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At least 91 records · Page 5

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1983

Effects of tripropellant engines on earth-to-orbit vehicles

The effects of tripropellant engines on earth-to-orbit vehicles is examined in terms of their impact on engine configurations and launch capabilities. Hydrocarbon fuel with some oxygen is used in tripropellant fuels, with hydrogen as a back-up fluid for coolant and driving the pumps. Engine concepts which implement tripropellant fuels include a hydrogen-gas generator engine with staged combustion, a two-mode engine burning hydrocarbon fuel in one chamber and hydrogen in another, a dual expander engine with a central hydrocarbon nozzle and an annular hydrogen nozzle, and a dual throat engine. The use of hydrocarbons reduces the fuel weight by providing a higher specific impulse than with LOX-LH2 systems alone. Studies have shown that single-stage-to-orbit vehicles capable of lifting 13.6 Mg are possible with tripropellant engines. A dual-expander engine, is identified as offering the most fuel dry mass reduction for a given payload if cooling requirements can be satisfied. Further development of the tripropellant engines is concluded to be beneficial.

Martin, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Cool Vest

ILC, Dover Division's lightweight cooling garment, called Cool Vest was designed to eliminate the harmful effects of heat stress; increases tolerance time in hot environments by almost 300 percent. Made of urethane-coated nylon used in Apollo, it works to keep the body cool, circulating chilled water throughout the lining by means of a small battery-powered pump. A pocket houses the pump, battery and the coolant which can be ice or a frozen gel, a valve control allows temperature regulation. One version is self-contained and portable for unrestrained movement, another has an umbilical line attached to an external source of coolant, such as standard tap water, when extended mobility is not required. It is reported from customers that the Cool Vest pays for itself in increased productivity in very high temperatures.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2005

Small Portable PEM Fuel Cell Systems for NASA Exploration Missions

Oxygen-Hydrogen PEM-based fuel cell systems are being examined as a portable power source alternative in addition to advanced battery technology. Fuel cell power systems have been used by the Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs. These systems have not been portable, but have been integral parts of their spacecraft, and have used reactants from a separate cryogenic supply. These systems typically have been higher in power. They also have had significant ancillary equipment sections that perform the pumping of reactants and coolant through the fuel cell stack and the separation of the product water from the unused reactant streams. The design of small portable fuel cell systems will be a significant departure from these previous designs. These smaller designs will have very limited ancillary equipment, relying on passive techniques for reactant and thermal management, and the reactant storage will be an integral part of the fuel cell system. An analysis of the mass and volume for small portable fuel cell systems was done to evaluate and quantify areas of technological improvement. A review of current fuel cell technology as well as reactant storage and management technology was completed to validate the analysis and to identify technology challenges

Burke, Kenneth A.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Method to Increase Performance of Foil Bearings Through Passive Thermal Management

This invention is a new approach to designing foil bearings to increase their load capacity and improve their reliability through passive thermal management. In the present case, the bearing is designed in such a way as to prevent the carryover of lubricant from the exit of one sector to the inlet of the ensuing sector of the foil bearing. When such passive thermal management techniques are used, bearing load capacity is improved by multiples, and reliability is enhanced when compared to current foil bearings. This concept has recently been tested and validated, and shows that load capacity performance of foil bearings can be improved by a factor of two at relatively low speeds with potentially greater relative improvements at higher speeds. Such improvements in performance with respect to speed are typical of foil bearings. Additionally, operation of these newly conceived bearings shows much more reliability and repeatable performance. This trait can be exploited in machine design to enhance safety, reliability, and overall performance. Finally, lower frictional torque has been demonstrated when operating at lower (non-load capacity) loads, thus providing another improvement above the current state of the art. The objective of the invention is to incorporate features into a foil bearing that both enhance passive thermal management and temperature control, while at the same time improve the hydrodynamic (load capacity) performance of the foil bearing. Foil bearings are unique antifriction devices that can utilize the working fluid of a machine as a lubricant (typically air for turbines and motors, liquids for pumps), and as a coolant to remove excess energy due to frictional heating. The current state of the art of foil bearings utilizes forced cooling of the bearing and shaft, which represents poor efficiency and poor reliability. This invention embodies features that utilize the bearing geometry in such a manner as to both support load and provide an inherent and passive cooling mechanism. This cooling mechanism functions in such a way as to prevent used (higher temperature) lubricant from being carried over from the exit of one sector into the entry of the next sector of the foil bearing. The disclosed innovation is an improved foil bearing design that reduces or eliminates the need for force cooling of the bearing, while at the same time improving the load capacity of the bearing by at least a factor of two. These improvements are due to the elimination of lubricant carryover from the trailing edge of one sector into the leading edge of the next, and the mixing of used lubricant with the surrounding ambient fluid.

