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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 901 records · Page 50

Laser driven launch vehicles for continuous access to space

The availability of megawatt laser systems in the next century will make laser launch systems from ground to orbit feasible and useful. Systems studies indicate launch capabilities of 1 ton payload per gigawatt laser power. Recent research in ground to orbit laser propulsion has emphasized laser supported detonation wave thrusters driven by repetitively pulsed infrared lasers. In this propulsion concept each laser repetition cycle consists of two pulses. A lower energy first pulse is used to vaporize a small amount of solid propellant and then after a brief expansion period, a second and higher energy laser pulse is used to drive a detonation wave through the expanded vapor. The results are reported of numerical studies comparing the detonation wave properties of various candidate propellants, and the simulation of thruster performance under realistic conditions. Experimental measurements designed to test the theoretical predictions are also presented. Measurements are discussed of radiance and opacity in absorption waves, and mass loss and momentum transfer. These data are interpreted in terms of specific impulse and energy conversion efficiency.

Rollins, C. J.↗

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 7:Summary report to phase 2 respondents including frequency distributions

Phase 2 of the four phase NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project was undertaken to study the transfer of scientific and technical information (STI) from government to the aerospace industry and the role of librarians and technical information specialists in the transfer process. Data was collected through a self-administered mailback questionnaire. Libraries identified as holding substantial aerospace or aeronautical technical report collections were selected to receive the questionnaires. Within each library, the person responsible for the technical report was requested to answer the questionnaire. Questionnaires were returned from approx. 68 pct. of the libraries. The respondents indicated that scientists and engineer are not aware of the services available from libraries/technical information centers and that scientists and engineers also under-utilized their services. The respondents also indicated they should be more involved in the process.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

A field-deployable digital acoustic measurement system

A field deployable digital acoustic measurement system was developed to support acoustic research programs at the Langley Research Center. The system digitizes the acoustic inputs at the microphone, which can be located up to 1000 feet from the van which houses the acquisition, storage, and analysis equipment. Digitized data from up to 12 microphones is recorded on high density 8mm tape and is analyzed post-test by a microcomputer system. Synchronous and nonsynchronous sampling is available with maximum sample rates of 12,500 and 40,000 samples per second respectively. The high density tape storage system is capable of storing 5 gigabytes of data at transfer rates up to 1 megabyte per second. System overall dynamic range exceeds 83 dB.

Gray, David L.↗

CCSDS transfer frames in the realtime NASA/DLR link for the Spacelab-D2 mission

The German Space Operations Center (GSOC) Spacelab D2 mission system is a forerunner of the GSOC system which will accept 'virtual channel' transfer frame data directly from the NASA Consumer Data and Operations System (and/or the equivalent European and Japanese ground data handling systems). This experience with the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) will prepare GSOC to implement an effective and efficient system for control of payloads and for the handling of CCSDS-format data well into the 21st century.

Kelly, Angelita C.↗

Vibration attenuation of the NASA Langley evolutionary structure experiment using H(sub infinity) and structured singular value (micron) robust multivariable control techniques

The use is studied of active control to attenuate structural vibrations of the NASA Langley Phase Zero Evolutionary Structure due to external disturbance excitations. H sub infinity and structured singular value (mu) based control techniques are used to analyze and synthesize control laws for the NASA Langley Controls Structures Interaction (CSI) Evolutionary Model (CEM). The CEM structure experiment provides an excellent test bed to address control design issues for large space structures. Specifically, control design for structures with numerous lightly damped, coupled flexible modes, collocated and noncollocated sensors and actuators and stringent performance specifications. The performance objectives are to attenuate the vibration of the structure due to external disturbances, and minimize the actuator control force. The control design problem formulation for the CEM Structure uses a mathematical model developed with finite element techniques. A reduced order state space model for the control design is formulated from the finite element model. It is noted that there are significant variations between the design model and the experimentally derived transfer function data.

Balas, Gary J.↗

Large transient fault current test of an electrical roll ring

The space station uses precision rotary gimbals to provide for sun tracking of its photoelectric arrays. Electrical power, command signals and data are transferred across the gimbals by roll rings. Roll rings have been shown to be capable of highly efficient electrical transmission and long life, through tests conducted at the NASA Lewis Research Center and Honeywell's Satellite and Space Systems Division in Phoenix, AZ. Large potential fault currents inherent to the power system's DC distribution architecture, have brought about the need to evaluate the effects of large transient fault currents on roll rings. A test recently conducted at Lewis subjected a roll ring to a simulated worst case space station electrical fault. The system model used to obtain the fault profile is described, along with details of the reduced order circuit that was used to simulate the fault. Test results comparing roll ring performance before and after the fault are also presented.

