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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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Several possible causes of turbine rotor instability are discussed and the related design features of a wide range of turbomachinery types and sizes are considered. The instrumentation options available for detecting rotor instability and assessing its severity are also discussed.
Design features of the 664-liter superfluid helium dewar to be used for the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) are described, with emphasis on the similarities and differences vis a vis the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) dewar. The dewar (23 percent larger than the IRAS dewar) is intended to provide a 14-month operating lifetime (vs. 10 months for IRAS). A far infrared absolute spectrophotometer (FIRAS) and diffuse infrared background experiment (DIRBE) will conduct full sky surveys over the wavelength region from 1 micron to 1 centimeter. Launch into a 900-km sun-synchronous polar orbit is scheduled for the autumn of 1987.
The paper discusses the design of a tiltrotor blade for application to the XV-15 research demonstration aircraft. The design features 43 deg nonlinear twist and nonuniform tapered planform. The structure is composite with extensive use of graphite in the primary structure. Instrumentation and wiring is encapsulated in the composite structure during the cure cycle. The tip shell is removable, providing access to the tracking and balance weights. This feature provides research facility of alternate tip configurations. The cuff is similarly removable. The graphite epoxy system used is high strain American Cyanamid's Celion 6000ST/Cycom 950. This is the first application of this material in rotor blades.
A new two-channel laser Doppler velocimeter developed for the Ames High Reynolds Channel No. 2 is described. Design features required for the satisfactory operation of the optical system in the channel environment are discussed. Fiber optics are used to transmit the megahertz Doppler signal to the photodetectors located outside the channel pressure vessel, and provision is made to isolate the optical system from pressure and thermal strain effects. Computer-controlled scanning mirrors are used to position the laser beams in the channel flow. Techniques used to seed the flow with 0.5-micron-diam polystyrene spheres avoiding deposition on the test-section windows and porous boundary-layer removal panels are described. Preliminary results are presented with a discussion of several of the factors affecting accuracy.
Design, development and preliminary testing of a two-engine xenon ion propulsion module for early flight evaluation is described. Extensive use is made of flight spare propellant system components and also engineering model 30-cm ion engines and assemblies originally developed for the Solar Electric Propulsion System program. Significant design features include a redundant propellant feed system that incorporates a novel gas pulse assembly for rapid and completely reliable engine startup, a central neutralizer subsystem with dual neutralizers for redundancy, and major ion engine performance improvements resulting in a nearly doubling of the 30-cm engine thrust in addition to operating on xenon rather than mercury propellant. At a module input power of 10.0 kw, maximum thrust and specific impulse are projected to be 0.4 N and 3,500 sec. respectively, for a total module efficiency of 67 percent. Total mass of the xenon ion module, including the propellant tank, is only 70.2 kg. The technical approaches taken towards developing and integrating the subsystems comprising this ion propulsion module are presented and discussed in detail.
The resupplying of orbital spacecraft using the Space Shuttle, Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle, Orbital Transfer Vehicle or a depot supply at a Space Station is studied. The governing factor in fluid resupply designs is the system size with respect to fluid resupply quantities. Spacecraft propellant management for tankage via diaphragm or surface tension configurations is examined. The capabilities, operation, and application of adiabatic ullage compression, ullage exchange, vent/fill/repressurize, and drain/vent/no-vent fill/repressurize, which are proposed transfer methods for spacecraft utilizing tankage configurations, are described. Selection of the appropriate resupply method is dependent on the spacecraft design features. Hydrazine adiabatic compression/detonation, liquid-free vapor venting to prevent freezing, and a method for no-vent liquid filling are analyzed. Various procedures for accurate measurements of propellant mass in low gravity are evaluated; a system of flowmeters with a PVT system was selected as the pressurant solubility and quantity gaging technique. Monopropellant and bipropellant orbital spacecraft consumable resupply system tanks which resupply 3000 lb of hydrazine and 7000 lb of MMH/NTO to spacecraft on orbit are presented.