Bruckner, Robert↗

NASA NTRS2004

New Hydrophilic, Composite Membranes for Air Removal from Water Coolant Systems

Liquid coolants are commonly used as thermal transport media to increase efficiency and flexibility in aerospace vehicle design. The introduction of gas bubbles into the coolant can have negative consequences, including: loss of centrifugal pump prime, irregular sensor readings, and blockage of coolant flow to remote systems. One solution to mitigate these problems is the development of a passive gas removal device, or gas trap, installed in the flight cooling system. In this study, a new hydrophilic, composite membrane has been developed for passage of the coolant fluid and retention of gas bubbles. The trapped bubbles are subsequently vented from the system by a thin, hydrophobic, microporous membrane. The original design for this work employed a homogeneous membrane that was susceptible to fouling and pore plugging. Spare gas traps of this variety have degraded during storage, and recreation of the membranes has been complicated due to problems with polymer duplication and property variations in the final membranes. In this work, replacements have been developed based on deposition of a hydrophilic polymer on the bore-side of a porous polyethylene (PE) tube. The tube provides excellent chemical and mechanical stability, and the hydrophilic layer provides retention of gas bubbles. Preliminary results have shown that intimate contact is required between the deposited layer and the substrate to overcome material differences. This has been accomplished by presoaking the membrane tube in the solvent to raise its surface energy. Polymer solutions of various concentrations have been used to promote penetration of the polymer layer into the porous substrate and to control separation layer thickness. The resulting composite membranes have shown repeatable decrease in nitrogen permeability, which is indicative of a decrease in membrane pore size. Studies with water permeation have yielded similar results. We have observed some swelling of the added polymer layer, which causes a slight decrease in membrane pore size, and should result in improved bubble retention. Preliminary studies have also been performed on gas retention in flowing systems. Initial results have been promising, with negligible gas permeation for the coated membranes compared to 100% gas permeation in the uncoated tube.

Ritchie, Stephen M. C.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Pump, and earth-testable spacecraft capillary heat transport loop using augmentation pump and check valves

A spacecraft includes heat-generating payload equipment, and a heat transport system with a cold plate thermally coupled to the equipment and a capillary-wick evaporator, for evaporating coolant liquid to cool the equipment. The coolant vapor is coupled to a condenser and in a loop back to the evaporator. A heated coolant reservoir is coupled to the loop for pressure control. If the wick is not wetted, heat transfer will not begin or continue. A pair of check valves are coupled in the loop, and the heater is cycled for augmentation pumping of coolant to and from the reservoir. This augmentation pumping, in conjunction with the check valves, wets the wick. The wick liquid storage capacity allows the augmentation pump to provide continuous pulsed liquid flow to assure continuous vapor transport and a continuously operating heat transport system. The check valves are of the ball type to assure maximum reliability. However, any type of check valve can be used, including designs which are preloaded in the closed position. The check valve may use any ball or poppet material which resists corrosion. For optimum performance during testing on Earth, the ball or poppet would have neutral buoyancy or be configured in a closed position when the heat transport system is not operating. The ball may be porous to allow passage of coolant vapor.

Baker, David↗

NASA NTRS2026

A Review of Pump Package Assembly Anomalies and Demonstration to Gain Motor Controller Replacement Capability

The International Space Station (ISS) generates heat within the US modules from systems used to operate the station, maintain crew health, and conduct science experiments in the orbiting laboratory. The Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) collects this heat in water loops and transfers it to the external ammonia system for rejection to space. The ITCS uses six Pump Package Assemblies (PPA) as the motive force to circulate the water within the Lab, Node 2, and Node 3 (Node 1 is parasitic to the Lab and Node 3 ITCS loops). In the life of ISS, 3 PPAs have had to be replaced and 2 PPAs are currently showing signs of degradation. The first PPA to fail in 2003 was due to early coolant chemistry issues; the remaining pump failures and current pump degradations are determined to be related to the Pump/Fan Motor Controller (PFMC), with their individual signatures all being unique to this point. The PFMC of one of the failed PPAs was returned and testing confirmed its sub-components to be the root cause of the PPA failure. Due to the relative size and weight of the standalone PFMC in comparison to the integrated assembly, it is desired, from a launch and on-orbit stowage perspective, to replace the PFMC component of the degraded PPA instead of the entire PPA. The PPA was not designed for this capability, so on the ground demonstrations are planned using crew tools to show that the PFMC can be replaced on-orbit while maintaining full functionality. This paper will focus on the signatures of the two most recent PPA failures and the two PPAs showing signs of degradation, in addition to presenting the findings from the PFMC demonstration effort.

