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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 829 records · Page 46
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

Deuteron whistler and trans-equatorial propagation of the ion cyclotron whistler

The paper investigates two unusual types of ion cyclotron whistlers that were found in the low-latitude topside ionosphere by analyzing ISIS VLF electric-field data received at Kashima, Japan. One type is characterized by an asymptotic frequency equal to one half the local proton gyrofrequency; the asymptotic frequency of the other type corresponds to the minimum proton gyrofrequency along the geomagnetic field line passing through the satellite. The observations are compared with theoretical spectrograms of the ion cyclotron whistlers computed for appropriate model distributions of electrons and ions in the topside ionosphere. It is found that the whistlers with the asymptotic frequency of one half the local proton gyrofrequency are deuteron whistlers and that the other whistlers are due to the transequatorial propagation of proton or deuteron whistlers originating in the southern hemisphere.

Watanabe, S.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The RF spectra of first and subsequent lightning return strokes in the 1- to 200-km range

An experimental characterization of the frequency spectra of first and subsequent stroke electric fields are presented over a distance range from about 1 km, where the fields are primarily electrostatic, to 200 km, where they are primarily radiation. Spectra are presented to about 700 kHz for lightning within 12 km and to about 300 kHz for lightning at 50 and 200 km. It is shown that the return stroke ground wave spectrum beyond 50 km has a peak near 4 kHz but that within 10 km the spectrum shows a steady increase with decreasing frequency to 1 kHz. Frequency spectra at all ranges fall off roughly as 1/f for frequencies between 5 and 100 kHz, while the falloff above 100 kHz is faster as the distance to the stroke increases. From this high-frequency attenuation an RF conductivity for central Florida of between 0.002 and 0.005/ohm/m was determined.

Serhan, G. I.↗
NASA NTRS1983

In situ aircraft measurements of enhanced levels of N2O associated with thunderstorm lightning

A series of measurements of enhanced levels of atmospheric N2O associated with thunderstorm lightning are reported. The data were gathered by instrumentation on-board an aircraft operated as part of the NASA Storm Hazards Project. Air samples were taken both during storms and in clear conditions to have a basis for comparisons; sample bottles were filled at altitudes from 11,000-40,000 ft. Gas chromatography was employed for sample composition analyses, revealing clear air N2O concentrations of about 310 ppbv, while storm concentrations reached, for example, 490, 729, and 393 ppbv. Although the measurements did not precisely characterize the actual lightning contributions, the enhancements being present during electrically active storms did confirm that trace gases are produced by lightning. Calculations are presented to demonstrate that the 3 to greater than 12 keV X rays detected in storm clouds are of sufficient energy to drive the production of N2O from the reaction of metastable nitrogen with molecular oxygen.

Levine, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

End-of-fabrication CMOS process monitor

A set of test 'modules' for verifying the quality of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process at the end of the wafer fabrication is documented. By electrical testing of specific structures, over thirty parameters are collected characterizing interconnects, dielectrics, contacts, transistors, and inverters. Each test module contains a specification of its purpose, the layout of the test structure, the test procedures, the data reduction algorithms, and exemplary results obtained from 3-, 2-, or 1.6-micrometer CMOS/bulk processes. The document is intended to establish standard process qualification procedures for Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC's).

Buehler, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Pulsed Laser Deposition of BaCe(sub 0.85)Y(sub 0.15)0(sub 3) FILMS

Pulsed laser deposition has been used to grow nanostructured BaCe(sub 0.85)Y(sub 0.15)0(sub 3) films. The objective is to enhance protonic conduction by reduction of membrane thickness. Sintered samples and laser targets were prepared by sintering BaCe(sub 0.85)Y(sub 0.15)O(sub 3) powders derived by solid state synthesis. Films 2 to 6 m thick were deposited by KrF excimer laser on Si and porous Al2O3 substrates. Nanocrystalline films were fabricated at deposition temperatures of 600-800 C deg at O2 pressure of 30 mTorr and laser fluence of 1.2 J/cm square. Films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and electrical impedance spectroscopy. Dense single phase BaCe(sub 0.85)Y((sub 0.15) 0(sub 3) films with a columnar growth morphology is observed, preferred crystal growth was found to be dependent upon deposition temperature and substrate type. Electrical conductivity of bulk samples produced by solid state sintering and thin film samples were measured over a temperature range of 100 C deg to 900 C deg in moist argon. Electrical conduction of the fabricated films was 1 to 4 orders of magnitude lower than the sintered bulk samples. With respect to the film growth direction, activation energy for electrical conduction is 3 times higher in the perpendicular direction than the parallel direction.

