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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 NTRS2015

Materials, Manufacturing, and Test Development of a Composite Fan Blade Leading Edge Subcomponent for Improved Impact Resistance

Application of polymer matrix composite materials for jet engine fan blades is becoming attractive as an alternative to metallic blades; particularly for large engines where significant weight savings are recognized on moving to a composite structure. However, the weight benefit of the composite is offset by a reduction of aerodynamic efficiency resulting from a necessary increase in blade thickness; relative to the titanium blades. Blade dimensions are largely driven by resistance to damage on bird strike. Further development of the composite material is necessary to allow composite blade designs to approximate the dimensions of a metallic fan blade. The reduction in thickness over the state of the art composite blades is expected to translate into structural weight reduction, improved aerodynamic efficiency, and therefore reduced fuel consumption. This paper presents test article design, subcomponent blade leading edge fabrication, test method development, and initial results from ballistic impact of a gelatin projectile on the leading edge of composite fan blades. The simplified test article geometry was developed to realistically simulate a blade leading edge while decreasing fabrication complexity. Impact data is presented on baseline composite blades and toughened blades; where a considerable improvement to impact resistance was recorded.

Materials↗
NASA NTRS2015

On the Minimum Induced Drag of Wings

Birds do not require the use of vertical tails. They do not appear to have any mechanism by which to control their yaw. As an example the albatross is notable in this regard. The authors believe this is possible because of a unique adaptation by which there exists a triple-optimal solution that provides the maximum aerodynamic efficiency, the minimum structural weight, and it provides for coordination of control in roll and yaw. Until now, this solution has eluded researchers, and remained unknown. Here it is shown that the correct specification of spanload provides for all three solutions at once, maximum aerodynamic efficiency, minimum structural weight, and coordinated control. The implications of this result has far reaching effects on the design of aircraft, as well as dramatic efficiency improvement.

flight mechanics↗
NASA NTRS2017

Parallels in Communication and Navigation Technology and Natural Phenomenon

The premise is more than art imitates life, or technology imitates nature it is a nascent step to see how we might be unwittingly inspired and influenced. An example that might immediately come to mind is a starling murmuration (a phenomenon called scale-free correlation) and Intels recent Coachella music festival drone performance. Superconductivity is a macroscopic manifestation of a quantum phenomenon - choreographed electrons (i.e. an electron murmuration) that enable astonishing devices. There is indeed an intimate connectedness between biology and electromagnetism. Our brains are complex neural circuits generating magnetic fields with a magnitude around 100 femtoTesla (roughly one billion times weaker than a typical magnet used to tack notes to a refrigerator door). Migratory birds navigate by orienteering with respect to the Earth's magnetic field. Electromagnetic field therapy is used in orthopedics to aid in bone repair. The electric eel generates a large electric field for self-defense. Sharks apparently detect extremely weak electric fields for finding prey. And so on. There are similarities between the way a field of wheat responds to a breeze and the natural restoring forces of a semiconductor crystal. And waves in a slowly moving river can lap backwards against a peninsular shoreline mimicking a diffraction effect. Getting back to the introductory sentence and mysterious links over cosmic distances, in August 2016, China launched the Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) satellite. The technology is based on a non-linear crystal that produces pairs of entangled photons whose attributes apparently remain entwined regardless of how far apart they are separated. This paper will, no doubt superficially, attempt to enumerate and examine these types of connections and parallelisms.

Romanofsky, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2018

On the Minimum Induced Drag of Wings

This presentation on 1933 Prandtl applications to a small research UAV. We will discuss the implications of 1933 Prantl, connections to Horten, our discovery of how this reveals the mechanisms used by the flight of birds, and our recent work on FOSS and pressures on the wing.

induced drag↗
NASA NTRS2018

Systems Engineering for the PRANDTL-D 3c Aircraft

The purpose of the Preliminary Research in AerodyNamicDesign to Lower Drag (PRANDTL-D) project is to show that birds fly using a "bell" shaped spanload rather than using an elliptical shaped spanload and to demonstrate the extensive benefits of this alternative spanload. This validation is done by flying a research glider with a twenty five foot wingspan that collects a range of parameters in flight. To ensure the data collection computers and suite of sensors work together and mesh well with the aircraft, systems engineering principles are applied. Needs for new one-off parts require a systems engineering approach as all the criteria of the plane, such as aerodynamics, structures, and avionics, must be taken into account when making decisions. The result of this approach were effective solutions that had a minimal negative impact on other systems that were not related to the original problem.