Aaron Rodriguez↗

NASA NTRS2026

A Review of Pump Package Assembly Anomalies and Demonstration to Gain Motor Controller Replacement Capability

Aaron Rodriguez↗

NASA NTRS2003

Development of the Next Generation Gas Trap for the Space Station Internal Thermal Control System

The current dual-membrane gas trap is designed to remove non-condensed gases (NCG) from the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) coolant on board the International Space Station (ISS). To date it has successfully served its purpose of preventing depriming, overspeed, and shutdown of the ITCS pump. However, contamination in the ITCS coolant has adversely affected the gas venting rate and lifetime of the gas trap, warranting a development effort for a next-generation gas trap. Design goals are to meet or exceed the current requirements to (1) include greater operating ranges and conditions, (2) eliminate reliance on the current hydrophilic tube fabrication process, and (3) increase operational life and tolerance to particulate and microbial growth fouling. In addition, the next generation gas trap will essentially be a 'dropin" design such that no modifications to the ITCS pump package assembly (PPA) will be required, and the implementation of the new design will not affect changes to the ITCS operational conditions, interfaces, or software. This paper will present the initial membrane module design and development work which has included (1) a trade study among several conceptual designs, (2) performance modeling of a hydrophobic-only design, and (3) small-scale development test data for the hydrophobic-only design. Testing has shown that the hydrophobic-only design is capable of performing even better than the current dual-membrane design for both steady-state gas removal and gas slug removal.

Leimkuehler, Thomas O.↗

NASA NTRS1989

SSME structural dynamic model development

The high pressure fuel turbopump (HPFTP) is a major component of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) powerhead. The device is a three stage centrifugal pump that is directly driven by a two stage hot gas turbine. The purpose of the pump is to deliver fuel (liquid hydrogen) from the low pressure fuel turbopump (LPFTP) through the main fuel valve (MFV) to the thrust chamber coolant circuits. In doing so, the pump pressurizes the fuel from an inlet pressure of approximately 178 psi to a discharge pressure of over 6000 psi. At full power level (FPL), the pump rotates at a speed of over 37,000 rpm while generating approximately 77,000 horsepower. Obviously, a pump failure at these speeds and power levels could jeopardize the mission. Results are summarized for work in which the solutions obtained from analytical models of the fuel turbopump impellers are compared with the results obtained from dynamic tests.

Foley, Michael J.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Effects of Surfactant Contamination on the Next Generation Gas Trap for the ISS Internal Thermal Control System

The current dual-membrane gas trap is designed to remove non-condensed gas bubbles from the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) coolant on board the International Space Station (ISS). To date it has successfully served its purpose of preventing gas bubbles from causing depriming, overspeed, and shutdown of the ITCS pump. However, contamination in the ITCS coolant has adversely affected the gas venting rate and lifetime of the gas trap, warranting a development effort for a next-generation gas trap. Previous testing has shown that a hydrophobic-only design is capable of performing even better than the current dual-membrane design for both steady-state gas removal and gas slug removal in clean deionized water. This paper presents results of testing to evaluate the effects of surfactant contamination on the steady-state performance of the hydrophobic-only design.

Leimkuehler, Thomas O.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Lubricant Jet Flow Phenomena in Spur and Helical Gears with Modified Addendums; for Radially Directed Individual Jets

This paper develops the mathematical relations for the Virtual Kinetic Model as an improvement over the vectorial model developed earlier. The model solution described provides the most energy efficient means of cooling gears, i.e., it requires the least pressure or pumping power to distribute the coolant onto the tooth surface. Further, this nozzle orientation allows impingement to the root of the tooth if needed and provides the most cooling control when compared to into-mesh and out-of-mesh cooling.

Akin, Lee S.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Lubricant jet flow phenomena in spur and helical gears with modified addendums - For radially directed individual jets

Akin, L. S.↗

NASA NTRS2003

An Improved Design for Air Removal from Aerospace Fluid Loop Coolant Systems

Aerospace applications with requirements for large capacity heat removal (launch vehicles, platforms, payloads, etc.) typically utilize a liquid coolant fluid as a transport media to increase efficiency and flexibility in the vehicle design. An issue with these systems however, is susceptibility to the presence of noncondensable gas (NCG) or air. The presence of air in a coolant loop can have numerous negative consequences, including loss of centrifugal pump prime, interference with sensor readings, inhibition of heat transfer, and coolant blockage to remote systems. Hardware ground processing to remove this air is also cumbersome and time consuming which continuously drives recurring costs. Current systems for maintaining the system free of air are tailored and have demonstrated only moderate success. An obvious solution to these problems is the development and advancement of a passive gas removal device, or gas trap, that would be installed in the flight cooling system simplifying the initial coolant fill procedure and also maintaining the system during operations. The proposed device would utilize commercially available membranes thus increasing reliability and reducing cost while also addressing both current and anticipated applications. In addition, it maintains current pressure drop, water loss, and size restrictions while increasing tolerance for pressure increases due to gas build-up in the trap.

