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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 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Measurement of structure motion by means of a moving light sheet

The elaboration of an optical system which measures the displacement and velocity of large flexible space structures is reviewed. The motion-measuring system, comprised of a laser, optics, motorized mirror, two photodiodes and electronics, is designed to allow feedback for configuration control of flexible structures. A motor or scanner is employed to sweep the light sheet. The range of motion was shown to be 2 inches, and information was received at a rate of 30 Hz. The uncertainty in displacement measurement was better than +0.01 inch from a distance of 16 feet. The results are considered to be very good for two scanning light sheet systems. Higher sample rates and a more constant speed would improve the rotating mirror option, and the accuracy and range of the scanning mirror option could be upgraded as well. Both setups are shown to be viable noncontact measuring methods for the displacement and velocity of large space structures.

Tcheng, Ping↗
NASA NTRS1995

ARIM-1: The Atmospheric Refractive Index Measurements Sounding Rocket Mission

A conceptual design study of the ARIM-1 sounding rocket mission, whose goal is to study atmospheric turbulence in the tropopause region of the atmosphere, is presented. The study was conducted by an interdisciplinary team of students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who were enrolled in a Space Systems Engineering course. The implementation of the ARIM-1 mission will be carried out by students participating in the Alaska Student Rocket Program (ASRP), with a projected launch date of August 1997. The ARIM-1 vehicle is a single stage sounding rocket with a 3:1 ogive nose cone, a payload diameter of 8 in., a motor diameter of 7.6 in., and an overall height of 17.0 ft including the four fins. Emphasis is placed on standardization of payload support systems. The thermosonde payload will measure the atmospheric turbulence by direct measurement of the temperature difference over a distance of one meter using two 3.45-micron 'hot-wire' probes. The recovery system consists of a 6 ft. diameter ribless guide surface drogue chute and a 33 ft. diameter main cross parachute designed to recover a payload of 31 pounds and slow its descent rate to 5 m/s through an altitude of 15 km. This document discusses the science objectives, mission analysis, payload mechanical configuration and structural design, recovery system, payload electronics, ground station, testing plans, and mission implementation.

Ruiz, B. Ian↗
NASA NTRS1997

Analysis of Technology for Compact Coherent Lidar

In view of the recent advances in the area of solid state and semiconductor lasers has created new possibilities for the development of compact and reliable coherent lidars for a wide range of applications. These applications include: Automated Rendezvous and Capture, wind shear and clear air turbulence detection, aircraft wake vortex detection, and automobile collision avoidance. The work performed by the UAH personnel under this Delivery Order, concentrated on design and analyses of a compact coherent lidar system capable of measuring range and velocity of hard targets, and providing air mass velocity data. The following is the scope of this work. a. Investigate various laser sources and optical signal detection configurations in support of a compact and lightweight coherent laser radar to be developed for precision range and velocity measurements of hard and fuzzy targets. Through interaction with MSFC engineers, the most suitable laser source and signal detection technique that can provide a reliable compact and lightweight laser radar design will be selected. b. Analyze and specify the coherent laser radar system configuration and assist with its optical and electronic design efforts. Develop a system design including its optical layout design. Specify all optical components and provide the general requirements of the electronic subsystems including laser beam modulator and demodulator drivers, detector electronic interface, and the signal processor. c. Perform a thorough performance analysis to predict the system measurement range and accuracy. This analysis will utilize various coherent laser radar sensitivity formulations and different target models.

Amzajerdian, Farzin↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Role of Plasma in Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition of Nanostructure Growth

Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) has become the preferred process for high yield growth of carbon nanotubes and nanofibres because of its ability to pattern growth through lithographic positioning of transition metal catalysts on substrates. Many potential applications of nanotubes such as field emitters [1] require not only patterned growth but also vertical alignment. Some degree of ali,ment in thermal CVD processes can be obtained when carbon nanotubes are grown closely together as a result of van der Waals interactions. The ali,onment however is marginal, and the van der Waals prerequisite makes growth of freestanding nanofibres with thermal CVD unrealizable. The application of electric fields as a means of ali,onment has been shown to overcome this limitation [2-5], and highly aligned nanostructures can be grown if electric fields on the order of 0.5 V/microns are employed. Plasma enhanced CVD in various configurations including dc, rf, microwave, inductive and electron cyclotron resonance has been pursued as a means of enabling alignment in the CVD process. However, the sheath fields for the non-dc sources are in general not sufficient for a high degree of ali,pment and an additional dc bias is usually applied to the growth substrate. This begs the question as to the actual role of the plasma. It is clear that the plasma itself is not required for aligned growth as references [3] and [4] employed fields through small applied voltages (3-20 V) across very small electrode spacings (10-100 microns) and thus avoided striking a discharge.

