTE system in a configuration that would simulate the use of a nuclear generated steam supply for the high temperature heat source. The HTTF will be located at the Central Facilities Area (CFA) adjacent to CFA-686 on the INL site, 45 miles west of Idaho Falls.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cone Penetration Tests at the PacWave South Test Site

This ZIP archive contains cone penetration test data from the PacWave South Test Site. The data were collected in September 2023 aboard the ship Seacor Lee operating out of the Port of Newport, OR. The tests were performed by ConeTec using an AP van den Berg ROSON-100. The cone itself was a standard u2-type, 10 cm^2. A total of 22 soundings were performed.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2021

Annual Performance Testing of Tracer Gas and Tracer Aerosol Detectors for use in Radionuclide NESHAP Compliance Testing

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL’s) compliance with Radionuclide NESHAP 1 regulations is managed by the Radionuclide Air Emissions Management (RAEM) team, part of LANL’s Compliance Programs group (EPC-CP). One area of the Radionuclide NESHAP addresses requirements for siting a stack sample system. This memo documents the most recent performance tests of the sulfur hexafluoride detectors for use in stack gas mixing tests, as well as the functional trending test on a pair of optical particle counters, comparing results from a non-calibrated instrument to a calibrated instrument.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1962

NASA Scout ST-1 Flight-Test Results and Analyses, Launch Operations, and Test Vehicle Description

The first of a series of flight tests for the development of the four-stage, solid-propellant Scout vehicle was conducted at the NASA Wallops Station under the direction of the Langley Research Center. Vehicle designation for the test was NASA Scout ST-1. Performance characteristics of the vehicle and components were recorded during a high-altitude probe mission. Flight-simulation studies are presented and show that the accuracy of the guidance system during the flight was within control-system design specifications. The control system functioned normally during the flight with the exception of an overpowering of the reaction-control roll jets near burnout of the third-stage rocket motor. The resulting roll displacement of the vehicle is shown to have caused the monitor tracking radar which had been erroneously tracking a radar beacon in the vehicle on a side lobe to reorient to the major lobe of the receiving antenna. This tracking switch falsely indicated a violent turning maneuver on the monitor plot board and resulted in a hold-fire decision for the fourth-stage rocket motor. Although data for the final thrusting and coast phase of the flight were not obtained, the majority of the test objectives were achieved. In-flight thrust misalignment angles for the second- and third-stage rocket motors derived from control-system error data and for the first-stage motor determined from flight-simulation studies are presented. All rocket-motor thrust misalignment angles were well within the tolerances used for control-system design. Rocket-motor flight performance is presented, and velocity increments attained from the first three stages substantiated the predicted nominal performance. Operation of the rocket motors was satisfactory with the exception of high-level vibrations which were encountered during third-stage motor burning. Rolling moments which overpowered the reaction-control jets are also attributed to the burning characteristics of the third-stage motor. A discussion of the premature loss of the third-stage heat shield is given and shows that the heat-shield latching mechanism failed from pressure loads as the vehicle entered the transonic speed range. Although venting was provided to relieve the high negative pressures known to exist on the heat shield at these speeds, a field modification of the wiring tunnel had the same effect as opening the inside of the heat shield to ambient pressures. Consequently, the latching mechanism failed from pressure loads which were of about the same magnitude as the latching-mechanism yield loads. Skin temperatures were recorded at several locations on the vehicle and were generally in good agreement with theoretical values. Aerodynamic heating presented no problem during the flight since the maximum temperatures recorded during the flight were only about half the design values because of the high-launch-angle trajectory. Environmental vibrations recorded in the vicinity of the guidance package showed that no significant continuous amplitude levels above the general instrumentation noise level were present during first- and second-stage burning. Large vibration amplitudes were recorded during third-stage burning which coincided with the large roll disturbance experienced by the vehicle near burnout of the third-stage motor.

