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At least 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1995

Forming Refractory Insulation On Copper Wire

Alternative insulating process forms flexible coat of uncured refractory insulating material on copper wire. Coated wire formed into coil or other complex shape. Wire-coating apparatus forms "green" coat on copper wire. After wire coiled, heating converts "green" coat to refractory electrical insulator. When cured to final brittle form, insulating material withstands temperatures above melting temperature of wire. Process used to make coils for motors, solenoids, and other electrical devices to be operated at high temperatures.

Setlock, J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Status of MSBS Study at NAL in 1995

Magnetic field intensity and currents passing through the coils of the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) 1O cm Magnetic Suspension and Balance System (MSBS) were measured while a cylindrical model was oscillated along x,y,z and also about y and z axes, respectively. The model was made of alnico 5 and was 8 mm in diameter and 60 mm long. Two kinds of tests were carried out. Amplitude of the oscillation was varied at a frequency of 10 Hz. Frequency was varied from 1 to 50 Hz in the other test. Results of the tests show that the relation between coil currents and magnetic force acting on the model is affected by frequency. They also show that the relation between measured magnetic field intensity and the force in vertical direction is independent of the frequency below 30 Hz. Using the measured magnetic field intensity, the vertical force can be evaluated at the MSBS instantaneously when a model moves at frequencies below 30 Hz. A static drag force calibration test was carried out at the 60 cm MSBS. Obtained relationships between measured drag coil currents and loads shows large hysteresis.

Sawada, Hideo↗
NASA NTRS1997

Magnetic Test Performance Capabilities at the Goddard Space Flight Center as Applied to the Global Geospace Science Initiative

Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility (SMTF) is a historic test facility that has set the standard for all subsequent magnetic test facilities. The SMTF was constructed in the early 1960's for the purpose of simulating geomagnetic and interplanetary magnetic fields. Additionally, the facility provides the capability for measuring spacecraft generated magnetic fields as well as calibrating magnetic attitude control systems and science magnetometers. The SMTF was designed for large, spacecraft level tests and is currently the second largest spherical coil system in the world. The SMTF is a three-axis Braunbek system composed of four coils on each of three orthogonal axes. The largest coils are 12.7 meters (41.6 feet) in diameter. The three-axis Braunbek configuration provides a highly uniform cancellation of the geomagnetic field over the central 1.8 meter (6 foot) diameter primary test volume. Cancellation of the local geomagnetic field is to within +/-0.2 nanotesla with a uniformity of up to 0.001% within the 1.8 meter (6 foot) diameter primary test volume. Artificial magnetic field vectors from 0-60,000 nanotesla can be generated along any axis with a 0.1 nanotesla resolution. Oscillating or rotating field vectors can also be produced about any axis with a frequency of up to 100 radians/second. Since becoming fully operational in July of 1967, the SMTF has been the site of numerous spacecraft magnetics tests. Spacecraft tested at the SMTF include: the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM), Magsat, LANDSAT-D, the Fast Aurora] Snapshot (FAST) Explorer and the Sub-millimeter-Wave-Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) among others. This paper describes the methodology and sequencing used for the Global Geospace Science (GGS) initiative magnetic testing program in the Goddard Space Flight Center's SMTF. The GGS initiative provides an exemplary model of a strict and comprehensive magnetic control program.

Mitchell, Darryl R.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Conductive Sphere in a Radio Frequency Field: Theory and Applications to Positioners, Heating, and Noncontact Measurements

An electrically conductive spherical sample located in an electromagnetic field excited by rf (radio frequency) current in a system of coaxial coils is treated theoretically. Maxwell's equations are solved exactly and all integrals in the formulas for the fields are evaluated analytically for the case where the sphere is on the axis and the coil system is modeled by a stack of filamentary circular loops. Formulas are also derived for electromagnetic force exerted on the sphere, excess impedance in the coil system due to the presence of the sphere, and power absorbed by the sphere. All integrals in those formulas have been evaluated analytically. Force measurements are presented and they are in excellent agreement with the new theory. A low-power electromagnetic levitator that is accurately described by the theory has been demonstrated and is discussed. Experimental measurements of excess impedance are presented and compared with theory, and those results are used to demonstrate an accurate noncontact method for determining electrical conductivity. Theoretical formulas for power absorption are evaluated numerically and their usefulness in both rf heating and in making noncontact measurements of a number of thermophysical properties of materials is discussed.

