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At least 793 records · Page 44

Counter pumping debris excluder and separator

A dirt separator and excluder for removing entrained debris from gas turbine shaft seals is described. A helical groove pattern is constructed on the rotating shaft with the pumping pattern such that it tends to pump seal pressurizing gas toward the gas turbine seal. A second helical groove pattern is provided on the stationary housing or counter rotating member coaxial with the shaft, and this pattern is designed to provide pumping in the direction opposite from that of the groove pattern on the shaft. Gas with entrained debris entering this grooved area will be subjected to high centrifugal forces due to the swirl motion induced by the groove pattern and the rotation of the shaft. This debris is centrifuged outwardly into the outer groove pattern on the housing or counter rotating member. Because the outer groove pattern has a pumping direction opposite from that of the seal, dirt is pumped away from the seal and can be collected in a suitable debris trap remote from the seal location.

Ludwig, L. P.↗

Plasma cleaning device

High vacuum cleaning of contaminated surfaces such as hydrocarbon containment films can be accomplished by a plasma cleaning device which includes a plasma discharge housing to permit generation of a plasma in an environment having a higher pressure than the surface which is to be cleaned. A ground electrode and a radio frequency electrode partially surround a quartz plasma tube, for the introduction of an ionizable gas. These electrodes ionize the gas and help generate the plasma. This plasma flows through a non-constrictive aperture, through the plasma discharge housing and then on to the contaminated surface.

Shannon, R. L.↗

Safety flywheel

An inertial energy storage device is disclosed which uses flywheel made of flexible material such as a twisted rope ring. A small number of the strands of the rope ring have a tensile strength that is lower than that of most of the other strands so that should any of these strands fail, they will begin to whiplash allowing such a failure to be detected and braked before a castastrophic failure occurs. This accomplished by the inclusion of glass tubes located around the periphery of the flywheel. The tubes are in communication with a braking fluid reservoir. The flywheel and glass tubes are enclosed within a vacuum-tight housing. The whiplashing of a broken strand breaks one or more glass tubes. This causes the housing to be flooded with the braking fluid thereby braking the rotation of the flywheel.

Schneider, R. T.↗

Biological specimen holding facilities for Spacelab experiments

The paper describes the design, development, integration, and testing of two prototype holding facilities: (1) a unit housing 36 laboratory rats in individual cages, and (2) a unit housing one unrestrained 14-kg rhesus monkey. Both units are environmentally controlled enclosures complete with food, water, and waste-collection equipment. Timer-controlled fluorescent lights in both units permit automatic day-night cycling. Both units are designed to be compatible with Spacelab interfaces and to be operated by NASA payload specialists.

Jackson, J. K.↗

Adjustable base for centering staked bearings

Adjustable base permits housing and race to be supported separately so that unequal widths can be accounted for and bearing staked on center. If race is centered and staked on flat base and housing and race are not same width, then offset may occur and bearing will be set off center.

Berson, L. A.↗

Pressure limiting propellant actuating system

A pressure limiting propellant activating system for simultaneously limiting the output force while maintaining a constant output pressure from the combustion chamber is described. The propellant actuated system includes an outer barrel, outer housing and a combustion chamber. A main piston is movable in the barrel housing when gas pressure is developed in the combustion chamber. A relief piston is concentrically mounted and fixedly movable with the main piston when gas pressure is exerted from the combustion. A relief piston has a force-activated separation mechanism for limiting the output force while simultaneously maintaining constant output pressure on the main piston from the combustion chamber.

Reese, P. B.↗

Crawl space assisted heat pump

A variety of experiments and simulations, currently being designed or underway, to determine the feasibility of conditioning the source air of an air to air heat pump using stored ground heat or cool to produce higher seasonal COP's and net energy savings are discussed. The ground would condition ambient air as it is drawn through the crawl space of a house. Tests designed to evaluate the feasibility of the concept, to determine the amount of heat or cool available from the ground, to study the effect of the system on the heating and cooling loads of the house, to study possible mechanisms which could enhance heat flow through the ground, and to determine if diurnal temperature swings are necessary to achieve successful system performance are described.

Ternes, M. P.↗

Centrifugal regulator for control of deployment rates of deployable elements

The requirements, design, and performance of a centrifugal regulator aimed at limiting deployment rates of deployable elements are discussed. The overall mechanism is comprised of four distinct functional parts in a machined housing: (1) the centrifugal brake device, which checks the payout of a deployment cable; (2) the reducing gear, which produces the spin rate necesary for the braking device; (3) the payout device, which allows the unwinding of the cable; and (4) the locking device, which prevents untimely unwinding. The centrifugal regulator is set into operation by a threshold tension of the cable which unlocks the mechanism and allows unwinding. The pulley of the windout device drives the centrifugal brake with the help of the reducing gear. The centrifugal force pushes aside weights that produce friction of the studs in a cylindrical housing. The mechanism behaved well at qualification temperature and vibrations.

