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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 667 records · Page 37

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NASA NTRS1984

Report of the Panel on Computer and Information Technology

Aircraft have become more and more dependent on computers (information processing) for improved performance and safety. It is clear that this activity will grow, since information processing technology has advanced by a factor of 10 every 5 years for the past 35 years and will continue to do so. Breakthroughs in device technology, from vacuum tubes through transistors to integrated circuits, contribute to this rapid pace. This progress is nearly matched by similar, though not as dramatic, advances in numerical software and algorithms. Progress has not been easy. Many technical and nontechnical challenges were surmounted. The outlook is for continued growth in capability but will require surmounting new challenges. The technology forecast presented in this report has been developed by extrapolating current trends and assessing the possibilities of several high-risk research topics. In the process, critical problem areas that require research and development emphasis have been identified. The outlook assumes a positive perspective; the projected capabilities are possible by the year 2000, and adequate resources will be made available to achieve them. Computer and information technology forecasts and the potential impacts of this technology on aeronautics are identified. Critical issues and technical challenges underlying the achievement of forecasted performance and benefits are addressed.

Lundstrom, Stephen F.↗

NASA NTRS1967

Thin film process forms effective electrical contacts on semiconductor crystals

Process makes microscopic, low-resistance electrical contacts on hexagonal n-type silicon carbide crystals used for microelectronic devices. A vacuum deposition of aluminum is etched to expose the bare silicon carbide where the electrical contacts are made. Sputtering alternating layers of tantalum and gold forms the alloy film.

Formigoni, N. P.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Degassing procedure for ultrahigh vacuum

Calculations based on diffusion coefficients and degassing rates for stainless-steel vacuum chambers indicate that baking at lower temperatures for longer periods give lower ultimate pressures than rapid baking at high temperatures. Process could reduce pressures in chambers for particle accelerators, fusion reactors, material research, and other applications.

Moore, B. C.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Titanium dioxide antireflection coating for silicon solar cells by spray deposition

A high-speed production process is described for depositing a single-layer, quarter-wavelength thick antireflection coating of titanium dioxide on metal-patterned single-crystal silicon solar cells for terrestrial applications. Controlled atomization spraying of an organotitanium solution was selected as the most cost-effective method of film deposition using commercial automated equipment. The optimal composition consists of titanium isopropoxide as the titanium source, n-butyl acetate as the diluent solvent, sec-butanol as the leveling agent, and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol to render the material uniformly depositable. Application of the process to the coating of circular, large-diameter solar cells with either screen-printed silver metallization or with vacuum-evaporated Ti/Pd/Ag metallization showed increases of over 40% in the electrical conversion efficiency. Optical characteristics, corrosion resistance, and several other important properties of the spray-deposited film are reported. Experimental evidence indicates a wide tolerance in the coating thickness upon the overall efficiency of the cell. Considerations pertaining to the optimization of AR coatings in general are discussed, and a comprehensive critical survey of the literature is presented.

Kern, W.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Automated semiconductor vacuum chemical vapor deposition facility

A semiconductor vacuum chemical vapor deposition facility (totally automatic) was developed. Wafers arrived on an air track, automatically loaded into a furnace tube, processed, returned to the track, and sent on to the next operation. The entire process was controlled by a computer.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1990

Processing effects on the mechanical properties of tungsten heavy alloys

Tungsten heavy alloys exhibit significant mechanical property sensitivities to the fabrication variables. These sensitivities are illustrated in this examination of vacuum sintering and the effects of composition, sintering temperature, and sintering time on the mechanical properties of tungsten heavy alloys. Measurements were conducted to assess the density, strength, hardness, and elongation dependencies. A detrimental aspect of vacuum sintering is matrix phase evaporation, although vacuum sintering does eliminate the need for postsintering heat treatments.

Kishi, Toshihito↗

NASA NTRS1990

Lunar oxygen and metal for use in near-earth space - Magma electrolysis

The unique conditions on the moon, such as vacuum, absence of many reagents common on the earth, and presence of very nontraditional 'ores', suggest that a unique and nontraditional process for extracting materials from the ores may prove the most practical. An investigation has begun into unfluxed silicate electrolysis as a method for extracting oxygen, Fe, and Si from lunar regolith. The advantages of the process include simplicity of concept, absence of need to supply reagents from the earth, and low power and mass requirements for the processing plant. Disadvantages include the need for uninterrupted high temperature and the highly corrosive nature of the high-temperature silicate melts, which has made identifying suitable electrode and container materials difficult.