Jackson, H. W.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Recent Enhancements of the Phased Array Mirror Extendible Large Aperture (PAMELA) Telescope Testbed at MSFC

Recent incremental upgrades to the Phased Array Mirror Extendible Large Aperture (PAMELA) telescope testbed have enabled the demonstration of phasing (with a monochromatic source) of clusters of primary mirror segments down to the diffraction limit. PAMELA upgrades include an improved Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, passive viscoelastic damping treatments for the voice-coil actuators, mechanical improvement of mirror surface figures, and optical bench baffling. This report summarizes the recent PAMELA upgrades, discusses the lessons learned, and presents a status of this unique testbed for wavefront sensing and control. The Marshall Space Flight Center acquired the Phased Array Mirror Extendible Large Aperture (PAMELA) telescope in 1993 after Kaman Aerospace was unable to complete integration and testing under the limited SDIO and DARPA funding. The PAMELA is a 36-segment, half-meter aperture, adaptive telescope which utilizes a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, inductive coil edge sensors, voice coil actuators, imaging CCD cameras and interferometry for figure alignment, wavefront sensing and control. MSFC originally obtained the PAMELA to supplement its research in the interactions of control systems with flexible structures. In August 1994, complete tip, tilt and piston control was successfully demonstrated using the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor and the inductive edge sensors.

Rakoczy, John↗
NASA NTRS2001

Recent Enhancements of the Phased Array Mirror Extendible Large Aperture (PAMELA) Telescope Testbed at MSFC

Recent incremental upgrades to the Phased Array Mirror Extendible Large Aperture (PAMELA) telescope testbed have enabled the demonstration of phasing (with a monochromatic source) of clusters of primary mirror segments down to the diffraction limit. PAMELA upgrades include in improved Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, passive viscoelastic damping treatments for the voice-coil actuators, mechanical improvement of mirror surface figures, and optical bench baffling. This report summarizes the recent PAMELA upgrades, discusses the lessons learned, and presents a status of this unique testbed for wavefront sensing and control. The Marshall Space Flight Center acquired the Phased Array Mirror Extendible Large Aperture (PAMELA) telescope in 1993 after Kaman Aerospace was unable to complete integration and testing under the limited SDIO and DARPA funding. The PAMELA is a 36-segment, half-meter aperture, adaptive telescope which utilizes a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, inductive coil edge sensors, voice coil actuators, imaging CCD cameras and interferometry for figure alignment, wavefront sensing and control. MSFC originally obtained the PAMELA to supplement its research in the interactions of control systems with flexible structures. In August 1994, complete tip, tilt and piston control was successfully demonstrated using the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor and the inductive edge sensors.

Rakoczy, John↗
NASA NTRS2001

Etching in Chlorine Discharges Using an Integrated Feature Evolution-Plasma Model

Etching of semiconductor materials is reliant on plasma properties. Quantities such as ion and neutral fluxes, both in magnitude and in direction, are often determined by reactor geometry (height, radius, position of the coils, etc.) In order to obtain accurate etching profiles, one must also model the plasma as a whole to obtain local fluxes and distributions. We have developed a set of three models that simulates C12 plasmas for etching of silicon, ion and neutral trajectories in the plasma, and feature profile evolution. We have found that the location of the peak in the ion densities in the reactor plays a major role in determining etching uniformity across the wafer. For a stove top coil inductively coupled plasma (ICP), the ion density is peaked at the top of the reactor. This leads to nearly uniform neutral and ion fluxes across the wafer. A side coil configuration causes the ion density to peak near the sidewalls. Ion fluxes are thus greater toward the wall's and decrease toward the center. In addition, the ions bombard the wafer at a slight angle. This angle is sufficient to cause slanted profiles, which is highly undesirable.

Hwang, Helen H.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Spin-Up Instability of a Levitated Molten Drop in MHD-Flow Transition to Turbulence