Larson, James G.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Bloom Modeling and Prediction of the Harmful Algae Alexandrium in Bellingham Bay, WA

Bellingham, Washington is located near the American-Canadian border in the northwestern part of Washington state, and is bordered on its west side by the Lummi reservation. Between Lummi and Bellingham lies Bellingham bay, which has a history of harmful algae related closures dating back to 1978. The subject of this work is a genus of dinoflagellates: Alexandrium, within which many species have the capacity to produce a suite of toxins known as saxitoxin. These toxins bioaccumulate in bivalves, which in turn cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in marine consumers (mammals, birds, and fish), including humans. Symptoms in humans can range from tingling and numbness to difficulty or inability to breathe, resulting in death. Because of the longstanding history of shellfish gathering among Salish tribes and the fact that Washington is the leading U.S. producer of farmed bivalves, harmful algae blooms impact both native and non-native peoples living in the Salish Sea area negatively. The objective of this work is to identify factors which influence Alexandrium blooms in Bellingham Bay, as well as predict Alexandrium blooms in the future. The method of doing so involves two processes: an initial statistical modeling phase to find in situ and remote sensing observations correlated to bloom density (including, but not limited to: water temperature, chlorophyll-a, salinity, color dissolved organic matter, and discharge rate of local rivers), followed by use of that data as a training set for a recursive neural network. This predictive capacity may inform future closures, help ensure the safety of shellfish consumers, and act as a baseline for future modeling efforts in the region.

Harmful↗
NASA NTRS2016

The CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (CIRAS), Pathfinder for the Earth Observing Nanosatellite-Infrared (EON-IR)

The CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (CIRAS) will measure upwelling infrared radiation of the Earth in the MWIR region of the spectrum from space on a CubeSat. CIRAS will demonstrate two new infrared sounding technologies. The first is a 2D array of High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD) material, selected for its high uniformity, low cost, low noise and higher operating temperatures than traditional materials. The detectors are hybridized to a commercial ROIC and commercial camera electronics. The second technology is an MWIR Grating Spectrometer (MGS) to be designed and developed by Ball Aerospace to provide imaging spectroscopy for atmospheric sounding in a CubeSat volume. The MGS has no moving parts and is based on heritage spectrometers including the Ball Aerospace Spaceborne Infrared Atmospheric Sounder for GEO (SIRAS-G) IIP of 2007. JPL will develop the mechanical, electronic and thermal subsystems for CIRAS. The spacecraft will be a commercially available CubeSat. The integrated system will be a complete 6U CubeSat capable of measuring temperature and water vapor profiles with good lower tropospheric sensitivity. The CIRAS is the first step towards the development of an Earth Observing Nanosatellite Infrared (EON-IR) for potential use in a future operational forecasting system.

Pagano, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS2016

Measurement Approach and Design of the CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (CIRAS)

The CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (CIRAS) will measure upwelling infrared radiation of the Earth in the MWIR region of the spectrum from space on a CubeSat. The observed radiances can be assimilated into weather forecast models and be used to retrieve lower tropospheric temperature and water vapor for climate studies. Multiple units can be flown to improve temporal coverage or in formation to provide new data products including 3D motion vector winds. CIRAS incorporates key new instrument technologies including a 2D array of High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD) material, selected for its high uniformity, low cost, low noise and higher operating temperatures than traditional materials. The detectors are hybridized to a commercial ROIC and commercial camera electronics. The second key technology is an MWIR Grating Spectrometer (MGS) designed to provide imaging spectroscopy for atmospheric sounding in a CubeSat volume. The MGS has no moving parts and includes an immersion grating to reduce the volume and reduce distortion. The third key technology is an infrared blackbody fabricated with black silicon to have very high emissivity in a flat plate construction. JPL will also develop the mechanical, electronic and thermal subsystems for CIRAS, while the spacecraft will be a commercially available CubeSat. The integrated system will be a complete 6U CubeSat capable of measuring temperature and water vapor profiles with good lower tropospheric sensitivity. The CIRAS is the first step towards the development of an Earth Observation Nanosatellite Infrared (EON-IR) capable of meeting the replacement needs of the CrIS on JPSS.

