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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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80 records · Page 5

OVERFLOW Analysis of Supersonic Retropropulsion Testing on a Blunt Mars Entry Vehicle Concept

Supersonic retropropulsion (SRP) flow over a Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) blunt-body vehicle was simulated using the Overflow Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver. Two nozzle configurations were tested (1E and 1F) as a subset of the seven total configurations in the Descent System Study (DSS) testing campaign. A generalized, Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) shock capturing and plume refinement technique was developed and calibrated for producing automatic and unique grid systems optimized for any given testing condition. Solution independence from grid resolution was determined by successively increasing grid refinement until asymptotic convergence of the mean aerodynamic loads was observed. Overflow Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solutions produced realistic SRP flow phenomena, including Mach disk normal shocks contained in high-thrust plumes and bow shock triple-points. Solutions for the 1E nozzle configuration were steady. Conversely, a subset of the 1F test conditions were unsteady and exhibited periodic, non-sinusoidal expansions and contractions of the streamwise-oriented plume, resulting in unsteady aerodynamic loads on the vehicle. Initial investigations into the effect of turbulence modeling fidelity demonstrated significant differences between the aerodynamic loads simulated with RANS and Detached Eddy Simulation (DES). Multiple flow mechanisms were identified as root causes of these differences, including bow shock shape augmentation and reduced entrainment due to reduced turbulence in the DES simulations. Initial comparisons of pitching moment control authority and aerodynamic drag performance between the tested nozzle configurations demonstrated that the 1E configuration may be more advantageous for the Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) task.

Supersonic Retropropulsion↗

Acoustic and Laser Doppler Anemometer Results for Confluent, 22-Lobed, and Unique-Lobed Mixer Exhaust Systems for Subsonic Jet Noise Reduction

The objective of this task was to develop a design methodology and noise reduction concepts for high bypass exhaust systems which could be applied to both existing production and new advanced engine designs. Special emphasis was given to engine cycles with bypass ratios in the range of 4:1 to 7:1, where jet mixing noise was a primary noise source at full power takeoff conditions. The goal of this effort was to develop the design methodology for mixed-flow exhaust systems and other novel noise reduction concepts that would yield 3 EPNdB noise reduction relative to 1992 baseline technology. Two multi-lobed mixers, a 22-lobed axisymmetric and a 21-lobed with a unique lobe, were designed. These mixers along with a confluent mixer were tested with several fan nozzles of different lengths with and without acoustic treatment in GEAE's Cell 41 under the current subtask (Subtask C). In addition to the acoustic and LDA tests for the model mixer exhaust systems, a semi-empirical noise prediction method for mixer exhaust system is developed. Effort was also made to implement flowfield data for noise prediction by utilizing MGB code. In general, this study established an aero and acoustic diagnostic database to calibrate and refine current aero and acoustic prediction tools.

Salikuddin, M.↗

Toward an IMU-Based Space Suit Motion Capture System

Spacesuits are complex engineering systems that sustain human health and enable performance outside Earth-like environments. These systems must support human mobility and physical workload demands while minimizing injury risk during extravehicular activity (EVA). Future EVA operations on the Lunar surface are expected to be more frequent and require higher physical workloads than previously during the ISS, Shuttle, and Apollo programs. To characterize the workloads and ergonomics needs a suit must support, the kinematics of the space suit must be measured during operationally-relevant tasks in ground analog environments. Kinematics capture of the suit is challenging for traditional optical motion capture (OMC) approaches due to marker occlusion, harsh lighting or environmental conditions, and tests with suit surrogates in outdoor field environments. To this end, engineers at NASA are developing the Augmented Suit Inverse Kinematics (ASIK) system, a complete motion capture method and inverse kinematics solver which relies solely on a network of wireless inertial measurement units (IMUs) attached to the major kinematic segments of the spacesuit. The ASIK modeling language allows for the simple inclusion of probabilistic priors such as suit size and shape or IMU poses. The ASIK system was tested in a 7-subject pilot study. Each subject donned NASA’s new prototype exploration spacesuit in the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) facility at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The suits were outfitted with 12 IMUs to estimate lower body and trunk kinematics. The suits were also outfitted with a set of reflective OMC markers, and traditional OMC data was collected and processed. Characterization of the ASIK-derived suit joint angles’ accuracy against an optical motion capture datum will be presented. Discussion of these results, as well as discussion of system calibration and nuances of mathematical observability, will be included.