When an alternating magnetic field interacts with induced eddy currents in a conducting body, there will be a repulsive force between the body and the driving coil system generating the field. This repulsive force is the basis of electromagnetic levitation, which allows containerless processing of different materials. The eddy currents in the conducting body also generate Joule heating. Axial rotation of electromagnetically levitated objects is a common observation in levitation systems and often an undesirable side effect of such experiments on 1-g and -g. There have been recent efforts to use magnetic damping and suppress this tendency of body rotation. The first report of rotation in EML drops was attributed to a slight asymmetry of the shape and location of the levitation coils could change the axis and speed of rotation. Other theories of sample rotation include a frequency difference in the traveling electromagnetic waves and a phase difference in two different applied fields of the same frequency. All of these different mechanisms share the following characteristics: the torque is small, constant for constant field strength, and very weakly dependent on the sample's temperature and phase (solid or liquid). During experiments on the MSL-1 (First Microgravity Science Laboratory) mission of the Space Shuttle (STS-83 and STS-94, April and July 1997), a droplet of palladium-silicon alloy was electromagnetically levitated for viscosity measurements. For the non-deforming droplet, the resultant MHD flow inside the drop is inferred from motion of impurities on the surface. These observations indicate formation of a pair of co-rotating toroidal flow structures inside the spheroidal levitated drop that undergo secondary flow instabilities. As rise in the fluid temperature rises, the viscosity falls and the internal flow accelerates and becomes oscillatory; and beyond a point in the experiments, the surface impurities exhibit non-coherent chaotic motion signifying emergence of turbulence inside the drop. In this work, a background of these set of observations will be given followed by a presentation of our results on the digital particle tracking analysis that has been performed on a number of available videos. The analysis indicates that the levitated drop attains a constant rotational speed during the melting phase and formation of the co-rotating axi-symmetric laminar toroidal structures. However, the rate of axial rotation increases dramatically during the deformation of the toroidal structures anti their breakup into chaotic entities. This new data suggests an interaction between the flow inside the levitated molten drop and the driving coils in the experiments. Possible mechanisms for this interaction will be reviewed. The data will also be used to make an assessment of existing theories on droplet rotation.

Abedian, B.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Air Conditioner/Dehumidifier

An ordinary air conditioner in a very humid environment must overcool the room air, then reheat it. Mr. Dinh, a former STAC associate, devised a heat pipe based humidifier under a NASA Contract. The system used heat pipes to precool the air; the air conditioner's cooling coil removes heat and humidity, then the heat pipes restore the overcooled air to a comfortable temperature. The heat pipes use no energy, and typical savings are from 15-20%. The Dinh Company also manufactures a "Z" coil, a retrofit cooling coil which may be installed on an existing heater/air conditioner. It will also provide free hot water. The company has also developed a photovoltaic air conditioner and solar powered water pump.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2002

Integrated Orbit and Attitude Control for a Nanosatellite with Power Constraints

HokieSat is a NASA Goddard sponsored spacecraft currently being built by students at Virginia Tech. HokieSat is part of the Ionospheric Observation Nanosatellite Formation (ION-F) project. The project involves spacecraft built by three schools: Virginia Tech (VT), Utah State University (USU), and University of Washington (UW). The three spacecraft are similar in design and will perform formation flying demonstrations, and make ionospheric measurements. HokieSat uses Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs) to maintain its position in the formation. There are two pairs of PPTs on HokieSat; their position on HokieSat's hexagonal cross-section is shown. Thrusters T(sub 2) and T(sub 3) provide translation control, and Thrusters TI and T4 can provide yaw steering. Any thruster can be fired individually. However because they share a capacitor, thrusters T(sub 1) and T(sub 2) or thrusters T(sub 3) and T(sub 4) cannot be fired simultaneously. Thrusters T(sub 2) T(sub 3) can be fired simultaneously, as well as thrusters T(sub 1) and T(sub 4). Each thruster provides an impulse-bit of 56 micronN-s and fires at a rate of 1 Hz. For translation control thrusters T2 and T3 are fired together providing an impulse-bit of 112 micronN-s. All four thrusters are positioned slightly above the center of mass, and therefore exert a torque on the spacecraft. Because there are no thrusters in the zenith-nadir directions, and the communication system requires that the spacecraft remain nadir-pointing, there is no way to thrust in the radial direction. The attitude of HokieSat is controlled by 3 orthogonal magnetic torque coils. Attitude control is achieved by forcing a current through the torque coils, which interacts with the Earth's magnetic field and creates a torque. Due to magnetic field interactions between the coils and PPTs, the two actuator systems cannot be used simultaneously, and any attitude or orbit control must be performed in a piecewise fashion. Power limitations place an additional constraint on the HokieSat control subsystem. When the spacecraft is in eclipse, the power subsystem can provide only enough power to operate vital spacecraft functions.