Pagano, Thomas S.↗
NASA NTRS2019

An Overview of the NASA Advanced Composites Consortium High Energy Dynamic Impact Phase II Technical Path

Advanced composite structures are increasingly becoming the norm for use in military and commercial aircraft. Many of these structures are in places that are prone to high energy dynamic impact (HEDI) such as a wing or fuselage structures subjected to bird strike or a fan blade out event. Certification testing is expensive and industry currently lacks to the tools to perform reliable certification by analysis or smarter testing. As such, the NASA Advanced Composites Consortium HEDI team was formed with representatives from aerospace original equipment manufacturers, government research laboratories, and academia to advance the state-of-the-art in emerging progressive damage and failure analysis (PDFA) methods in a two phase program. These PDFA approaches have the ability to predict ply-by-ply level damage in composite structures, but to date, have not been thoroughly vetted for HEDI events. In this paper, the technical path that is used in Phase II of the program is presented.

Justusson, Brian↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Runtime Analysis with R2U2: A Tool Exhibition Report

We present R2U2 (Realizable, Responsive, Unobtrusive Unit), a hardware- supported tool and framework for the continuous monitoring of safetycritical and embedded cyber-physical systems.With the widespread advent of autonomous systems such as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), satellites, rovers, and cars, real-time, on-board decision making requires unobtrusive monitoring of properties for safety, performance, security, and system health. R2U2 models combine past-time and future-time Metric Temporal Logic, “mission time” Linear Temporal Logic, probabilistic reasoning with Bayesian Networks, and modelbased prognostics. The R2U2 monitoring engine can be instantiated as a hardware solution, running on an FPGA, or as a software component. The FPGA realization enables R2U2 to monitor complex cyber-physical systems without any overhead or instrumentation of the flight software. In this tool exhibition report, we present R2U2 and demonstrate applications on system runtime monitoring, diagnostics, software health management, and security monitoring for a UAS. Our tool demonstration uses a hardware-based processor-in-the-loop “iron-bird” configuration.

Johann Martin Schumann↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

TPSAS-NF1676L-15307-DND

Unique facility allows for the testing of items from coupons to airframes: - Composites, metals, honeycombs, foams, struts, ATDs, - MD-500, CH 46, Orion Boilerplates, Orion Pallets, “Iron Birds”.

Justin Littell↗
NASA NTRS2020

Seasonality of Biological and Physical Systems as Indicators of Climate Variation and Change

Evidence-based responses to climate change by society require operational and sustained information including biophysical indicator systems that provide up-to-date measures of trends and patterns against historical baselines. Two key components linking anthropogenic climate change to impacts on socio-ecological systems are the periodic inter- and intra-annual variations in physical climate systems (seasonality) and in plant and animal life cycles (phenology). We describe a set of national indicators that reflect sub-seasonal to seasonal drivers and responses of terrestrial physical and biological systems to climate change and variability at the national scale. Proposed indicators and metrics include seasonality of surface climate conditions (e.g., frost and freeze dates and durations), seasonality of freeze/thaw in freshwater systems (e.g., timing of stream runoff and durations of lake/river ice), seasonality in ecosystem disturbances (e.g., wildfire season timing and duration), seasonality in vegetated land surfaces (e.g., green-up and brown-down of landscapes), and seasonality of organismal life-history stages (e.g., timings of bird migration). Recommended indicators have strong linkages to variable and changing climates, include abiotic and biotic responses and feedback mechanisms, and are sufficiently simple to facilitate communication to broad audiences and stakeholders interested in understanding and adapting to climate change.

Seasonality↗
NASA NTRS2017

Design and Development of the CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (CIRAS

The CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (CIRAS) is a NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) sponsored mission to demonstrate key technologies used in very high spectral resolution infrared remote sensing of Earth’s atmosphere from space. CIRAS was awarded under the ESTO In-flight Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) program in 2015 and is currently under development at NASA JPL with key subsystems being developed by industry. CIRAS incorporates key new instrument technologies including a 2D array of High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD) material, selected for its high uniformity, low cost, low noise and higher operating temperatures than traditional materials. The second key technology is an MWIR Grating Spectrometer (MGS) designed to provide imaging spectroscopy for atmospheric sounding in a CubeSat volume. The MGS is under development by Ball Aerospace with the grating and slit developed by JPL. The third key technology is an infrared blackbody fabricated with JPL’s black silicon to have very high emissivity in a flat plate construction. JPL will also develop the mechanical, electronic and thermal subsystems for CIRAS, while the spacecraft will be a 6U CubeSat developed by Blue Canyon Technologies. This paper provides an overview of the design and acquisition approach, and provides a status of the current development.

