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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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Pulse-width-modulated controller, for vehicle electrically driven by direct current from storage battery and requiring highest possible efficiency in battery use, varies electrical power through silicon controlled rectifiers for permanent magnet dc motors. System is not restricted to dc motors.
Assessment of the operation and performance characteristics of three acoustic noise generators (a siren, an electropneumatic modulator, and an electrohydraulic modulator) when used in conjunction with a progressive wave tube. Particularly, the spectrum shaping capabilities and efficiencies of the three generators are compared.
Performance characteristics from on-orbit tests of the transmitter experiment package (TEP) for the Communications Technology Satellite (CTS) are presented. The TEP consists of a power processing system (PPS), an output stage tube (OST) and a variable conductance heat pipe system (VCHPS), all of which are described. Test results presented include efficiencies, RF output power, frequency response, and performance with single and multiple (two) carriers, frequency-modulated by video signals.
Performance characteristics from on-orbit tests of the Transmitter Experiment Package (TEP) for the Communications Technology Satellite (CTS) are presented. The TEP consists of a Power Processing System (PPS), an Output Stage Tube (OST), and a Variable Conductance Heat Pipe System (VCHPS), all of which are described. The OST is a coupled-cavity traveling-wave tube with a multistage depressed collector and a stepped velocity-tapered slow-wave structure for efficiency enhancement. It has an RF output power of 240 W and an overall efficiency of 51.5% at a center band frequency of 12.080 GHz. The PPS provides the required operating voltages, regulation, control, and protection for the OST. It has a measured dc-dc conversion efficiency of 86.5% to 88.5%. The VCHPS consists of a fin radiator and three dual-artery stainless steel heat pipes using methanol and a mixture of inert gases. Test results presented include efficiencies, RF output power, frequency response, and performance with single and multiple (two) carriers frequency-modulated by video signals.
The deployment, assembly and mission-oriented maneuvering of space structures in orbit will trigger large motions of flexible, truss-type structures. In addition, the presence of on-board controls both for attitude stabilization and specified vibration tolerance requirements may further complicate the dynamic behavior of the orbiting structures. Because of safety and cost considerations, the dynamic response of the combined structural and control systems must be predicted reliably. This need can only be met through the development of reliable and efficient simulation capabilities, since there is general agreement that on-orbit experiments should be limited because of cost, time and facility constraints. The long-term objective of this research effort is to develop a next-generation computer simulator for the dynamics and control of large space structures. The simulator will be based on integrating four research thrusts: a new multibody dynamics formulation methodology, modeling capabilities in long/slender truss-beam components with realistic joints, efficient computational procedures that can be implemented either in sequential or concurrent computers, and prototype simulation modules that can be easily processed into a modern large-scale engineering software system such as the NASA/Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM) testbed.
A training scenario generator object database was developed to serve as a general-purpose mechanism for constructing the context needed to define a simulation scenario. It is found that the ability to automate the development of the input parameters required to produce a challenging simulation scenario targeted at a specific trainee can greatly enhance the efficiency of intelligent training systems. The approach described was used successfully in the payload-assist module deploy/intelligent computer-aided training system.
In anticipation of the needs of future light-weight low-power spacecraft, arcjet power electronics in the 100- to 400-W operating range were developed. Power topologies similar to those in the higher 2-kW and 5- to 30-kW power range were implemented, including a four-transistor bridge-switching circuit, current-mode pulse-width modulated control, and an output current averaging inductor with an integral pulse generation winding. Reduction of switching transients was accomplished using a low inductance power distribution network, and no passive snubber circuits were necessary for power switch protection. Phase shift control of the power bridge was accomplished using an improved pulse width modulation to phase shift converter circuit. These features, along with conservative magnetics designs, allowed power conversion efficiencies of greater than 92.5 percent to be achieved into resistive loads over the entire operating range of the converter.
Photovoltaic (PV) arrays with regenerative-fuel-cell energy storage is a prime, power-system candidate for lunar photo-power. The PV module performance decreases at higher temperatures. Surface temperature variations of the moon are extreme, the maximum (noon) temperature being 384 K. The present work utilizes detailed computations of photovoltaic parameters with computer program developed earlier for the computation of optimum bandgaps of single- and two-junction solar cells at different temperatures, and calculates the power output of single and two-junction solar modules under different configurations which constitutes an improvement over the assumption of a linear variation of efficiency with temperature. The program also calculates the necessary PV-array size to satisfy stipulated levels of day- and night-time power consumption.
Space concentrator modules with point-and line-focus Fresnel lenses and with reflective parabolic troughs have been developed recently at Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute. PV receivers for these modules are based: on the single junction LPE and MOCVD AlGaAs/GaAs solar cells characterized by AM0 efficiencies of 23.5 - 24% at 20 - 50 suns and 24 - 24.75 at 50 - 200 suns; on the mechanically stacked tandem AlGaAs/GaAs-GaSb cells with efficiency of 27 - 28 at 20 - 100 suns. MOCVD AlGaAs/GaAs cells with internal Bragg reflector have shown a higher radiation resistance as compared to a traditional structure. Monolithic two-terminal tandems AlGaAs (top)-GaAs (bottom) for space application and GaSb (top) - InGaAsSb (bottom) for TRV application are under development as well.