Hash, David B.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Microsystem Cooler Concept Developed and Being Fabricated

A patented microsystem cooler concept has been developed by the NASA Glenn Research Center. It incorporates diaphragm actuators to produce the Stirling refrigeration cycle within a planar configuration compatible with the thermal management of electronics, sensors, optical and radiofrequency systems, microarrays, and other microsystems. The microsystem cooler is most suited to volume-limited applications that require cooling below the ambient or sink temperature. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is conducting development testing and fabrication of a prototype under a grant from Glenn.

Moran, Matthew E.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Sensitivity Testing of the NSTAR Ion Thruster

During the Extended Life Test of the DS1 flight spare ion thruster, the engine was subjected to sensitvity testing in order to characterize the macroscopic dependence of discharge chamber sensitivity to a +\-3% vatiation in main flow, cathode flow and beam current, and to +\5% variation in beam and accelerator voltage, was determined for the minimum- (THO), half- (TH8) and full power (TH15) throttle levels. For each power level investigared, 16 high/low operating conditions were chosen to vary the flows, beam current, and grid voltages in in a matrix that mapped out the entire parameter space. The matrix of data generated was used to determine the partial derivative or senitivity of the dependent parameters--discharge voltage, discharge current, discharge loss, double-to-single-ion current ratio, and neutralizer-keeper voltage--to the variation in the independent parameters--main flow, cathode flow, beam current, and beam voltage. The sensititivities of each dependent parameter with respect to each independent parameter were determined using a least-square fit routine. Variation in these sensitivities with thruster runtime was recorded over the duration of the ELT, to detemine if discharge performance changed with thruster wear. Several key findings have been ascertained from the sensitivity testing. Discharge operation is most sensitve to changes in cathode flow and to a lesser degree main flow. The data also confirms that for the NSTAR configuration plasma production is limited by primary electron input due to the fixed neutral population. Key sensitivities along with their change with thruster wear (operating time) will be presented. In addition double ion content measurements with an ExB probe will also be presented to illustrate beam ion production and content sensitivity to the discharge chamber operating parameteres.

electric propulsion↗
NASA NTRS2009

Differential InP HEMT MMIC Amplifiers Embedded in Waveguides

Monolithic microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) amplifiers of a type now being developed for operation at frequencies of hundreds of gigahertz contain InP high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) in a differential configuration. The differential configuration makes it possible to obtain gains greater than those of amplifiers having the single-ended configuration. To reduce losses associated with packaging, the MMIC chips are designed integrally with, and embedded in, waveguide packages, with the additional benefit that the packages are compact enough to fit into phased transmitting and/or receiving antenna arrays. Differential configurations (which are inherently balanced) have been used to extend the upper limits of operating frequencies of complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) amplifiers to the microwave range but, until now, have not been applied in millimeter- wave amplifier circuits. Baluns have traditionally been used to transform from single-ended to balanced configurations, but baluns tend to be lossy. Instead of baluns, finlines are used to effect this transformation in the present line of development. Finlines have been used extensively to drive millimeter- wave mixers in balanced configurations. In the present extension of the finline balancing concept, finline transitions are integrated onto the affected MMICs (see figure). The differential configuration creates a virtual ground within each pair of InP HEMT gate fingers, eliminating the need for inductive vias to ground. Elimination of these vias greatly reduces parasitic components of current and the associated losses within an amplifier, thereby enabling more nearly complete utilization of the full performance of each transistor. The differential configuration offers the additional benefit of multiplying (relative to the single-ended configuration) the input and output impedances of each transistor by a factor of four, so that it is possible to use large transistors that would otherwise have prohibitively low impedances. Yet another advantage afforded by the virtual ground of the differential configuration is elimination of the need for a ground plane and, hence, elimination of the need for back-side metallization of the MMIC chip. In turn, elimination of the back-side metallization simplifies fabrication, reduces parasitic capacitances, and enables mounting of the MMIC in the electric-field plane ("E-plane") of a waveguide. E-plane mounting is consistent with (and essential for the utility of) the finline configuration, in which transmission lines lie on a dielectric sheet in the middle of a broad side of the waveguide. E-plane mounting offers a combination of low loss and ease of assembly because no millimeter-wave wire bonds or transition substrates are required. Moreover, because there is no ground plane behind the MMIC, the impedance for the detrimental even (single-ended) mode is high, suppressing coupling to that mode. Still another advantage of E-plane mounting is that the fundamental waveguide mode is inherently differential, eliminating the need for a balun to excite the differential mode.