Colson, Russell O.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Vacuum Plasma Spray (VPS) Material Applications for Thruster Components

A variety of vacuum plasma spray (VPS) material systems have been successfully applied to injector and thrust chamber components. VPS offers a versatile fabrication process with relatively low costs to produce near net shape parts. The materials available with VPS increase operating margins and improve component life by providing superior thermal and oxidation protection in specific engine environments. Functional gradient materials (FGM) formed with VPS allow thrust chamber liners to be fabricated with GRCop-84 (an alloy of copper, chrome, and niobium) and a protective layer of NiCrAlY on the hot wall. A variety of thrust chamber liner designs have been fabricated to demonstrate the versatility of the process. Hot-fire test results have confirmed the improved durability and high temperature performance of the material systems for thrust chamber liners. Similar FGM s have been applied to provide superior thermal protection on injector faceplates with NiCrAlY and zirconia coatings. The durability of the applied materials has been demonstrated with hot-fire cycle testing on injector faceplates in high temperature environments. The material systems can benefit the components used in booster and main engine propulsion systems. More recent VPS efforts are focused on producing rhenium based material systems for high temperature applications to benefit in-space engines like reaction control system (RCS) thrusters.

Elam, Sandra↗

NASA NTRS2006

Vacuum Plasma Spray (VPS) Material Applications for Thruster Components

A variety of vacuum plasma spray (VPS) material systems have been successfully applied to injector and thrust chamber components. VPS offers a versatile fabrication process with relatively low costs to produce near net shape parts. The materials available with VPS increase operating margins and improve component life by providing superior thermal and oxidation protection in specific engine environments. Functional gradient materials (FGM) formed with VPS allow thrust chamber liners to be fabricated with GRCop-84 (an alloy of copper, chrome, and niobium) and a protective layer of NiCrAlY on the hot wall. A variety of thrust chamber liner designs have been fabricated to demonstrate the versatility of the process. Hot-fire test results have confined the improved durability and high temperature performance of the material systems for thrust chamber liners. Similar FGM s have been applied to provide superior thermal protection on injector faceplates with NiCrAlY and zirconia coatings. The durability of the applied materials has been demonstrated with hot-fire cycle testing on injector faceplates in high temperature environments. The material systems can benefit the components used in booster and main engine propulsion systems. More recent VPS efforts are focused on producing rhenium based material systems for high temperature applications to benefit in-space engines like reaction control system (RCS) thrusters.

Elam, Sandra↗

NASA NTRS2011

O-6 Optical Property Degradation of the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera-2 Pick Off Mirror

Degradation in the performance of optical components can be greatly affected by exposure to the space environment. Many factors can contribute to such degradation including surface contaminants; outgassing; vacuum, UV, and atomic oxygen exposure; temperature cycling; or combinations of parameters. In-situ observations give important clues to degradation processes, but there are relatively few opportunities to correlate those observations with post-flight ground analyses. The return of instruments from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) after its final servicing mission in May 2009 provided such an opportunity. Among the instruments returned from HST was the Wide-Field Planetary Camera-2 (WFPC-2), which had been exposed to the space environment for 16 years. This work focuses on the identifying the sources of degradation in the performance of the Pick-off mirror (POM) from WFPC-2. Techniques including surface reflectivity measurements, spectroscopic ellipsometry, FTIR (and ATR-FTIR) analyses, SEM/EDS, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with and without ion milling, and wet and dry physical surface sampling were performed. Destructive and contact analyses took place only after completion of the non-destructive measurements. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was then repeated to determine the extent of contaminant removal by the destructive techniques, providing insight into the nature and extent of polymerization of the contaminant layer.

McNamara, Karen M.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Material Development of Faraday Cup Grids for the Solar Probe Plus Mission

The Solar Probe Plus mission will launch a spacecraft to the Sun to study it's outer atmosphere. One of the instruments on board will be a Faraday Cup (FC) sensor. The FC will determine solar wind properties by measuring the current produced by ions striking a metal collector plate. It will be directly exposed to the Sun and will be subject to the temperature and radiation environment that exist within 10 solar radii. Conducting grids within the FC are biased up to 10 kV and are used to selectively transmit particles based on their energy to charge ratio. We report on the development of SiC grids. Tests were done on nitrogen-doped SiC starting disks obtained from several vendors, including annealing under vacuum at 1400 C and measurement of their electrical properties. SiC grids were manufactured using a photolithographic and plasma-etching process. The grids were incorporated into a prototype FC and tested in a simulated solar wind chamber. The energy cutoffs were measured for both proton and electron fluxes and met the anticipated sensor requirements.