In 1992, international space agencies became concerned that increasing frequency band congestion, together with attempts by the mobile telephone industry to obtain additional bandwidth, would result in substantially more interference incidents.
Free-space optical communication holds great promise for future space missions requiring high data rates. For data communication in deep space, the current architecture employs pulse position modulation (PPM). In this scheme, the light is transmitted and detected as pulses within an array of time slots. While the PPM method is efficient for data transmission, the phase of the laser light is not utilized. The phase coherence of a PPM optical signal has been investigated with the goal of developing a new laser communication and ranging scheme that utilizes optical coherence within the established PPM architecture and photon-counting detection (PCD). Experimental measurements of a PPM modulated optical signal were conducted, and modeling code was developed to generate random PPM signals and simulate spectra via FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) analysis. The experimental results show very good agreement with the simulations and confirm that coherence is preserved despite modulation with high extinction ratios and very low duty cycles. A real-time technique has been developed to recover the phase information through the mixing of a PPM signal with a frequency-shifted local oscillator (LO). This mixed signal is amplified, filtered, and integrated to generate a voltage proportional to the phase of the modulated signal. By choosing an appropriate time constant for integration, one can maintain a phase lock despite long dark times between consecutive pulses with low duty cycle. A proof-of-principle demonstration was first achieved with an RF-based PPM signal and test setup. With the same principle method, an optical carrier within a PPM modulated laser beam could also be tracked and recovered. A reference laser was phase-locked to an independent pulsed laser signal with low-duty-cycle pseudo-random PPM codes. In this way, the drifting carrier frequency in the primary laser source is tracked via its phase change in the mixed beat note, while the corresponding voltage feedback maintains the phase lock between the two laser sources. The novelty and key significance of this work is that the carrier phase information can be harnessed within an optical communication link based on PPM-PCD architecture. This technology development could lead to quantum-limited efficient performance within the communication link itself, as well as enable high-resolution optical tracking capabilities for planetary science and spacecraft navigation.
Some new short constraint length codes are described for satellite channels which are constant-envelope and which have spectral and energy efficiencies intermediate to other recent coded techniques, namely r = 2/3 coded 8-PSK and r = 3/4 coded 16-PSK. Two intervals of 8-PSK transmission are used to form a modulation base for r = 5/6 Trellis codes. A particularly attractive design is an eight-state code, producing 6.2 dB gain on the Gaussian channel over uncoded 8-PSK, yet sacrificing only 16 percent in spectral efficiency.
A parametric cost model for mercury ion propulsion modules is presented. A detailed work breakdown structure is included. Cost estimating relationships were developed for the individual subsystems and the nonhardware items (systems engineering, software, etc.). Solar array and power processor unit (PPU) costs are the significant cost drivers. Simplification of both of these subsystems through applications of advanced technology (lightweight solar arrays and high-efficiency, self-radiating PPUs) can reduce costs. Comparison of the performance and cost of several chemical propulsion systems with the Hg ion module are also presented. For outer-planet missions, advanced solar electric propulsion (ASEP) trip times and O2/H2 propulsion trip times are comparable. A three-year trip time savings over the baselined NTO/MMH propulsion system is possible with ASEP.
The United States Department of Energy is planning to develop the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for potential use on future space missions. The ASRG provides substantial efficiency and specific power improvements over radioisotope power systems of heritage designs. The ASRG would use General Purpose Heat Source modules as energy sources and the free-piston Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) to convert heat into electrical energy. Lockheed Martin Corporation of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, is integrating the ASRG systems, and Sunpower, Inc., of Athens, Ohio, is designing and building the ASC. NASA Glenn Research Center of Cleveland, Ohio, manages the Sunpower contract and provides technology development in several areas for the ASC. One area is reliability assessment for the ASC heater head, a critical pressure vessel within which heat is converted into mechanical oscillation of a displacer piston. For high system efficiency, the ASC heater head operates at very high temperature (850 C) and therefore is fabricated from an advanced heat-resistant nickel-based superalloy Microcast MarM-247. Since use of MarM-247 in a thin-walled pressure vessel is atypical, much effort is required to assure that the system will operate reliably for its design life of 17 years. One life-limiting structural response for this application is creep; creep deformation is the accumulation of time-dependent inelastic strain under sustained loading over time. If allowed to progress, the deformation eventually results in creep rupture. Since creep material properties are not available in the open literature, a detailed creep life assessment of the ASC heater head effort is underway. This paper presents an overview of that creep life assessment approach, including the reliability-based creep criteria developed from coupon testing, and the associated heater head deterministic and probabilistic analyses. The approach also includes direct benchmark experimental creep assessment. This element provides high-fidelity creep testing of prototypical heater head test articles to investigate the relevant material issues and multiaxial stress state. Benchmark testing provides required data to evaluate the complex life assessment methodology and to validate that analysis. Results from current benchmark heater head tests and newly developed experimental methods are presented. In the concluding remarks, the test results are shown to compare favorably with the creep strain predictions and are the first experimental evidence for a robust ASC heater head creep life.