IMU↗

The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE)

The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) is a joint NASA-Italian Space Agency (ASI) payload on the Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 (BGM1) with the goal to demonstrate GNSS-based positioning, navigation, and timing at the Moon. LuGRE was chosen by the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program as one of ten payloads on its “19D” task order for delivery to the lunar surface in 2023. The LuGRE payload consists of a weak-signal GNSS receiver, a high-gain L-band patch antenna, a low-noise amplifier, and an RF filter. The receiver will track GPS L1 C/A and L5, and Galileo E1 and E5a signals and will return pseudorange, carrier phase, and Doppler measurements to the ground. It will also calculate least-squares point solutions and Kalman-filter based navigation solutions onboard. In addition, the receiver features the capability to record raw I/Q baseband samples for downlink and ground processing. LuGRE will build on the legacy of prior missions in the Space Service Volume (SSV) including the initial experiments by AMSAT-OSCAR 40 and others, the GOES-R series of geostationary weather satellites, and the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission currently operating on GPS-based navigation at nearly 50% of lunar distance. Further, LuGRE will be one of the very first demonstrations of GNSS signal reception and navigation in the lunar environment and on the lunar surface, paving the way for operational use by future lunar missions such as Orion, Gateway, robotic and human landers, and surface rovers. Ultimately, all LuGRE science data will be released to a public data archive for the benefit of the GNSS and space communities. This paper provides a detailed overview of the LuGRE payload, including its design, concept of operations, and its predicted ability to meet its core science objectives. The baseline science investigations and priorities are outlined. Simulated performance results are shown based on the latest calibrated models including signal strength, signal availability, onboard navigation performance and convergence properties, and ground-based post-processed navigation performance.

LuGRE↗

Hybrid Model Based Approaches for Systems Health Management and Prognostics

To facilitate and solve the prediction problem, awareness of the current health state of the system is key, since it is necessary to perform condition-based predictions. To accurately predict the future state of any system, it is required to possess knowledge of its current health state and future operational conditions. Latest achievements of data-driven algorithms in regression of complex nonlinear functions and classification tasks have generated a growing interest in artificial intelligence for industrial applications. Complex multi-physics models as well as digital twins, once purely built on physics and corresponding simplified lumped parameter iterations, can now benefit from machine learning algorithms to mitigate the lack of understanding of some complex behavior. Given models of the current and future system behavior, a general approach of model-based prognostics can solve the prediction problem and further decision making. In principle, data driven approaches can replace expensive experimental test-setups as well as reduce the number of simulations needed to explore, e.g., the parametric space of a multi-parameter model. Nonetheless, the limitations of pure data-driven methods came to light rather quickly, at least for some industries. In many industrial applications, data acquisition is costly, and the volume of data that can be collected does not satisfy the requirements for an effective model training and cross-validation. Therefore, some recent works in the area of machine learning is focusing on blending physics with data-driven algorithms, thus mitigating the drawbacks of the two approaches and emphasizing respective advantages. Partial physical knowledge of the problem can aid the learning process by “guiding” the algorithm towards efficient solutions that satisfy the physics driving the system behavior. The result is a hybrid modeling approach combining physical knowledge as well data driven methods to develop a unified hybrid approach. A hybrid framework for fusing information from physics-based performance models along with deep learning algorithms for prognostics of complex safety critical systems is presented. In this framework, physics-based performance models infer unobservable model parameters related to the system's components health solving a calibration problem in the deep learning approach.

Hybrid Modeling↗

Hybrid Approaches to Systems Health Management and Prognostics

To facilitate and solve the prediction problem, awareness of the current health state of the system is key, since it is necessary to perform condition-based predictions. To accurately predict the future state of any system, it is required to possess knowledge of its current health state and future operational conditions. Latest achievements of data-driven algorithms in regression of complex nonlinear functions and classification tasks have generated a growing interest in artificial intelligence for industrial applications. Complex multi-physics models as well as digital twins, once purely built on physics and corresponding simplified lumped parameter iterations, can now benefit from machine learning algorithms to mitigate the lack of understanding of some complex behavior. Given models of the current and future system behavior, a general approach of model-based prognostics can solve the prediction problem and further decision making. In principle, data driven approaches can replace expensive experimental test-setups as well as reduce the number of simulations needed to explore, e.g., the parametric space of a multi-parameter model. Nonetheless, the limitations of pure data-driven methods came to light rather quickly, at least for some industries. In many industrial applications, data acquisition is costly, and the volume of data that can be collected does not satisfy the requirements for an effective model training and cross-validation. Therefore, some recent works in the area of machine learning is focusing on blending physics with data-driven algorithms, thus mitigating the drawbacks of the two approaches and emphasizing respective advantages. Partial physical knowledge of the problem can aid the learning process by “guiding” the algorithm towards efficient solutions that satisfy the physics driving the system behavior. The result is a hybrid modeling approach combining physical knowledge as well data driven methods to develop a unified hybrid approach. A hybrid framework for fusing information from physics-based performance models along with deep learning algorithms for prognostics of complex safety critical systems is presented. In this framework, physics-based performance models infer unobservable model parameters related to the system's components health solving a calibration problem in the deep learning approach.

