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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

Implementation of sensor and control designs for bioregenerative systems

The EGM 4000/4001 Engineering Design class is an interdisciplinary design course that allows students to experience the design process. The projects involved the design of sensors and subsystems of a closed-loop life support system (CLLSS) with special emphasis on the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) currently being developed at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) by NASA. To understand the work performed by the students, one must understand the purpose and concept of a CLLSS system. In the years to come, NASA will be constructing Moon bases and sending astronauts to other worlds on extended space missions. In order to support the crews, unreasonably large quantities of supplies would have to be sent from Earth. These supplies would be difficult to transport and require large holds. To remedy this problem, NASA plans to incorporate crops into the spacecraft. These crops would supply food for the crews, as well as provide beneficial psychological side effects. In addition, the plants would recycle the air and human waste and provide oxygen and water for the humans. The students in the design class were to work on supporting this project. In order to do this successfully, the course was separated into two phases. The first semester involved studying the various aspects of a CLLSS to determine sensing needs and develop ideas. The second semester involved first determining which of the ideas were most promising. Specific sensors were then designed and tested under laboratory conditions with promising results. Finally, recommendations for further development were proposed. Atmosphere and temperature control, nutrient delivery, plant health and propagation, and resource recycling are discussed.

Source record↗

RTG Waste Heat System for the Cassini Propulsion Module

This paper describes the thermal design for the propulsion module subsystem (PMS), and presents the results from the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) waste heat thermal test, and it summarizes the adjustment techniques and their relative effectiveness; it also shows the resulting predicted PMS flight temperatures relative to the requirements.

Cassini thermal design propulsion module subsystem↗

Application of the locally self-consistent embedding approach to the Anderson model with non-uniform random distributions

Highlights: • Typical Medium Theory (TMT) for the Anderson Localization. • Locally Self-Consistent Multiple Scattering Method (LSMS) for Random Disordered Systems. • Linear Scaling Computational Method for Random Disordered Systems. We apply the recently developed embedding scheme for the locally self-consistent method to random disorder electrons systems. The method is based on the locally self-consistent multiple scattering theory and the typical medium theory. The locally self-consistent multiple scattering theory divides a system into many small designated local interaction zones. The subsystem within each local interaction zone is embedded in a self-consistent field from the typical medium theory. This approximation allows the study of random systems with large numbers of sites. We present results for the three dimensional Anderson model with different random disorder potential distributions. Using the typical density of states as an indicator of Anderson localization, we find that the method can capture the localization for commonly studied disorder potentials. These include the uniform distribution, the Gaussian distribution, and even the unbounded Cauchy distribution.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Diagnostic system design for the Ion Auxiliary Propulsion System /IAPS/ - Flight test of two 8 cm mercury ion thrusters

The experimental design of a Diagnostic Subsystem (DSS) as part of an Ion Auxiliary Propulsion System (IAPS) to be flown on P80-1 spacecraft in May 1983, is discussed. The DSS is composed of several detectors measuring thruster efflux, material deposition and spacecraft potential relative to the local space plasma in the vicinity of two 8 cm mercury ion thrusters. The detectors consist of two QCM units measuring frequency in the range of two to 65 KHz. Nine solar cell arrays have the capability of measuring current and voltage from 0-600 mA and 0-0.9 V. Seven ion collectors can measure ion currents with bias voltages of 0, 25, 55 and 96 V. The potential probe can measure current at 16 different commandible levels varying from one to 5 K microamperes within a voltage range of -25 to 175 V. The analysis of the ground-based data indicates that the hardware is qualified for flight, with the detectors and electronic units having passed all functional and environmental tests. Block diagrams are given and the functional parameters of the different design configurations are described.

Hurst, E. B.↗

Fire-station solar-energy system--Kansas City, Missouri

Screen-walled, flat-plate air collectors are part of award-winning architectural design; concrete-box storage subsystem, domestic hot-water preheat tank, blowers, pumps, heat exchangers, ducting, controls, and plumbing complete solar system. Design provides half of space heating and 75 percent of heat for domestic hot-water for fire station. Report includes historical narrative of project along with detailed drawings, charts, and product literature.

Source record↗

Integrated System-Level Optimization for Concurrent Engineering With Parametric Subsystem Modeling

The introduction of concurrent design practices to the aerospace industry has greatly increased the productivity of engineers and teams during design sessions as demonstrated by JPL's Team X. Simultaneously, advances in computing power have given rise to a host of potent numerical optimization methods capable of solving complex multidisciplinary optimization problems containing hundreds of variables, constraints, and governing equations. Unfortunately, such methods are tedious to set up and require significant amounts of time and processor power to execute, thus making them unsuitable for rapid concurrent engineering use. This paper proposes a framework for Integration of System-Level Optimization with Concurrent Engineering (ISLOCE). It uses parametric neural-network approximations of the subsystem models. These approximations are then linked to a system-level optimizer that is capable of reaching a solution quickly due to the reduced complexity of the approximations. The integration structure is described in detail and applied to the multiobjective design of a simplified Space Shuttle external fuel tank model. Further, a comparison is made between the new framework and traditional concurrent engineering (without system optimization) through an experimental trial with two groups of engineers. Each method is evaluated in terms of optimizer accuracy, time to solution, and ease of use. The results suggest that system-level optimization, running as a background process during integrated concurrent engineering sessions, is potentially advantageous as long as it is judiciously implemented.