Kangaslahti, Pekka↗
NASA NTRS2010

Update on Waveguide-Embedded Differential MMIC Amplifiers

There is an update on the subject matter of Differential InP HEMT MMIC Amplifiers Embedded in Waveguides (NPO-42857) NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 33, No. 9 (September 2009), page 35. To recapitulate: Monolithic microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) amplifiers of a type now being developed for operation at frequencies of hundreds of gigahertz contain InP high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) in a differential configuration. The MMICs are designed integrally with, and embedded in, waveguide packages. The instant work does not mention InP HEMTs but otherwise reiterates part of the subject matter of the cited prior article, with emphasis on the following salient points: An MMIC is mounted in the electric-field plane ("E-plane") of a waveguide and includes a finline transition to each differential-amplifier stage. The differential configuration creates a virtual ground within each pair of transistor-gate fingers, eliminating the need for external radio-frequency grounding. This work concludes by describing a single-stage differential submillimeter-wave amplifier packaged in a rectangular waveguide and summarizing results of tests of this amplifier at frequencies of 220 and 305 GHz.

Kangaslahti, Pekka↗
NASA NTRS2016

Future Standardization of Space Telecommunications Radio System with Core Flight System

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is integrating the NASA Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Standard with the Core Flight System (cFS), an avionics software operating environment. The STRS standard provides a common, consistent framework to develop, qualify, operate and maintain complex, reconfigurable and reprogrammable radio systems. The cFS is a flexible, open architecture that features a plugand- play software executive called the Core Flight Executive (cFE), a reusable library of software components for flight and space missions and an integrated tool suite. Together, STRS and cFS create a development environment that allows for STRS compliant applications to reference the STRS application programmer interfaces (APIs) that use the cFS infrastructure. These APIs are used to standardize the communication protocols on NASAs space SDRs. The cFS-STRS Operating Environment (OE) is a portable cFS library, which adds the ability to run STRS applications on existing cFS platforms. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the cFS-STRS OE prototype, preliminary experimental results performed using the Advanced Space Radio Platform (ASRP), the GRC S‑ band Ground Station and the SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) Testbed currently flying onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Additionally, this paper presents a demonstration of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Spacecraft Onboard Interface Services (SOIS) using electronic data sheets (EDS) inside cFE. This configuration allows for the data sheets to specify binary formats for data exchange between STRS applications. The integration of STRS with cFS leverages mission-proven platform functions and mitigates barriers to integration with future missions. This reduces flight software development time and the costs of software-defined radio (SDR) platforms. Furthermore, the combined benefits of STRS standardization with the flexibility of cFS provide an effective, reliable and modular framework to minimize software development efforts for spaceflight missions.

space communications↗
DOE OSTI2021

Compact SRF based accelerator

An accelerator comprising at least one accelerator cavity, an electron gun, at least one cavity cooler configured to at least partially encircle the accelerator cavity, a cooling connector, an intermediate conduction layer formed between the at least one cavity cooler and the at least one accelerator cavity configured to facilitate thermal conductivity between the cavity cooler and the accelerator cavity, a mechanical support connected to the accelerator cavity via at least one endplate and configured for stabilizing the accelerator cavity, and a refrigeration source for providing refrigerant via the cooling connector to the at least one cavity cooler.

Kephart, Robert↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantitative Electron Beam‐Single Atom Interactions Enabled by Sub‐20‐pm Precision Targeting

The ability to probe and control matter at the picometer scale is essential for advancing quantum and energy technologies. Scanning transmission electron microscopy offers powerful capabilities for materials analysis and modification, but sample damage, drift, and scan distortions hinder single atom analysis and deterministic manipulation. Materials analysis and modification via electron–solid interactions can be transformed by precise delivery of electrons to a specified atomic location, maintaining the beam position despite drift, and minimizing collateral dose. Here a fast, low-dose, sub-20-pm precision electron beam positioning technique is developed, “atomic lock-on,” (ALO), which offers the ability to position the beam on a specific atomic column without previously irradiating that column. This technique is used to lock onto a single selected atomic location to repeatedly measure its weak electron energy loss signal despite sample drift. Moreover, electron beam-matter interactions in single atomic events are measured with μ s time resolution. This enables observation of single-atom dynamics, such as atomic bistability, revealing partially bonded atomic configurations and recapture phenomena. This opens prospects for using electron microscopy for high-precision measurements and deterministic control of matter for quantum technologies.