Dynys, F. W.↗
NASA NTRS2007

High-Temperature Properties of Piezoelectric Langatate Single Crystals

Langasite type crystals belong to non-polar point group of 32 and do not show any phase transformations up to the melting temperature. Langatate (La3Ga(5.5)Ta(0.5)O14) demonstrates piezoelectric activity better than quartz and possesses attractive properties for high temperature sensors, resonators and filter applications. High-quality and colorless langatate crystals were grown by the Czochralski technique. The electromechanical and electrical properties of langatate crystals in different crystallographic directions were characterized at elevated temperature. The piezoelectric coefficient along x-axis was 7 pC/N as measured by a Berlincourt meter for a plate geometry with an aspect ratio of 10:1. The dielectric constant did not exhibit any significant temperature dependence (K33 approx. 21 at 30 C and K33 approx. 23 at 600 C). Loss tangent at 100 kHz remained <0.003 up to 300 C and <0.65 at 600 C. The dielectric properties along the y-axis were similar and its temperature dependence was analogous to the x-axis. Electromechanically, the inactive z-axis exhibited no resonance with K33 approx. 84 at room temperature, decreasing down to approx. 49 at 600 C. Resistivity of these crystals along x-axis decreased from approx. 6x10(exp 11) omega-cm at room temperature, to approx. 1.6x10(exp 6) omega-cm at 600 C.

Sehirlioglu, Alp↗
NASA NTRS2012

Overview of Heat Addition and Efficiency Predictions for an Advanced Stirling Convertor

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) have been developing the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) for use as a power system for space science missions. This generator would use two high-efficiency Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs), developed by Sunpower Inc. and NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). The ASCs convert thermal energy from a radioisotope heat source into electricity. As part of ground testing of these ASCs, different operating conditions are used to simulate expected mission conditions. These conditions require achieving a particular operating frequency, hot end and cold end temperatures, and specified electrical power output for a given net heat input. Microporous bulk insulation is used in the ground support test hardware to minimize the loss of thermal energy from the electric heat source to the environment. The insulation package is characterized before operation to predict how much heat will be absorbed by the convertor and how much will be lost to the environment during operation. In an effort to validate these predictions, numerous tasks have been performed, which provided a more accurate value for net heat input into the ASCs. This test and modeling effort included: (a) making thermophysical property measurements of test setup materials to provide inputs to the numerical models, (b) acquiring additional test data that was collected during convertor tests to provide numerical models with temperature profiles of the test setup via thermocouple and infrared measurements, (c) using multidimensional numerical models (computational fluid dynamics code) to predict net heat input of an operating convertor, and (d) using validation test hardware to provide direct comparison of numerical results and validate the multidimensional numerical models used to predict convertor net heat input. This effort produced high fidelity ASC net heat input predictions, which were successfully validated using specially designed test hardware enabling measurement of heat transferred through a simulated Stirling cycle. The overall effort and results are discussed.

Wilson, Scott D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Parallel Hybrid Turboprop Performance Modeling and Optimization

NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project conducts ground and flight tests of integrated Megawatt (MW) class hybrid-electric powertrain systems on regional turboprop aircraft demonstrators. To meet the increased demand for assessment of potential capabilities and benefits from these novel vehicle configurations, NASA is developing tooling and models to estimate the performance of hybridized regional turboprops. This paper covers the development of a parametrically driven performance model for a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 (Q400) regional turboprop integrated with a novel parallel hybrid architecture using the Gascon framework. Gascon is a modern reimplementation of the General Aviation Synthesis Program (GASP) built using the Condor mathematical modeling framework in Python. Within Gascon, a parametric representation of the parallel hybrid architecture was synthesized, which features the electric motor coupled to the power turbine. This capability allows for in-the-loop optimization of the parametric parallel hybrid architecture to characterize the mission capabilities and fuel savings of the design and determine optimal power scheduling strategies for efficient electric power management for a given mission. The study shows that a fuel savings of up to 20% can be achieved, but that increased fuel savings comes at the expense of payload capacity.