Vermalle, J. C.↗

Redundant motor drive system

A drive system characterized by a base supporting a pair of pillars arranged in spaced parallelism, a shaft extended between and supported by the pillars for rotation about the longitudinal axis thereof, a worm gear affixed to the shaft and supported in coaxial relation therewith is described. A bearing housing of a sleeve like configuration is concentrically related to the shaft and is supported thereby for free rotation. A first and a second quiescent drive train, alternatively activatable, is provided for imparting rotation into said bearing housing. Each of the drive trains is characterized by a selectively energizable motor connected to a spur gear.

Calvert, J. A.↗

The development of a Space Shuttle Research Animal Holding Facility

The ability to maintain the well being of experiment animals is of primary importance to the successful attainment of life sciences flight experiment goals. To assist scientists in the conduct of life sciences flight experiments, a highly versatile Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF) is being developed for use on Space Shuttle/Spacelab missions. This paper describes the design of the RAHF system, which in addition to providing general housing for various animal species, approximating the environment found in ground based facilities, is designed to minimize disturbances of the specimens by vehicle and mission operations. Life-sustaining capabilities such as metabolic support and environmental control are provided. RAHF is reusable and is a modular concept to accommodate animals of different sizes. The basic RAHF system will accommodate a combination of 24 500-g rats or 144 mice or a mixed number of rats and mice. An alternative design accommodates four squirrel monkeys. The entire RAHF system is housed in a single ESA rack. The animal cages are in drawers which are removable for easy access to the animals. Each cage contains a waste management system, a feeding system and a watering system all of which will operate in zero or one gravity.

Jagow, R. B.↗

NASA's aeronautics program: Systems technology and experimental program

The appropriateness of the division of effort between the directed to the solution of near-term problems and that directed to long-term technical advances in the program is addressed. Comparisons between in-house work and out-of-house work are presented. Programs include those in: general aviation; propulsive lift; rotorcraft; avionics and flight controls; small transport aircraft; and human/vehicle systems.

Source record↗

Progress in Wind-Wheel Turbines

New wind turbine offers important advantages over conventional propeller wind turbines according to theoretical studies and tests of small working models. Project results are described in final report now available. Windwheel turbines consists of bladed wheel, main housing, two forward ducts (front concentrators), two side ducts (side concentrators) and base to support and elevate housing.

Frost, W.↗

Preliminary results of mapping urban land cover with Seasat SAR imagery

The detectability of urban land cover types is explored using digitally processed Seasat SAR imagery of the Denver, Colorado area. Test sites within the metropolitan area were selected to include a cross section of Anderson, et. al. Level II land cover classes and cover types representative of the urban area growth stages. Using the Image 100 interactive processing system each test site was level sliced in an attempt to define specific reflectance boundaries for each cover type and to determine the spectral and spatial characteristics of homogeneous response regions. The rural-urban fringe boundary was readily definable, but a precise Level I and Level II land cover classification was not possible. High density housing could be separated from low density housing and from parks, but reflectance values were often look angle dependent. Confusion between some water and vegetation responses also posed problems.

Henderson, F. M.↗

Solar electric propulsion system /SEPS/: Tomorrow's propulsion system - Today

Mission and system concepts relating to the SEPS project will be discussed as well as an overview of current project planning. SEPS system concept descriptions will be limited to in-house NASA concepts. The capabilities of the in-house concepts to meet a wide range of mission requirements will be described to give an indication of potential capabilities SEPS can provide to the space mission planners.

Austin, R. E.↗

Wind Turbine With Concentric Ducts

Wind Turbine device is relatively compact and efficient. Converging inner and outer ducts increase pressure difference across blades of wind turbine. Turbine shaft drives alternator housed inside exit cone. Suitable for installation on such existing structures as water towers, barns, houses, and commercial buildings.

Muhonen, A. J.↗

Static continuous electrophoresis device

An apparatus is disclosed for carrying out a moving wall type electrophoresis process for separation of cellular particles. The apparatus includes a water-tight housing containing an electrolytic buffer solution. A separation chamber in the housing is defined by spaced opposed moving walls and spaced opposed side walls. Substrate assemblies, which support the moving wall include vacuum ports for positively sealing the moving walls against the substrate walls. Several suction conduits communicate with the suction ports and are arranged in the form of valleys in a grid plate. The raised land portion of the grid plat supports the substrate walls against deformation inwardly under suction. A cooling chamber is carried on the back side of plate. The apparatus also has tensioner means including roller and adjustment screws for maintaining the belts in position and a drive arrangement including an electric motor with a gear affixed to its output shaft. Electrode assemblies are disposed to provide the required electric field.

Rhodes, P. H.↗

A refrigerated dynamic seal

A new sealing concept is proposed where the fluid to be sealed flows through a refrigerated housing or constriction, is frozen to the housing during the transient phase, and under steady state conditions provides a dynamic seal with essentially 'zero' leakage.

Hendricks, R. C.↗

Space telescope: Solar array primary deployment mechanism

The requirements, the design, and the test program which were carried out in producing the Space Telescope Solar Array (STSA) primary deployment mechanisms (PDM) are described. The PDM will be used to rotate the rolled solar array supporting boom from its launch position alongside the telescope housing, through 90 deg to its use position. After five years in space the array is to be rerolled and by use of the PDM swung back to its stowed position alongside the telescope housing for capture and return to Earth via the Space Shuttle.

Chandler, D. P.↗