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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

AirShow 1.0 CFD Software Users' Guide

AirShow is visualization post-processing software for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Upon reading binary PLOT3D grid and solution files into AirShow, the engineer can quickly see how hundreds of complex 3-D structured blocks are arranged and numbered. Additionally, chosen grid planes can be displayed and colored according to various aerodynamic flow quantities such as Mach number and pressure. The user may interactively rotate and translate the graphical objects using the mouse. The software source code was written in cross-platform Java, C++, and OpenGL, and runs on Unix, Linux, and Windows. The graphical user interface (GUI) was written using Java Swing. Java also provides multiple synchronized threads. The Java Native Interface (JNI) provides a bridge between the Java code and the C++ code where the PLOT3D files are read, the OpenGL graphics are rendered, and numerical calculations are performed. AirShow is easy to learn and simple to use. The source code is available for free from the NASA Technology Transfer and Partnership Office.

Mohler, Stanley R., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Health Care Robotics: A Progress Report

This paper describes the approach followed in the design of a service robot for health care applications. Under the auspices of the NASA Technology Transfer program, a partnership was established between JPL and RWI, a manufacturer of mobile robots, to design and evaluate a mobile robot for health care assistance to the elderly and the handicapped. The main emphasis of the first phase of the project is on the development on a multi-modal operator interface and its evaluation by health care professionals and users. This paper describes the architecture of the system, the evaluation method used, and some preliminary results of the user evaluation.

handicapped mobile robots↗
NASA NTRS1993

A Magnetic Solid-State Storage Technology: Vertical Bloch Line Storage

No storage technology is known to exist today which simultaneously offers high-storage density, nonvolatility, and a solid-state form factor. For example, common random access memories are solid-state, but are volatile and typically offer modest density. Alternatively, mainstream magnetic disk and magnetic tape systems offer high storage density and nonvolatility, but are fundamentally not solid-state. A number of applications exist which would be suited well with high performance solid- state technology. NASA, for example, is beginning baseline solid-state recorders for upcoming space missions, such as the Cassini mission to Saturn.

Katti, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Laser Surveying

NASA technology has produced a laser-aided system for surveying land boundaries in difficult terrain. It does the job more accurately than conventional methods, takes only one-third the time normally required, and is considerably less expensive. In surveying to mark property boundaries, the objective is to establish an accurate heading between two "corner" points. This is conventionally accomplished by erecting a "range pole" at one point and sighting it from the other point through an instrument called a theodolite. But how do you take a heading between two points which are not visible to each other, for instance, when tall trees, hills or other obstacles obstruct the line of sight? That was the problem confronting the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. The Forest Service manages 187 million acres of land in 44 states and Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, National Forest System lands are not contiguous but intermingled in complex patterns with privately-owned land. In recent years much of the private land has been undergoing development for purposes ranging from timber harvesting to vacation resorts. There is a need for precise boundary definition so that both private owners and the Forest Service can manage their properties with confidence that they are not trespassing on the other's land.

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NASA NTRS1978

Foam For Filtering

Like nature's honeycomb, foam is a structure of many-sided cells, apparently solid but actually only three percent material and 97 percent air. Foam is made by a heat-producing chemical reaction which expands a plastic material in a manner somewhat akin to the heat-induced rising of a loaf of bread. The resulting structure of interconnected cells is flexible yet strong and extremely versatile in applicati6n. Foam can, for example, be a sound absorber in one form, while in another it allows sound to pass through it. It can be a very soft powder puff material and at the same time a highly abrasive scrubber. A sampling of foam uses includes stereo speaker grilles, applying postage meter ink, filtering lawnmower carburetor air; deadening noise in trucks and tractors, applying cosmetics, releasing fabric softener and antistatic agents in home clothes dryers, painting, filtering factory heating and ventilating systems, shining shoes, polishing cars, sponge-mopping floors, acting as pre-operative surgical scrubbers-the list is virtually limitless. The process by which foam is made produces "windows," thin plastic membranes connecting the cell walls. Windowed foam is used in many applications but for certain others-filtering, for example-it is desirable to have a completely open network. Scott Paper Company's Foam Division, Chester, Pennsylvania, improved a patented method of "removing the windows," to create an open structure that affords special utility in filtering applications. NASA technology contributed to Scott's improvement.