Yenni, Edward J.↗

A high speed signal processing system for a diode-pumped YAG lidar

Usually, in acquisition of the lidar echo signal, a transient recorder has been used. However, in the case of using a high-repetitive laser, such as a diode-pumped YAG laser, as a lidar light source, the acquisition speed of a transient recorder is not fast enough. A system using a sampling and direct accumulation in a clock cycle, before transferring digital data to a computer, is necessary for a fast acquisition, and a new system which equips the necessary functions was developed and is reported.

Okumura, H.↗

The multiple-function multi-input/multi-output digital controller system for the AFW wind-tunnel model

A real time multiple-function digital controller system was developed for the Active Flexible Wing (AFW) Program. The digital controller system (DCS) allowed simultaneous execution of two control laws: flutter suppression and either roll trim or a rolling maneuver load control. The DCS operated within, but independently of, a slower host operating system environment, at regulated speeds up to 200 Hz. It also coordinated the acquisition, storage, and transfer of data for near real time controller performance evaluation and both open- and closed-loop plant estimation. It synchronized the operation of four different processing units, allowing flexibility in the number, form, functionality, and order of control laws, and variability in the selection of the sensors and actuators employed. Most importantly, the DCS allowed for the successful demonstration of active flutter suppression to conditions approximately 26 percent (in dynamic pressure) above the open-loop boundary in cases when the model was fixed in roll and up to 23 percent when it was free to roll. Aggressive roll maneuvers with load control were achieved above the flutter boundary. The purpose here is to present the development, validation, and wind tunnel testing of this multiple-function digital controller system.

Hoadley, Sherwood T.↗

The multiple-function multi-input/multi-output digital controller system for the AFW wind tunnel model

A real-time multiple-function digital controller system was developed for the Active Flexible Wing (AFW) Program. The digital controller system (DCS) allowed simultaneous execution of two control laws: flutter suppression and either roll trim or a rolling maneuver load control. The DCS operated within, but independently of, a slower host operating system environment, at regulated speeds up to 200 Hz. It also coordinated the acquisition, storage, and transfer of data for near real-time controller performance evaluation and both open- and closed-loop plant estimation. It synchronized the operation of four different processing units, allowing flexibility in the number, form, functionality, and order of control laws, and variability in selection of sensors and actuators employed. Most importantly, the DCS allowed for the successful demonstration of active flutter suppression to conditions approximately 26 percent (in dynamic pressure) above the open-loop boundary in cases when the model was fixed in roll and up to 23 percent when it was free to roll. Aggressive roll maneuvers with load control were achieved above the flutter boundary.

Hoadley, Sherwood T.↗

Large transient fault current test of an electrical roll ring

The Space Station Freedom uses precision rotary gimbals to provide for sun tracking of its photoelectric arrays. Electrical power, command signals, and data are transferred across the gimbals by roll rings. Roll rings have been shown to be capable of highly efficient electrical transmission and long life, through tests conducted at the NASA Lewis Research Center and Honeywell's Satellite and Space Systems Division in Phoenix, AZ. Large potential fault currents inherent to the power system's DC distribution architecture have brought about the need to evaluate the effects of large transient fault currents on roll rings. A test recently conducted at Lewis subjected a roll ring to a simulated worst case space station electrical fault. The system model used to obtain the fault profile is described, along with details of the reduced order circuit that was used to simulate the fault. Test results comparing roll ring performance before and after the fault are also presented.

Yenni, Edward J.↗

Multiple-function multi-input/multi-output digital control and on-line analysis

The design and capabilities of two digital controller systems for aeroelastic wind-tunnel models are described. The first allowed control of flutter while performing roll maneuvers with wing load control as well as coordinating the acquisition, storage, and transfer of data for on-line analysis. This system, which employs several digital signal multi-processor (DSP) boards programmed in high-level software languages, is housed in a SUN Workstation environment. A second DCS provides a measure of wind-tunnel safety by functioning as a trip system during testing in the case of high model dynamic response or in case the first DCS fails. The second DCS uses National Instruments LabVIEW Software and Hardware within a Macintosh environment.

Hoadley, Sherwood T.↗

Thermal and structural analysis of the GOES scan mirror's on orbit performance

The on-orbit performance of the GOES satellite's scan mirror has been predicted by means of thermal, structural, and optical models. A simpler-than-conventional thermal model was used to reduce the time required to obtain orbital predictions, and the structural model was used to predict on-earth gravity sag and on-orbit distortions. The transfer of data from the thermal model to the structural model was automated for a given set of thermal nodes and structural grids.