Berry, Matthew M.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Goddard Space Flight Center Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility Restoration Project

The Goddard Space Flight Center Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility (SMTF) was constructed in the 1960's for the purpose of simulating geomagnetic and interplanetary magnetic field environments. The facility includes a three axis Braunbek coil system consisting of 12 loops, 4 loops on each of the three orthogonal axes; a remote earth field sensing magnetometer and servo control building; and a remote power control and instrumentation building. The inner coils are 42-foot in diameter and a 10-foot by 10-foot opening through the outer coils accommodates spacecraft access to the test volume. The physical size and precision of the facility are matched by only two other such facilities in the world. The facility was used extensively from the late 1960's until the early 1990's when the requirement for spacecraft level testing diminished. New NASA missions planned under the Living with a Star, Solar Terrestrial Probes, Explorer, and New Millennium Programs include precision, high-resolution magnetometers to obtain magnetic field data that is critical to fulfilling their scientific mission. It is highly likely that future Lunar and Martian exploration missions will also use precision magnetometers to conduct geophysical magnetic surveys. To ensure the success of these missions ground testing using a magnetic test facility such as the GSFC SMTF will be required. This paper describes the history of the facility, the future mission requirements that have renewed the need for spacecraft level magnetic testing, and the plans for restoring the facility to be capable of performing to its original design specifications.

Vernier, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2004

Goddard Space Flight Center Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility Restoration Project

The Goddard Space Flight Center Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility (SMTF) was constructed in the 1960's for the purpose of simulating geomagnetic and interplanetary magnetic field environments. The facility includes a three axis Braunbek coil system consisting of 12 loops, 4 loops on each of the three orthogonal axes; a remote Earth field sensing magnetometer and servo controller; and a remote power control and instrumentation building. The inner coils of the Braunbek system are 42-foot in diameter with a 10-foot by 10-foot opening through the outer coils to accommodate spacecraft access into the test volume. The physical size and precision of the facility are matched by only two other such facilities in the world. The facility was used extensively from the late 1960's until the early 1990's when the requirement for spacecraft level testing diminished. New NASA missions planned under the Living with a Star, Solar Terrestrial Probes, Explorer, and New Millennium Programs include precision, high-resolution magnetometers to obtain magnetic field data that is critical to fulfilling their scientific mission. It is highly likely that future Lunar and Martian exploration missions will also use precision magnetometers to conduct geophysical magnetic surveys. To ensure the success of these missions, ground-testing using a magnetic test facility such as the GSFC SMTF will be required. This paper describes the history of the facility, the future mission requirements that have renewed the need for spacecraft level magnetic testing, and the plans for restoring the facility to be capable of performing to its original design specifications.

Vernier, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2004

Goddard Space Flight Center Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility Restoration Project

The Goddard Space Flight Center Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility (SMTF) was constructed in the 1960's for the purpose of simulating geomagnetic and interplanetary magnetic field environments. The facility includes a three axis Braunbek coil system consisting of 12 loops, 4 loops on each of the three orthogonal axes; a remote Earth field sensing magnetometer and servo controller; and a remote power control and instrumentation building. The inner coils of the Braunbek system are 42-foot in diameter with a 10-foot by 10-foot opening through the outer coils to accommodate spacecraft access into the test volume. The physical size and precision of the facility are matched by only two other such facilities in the world. The facility was used extensively from the late 1960's until the early 1990's when the requirement for spacecraft level testing diminished. New NASA missions planned under the Living with a Star, Solar Terrestrial Probes, Explorer, and New Millennium Programs include precision, high-resolution magnetometers to obtain magnetic field data that is critical to fulfilling their scientific mission. It is highly likely that future Lunar and Martian exploration missions will also use precision magnetometers to conduct geophysical magnetic surveys. To ensure the success of these missions, ground testing using a magnetic test facility such as the GSFC SMTF will be required. This paper describes the history of the facility, the future mission requirements that have renewed the need for spacecraft level magnetic testing, and the plans for restoring the facility to be capable of performing to its original design specifications.

Vernier, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2006

A Bearingless Switched-Reluctance Motor for High Specific Power Applications

A 12-8 switched-reluctance motor (SRM) is studied in bearingless (or self-levitated) operation with coil currents limited to the linear region to avoid magnetic saturation. The required motoring and levitating currents are summed and go into a single motor coil per pole to obtain the highest power output of the motor by having more space for motor coil winding. Two controllers are investigated for the bearingless SRM operation. First, a model-based controller using the radial force, which is adjusted by a factor derived from finite element analysis, is presented. Then a simple and practical observation-based controller using a PD (proportional-derivative) control algorithm is presented. Both controllers were experimentally demonstrated to 6500 rpm. This paper reports the initial efforts toward eventual self levitation of a SRM operating into strong magnetic core saturation at liquid nitrogen temperature.