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NASA NTRS1978

Hearing Aid Tester

Hearing aids often develop malfunctions that are not detected by the wearer. This is particularly true when the wearers are school-age children. Studies of selected groups showed that from 30 to more than 50 percent of school children were not getting adequate benefit from their hearing aids because of unrecognized malfunctions, usually low or dead batteries. This can be serious because hearing impairment retards a child's educational progress. NASA technology incorporated in the Hearing Aid Malfunction Detection Unit (HAMDU), the device pictured, is expected to provide an effective countermeasure to the childrens' hearing aid problem. A patent license has been awarded to a minority-owned firm, Hopkins International Company, a subsidiary of H. H. Aerospace Design Co., Inc., Elmford, New York. The company plans early commercial availability of its version of the device.

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NASA NTRS1978

Heat Resistant Paint

The racing car shown is one of many coated with an inorganic paint that protects "hot parts" of automotive vehicles. Developed and manufactured by Sperex Corporation, Gardena, California, the durable, heat-resistant paint is used on car and truck exhaust systems, firewalls, brake drums and engine manifolds. NASA technology contributed to development of the paint. Sperex was provided a technical support packa'ge detailing the research of Goddard Space Flight Center on long-life inorganic coatings. The information helped Sperex perfect its own formulations.

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NASA NTRS1978

Smooth Passage For The Jetfoil

The Flying Princess is a Boeing Jetfoil, one of a family of commercial waterjets built by Boeing Marine Systems, a division of The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington. The new Jetfoil offers a number of advantages over earlier hydrofoils, a major one being a smooth ride in rough waters. NASA technology contributed to jolt-free passenger comfort. Hydrofoils skim the surface at speeds considerably greater than those of conventional ships because there is little friction between hull and water. Hulls are raised above the water by the lift of the foils, which resemble and function like an airplane wing. The foils are attached to the hull by rigid struts, which ordinarily cause a vessel operating in coastal seas to follow the contour of the waves. In wind-whipped waters, this makes for a rough ride. Seeking to increase passenger acceptance, Boeing Marine System engineers looked for ways to improve rough-water ride quality. Langley Research Center conducts continuing ride quality research. Initially, it was aimed at improving aircraft ride; it was later expanded to include all modes of transportation. Research includes studies of vibration, acceleration, temperature, humidity, passenger seats and posture, and the psychological aspects of passenger reaction to vehicle ride. As part of the program, Langley developed instrumentation, ride quality models and methods of data analysis.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1978

Automated Blood Pressure Measurement

The Vital-2 unit pictured is a semi-automatic device that permits highly accurate blood pressure measurement, even by untrained personnel. Developed by Meditron Instrument Corporation, Milford, New Hampshire, it is based in part on NASA technology found in a similar system designed for automatic monitoring of astronauts' blood pressure. Vital-2 is an advancement over the familiar arm cuff, dial and bulb apparatus customarily used for blood pressure checks. In that method, the physician squeezes the bulb to inflate the arm cuff, which restricts the flow of blood through the arteries. As he eases the pressure on the arm, he listens, through a stethoscope, to the sounds of resumed blood flow as the arteries expand and contract. Taking dial readings related to sound changes, he gets the systolic (contracting) and diastolic (expanding) blood pressure measurements. The accuracy of the method depends on the physician's skill in interpreting the sounds. Hospitals sometimes employ a more accurate procedure, but it is "invasive," involving insertion of a catheter in the artery.

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NASA NTRS1979

Gasoline Vapor Recovery

Gasoline is volatile and some of it evaporates during storage, giving off hydrocarbon vapor. Formerly, the vapor was vented into the atmosphere but anti-pollution regulations have precluded that practice in many localities, so oil companies and storage terminals are installing systems to recover hydrocarbon vapor. Recovery provides an energy conservation bonus in that most of the vapor can be reconverted to gasoline. Two such recovery systems are shown in the accompanying photographs (mid-photo at right and in the foreground below). They are actually two models of the same system, although.configured differently because they are customized to users' needs. They were developed and are being manufactured by Edwards Engineering Corporation, Pompton Plains, New Jersey. NASA technological information proved useful in development of the equipment.