The analysis of a passive heterodyne receiver with respect to its imaging performance (transfer function) and its heterodyne efficiency shows departures from the results which are obtained in strictly coherent or incoherent imaging systems. The cascading property of modulation transfer function analysis must be carefully applied, since the coherent transfer function of the optical receiver and that due to the local oscillator-detector combination are not separable but are related by the convolution of their products. Application of these results to a spacelab-type optical heterodyne receiver shows that resolutions of the order of 1.5 to 2.0 km are possible for worst-case type orbital scenarios. In addition to an analysis of the derogatory effects of sampling (aliasing) a comparison of obscured-type receivers (e.g., Cassegrains) with unobscured receivers shows that both resolution and efficiency are severly degraded in an obscured-type receiver and, consequently, should not be used for passive heterodyne detection schemes.
Two aspects of the work for NASA are examined: the construction of multi-dimensional phase modulation trellis codes and a performance analysis of these codes. A complete list is contained of all the best trellis codes for use with phase modulation. LxMPSK signal constellations are included for M = 4, 8, and 16 and L = 1, 2, 3, and 4. Spectral efficiencies range from 1 bit/channel symbol (equivalent to rate 1/2 coded QPSK) to 3.75 bits/channel symbol (equivalent to 15/16 coded 16-PSK). The parity check polynomials, rotational invariance properties, free distance, path multiplicities, and coding gains are given for all codes. These codes are considered to be the best candidates for implementation of a high speed decoder for satellite transmission. The design of a hardware decoder for one of these codes, viz., the 16-state 3x8-PSK code with free distance 4.0 and coding gain 3.75 dB is discussed. An exhaustive simulation study of the multi-dimensional phase modulation trellis codes is contained. This study was motivated by the fact that coding gains quoted for almost all codes found in literature are in fact only asymptotic coding gains, i.e., the coding gain at very high signal to noise ratios (SNRs) or very low BER. These asymptotic coding gains can be obtained directly from a knowledge of the free distance of the code. On the other hand, real coding gains at BERs in the range of 10(exp -2) to 10(exp -6), where these codes are most likely to operate in a concatenated system, must be done by simulation.
In this paper we discuss recent progress on the implementation of a hardware free-space optical communications test-bed. The test-bed implements an end-to-end communications system comprising a data encoder, modulator, laser-transmitter, telescope, detector, receiver and error-correction-code decoder. Implementation of each of the component systems is discussed, with an emphasis on 'real-world' system performance degradation and limitations. We have demonstrated real-time data rates of 44 Mbps and photon efficiencies of approximately 1.8 bits/photon over a 100m free-space optical link.
The results of a research study on the development of an expert system for integrated structural analysis and design optimization is presented. An Object Representation Language (ORL) was developed first in conjunction with a rule-based system. This ORL/AI shell was then used to develop expert systems to provide assistance with a variety of structural analysis and design optimization tasks, in conjunction with procedural modules for finite element structural analysis and design optimization. The main goal of the research study was to provide expertise, judgment, and reasoning capabilities in the aerospace structural design process. This will allow engineers performing structural analysis and design, even without extensive experience in the field, to develop error-free, efficient and reliable structural designs very rapidly and cost-effectively. This would not only improve the productivity of design engineers and analysts, but also significantly reduce time to completion of structural design. An extensive literature survey in the field of structural analysis, design optimization, artificial intelligence, and database management systems and their application to the structural design process was first performed. A feasibility study was then performed, and the architecture and the conceptual design for the integrated 'intelligent' structural analysis and design optimization software was then developed. An Object Representation Language (ORL), in conjunction with a rule-based system, was then developed using C++. Such an approach would improve the expressiveness for knowledge representation (especially for structural analysis and design applications), provide ability to build very large and practical expert systems, and provide an efficient way for storing knowledge. Functional specifications for the expert systems were then developed. The ORL/AI shell was then used to develop a variety of modules of expert systems for a variety of modeling, finite element analysis, and design optimization tasks in the integrated aerospace structural design process. These expert systems were developed to work in conjunction with procedural finite element structural analysis and design optimization modules (developed in-house at SAT, Inc.). The complete software, AutoDesign, so developed, can be used for integrated 'intelligent' structural analysis and design optimization. The software was beta-tested at a variety of companies, used by a range of engineers with different levels of background and expertise. Based on the feedback obtained by such users, conclusions were developed and are provided.