Ritchie, Stephen M. C.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Enhancing the ATR Primary Coolant System: A 3D Modeling Approach

The project consisted in system inspections to the ATR Primary Coolant System involving welds, fittings, motors, pumps, flanges, and heat exchangers to enhance Inservice Inspection program as required by DOE orders. NOTE: This article is to be published as "DOE & DOE Contractors Only" in the OPEXShare application, which means it will be available for viewing to DOE & DOE Contractor registered users only. This article can also be used by CAES for their training and safety meetings.

42 - ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS1982

Thermal control for the 1990's

Current thermal distribution systems on large spacecraft, such as the Space Shuttle and Spacelab, use pumped fluid loops that circulate the coolant between a series of user stations and a single rejection point, involving complex plumbing and controls with a significant power penalty and limited reliability. In order to provide heat transport at near-isothermal conditions in future large spacecraft, two-phase flow systems will be implemented by taking advantage of the heat of vaporization and condensation of common working fluids at minimal expenditure of power and temperature variation. Such systems are considered for the cases of the thermal requirements of nearly 100 potential astrophysics and astronomy instruments. Data on temperature requirements, power dissipations, environmental fluxes, heat addition or rejection, and general description, are used to form conceptual designs for the thermal utility.

Ollendorf, S.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Component test results from the bearing life improvement program for the Space Shuttle Main Engine oxidizer turbopumps

Interim results from a component test program to improve ball bearing life in the Space Shuttle Main Engine oxygen turbopumps are presented. Two specific bearing applications, using liquid oxygen as the bearing coolant, are addressed. The first, the thrust bearing of the low pressure pump, operates at relatively slow speed with predominantly axial load and little temperature rise in the bulk coolant. Testing has demonstrated a very significant reduction in bearing wear by increasing the bearing internal clearance. Heat generation data was obtained that indicates heavy, intermittent cage-to-ball contact occurs, providing a possible explanation for the observed wear. The second application is the turbine end bearings of the high pressure pump. These bearings operate at high speed and load with the possibility of significant coolant vaporization. Tests on production bearings and bearings having modified internal clearance and curvature yielded scattered but generally poor lives. A dramatic improvement was achieved by coating the standard cage with a thin film of fluorinated ethylene propylene and 15 percent molybdenum disulfide. Very promising results have also been obtained by replacing the standard balls with ones made of silicon nitride, especially in combination with the coated cage.

Keba, John E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Membrane-Based Gas Traps for Ammonia, Freon-21, and Water Systems to Simplify Ground Processing

Gas traps are critical for the smooth operation of coolant loops because gas bubbles can cause loss of centrifugal pump prime, interference with sensor readings, inhibition of heat transfer, and blockage of passages to remote systems. Coolant loops are ubiquitous in space flight hardware, and thus there is a great need for this technology. Conventional gas traps will not function in micro-gravity due to the absence of buoyancy forces. Therefore, clever designs that make use of adhesion and momentum are required for adequate separation, preferable in a single pass. The gas traps currently used in water coolant loops on the International Space Station are composed of membrane tube sets in a shell. Each tube set is composed of a hydrophilic membrane (used for water transport and capture of bubbles) and a hydrophobic membrane (used for venting of air bubbles). For the hydrophilic membrane, there are two critical pressures, the pressure drop and the bubble pressure. The pressure drop is the decrease in system pressure across the gas trap. The bubble pressure is the pressure required for air bubbles to pass across the water filled membrane. A significant difference between these pressures is needed to ensure complete capture of air bubbles in a single pass. Bubbles trapped by the device adsorb on the hydrophobic membrane in the interior of the hydrophilic membrane tube. After adsorption, the air is vented due to a pressure drop of approximately 1 atmosphere across the membrane. For water systems, the air is vented to the ambient (cabin). Because water vapor can also transport across the hydrophobic membrane, it is critical that a minimum surface area is used to avoid excessive water loss (would like to have a closed loop for the coolant). The currently used gas traps only provide a difference in pressure drop and bubble pressure of 3-4 psid. This makes the gas traps susceptible to failure at high bubble loading and if gas venting is impaired. One mechanism for the latter is when particles adhere to the hydrophobic membrane, promoting formation of a water layer about it that can blind the membrane for gas transport (Figure 1). This mechanism is the most probable cause for observed failures with the existing design. The objective of this project was to devise a strategy for choosing new membrane materials (database development and procedure), redesign of the gas trap to mitigate blinding effects, and to develop a design that can be used in ammonia and Freon-21 coolant loops.

Ritchie, Stephen M. C.↗