Schuman, Todd↗

Sabatier Engineering Development Unit

To facilitate life support system loop closure on board the International Space Station (ISS), the Node 3 Oxygen Generation System (OGS) rack contains a functional scar to accommodate a carbon dioxide reduction assembly (CRA). As part of the effort to better understand and define the functional scar, significant risk mitigation activities have been performed. To address integration risks, a CRA Engineering Development Unit (EDU) has been developed that is functionally equivalent to a flight CRA and is suitable for integrating with ground based carbon dioxide removal and oxygen generation systems. The CRA EDU has been designed to be functionally equivalent to the Sabatier Reactor Subsystem (SRS) portion of the CRA. The design of the CRA EDU and testing results in a stand alone configuration with simulated OGA and CDRA interfaces are reported. Carbon dioxide flow control is a major area requiring development since the size of the CO2 accumulator may result in periods of CRA starvation. The capability of the CO2 flow control algorithm to effectively manage integrated CRA operations is discussed.

Perry, Jay↗

The Prompt Processing System and Data Quality Monitoring in the ProtoDUNE-SP Experiment

The DUNE Collaboration is conducting an experimental program (named protoDUNE) which involves a beam test of two large-scale prototypes of the DUNE Far Detector at CERN operating in 2018-2019. The volume of data to be collected by the protoDUNE-SP (the single-phase detector) will amount to a few petabytes and the sustained rate of data sent to mass storage is in the range of a few hundred MB per second. After collection the data is committed to storage at CERN and transmitted to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in the US for processing, analysis and long-term preservation. The protoDUNE experiment requires substantial Data Quality Monitoring capabilities in order to ascertain the condition of the detector and its various subsystems. We present the design of the protoDUNE Prompt Processing System, its deployment at CERN and its performance during the data challenges and actual data taking.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

A cryogenic continuously rotating half-wave plate mechanism for the POLARBEAR-2b cosmic microwave background receiver

In this report we present the design and laboratory evaluation of a cryogenic continuously rotating half-wave plate (CHWP) for the POLARBEAR-2b (PB-2b) cosmic microwave background receiver, the second installment of the Simons Array. PB-2b will observe at 5200 m elevation in the Atacama Desert of Chile in two frequency bands centered at 90 GHz and 150 GHz. In order to suppress atmospheric 1/f noise and mitigate systematic effects that arise when differencing orthogonal detectors, PB-2b modulates linear sky polarization using a CHWP rotating at 2 Hz. The CHWP has a 440 mm clear aperture diameter and is cooled to ≈50 K in the PB-2b receiver cryostat. It consists of a low-friction superconducting magnetic bearing and a low-torque synchronous electromagnetic motor, which together dissipate < 2 W. During cooldown, a grip-and-release mechanism centers the rotor to < 0.5 mm, and during continuous rotation, an incremental optical encoder measures the rotor angle with a noise level of 0.1 μrad/Hz. We discuss the experimental requirements for the PB-2b CHWP, the designs of its various subsystems, and the results of its evaluation in the laboratory. The presented CHWP has been deployed to Chile and is expected to see first light on PB-2b in 2020 or 2021.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Automatic Generation of Event Trees and Fault Trees: A Model-Based Approach

In the past few decades, the increasing complexity of modern engineering systems has been driven by the integration of a large number of components whose operations may involve many disciplines (e.g., thermal hydraulics, plant operations, cybersecurity). Most computational tools used by industry and regulators for system safety and reliability assessments are still based on the traditional fault tree (FT) and event tree (ET) approach, which may not be able to capture complex interactions among system constituents. The use of simulation tools has widely increased in the past few decades to improve the fidelity of the reliability and safety analyses. However, the direct use of simulation tools as part of dynamic probabilistic risk assessment (DPRA) methods is not getting traction since (1) modeling the whole system under consideration with DPRA methods may be computationally expensive and unnecessary, and (2) the manual integration of DPRA models into existing state-of-practice probabilistic risk assessment models (i.e., based on FTs and ETs) can be time consuming and prone to errors. Here, in this paper we propose a procedure to overcome this limitation by presenting several algorithms designed to automatically construct subsystem ETs and FTs from DPRA methods for integration into an existing ET/FT system model.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