Vengel, Tony↗
NASA NTRS2017

CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (CIRAS) NASA InVEST Technology Demonstration

Infrared sounders measure the upwelling radiation of the Earth in the Midwave Infrared (MWIR) and Longwave Infrared (LWIR) region of the spectrum with global daily coverage from space. The observed radiances are assimilated into weather forecast models and used to retrieve lower tropospheric temperature and water vapor for climate studies. There are several operational sounders today including the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on Aqua, the Crosstrack Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on Suomi NPP and JPSS, and the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) on the MetOp spacecraft. The CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder (CIRAS) is a NASA In-flight Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) program to demonstrate three new instrument technologies in an imaging sounder configuration. The first is a 2D array of High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD) material, selected for its high uniformity, low cost, low noise and higher operating temperatures than traditional materials. The detectors are hybridized to a commercial ROIC and commercial camera electronics. The second technology is a MWIR Grating Spectrometer (MGS) designed to provide imaging spectroscopy for atmospheric sounding in a CubeSat volume. The MGS employs an immersion grating or grism, has no moving parts, and is based on heritage spectrometers including the OCO-2. The third technology is a Black Silicon infrared blackbody calibration target. The Black Silicon offers very low reflectance over a broad spectral range on a flat surface and is more robust than carbon nanotubes. JPL will also develop the mechanical, electronic and thermal subsystems for the CIRAS payload. The spacecraft will be a commercially available CubeSat. The integrated system will be a complete 6U CubeSat capable of measuring temperature and water vapor profiles with good lower tropospheric sensitivity. The low cost of CIRAS enables multiple units to be flown to improve temporal coverage or measure 3D Atmospheric Motion Vector (AMV) winds. CIRAS will launch in 2019 and is only a technology demonstration. However, what we learn will benefit future instruments that support operational weather forecasting and climate studies.

Pagano, Thomas S.↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Terrestrial Organism and Biogeochemistry Spatial Sampling Design for the National Ecological Observatory Network

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) seeks to facilitate ecological prediction at a continental scale by measuring processes that drive change and responses at sites across the United States for thirty years. The spatial distribution of observations of terrestrial organisms and soil within NEON sites is determined according to a “design‐based” sample design that relies on the randomization of sampling locations. Development of the sample design was guided by high‐level NEON objectives and the multitude of data products that will be subjected to numerous analytical approaches to address the causes and consequences of ecological change. A requirement framework permeates the NEON design, ensuring traceability from each facet of the design to the high‐level requirements that make the NEON mission statement actionable. Requirements were developed for the terrestrial sample design to guide the key components of the design: Randomizing the sample locations ensures the unbiased collection of data, is appropriate for organisms and soil, and provides data suitable for a variety of analyses. Stratification increases efficiency and allows sampling to focus on those parts of the landscape measured by other NEON observation platforms. Attention to the sample size and spatial plot allocation ensures that data products will be sufficient to inform questions asked of the data and the NEON objectives. Establishing a framework with the capacity for re‐evaluate and design iteration allows for adaption to unexpected challenges and optimization of the sample design based on early data returns. The utility of the NEON sampling design is highlighted by its application across terrestrial systems. The data generated from this unique design will be used to quantify patterns in: the abundance and diversity of small mammals, breeding birds, insects, and soil microbes; vegetation structure, biomass, productivity, and diversity; and soil biogeochemistry.

National Ecological Observatory Network↗
NASA NTRS2019

Data Analysis Challenges for Multi-Messenger Astrophysics

Recent multi-messenger observations of gravitational-wave and high-energy neutrino sources together with electromagnetic signatures have opened new ways of observing the Universe. These promise a future in which physics and astronomy will be advanced by combining observations and data from across the electromagnetic spectrum with gravitational waves and neutrinos. We consider the challenges the field is facing in fully utilizing data for multi-messenger astrophysics. Such data come from heterogeneous detector networks and standards, and their analysis is often time-critical to guide further observations. In this area, science capabilities depend on the interplay among observation, theory and computational/modeling work. Advances in data science and computing present additional opportunities and considerations in analyzing such data. We invited ADASS participants to a Birds of a Feather session to engage in discussion on the challenges and opportunities in data analysis for multimessenger astrophysics.

Peter S Shawhan↗