Systems Health Management↗

The Ares I-1 Flight Test--Paving the Road for the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle

In accordance with the U.S. Vision for Space Exploration and the nation's desire to again send humans to explore beyond Earth orbit, NASA has been tasked to send human beings to the moon, Mars, and beyond. It has been 30 years since the United States last designed and built a human-rated launch vehicle. NASA is now building the Ares I crew launch vehicle, which will loft the Orion crew exploration vehicle into orbit, and the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, which will launch the Lunar Surface Access Module and Earth departure stage to rendezvous Orion for missions to the moon. NASA has marshaled unique resources from the government and private sectors to perform the technically and programmatically complex work of delivering astronauts to orbit early next decade, followed by heavy cargo late next decade. Our experiences with Saturn and the Shuttle have taught us the value of adhering to sound systems engineering, such as the "test as you fly" principle, while applying aerospace best practices and lessons learned. If we are to fly humans safely aboard a launch vehicle, we must employ a variety of methodologies to reduce the technical, schedule, and cost risks inherent in the complex business of space transportation. During the Saturn development effort, NASA conducted multiple demonstration and verification flight tests to prove technology in its operating environment before relying upon it for human spaceflight. Less testing on the integrated Shuttle system did not reduce cost or schedule. NASA plans a progressive series of demonstration (ascent), verification (orbital), and mission flight tests to supplement ground research and high-altitude subsystem testing with real-world data, factoring the results of each test into the next one. In this way, sophisticated analytical models and tools, many of which were not available during Saturn and Shuttle, will be calibrated and we will gain confidence in their predictions, as we gain hands-on experience in operating the first of two new launch vehicle systems. The Ares I-1 flight test vehicle (FTV) will incorporate a mix of flight and mockup hardware, reflecting a configuration similar in mass, weight, and shape (outer mold line or OML) to the operational vehicle. It will be powered by a four-segment reusable solid rocket booster (RSRB), which is currently in Shuttle inventory, and will be modified to include a fifth, inert segment that makes it approximately the same size and weight as the five segment RSRB, which will be available for the second flight test in 2012. The Ares I-1 vehicle configuration is shown. Each test flight has specific objectives appropriate to the design analysis cycle in progress. The Ares I-1 demonstration test, slated for April 2009, gives NASA its first opportunity to gather critical data about the flight dynamics of the integrated launch vehicle stack, understand how to control its roll during flight, and other characterize the severe stage separation environment that the upper stage will experience during future operational flights. NASA also will begin the process of modifying the launch infrastructure and fine-tuning ground and mission operational scenarios, as NASA transitions from the Shuttle to the Ares/Orion system.

Davis, Stephan R.↗

Hybrid Model Based Approaches for Systems Health Management and Prognostics

This is a previously approved and published presentation. To accurately predict the future state of any system, it is required to possess knowledge of its current health state and future operational conditions. Present achievements of data-driven algorithms in regression of complex nonlinear functions and classification tasks have generated a growing interest in artificial intelligence for industrial applications. Complex multi-physics models as well as digital twins, once purely built on physics and corresponding simplified lumped parameter iterations, can now benefit from machine learning algorithms to mitigate the lack of understanding of some complex behavior. Given models of the current and future system behavior, a general approach of model-based prognostics can solve the prediction problem and further decision-making. In principle, data-driven approaches can replace expensive experimental test-setups as well as reduce the number of simulations needed to explore, e.g., the parametric space of a multi-parameter model. Nonetheless, the limitations of pure data-driven methods came to light rather quickly, at least for some industries. In many industrial applications, data acquisition is costly, and the volume of data that can be collected does not satisfy the requirements for effective model training and cross-validation. Therefore, some recent works in the area of machine learning is focusing on blending physics with data-driven algorithms, thus mitigating the drawbacks of the two approaches and emphasizing respective advantages. Partial physical knowledge of the problem can aid the learning process by “guiding” the algorithm towards efficient solutions that satisfy the physics driving the system behavior. The result is a hybrid modeling approach combining physical knowledge as well data-driven methods to develop a unified hybrid approach. A hybrid framework for fusing information from physics-based performance models along with deep learning algorithms for prognostics of complex safety-critical systems is presented. In this framework, physics-based performance models infer unobservable model parameters related to the system's components health solving a calibration problem in the deep learning approach.

Prognostics↗