A development history, a current development status assessment, and a design feature and performance capabilities account are given for stratified-charge rotary engines applicable to aircraft propulsion. Such engines are capable of operating on Jet-A fuel with substantial cost savings, improved altitude capability, and lower fuel consumption by comparison with gas turbine powerplants. Attention is given to the current development program of a 400-hp engine scheduled for initial operations in early 1990. Stratified charge rotary engines are also applicable to ground power units, airborne APUs, shipboard generators, and vehicular engines.
The mechanism which will be used on the space station to position the solar arrays and radiator panels for Sun pointing and Sun avoidance is described. The unique design features will be demonstrated on advanced development models of two of the joints being fabricated under contract to NASA-MSFC.
The features, design, calibration, and testing of Lewis Research Center's acceleration display system for aircraft zero-gravity research are described. Specific circuit schematics and system specifications are included as well as representative data traces from flown trajectories. Other observations learned from developing and using this system are mentioned where appropriate. The system, now a permanent part of the Lewis Learjet zero-gravity program, provides legible, concise, and necessary guidance information enabling pilots to routinely fly accurate zero-gravity trajectories. Regular use of this system resulted in improvements of the Learjet zero-gravity flight techniques, including a technique to minimize later accelerations. Lewis Gates Learjet trajectory data show that accelerations can be reliably sustained within 0.01 g for 5 consecutive seconds, within 0.02 g for 7 consecutive seconds, and within 0.04 g for up to 20 second. Lewis followed the past practices of acceleration measurement, yet focussed on the acceleration displays. Refinements based on flight experience included evolving the ranges, resolutions, and frequency responses to fit the pilot and the Learjet responses.
An overview is presented of the NASA Lewis Research Center free-piston Stirling engine activities directed toward space-power application. NASA Lewis serves as the project office to manage the newly initiated NASA SP-100 Advanced Technology Program. One of the major elements of this five-year program is the development of advanced power conversion concepts of which the Stirling cycle is a viable growth candidate. Under this program the status of the 25 kWe opposed-piston Space Power Demonstrator Engine (SPDE) is presented. Included in the SPDE discussion are comparisons between predicted and experimental engine performance, enhanced performance resulting from regenerator modification, increased operating stroke brought about by isolating the gas bearing flow between the displacer and power piston, identifying excessive energy losses and recommending corrective action, and a better understanding of linear alternator design and operation. Technology work is also conducted on heat exchanger concepts, both design and fabrication. Design parameters and conceptual design features are also presented for a 25 kWe, single-cylinder free-piston Stirling space-power converter.
Research on the Goodyear Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) suggests that high-level parallel languages are practical and can be designed with powerful new semantics that allow algorithms to be efficiently mapped to the real machines. For the MPP these semantics include parallel/associative array selection for both dense and sparse matrices, variable precision arithmetic to trade accuracy for speed, micro-pipelined train broadcast, and conditional branching at the processing element (PE) control unit level. The preliminary design of a FORTRAN-like parallel language for the MPP has been completed and is being used to write programs to perform sparse matrix array selection, min/max search, matrix multiplication, Gaussian elimination on single bit arrays and other generic algorithms. A description is given of the MPP design. Features of the system and its operation are illustrated in the form of charts and diagrams.
Fiber reinforcements are being explored as a means to increasing the performance of superalloys past 980 C. Fiber-reinforced superalloys (FRS), particularly tungsten FRS (TFRS) are candidate materials for rocket-engine turbopump blades for advanced Shuttle engines and in airbreathing and other rocket engines. Refractory metal wires are the reinforcement of choice due to tolerance to fiber/matrix interactions. W alloy fibers have a maximum tensile strength of 2165 MPa at 1095 C and a 100 hr creep rupture strength at stresses up to 1400 MPa. A TFRS has the potential of a service temperature 110 C over the strongest superalloy. Manufacturing processes being evaluated to realize the FRS components are summarized, together with design features which will be introduced in turbine blades to take advantage of the FRS materials and to extend their surface life.