2D materials↗
NASA NTRS1987

Generation of high-frequency broadband electrostatic noise - The role of cold electrons

Broadband electrostatic noise (BEN) is commonly observed in the plasma sheet boundary layer in association with ion beams. The generation of these waves in a plasma consisting of an ion beam and a background of hot ions, hot electrons, and cold electrons is investigated. The cold electrons are of ionospheric origin. A complete, systematic study of electrostatic ion beam instabilities, including cold electrons, has been done, and it is shown that for the plasma configuration described, four instabilities can be excited: (1) ion acoustic, (2) Buneman, (3) beam resonant, and (4) electron acoustic instabilities. A low and high beam temperature division is shown to exist that separates when different instabilities can be excited. For typically observed parameters in the plasma sheet boundary layer, the ion beams lie in the high-temperature regime. In this regime, the beam resonant and electron acoustic instabilities are excited, and these instabilities can account for the high-frequency (higher than 500 Hz), low-power portion of the BEN spectrum. In the absence of cold electrons, no such wave growth occurs.

Schriver, David↗
DOE OSTI2020

Three-dimensional electronic scaffolds for monitoring and regulation of multifunctional hybrid tissues

Recently, the integration of electronic elements with cellular scaffolds has brought forth the ability to monitor and control tissue function actively by using flexible free-standing two-dimensional (2D) systems. Capabilities for electrically probing complex, physicochemical and biological three-dimensional (3D) microenvironments demand, however, 3D electronic scaffolds with well-controlled geometries and functional-component distributions. This work presents the development of flexible 3D electronic scaffolds with precisely defined dimensions and microelectrode configurations formed using a process that relies on geometric transformation of 2D precursors by compressive buckling. It demonstrates a capability to fabricate these constructs in diverse 3D architectures and/or electrode distributions aimed at achieving an enhanced level of control and regulation of tissue function relatively to that of other approaches. In addition, this work presents the integration of these 3D electronic scaffolds within engineered 3D cardiac tissues, for monitoring of tissue function, controlling tissue contraction through electrical stimulation, and initiating on-demand, local release of drugs, each through well-defined volumetric spaces. These ideas provide opportunities in fields ranging from in vitro drug development to in vivo tissue repair and many others.

3D electronic scaffolds↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multisublattice cluster expansion study of short-range ordering in iron-substituted strontium titanate

Owing to the challenges in obtaining realistic atomic configurations in large chemical phase spaces, it is not straightforward to describe structure–property relations in materials exhibiting configurational disorder. One example is iron-substituted strontium titanate (SrTi 1–x Fe x O 3–d , STF), a promising perovskite-derivative cathode material in solid oxide fuel cells that exhibits full solid solubility 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 and a tendency to exhibit short-range order. Here we demonstrate a multisublattice cluster expansion (CE) framework and apply it to STF across the full composition range. The CE approach is distinct from more traditional CE formulations in that clusters are defined explicitly by the chemical species distributed among multiple sublattices, rather than via cluster functions of occupation variables with decoration. The modified CE approach makes it easy to distinguish meaningful chemical interactions that are harder to extract from conventional CE, since for the latter chemical identity in a cluster is expressed as a product of site occupations. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) is implemented as a regression analysis tool to select key clusters and avoid overfitting. We demonstrate this formulation on STF, and show that it can accurately predict configurational energies in comparison to conventional CE. From the key clusters, we identify that short-range ordering between substitutional Fe and oxygen vacancies (V O ) results in the formation of Fe–VO strings. In addition, we consider the stability of STF through CE-based Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and confirm the presence of superstructures that were previously observed in transmission electron microscopy. In this work, analysis of atomic configurations from MC samples reveals variations in the oxidation state of Fe atoms, which can be explained by the ordering tendency of Fe and V O . The cluster description and selection formalism described here may be applied to other disordered multisublattice systems for accurate and efficient material modeling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Efficient Treatment of Large Active Spaces through Multi-GPU Parallel Implementation of Direct Configuration Interaction

In this study, we have extended our graphical processing unit (GPU)-accelerated direct configuration interaction program to multiple devices, reducing iteration times for configuration spaces of 165 million determinants to only 3 s using NVIDIA P100 GPUs. Similar improvements in the one- and two-particle reduced density matrix formation allow for fast analytical energy gradients and electronic properties. Our parallel algorithm enables the calculation of arbitrarily large configuration spaces (limited only by available system memory), with iteration times of 13 min for an active space of 18 electrons in 18 orbitals (2.4 billion determinants) using six consumer grade NVIDIA 1080Ti GPUs. These advances enable routine molecular dynamics simulations, geometry optimizations, and absorption spectrum calculations for molecules with large configuration spaces, a task that has heretofore required massive computational effort. In this work, we demonstrate the utility of our program by generating the absorption spectrum for diphenyl acetylene at the floating occupation molecular orbital complete active space configuration interaction level of theory. Lastly, several active spaces were investigated to assess the dependence of spectral features on orbital space dimension.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Unveiling the complex configurational landscape of the intralayer cavities in a crystalline carbon nitride