Zurmehly, G. E.↗

Concurrent file operations in a high performance FORTRAN

Distributed memory multiprocessor systems can provide the computing power necessary for large scale scientific applications. A critical performance issue for a number of these applications is the efficient transfer of data to secondary storage. Recently several research groups have proposed FORTRAN language extensions for exploiting the data parallelism of such scientific codes on distributed memory architectures. However, few of these high performance FORTRAN's provide appropriate constructs for controlling the use of the parallel I/O capabilities of modern multiprocessing machines. In this paper, we propose constructs to specify I/O operations for distributed data structures in the context of Vienna Fortran. These operations can be used by the programmer to provide information which can help the compiler and runtime environment make the most efficient use of the I/O subsystem.

Brezany, Peter↗

The distributed virtual windtunnel

An implementation of a distributed virtual environment for the shared interactive visualization of large unsteady three-dimensional flowfields is described. Computation of the visualizations is performed on a Convex C3240 computer, and the visualization data are transferred over a high-speed network to a Silicon Graphics Iris workstation for rendering. A boom-mounted six-degree-of-freedom head-position-sensitive stereo CRT (cathode ray tube) system is used for display. A hand-position-sensitive glove controller is used for controlling various tracers for the visualization of the flow. User commands are sent to the Convex, which interprets these commands and computes the corresponding visualization. With this architecture, several users may share and cooperatively control the visualization generated by the Convex. The distributed architecture is also interesting to those using conventional screen and mouse interfaces.

Bryson, Steve↗

Simulation of particle mixing by turbulent convective flows on the connection machine

Mixing of particles by chaotic flow fields was simulated on the Connection Machine. Each cell was assigned to the processor, and the coordinates of particles residing on the cell were kept in the local memory of the processor. This approach implies the exchange between the local memories, when a particle moves from one cell to another. Approximately 10 exp 5 particles were injected into a time-dependent flow field obtained by solving the nonlinear system of partial differential equations describing turbulent thermal convection. The flow field was calculated on a CRAY, and data were transferred to a CM-200 through a high-speed HIPPI channel.

Malevsky, A. V.↗

Optimization of actuator arrays for aircraft interior noise control

A numerical procedure for grouping actuators in order to reduce the number of degrees of freedom in an active noise control system is evaluated using experimental data. Piezoceramic actuators for reducing aircraft interior noise are arranged into groups using a nonlinear optimization routine and clustering algorithm. An actuator group is created when two or more actuators are driven with the same control input. This procedure is suitable for active control applications where actuators are already mounted on a structure. The feasibility of this technique is demonstrated using measured data from the aft cabin of a Douglas DC-9 fuselage. The measured data include transfer functions between 34 piezoceramic actuators and 29 interior microphones and microphone responses due to the primary noise produced by external speakers. Control inputs for the grouped actuators were calculated so that a cost function, defined as a quadratic pressure term and a penalty term, was a minimum. The measured transfer functions and microphone responses are checked by comparing calculated noise reductions with measured noise reductions for four frequencies. The grouping procedure is then used to determine actuator groups that improve overall interior noise reductions by 5.3 to 15 dB, compared to the baseline experimental configuration.

Cabell, R. H.↗

Assessment of thermochemical nonequilibrium and slip effects for Orbital Reentry Experiment (OREX)

Results are provided from a viscous shock layer (VSL) analysis of the reentry flowfield around the forebody of the Japanese Orbital Reentry Experiment (OREX) vehicle. This vehicle is a 50 deg. spherically blunted cone with a nose radius of 1.35 m and a base diameter of 3.4 m. Calculations are done for the OREX trajectory from 105 to 48.4 km altitude range. A 7-species chemical model is found adequate for the flowfield analysis. However, for altitudes greater than 84 km, the low density effects (such as thermal nonequilibrium and slip) are to be implemented for good agreement between the predictions and flight inferred heat-transfer rate data. Further, at altitudes lower than 84 km, a finite surface recombination probability is to be employed in place of a non-catalytic surface for better comparison between the calculations and data. VSL results are also compared with the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) predictions at high altitudes (greater than 80 km) and the electron number density data for three altitudes in the OREX trajectory. Overall, there is a good comparison between the flight data and calculated results. With the ongoing refinements in data extraction procedures, the OREX data should prove valuable for validating theoretical models employed in flowfield codes for calculation of reacting-gas flowfields.

Gupta, Roop N.↗

High-Performance, Reliable Multicasting: Foundations for Future Internet Groupware Applications

Network protocols that provide efficient, reliable, and totally-ordered message delivery to large numbers of users will be needed to support many future Internet applications. The Reliable Multicast Protocol (RMP) is implemented on top of IP multicast to facilitate reliable transfer of data for replicated databases and groupware applications that will emerge on the Internet over the next decade. This paper explores some of the basic questions and applications of reliable multicasting in the context of the development and analysis of RMP.

Callahan, John↗