Under NASA sponsorship, JPL is developing advanced, high rate Li-SOCl2 cells for future space missions. As part of this effort, Li-SOCl2 cells of various designs were examined for performance and safety. The cells differed from one another in several aspects, such as: nature of carbon cathode, catalysts, cell configuration, case polarity, and safety devices. Performance evaluation included constant-current discharge over a range of currents and temperatures. Abuse-testing consisted of shortcircuiting, charging, and over-discharge. Energy densities greater than 300 Wh/Kg at the C/2 rate were found for some designs. A cell design featuring a high-surface-area carbon cathode was found to deliver nearly 500 Wh/Kg at moderate discharge rates. Temperature influenced the performance significantly.
The Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) has now been flown on seven Space Shuttle Orbiter missions with an eighth mission imminent in June, 1984. This paper describes the design features of the SRMS, a six degree of freedom anthropomorphic man-machine system, and summarizes the results of its Orbital Flight Tests (OFT's) aimed at verifying performance and validating simulation models. In general, behavior and performance of the system has closely followed predictions made by nonreal-time and real-time simulations. Some typical comparisons are presented. Mention is made of operational performance demonstrated on recent flights.
Techniques are described for accounting for relativistic effects in the analysis of pulsar signals. Design features of instrumentation used to achieve millisecond accuracy in the signal measurements are discussed. The accuracy of the data permits modeling the pulsar physical characteristics from the natural glitches in the emissions. Relativistic corrections are defined for adjusting for differences between the pulsar motion in its spacetime coordinate system relative to the terrestrial coordinate system, the earth's motion, and the gravitational potentials of solar system bodies. Modifications of the model to allow for a binary pulsar system are outlined, including treatment of the system as a point mass. Finally, a quadrupole model is presented for gravitational radiation and techniques are defined for using pulsars in the search for gravitational waves.
The instrumentation, accomplishments and future activities in space astrophysics observations are explored. The Solrad, Orbiting Solar Observatory, Solar Maximum Mission, Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, Uhuru, HEAO-2, IRAS and ESA SAS spacecraft missions and data are summarized. Observations which identified the black hole in Cygnus-1 are described and known gravity-controlled phenomena in the universe are reviewed. Observations at different electromagnetic wavelengths and by particle detectors are outlined, and proposed gravity wave and neutrino detectors are discussed. The implications of the angular, spectral and temporal resolution, polarization, spectral range and observational limits of the instrumentation and data are considered. Current topics of interest in studies of the cosmic background radiation, distance scales, quasars and pulsars, star formation, and coronal heating are outlined. Finally, the design features and observational goals of the NASA Great Observatories space platforms are described.
Design techniques used to isolate and damp vibrations from the reaction control wheels assembly (RCA) from the structural dynamics of the Hubble Space Telescope are described. The four RCAs can generate sufficient torque for large maneuvers and precision control during fine pointing. The RCAs are to operate continuously during observations and thereby pose the potential of inducing jitter. The image stability must be constrained to less than 0.007 arcsec rms per 24 hr and pointing accuracy must be 0.01 arcsec for 100 hr. Vibration-producing characteristics of the RCAs are identified, and test results are provided from measurements of the magnitudes of the associated disturbances. Design features and test results for the vibration isolators employed with the RCAs to effect viscous damping of RCA axial perturbations are presented. The dampers are expected to reduce jitter effects of RCA operation by a half.
This paper discusses the fundamental aspects of the use of aeroelastic tailoring to enhance the performance of flexible fixed wing aircraft. Tailoring with advanced composites is seen as part of a natural evolutionary process in the everchanging field of design. Among topics discussed are: static divergence; lift effectiveness; drag reduction; control effectiveness; and, vibration and flutter. In addition, terminology is reviewed, together with descriptive formulas that characterize stiffness coupled structures. Finally, a summary of design features favorable to different facets of aeroelastic tailoring is given to illustrate conflicts and compromises that must be considered.