Volz, M. P.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Thermal Vacuum Chamber Repressurization with Instrument Purging

At the end of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) OTIS (Optical Telescope Element-OTE-Integrated Science Instrument Module-ISIM) cryogenic vacuum testing in NASA Johnson Space Centers (JSCs) thermal vacuum (TV) Chamber A, contamination control (CC) engineers are mooting the idea that chamber particulate material stirred up by the repressurization process may be kept from falling into the ISIM interior to some degree by activating instrument purge flows over some initial period before opening the chamber valves. This memo describes development of a series of models designed to describe this process. These are strung together in tandem to estimate overpressure evolution from which net outflow velocity behavior may be obtained. Creeping flow assumptions are then used to determine the maximum particle size that may be kept suspended above the ISIM aperture, keeping smaller particles from settling within the instrument module.

Venting↗

NASA NTRS2017

Thermal Vacuum Chamber Repressurization with Instrument Purging

Repressurization↗

NASA NTRS2019

Heat-Cleaned Nextel in MMOD Shielding

Meteoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shielding can include NextelTM ceramic cloth in the outer layers of the shielding to enhance MMOD breakup. The Nextel fabric can contain size (or sizing) which aids in manufacture of the fabric. Sizing is a starch, oil or waxy material that is added to the rovings and yarns to protect the fibers from being cut or broken during the fabric manufacturing process and by later handling. For spacecraft applications, sizing is removed by heat-cleaning to reduce/eliminate off-gassing during vacuum operations. After the sizing is removed, the fibers in the woven fabric are prone to breakage during handling which reduces fabric strength. Because heat-cleaned Nextel tends to shed fibers that can be irritating to workers, the usual practice for hypervelocity impact tests is to use Nextel with sizing. The reduced strength of heat-cleaned Nextel does not typically effect the performance of MMOD shields with Nextel used in outer layers of the shield, because the density and areal density of the ceramic fibers in the fabric control MMOD breakup (not fabric strength). This paper provides data demonstrating that hypervelocity impact protection performance is not adversely altered for shields containing heat-cleaned Nextel compared to Nextel with sizing.

Christiansen, Eric L.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Characterizing the Effects of Thermal Profile and Gas Environment on the Heat Treatment of JSC-1A Lunar Simulant Using Combined Thermogravimetry and Mass Spectroscopy

As NASA strives towards a long duration presence on the Moon, it has become increasingly important to learn how to better utilize resources from the lunar surface for everything from habitats, vehicle infrastructure, and chemical extraction. To that end, a variety of lunar simulants have been sourced from terrestrially available volcanic minerals and glass as Apollo regolith is a finite resource unavailable for experimentation needing large masses. However, while mineralogy and chemical composition can approach that of lunar material in these simulants, there are still distinct non-lunar phases such as hydrates, carbonates, sulfates, and clays that can cause simulants to behave distinctly non-lunar in a variety of processing conditions that would ideally be applied to lunar material. Notably, severe glassy bubbling has been documented in a variety of vacuum sintering experiments on JSC-1A lunar Maria simulant heated via microwaves. The origins of this outgassing have not been well understood, but are normally attributed to the decomposition of non-lunar contaminates intrinsic to virtually all terrestrially sourced simulants. As such, a series of controlled environmental tests were performed to ascertain the origins of the high temperature outgassing and to develop heat treatments that can drive JSC-1A closer to lunar composition and behavior. It was found that in JSC-1A that distinct gas evolutions of water, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide occur in both inert gas and vacuum. Additionally, the presence of hydrogen during heat treatments was shown to dramatically change gas evolutions, leading to distinctly more lunar-like composition and behavior from JSC-1A simulant.