The in-depth understanding of the reported photoelectrochemical properties of the layered carbon nitride, poly(triazine imide)/LiCl (PTI/LiCl), has been limited by the apparent disorder of the Li/H atoms within its framework. To understand and resolve the current structural ambiguities, an optimized one-step flux synthesis (470 °C, 36 h, LiCl/KCl flux) was used to prepare PTI/LiCl and deuterated-PTI/LiCl in high purity. Its structure was characterized by a combination of neutron/X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The range of possible Li/H atomic configurations was enumerated for the first time and, combined with total energy calculations, reveals a more complex energetic landscape than previously considered. Experimental data were fitted against all possible structural models, exhibiting the most consistency with a new orthorhombic model (Sp. Grp. Ama2) that also has the lowest total energy. In addition, a new Cu(I)-containing PTI (PTI/CuCl) was prepared with the more strongly scattering Cu(I) cations in place of Li, and most closely matching with the partially-disorder structure in Cmc2 1 . Thus, a complex configurational landscape of PTI is revealed to consist of a number of ordered crystalline structures that are new potential synthetic targets, such as with the use of metal-exchange reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2014

Correlation of ISS Electric Potential Variations with Mission Operations

Spacecraft charging on the International Space Station (ISS) is caused by a complex mix of the low Earth orbit plasma environment, space weather events, operations of the high voltage solar arrays, and changes in the ISS configuration and orbit parameters. Measurements of the ionospheric electron density and temperature along the ISS orbit and variations in the ISS electric potential are obtained from the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) suite of four plasma instruments (two Langmuir probes, a Floating Potential Probe, and a Plasma Impedance Probe) on the ISS. These instruments provide a unique capability for monitoring the response of the ISS electric potential to variations in the space environment, changes in vehicle configuration, and operational solar array power manipulation. In particular, rapid variations in ISS potential during solar array operations on time scales of tens of milliseconds can be monitored due to the 128 Hz sample rate of the Floating Potential Probe providing an interesting insight into high voltage solar array interaction with the space plasma environment. Comparing the FPMU data with the ISS operations timeline and solar array data provides a means for correlating some of the more complex and interesting ISS electric potential variations with mission operations. In addition, recent extensions and improvements to the ISS data downlink capabilities have allowed more operating time for the FPMU than ever before. The FPMU was operated for over 200 days in 2013 resulting in the largest data set ever recorded in a single year for the ISS. This presentation will provide examples of a number of the more interesting ISS charging events observed during the 2013 operations including examples of rapid charging events due to solar array power operations, auroral charging events, and other charging behavior related to ISS mission operations.

Willis, Emily M.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Correlation of ISS Electric Potential Variations with Mission Operations

Spacecraft charging on the International Space Station (ISS) is caused by a complex combination of the low Earth orbit plasma environment, space weather events, operations of the high voltage solar arrays, and changes in the ISS configuration and orbit parameters. Measurements of the ionospheric electron density and temperature along the ISS orbit and variations in the ISS electric potential are obtained from the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) suite of four plasma instruments (two Langmuir probes, a Floating Potential Probe, and a Plasma Impedance Probe) on the ISS. These instruments provide a unique capability for monitoring the response of the ISS electric potential to variations in the space environment, changes in vehicle configuration, and operational solar array power manipulation. In particular, rapid variations in ISS potential during solar array operations on time scales of tens of milliseconds can be monitored due to the 128 Hz sample rate of the Floating Potential Probe providing an interesting insight into high voltage solar array interaction with the space plasma environment. Comparing the FPMU data with the ISS operations timeline and solar array data provides a means for correlating some of the more complex and interesting ISS electric potential variations with mission operations. In addition, recent extensions and improvements to the ISS data downlink capabilities have allowed more operating time for the FPMU than ever before. The FPMU was operated for over 200 days in 2013 resulting in the largest data set ever recorded in a single year for the ISS. In this paper we provide examples of a number of the more interesting ISS charging events observed during the 2013 operations including examples of rapid charging events due to solar array power operations, auroral charging events, and other charging behavior related to ISS mission operations.

Willis, Emily M.↗