Scout Launch Vehicle↗
NASA NTRS2014

End-of-test Performance and Wear Characterization of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Long-Duration Test

This presentation describes results from the end-of-test performance characterization of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Long-Duration Test (LDT). Sub-component performance as well as overall thruster performance is presented and compared to results over the course of the test. Overall wear of critical thruster components is also described, and an update on the first failure mode of the thruster is provided.

Wear Tests↗
NASA NTRS2016

Post-Test Inspection of Nasa's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster Long Duration Test Hardware: Ion Optics

A Long Duration Test (LDT) was initiated in June 2005 as a part of NASAs Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) service life validation approach. Testing was voluntarily terminated in February 2014, with the thruster accumulating 51,184 hours of operation, processing 918 kg of xenon propellant, and delivering 35.5 MN-s of total impulse. This presentation will present the post-test inspection results to date for the thrusters ion optics.

Ion Engine↗
NASA NTRS2014

Testing Mars Exploration Rover-Inspired Operational Strategies for Semi-Autonomous Rovers on the Moon Ii: the GeoHeuristic Operational Strategies Test in Alaska

We used MER-derived semi-autonomous rover science operations strategies to determine best practices suitable for remote semi-autonomous lunar rover geology. Two field teams studied two glacial moraines as analogs for potential ice-bearing lunar regolith. At each site a Rover Team commanded a human rover to execute observations based on common MER sequences; the resulting data were used to identify and characterize targets of interest. A Tiger Team followed the Rover Team using traditional terrestrial field methods, and the results of the two teams were compared. Narrowly defined goals that can be addressed using cm-scale or coarser resolution may be met sufficiently by the operational strategies adapted from MER survey mode. When reconnaissance is the primary goal, the strategies tested are necessary but not sufficient. Further, there may be a set of optimal observations for such narrowly defined, hypothesis-driven science goals, such that collecting further data would result in diminishing returns. We confirm results of previous tests that indicated systematic observations might improve efficiency during strategic planning, and improve science output during data analysis. This strategy does not markedly improve the rate at which a science team can ingest data to feed back into tactical decision-making. Other methods should be tested to separate the strategic and tactical processes, and to build in time for data analysis.

MER↗
DOE OSTI2024

Resumption of SFR Overpower Testing and Post-Transient Examination of the THOR-C-2 Irradiation Test

Transient overpower testing for fuel safety research and development has resumed at Idaho National Laboratory. The THOR-C-2 commissioning test has been performed and post-transient examination has been performed revealing the intended creep rupture failure near the top of the fuel zone. This paves the way for future testing on previously irradiated fuels that will support fuel development and qualification.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

HYDRODYNAMIC TESTING OF ZIRCALOY TO STEEL HUB COUPLINGS FOR USE IN ADVANCED TEST REACTOR I-LOOP TUBE

The ATR I-positions' isolation from the flux trap region provides an opportunity for a test facility that could create conditions representative of commercial light water reactors. Such a facility requires piping couplings and joints that withstand extreme thermal and pressure cycling. Also, transitioning from steel to zircaloy piping inside the reactor vessel allows the neutronic properties of zircaloy to be leveraged while using cost-effective stainless steel outside of the core. Grayloc-style hub couplings will act as transition points between stainless steel piping and zircaloy piping inside the reactor vessel. These couplings have not been sufficiently tested for leakage where there is a transition between materials. This transition is a concern because the thermal expansion coefficients of the materials differ. Seal integrity between the two components may be greatly affected by thermal expansion at the connection. Thus, the effect of thermal cycling must be assessed. Thermal and pressure cycling and hydrodynamic testing will be conducted to verify seal integrity of the steel to zircaloy hub coupling when subjected to ATR conditions.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Resumption of SFR Overpower Testing and Post-Transient Examination of the THOR-C-2 Irradiation Test

Transient overpower testing for fuel safety research and development has resumed at Idaho National Laboratory. The THOR-C-2 commissioning test has been performed and post-transient examination has been performed revealing the intended failure near the top of the fuel zone. This paves the way for future testing on previously irradiated fuels that will support fuel development and qualification.

advanced reactors↗