Choi, Benjamin B.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Plasma Measurements in an Integrated-System FARAD Thruster

Pulsed inductive plasma accelerators are spacecraft propulsion devices in which energy is stored in a capacitor and then discharged through an inductive coil. The device is electrodeless, inducing a current sheet in a plasma located near the face of the coil. The propellant is accelerated and expelled at a high exhaust velocity (order of 10 km/s) through the interaction of the plasma current and the induced magnetic field. The Faraday Accelerator with RF-Assisted Discharge (FARAD) thruster[1,2] is a type of pulsed inductive plasma accelerator in which the plasma is preionized by a mechanism separate from that used to form the current sheet and accelerate the gas. Employing a separate preionization mechanism allows for the formation of an inductive current sheet at much lower discharge energies and voltages than those used in previous pulsed inductive accelerators like the Pulsed Inductive Thruster (PIT). A benchtop FARAD thruster was designed following guidelines and similarity performance parameters presented in Refs. [3,4]. This design is described in detail in Ref. [5]. In this paper, we present the temporally and spatially resolved measurements of the preionized plasma and inductively-accelerated current sheet in the FARAD thruster operating with a Vector Inversion Generator (VIG) to preionize the gas and a Bernardes and Merryman circuit topology to provide inductive acceleration. The acceleration stage operates on the order of 100 J/pulse. Fast-framing photography will be used to produce a time-resolved, global view of the evolving current sheet. Local diagnostics used include a fast ionization gauge capable of mapping the gas distribution prior to plasma initiation; direct measurement of the induced magnetic field using B-dot probes, induced azimuthal current measurement using a mini-Rogowski coil, and direct probing of the number density and electron temperature using triple probes.

Polzin, K. A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Rotating flux-focusing eddy current probe for flaw detection

A flux-focusing electromagnetic sensor which uses a ferromagnetic flux-focusing lens simplifies inspections and increases detectability of fatigue cracks about circular fasteners and other circular inhomogeneities in high conductivity material. The unique feature of the device is the ferrous shield isolating a high-turn pick-up coil from an excitation coil, The use of the magnetic shield is shown to produce a null voltage output across the receiving coil in the presence of an unflawed sample. A redistribution of the current flow in the sample caused by the presence of flaws, however, eliminates the shielding condition and a large output voltage is produced, yielding a clear unambiguous flaw signal. By rotating the probe in a path around a circular fastener such as a rivet while maintaining a constant distance between the probe and the center of a rivet, the signal due to current flow about the rivet can be held constant. Any further changes in the current distribution, such as due to a fatigue crack at the rivet joint, can be detected as an increase in the output voltage above that due to the flow about the rivet head.

Wincheski, Russell A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Method and apparatus for sensing a target characteristic by measuring both impedance and resonant frequency of a tank circuit

An apparatus for sensing a target characteristic, such as relative distance between the apparatus and target, target thickness, target material, or lateral position between the apparatus and the target, includes a coil for directing an electro-magnetic field at the target. A voltage controlled oscillator energizes the coil at a resonant frequency which is functionally related to the target characteristic. The coil has an effective impedance value at resonance functionally related to the target characteristic. A frequency monitor measures the resonant frequency. An impedance monitor determines the impedance value when the drive frequency is at the resonant value. A PROM or controller determines the target characteristic in response to the measured resonant frequency and the determined impedance value. The PROM or controller provides a signal responsive to the determined target characteristic.

Laskowski, Edward L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Magnetic translator bearings

A magnetic bearing system for enabling translational motion includes a carriage and a shaft for movably supporting the carriage; a first magnetic bearing fixed to one of the carriage and shaft and slidably received in a first channel of the other of the carriage and shaft. The first channel is generally U shaped with two side walls and a back wall. The magnetic bearing includes a pair of spaced magnetic pole pieces, each pole piece having a pair of electromagnetic coils mounted on poles on opposite ends of the pole piece proximate the side walls, and a third electromagnetic coil mounted on a pole of the pole piece proximate the backwall; a motion sensor for sensing translational motion along two axes and rotationally about three axes of the carriage and shaft relative to each other; and a correction circuit responsive to the sensor for generating a correction signal to drive the coils to compensate for any misalignment sensed between the carriage and the shaft.

Hockney, Richard L.↗