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NASA NTRS1977

Coast Guard Firefighting Module

NASA and the U.S. Coast Guard are jointly developing a lightweight, helicopter-transportable, completely self-contained firefighting module for combating shipboard and dockside fires. The project draws upon NASA technology in high-capacity rocket engine pumps, lightweight materials and compact packaging.

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NASA NTRS1977

New Diagnostic Aids

Space Stat-30 is a compact instrument which determines the sodium and potassium levels of a blood sample in just 48 seconds. It is a spinoff from NASA technology developed to monitor health of astronauts on long-duration missions.

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NASA NTRS2007

Orion Entry, Descent, and Landing Simulation

The Orion Entry, Descent, and Landing simulation was created over the past two years to serve as the primary Crew Exploration Vehicle guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) design and analysis tool at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Advanced NASA Technology Architecture for Exploration Studies (ANTARES) simulation is a six degree-of-freedom tool with a unique design architecture which has a high level of flexibility. This paper describes the decision history and motivations that guided the creation of this simulation tool. The capabilities of the models within ANTARES are presented in detail. Special attention is given to features of the highly flexible GN&C architecture and the details of the implemented GN&C algorithms. ANTARES provides a foundation simulation for the Orion Project that has already been successfully used for requirements analysis, system definition analysis, and preliminary GN&C design analysis. ANTARES will find useful application in engineering analysis, mission operations, crew training, avionics-in-the-loop testing, etc. This paper focuses on the entry simulation aspect of ANTARES, which is part of a bigger simulation package supporting the entire mission profile of the Orion vehicle. The unique aspects of entry GN&C design are covered, including how the simulation is being used for Monte Carlo dispersion analysis and for support of linear stability analysis. Sample simulation output from ANTARES is presented in an appendix.

Hoelscher, Brian R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELIX)-Atlanta: A CDC-NASA Joint Environmental Public Health Tracking Collaborative Project

HELIX-Atlanta was developed to support current and future state and local EPHT programs to implement data linking demonstration projects which could be part of the CDC EPHT Network. HELIX-Atlanta is a pilot linking project in Atlanta for CDC to learn about the challenges the states will encounter. NASA/MSFC and the CDC are partners in linking environmental and health data to enhance public health surveillance. ~ The use of NASA technology creates value added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. Proving the feasibility of the approach is the main objective

Al-Hamdan, Mohammad↗
NASA NTRS2008

Remote Sensing, Air Quality, and Public Health

HELIX-Atlanta was developed to support current and future state and local EPHT programs to implement data linking demonstratio'n projects which could be part of the EPHT Network. HELIX-Atlanta is a pilot linking project in Atlanta for CDC to learn about the challenges the states will encounter. NASA/MSFC and the CDC are partners in linking environmental and health data to enhance public health surveillance. The use of NASA technology creates value - added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. Proving the feasibility of the approach is the main objective

Quattrochi, Dale A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Environmental Public Health Survelliance for Exposure to Respiratory Health Hazards: A Joint NASA/CDC Project to Use Remote Sensing Data for Estimating Airborne Particulate Matter Over the Atlanta, Georgia Metropolitan Area

Describes the public health surveillance efforts of NASA, in a joint effort with the Center for Disease Control (CDC). NASA/MSFC and the CDC are partners in linking nvironmental and health data to enhance public health surveillance. The use of NASA technology creates value - added geospatial products from existing environmental data sources to facilitate public health linkages. The venture sought to provide remote sensing data for the 5-country Metro-Atlanta area and to integrate this environmental data with public health data into a local network, in an effort to prevent and control environmentally related health effects. Remote sensing data used environmental data (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] Air Quality System [AQS] ground measurements and MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth [AOD]) to estimate airborne particulate matter over Atlanta, and linked this data with health data related to asthma. The study proved the feasibility of linking environmental data (MODIS particular matter estimates and AQS) with health data (asthma). Algorithms were developed for QC, bias removal, merging MODIS and AQS particulate matter data, as well as for other applications. Additionally, a Business Associate Agreement was negotiated for a health care provider to enable sharing of Protected Health Information.

Quattrochi, Dale A.↗