Gascon↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Parallel Hybrid Turboprop Performance Modeling and Optimization

NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project conducts ground and flight tests of integrated Megawatt (MW) class hybrid-electric powertrain systems on regional turboprop aircraft demonstrators. To meet the increased demand for assessment of potential capabilities and benefits from these novel vehicle configurations, NASA is developing tooling and models to estimate the performance of hybridized regional turboprops. This paper covers the development of a parametrically driven performance model for a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 (Q400) regional turboprop integrated with a novel parallel hybrid architecture using the Gascon framework. Gascon is a modern reimplementation of the General Aviation Synthesis Program (GASP) built using the Condor mathematical modeling framework in Python. Within Gascon, a parametric representation of the parallel hybrid architecture was synthesized, which features the electric motor coupled to the power turbine. This capability allows for in-the-loop optimization of the parametric parallel hybrid architecture to characterize the mission capabilities and fuel savings of the design and determine optimal power scheduling strategies for efficient electric power management for a given mission. The study shows that a fuel savings of up to 20% can be achieved, but that increased fuel savings comes at the expense of payload capacity.

Gascon↗
DOE OSTI2020

Accelerometer Drift Study

Accelerometers are energy transducers that convert mechanical energy into an electrical signal. That electrical signal is proportional to the amount of mechanical stress the accelerometer was subjected to. Knowing this proportionality allows the electrical signal to be interpreted as an acceleration. There are three types of sensing technologies utilized in capacitors: piezoelectric, piezoresistive and capacitive. In this study, all of the accelerometers utilized are of the piezoelectric type and purchased from one particular vendor, MEGGITT. The piezoelectric effect is the phenomena by which a material generates an electrical charge when subjected to a mechanical stress. A piezoelectric accelerometer will not generate an electrical charge when placed in a static acceleration field because no stress will be placed on the piezoelectric element. However if the acceleration field is dynamic, the piezoelectric element will generate an electrical charge. So the types of accelerations these accelerometers are measuring are dynamic in nature, such as vibrations. Knowledge of dynamic acceleration is useful in characterizing the structural response of some object. The sensitivity of an accelerometer is the ratio of its electrical output to mechanical input. The more sensitive an accelerometer is, the greater the value of the electrical output to a given mechanical input. An accelerometer’s sensitivity is known to drift over time. The objective of this study is to quantify this drift. Questions to answer are: Does the accelerometer become more or less sensitive over time and by how much. This is important to understand because this will establish a time frame of when readings from the accelerometer can be utilized. The larger this time frame is the better because that would preclude the need to purchase accelerometers frequently, which saves on costs. This would further bolster the relationship between MEGGITT and LANL if it is found that MEGGITT produces accelerometers that can be used for a relatively long period of time. This would create less uncertainty in picking a vendor for accelerometers.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advancing the Understanding of Manufacturing Tools for Hardware Security

This project’s goal was to explore new methods and tools to evaluate the focused ion beam (FIB) effect on active electrical devices, which is becoming increasingly challenged by the continual decrease in transistor geometry. Novel hole transfer methods leveraging FIB patterning were demonstrated utilizing selective area atomic layer deposition (ALD) and metal assisted chemical etching. A FIB damage electrical tester device was fabricated, and the effects of FIB beams were characterized by examining change in performance of damaged transistors. Detailed characterization of end-of-range damage for common FIB ions were correlated to modeling methods. Finally, undamaged and damaged devices were simulated by Charon to begin understanding the FIB effects on active devices. This test platform along with modeling methods give a powerful way to assess FIB damage in materials and devices, and with more development can help establish methods to predict FIB damage effects on electrical devices.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mapping hidden space-charge distributions across crystalline metal oxide/group IV semiconductor interfaces

The electronic structures of semiconducting heterojunctions are critically dependent on composition including the presence and concentrations of dopants, both intended and unintended. Dopant profiles in the interfacial region can have major effects on band energies which in turn drive transport properties. Here, in this study, we use core-level photoelectron line shapes excited with hard x rays to extract information about electric fields resulting from internal charge transfer in epitaxial La 0.03 Sr 0.97 Zr x Ti 1–x O 3 /Ge(001) (0.1≤x≤0.7) heterostructures. Experiments were carried out for heterojunctions involving both n- and p-type Ge substrates. These heterojunctions were not amenable to electronic characterization of all regions by transport measurements because the doped substrates act as electrical shunts, precluding probing the more resistive films and masking interface conductivity. However, the core-level line shapes were found to be a rich source of information on built-in potentials that exist throughout the heterostructure, and yielded valuable insight into the impact of band bending on band alignment at the buried interfaces. The electronic effects expected for Ge with uniform n- and p-type doping are eclipsed by those of unintended oxygen dopants in the Ge near the interface. This study illustrates the power of hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and related modeling to determine electronic structure in material systems for which insight from traditional transport measurements is limited.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2015

The Ion Propulsion System for the Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission

The Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission is a candidate Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission whose main objectives are to develop and demonstrate a high-power solar electric propulsion capability for the Agency and return an asteroidal mass for rendezvous and characterization in a companion human-crewed mission. The ion propulsion system must be capable of operating over an 8-year time period and processing up to 10,000 kg of xenon propellant. This high-power solar electric propulsion capability, or an extensible derivative of it, has been identified as a critical part of an affordable, beyond-low-Earth-orbit, manned-exploration architecture. Under the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate the critical electric propulsion and solar array technologies are being developed. The ion propulsion system being co-developed by the NASA Glenn Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle is based on the NASA-developed 12.5 kW Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS0 thruster and power processing technologies. This paper presents the conceptual design for the ion propulsion system, the status of the NASA in-house thruster and power processing activity, and an update on flight hardware.

Electric Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS2015

The Ion Propulsion System for the Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission

The Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission is a candidate Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission whose main objectives are to develop and demonstrate a high-power solar electric propulsion capability for the Agency and return an asteroidal mass for rendezvous and characterization in a subsequent human-crewed mission. The ion propulsion subsystem must be capable of operating over an 8-year time period and processing up to 10,000 kg of xenon propellant. This high-power solar electric propulsion capability, or an extensible derivative of it, has been identified as an enabling element of an affordable beyond low-earth orbit human-crewed exploration architecture. Under the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate the critical electric propulsion and solar array technologies are being developed. The ion propulsion system for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle is based on the NASA-developed 12.5 kW Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding thruster and power processing technologies. This paper presents the conceptual design for the ion propulsion system, a status on the NASA in-house thruster and power processing is provided, and an update on acquisition for flight provided.

Ion Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1994

Ground-based studies of ionospheric convection associated with substorm expansion

The instantaneous patterns of electric fields and currents in the high-latitude ionosphere are deduced by combining satellite and radar measurements of the ionospheric drift velocity, along with ground-based magnetometer observations for October 25, 1981. The period under study was characterized by a relatively stable southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), so that the obtained electric field patterns do reflect, in general, the state of sustained and enhanced plasma convection in the magnetosphere. During one of the satellite passes, however, an intense westward electrojet caused by a substorm intruded into the satellite (DE2) and radar (Chatanika, Alaska) field of view in the premidnight sector, providing a unique opportunity to differentiate the enhanced convection and substorm expansion fields. The distributions of the calculated electric potential for the expansion and maximum phases of the substorm show the first clear evidence of the coexistence of two physically different systems in the global convection pattern. The changes in the convection pattern during the substorm indicate that the large-scale potential distributions are indeed of general two-cell patterns representing the southward IMF status, but the night-morning cell has two positive peaks, one in the midnight sector and the other in the late morning hours, corresponding to the substorm expansion and the convection enhancement, respectively.

Kamide, Y.↗
NASA NTRS2007

High Fidelity Thermal Simulators for Non-Nuclear Testing: Analysis and Initial Results

Non-nuclear testing can be a valuable tool in the development of a space nuclear power system, providing system characterization data and allowing one to work through various fabrication, assembly and integration issues without the cost and time associated with a full ground nuclear test. In a non-nuclear test bed, electric heaters are used to simulate the heat from nuclear fuel. Testing with non-optimized heater elements allows one to assess thermal, heat transfer, and stress related attributes of a given system, but fails to demonstrate the dynamic response that would be present in an integrated, fueled reactor system. High fidelity thermal simulators that match both the static and the dynamic fuel pin performance that would be observed in an operating, fueled nuclear reactor can vastly increase the value of non-nuclear test results. With optimized simulators, the integration of thermal hydraulic hardware tests with simulated neutronie response provides a bridge between electrically heated testing and fueled nuclear testing, providing a better assessment of system integration issues, characterization of integrated system response times and response characteristics, and assessment of potential design improvements' at a relatively small fiscal investment. Initial conceptual thermal simulator designs are determined by simple one-dimensional analysis at a single axial location and at steady state conditions; feasible concepts are then input into a detailed three-dimensional model for comparison to expected fuel pin performance. Static and dynamic fuel pin performance for a proposed reactor design is determined using SINDA/FLUINT thermal analysis software, and comparison is made between the expected nuclear performance and the performance of conceptual thermal simulator designs. Through a series of iterative analyses, a conceptual high fidelity design can developed. Test results presented in this paper correspond to a "first cut" simulator design for a potential liquid metal (NaK) cooled reactor design that could be applied for Lunar surface power. Proposed refinements to this simulator design are also presented.

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.↗