sinter↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Characterizing the Effects of Thermal Profile and Gas Environment on the Heat Treatment of JSC-1A Lunar Simulant Using Combined Thermogravimetry and Mass Spectroscopy

sinter↗

NASA NTRS2013

Analysis of Water Recovery Rate from the Heat Melt Compactor

Human space missions generate trash with a substantial amount of plastic (20% or greater by mass). The trash also contains water trapped in food residue and paper products and other trash items. The Heat Melt Compactor (HMC) under development by NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) compresses the waste, dries it to recover water and melts the plastic to encapsulate the compressed trash. The resulting waste disk or puck represents an approximately ten-fold reduction in the volume of the initial trash loaded into the HMC. In the current design concept being pursued, the trash is compressed by a piston after it is loaded into the trash chamber. The piston face, the side walls of the waste processing chamber and the end surface in contact with the waste can be heated to evaporate the water and to melt the plastic. Water is recovered by the HMC in two phases. The first is a pre-process compaction without heat or with the heaters initially turned on but before the waste heats up. Tests have shown that during this step some liquid water may be expelled from the chamber. This water is believed to be free water (i.e., not bound with or absorbed in other waste constituents) that is present in the trash. This phase is herein termed Phase A of the water recovery process. During HMC operations, it is desired that liquid water recovery in Phase A be eliminated or minimized so that water-vapor processing equipment (e.g., condensers) downstream of the HMC are not fouled by liquid water and its constituents (i.e., suspended or dissolved matter) exiting the HMC. The primary water recovery process takes place next where the trash is further compacted while the heated surfaces reach their set temperatures for this step. This step will be referred to herein as Phase B of the water recovery process. During this step the waste chamber may be exposed to different selected pressures such as ambient, low pressure (e.g., 0.2 atm), or vacuum. The objective for this step is to remove both bound and any remaining free water in the trash by evaporation. The temperature settings of the heated surfaces are usually kept above the saturation temperature of water but below the melting temperature of the plastic in the waste during this step to avoid any encapsulation of wet trash which would reduce the amount of recovered water by blocking the vapor escape. In this paper, we analyze the water recovery rate during Phase B where the trash is heated and water leaves the waste chamber as vapor, for operation of the HMC in reduced gravity. We pursue a quasi-one-dimensional model with and without sidewall heating to determine the water recovery rate and the trash drying time. The influences of the trash thermal properties, the amount of water loading, and the distribution of the water in the trash on the water recovery rates are determined.

Heat Melt Compactor↗

NASA NTRS2012

Examination of Surface Residuals Obtained During Re-Lubrication of the International Space Station (ISS) Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ)

The starboard SARJ mechanism on the ISS suffered a premature lubrication failure, resulting in widespread loss of the nitride case layer on its 10.3 meter circumference, 15-5PH steel race ring [1, 2]. To restore functionality, vacuum-stable grease was applied on-orbit, first to the port SARJ mechanism to save it from the damage suffered by the starboard mechanism. After 3 years of greased operation, telemetry indicated that the port mechanism required relubrication, so part of that process included sampling each of the three race ring surfaces to evaluate any wear debris recovered and the state of the originally applied grease. Extensive microscopic examination was conducted, which directed subsequent microanalysis of particulate. Since the SARJ mechanism operates in the vacuum of space, a sampling method and tool had to be developed for use by astronauts while working in the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU). The sampling tool developed was a cotton terry-cloth mitt for the EMU glove, with samples taken by swiping each of the three port SARJ race-ring surfaces. The sample mitts for each surface were folded inward after sampling to preserve sample integrity, for return and ground analysis. The sample mitt for what is termed the outer canted surface of the SARJ race-ring is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 also demonstrates how increasing levels of magnification were used to survey the contamination removed in sampling, specifically looking for signs of wear debris or other features which could be further evaluated using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) methods. The most surprising overall result at this point in the analysis was the relatively small amounts of grease recovered during sampling. It is clear that the mechanism was not operating with surplus lubricant. Obviously, evidence of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a major component in the grease applied, was prevalent in the analysis conducted. But a small amount of mechanism wear debris was observed. Figure 2 shows an example of a region of concentrated wear debris. Although some MoS2 is observed, most of the contaminant in this location is nitrided 15-5PH steel, as verified by the associated chemical analysis. High oxygen content was also observed which, when associated with the apparent friable nature of the steel material, suggests that this contaminant could be quite old, perhaps even associated with the mechanism s original manufacture and acceptance testing. Additional microscopic

Martinez, J. E.↗