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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 937 records · Page 52
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Adaptation and optimization of a line-by-line radiative transfer program for the STAR-100 (STARSMART)

A program to calculate upwelling infrared radiation was modified to operate efficiently on the STAR-100. The modified software processes specific test cases significantly faster than the initial STAR-100 code. For example, a midlatitude summer atmospheric model is executed in less than 2% of the time originally required on the STAR-100. Furthermore, the optimized program performs extra operations to save the calculated absorption coefficients. Some of the advantages and pitfalls of virtual memory and vector processing are discussed along with strategies used to avoid loss of accuracy and computing power. Results from the vectorized code, in terms of speed, cost, and relative error with respect to serial code solutions are encouraging.

Rarig, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Multistage depressed collector with efficiency of 90 to 94 percent for operation of a dual-mode traveling wave tube in the linear region

An axisymmetric, multistage, depressed collector of fixed geometric design was evaluated in conjunction with an octave bandwidth, dual mode traveling wave tube (TWT). The TWT was operated over a wide range of conditions to simulate different applications. The collector performance was optimized (within the constraint of fixed geometric design) over the range of TWT operating conditions covered. For operation of the TWT in the linear, low distortion range, 90 percent and greater collector efficiencies were obtained leading to TWT overall efficiencies of 20 to 35 percent, as compared with 2 to 5 percent with an undepressed collector. With collectors of this efficiency and minimized beam interception losses, it becomes practical to design dual mode TWT's such that the low mode can represent operation well below saturation. Consequently, the required pulse up in beam current can be reduced or eliminated, and this mitigates beam control and dual mode TWT circuit design problems. For operation of the dual mode TWT at saturation, average collector efficiencies in excess of 85 percent were obtained for both the low and high modes across an octave bandwidth, leading to a three to fourfold increase in the TWT overall efficiency.

Ramins, P.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A gas chromatographic air analyzer fabricated on a silicon wafer

A miniature gas analysis system has been built based on the principles of gas chromatography (GC). The major components are fabricated in silicon using photolithography and chemical etching techniques, which allows size reductions of nearly three orders of magnitude compared to conventional laboratory instruments. The chromatography system consists of a sample injection valve and a 1.5-m-long separating capillary column, which are fabricated on a substrate silicon wafer. The output thermal conductivity detector is separately batch fabricated and integrably mounted on the substrate wafer. The theory of gas chromatography has been used to optimize the performance of the sensor so that separations of gaseous hydrocarbon mixtures are performed in less than 10 s. The system is expected to find application in the areas of portable ambient air quality monitors, implanted biological experiments, and planetary probes.

Terry, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

An adaptive-control switching buck regulator - Implementation, analysis, and design

Describing-function techniques and averaging methods have been employed to characterize a multiloop switching buck regulator by three functional blocks: power stage, analog signal processor, and pulse modulator. The model is employed to explore possible forms of pole-zero cancellation and the adaptive nature of the control to filter parameter changes. Analysis-based design guidelines are provided including a suggested additional RC-compensation loop to optimize regulator performances such as stability, audiosusceptibility, output impedance, and load transient response.

Lee, F. C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Response of nickel to zinc cells to electric vehicle chopper discharge waveforms

The preliminary results of simulated electric vehicle chopper controlled discharge of a Nickel/Zinc battery shows delivered energy increases of 5 to 25 percent compared to constant current discharges of the same average current. The percentage increase was a function of chopper frequency, the ratio of peak to average current, and the magnitude of the discharge current. Because the chopper effects are of a complex nature, electric vehicle battery/speed controller interaction must be carefully considered in vehicle design to optimize battery performance.

Cataldo, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Performance of computer-designed small-sized four-stage depressed collector for operation of dual-mode traveling wave tube

A computer-designed axisymmetric 2.4-cm-diameter four-stage depressed collectors was evaluated in conjunction with an octave bandwidth, dual-mode traveling wave tube (TWT). The TWT was operated over a wide range of conditions to simulate different applications. The collector performance was optimized (within the constraint of fixed collector geometry which was designed for operation of the TWT at saturation) over the range of TWT operating conditons covered. For operation of the dual-mode TWT at saturation, average collector efficiencies of 81 1/2 and 82 percent for the high and low modes, respectively, were obtained across an octave bandwidth, leading to a three-fold increase in the TWT overall efficiency. For operation of the TWT in the linear, low distortion range, collector efficiencies of 87 to 92 percent were obtained, leading to TWT overall efficiencies as high as 35 percent. For operation of the dual-mode TWT over a 10 to 1 range in output power, overall efficiencies of 14 to 41 percent were obtained.

Ramins, P.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Development and flight test evaluation of a pitch stability augmentation system for a relaxed stability L-1011

The L-1011 has been flight tested to demonstrate the relaxed static stability concept as a means of obtaining significant drag benefits to achieve a more energy efficient transport. Satisfactory handling qualities were maintained with the design of an active control horizontal tail for stability and control augmentation to allow operation of the L-1011 at centers of gravity close to the neutral point. Prior to flight test, a motion base visual flight simulator program was performed to optimize the augmentation system. The system was successfully demonstrated in a test program totaling forty-eight actual flight hours.

Rising, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Experimental measurement of passive material and structural damping for flexible space structures

Among the design objectives for large space structures are the maintenance of tight dimensional tolerance and the reduction of settling time after disturbance input. Two options are under consideration for the design of flexible structures to meet these objectives, including an active control option and a passive control option. In connection with both options, it is necessary to include material and structural damping in the design. A description is presented of the results of an experimental investigation of the damping of metallic and fibrous composite materials, taking into account also the analytical modeling and experimental verification of frictional damping schemes. To demonstrate how material and frictional damping can be combined, a simple structural optimization is performed, indicating the potential for significant savings in mass by the addition of frictional dampers.

Crawley, E. F.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Conservation of strategic metals

A long-range program in support of the aerospace industry aimed at reducing the use of strategic materials in gas turbine engines is discussed. The program, which is called COSAM (Conservation of Strategic Aerospace Materials), has three general objectives. The first objective is to contribute basic scientific understanding to the turbine engine technology bank so that our national security is not jeopardized if our strategic material supply lines are disrupted. The second objective is to help reduce the dependence of United States military and civilian gas turbine engines on worldwide supply and price fluctuations in regard to strategic materials. The third objective is, through research, to contribute to the United States position of preeminence in the world gas turbine engine markets by minimizing the acquisition costs and optimizing the performance of gas turbine engines. Three major research thrusts are planned: strategic element substitution; advanced processing concepts; and alternate material identification. Results from research and any required supporting technology will give industry the materials technology options it needs to make tradeoffs in material properties for critical components against the cost and availability impacts related to their strategic metal content.

Joseph R. Stephens↗
NASA NTRS1983

Information theory analysis of sensor-array imaging systems for computer vision

Information theory is used to assess the performance of sensor-array imaging systems, with emphasis on the performance obtained with image-plane signal processing. By electronically controlling the spatial response of the imaging system, as suggested by the mechanism of human vision, it is possible to trade-off edge enhancement for sensitivity, increase dynamic range, and reduce data transmission. Computational results show that: signal information density varies little with large variations in the statistical properties of random radiance fields; most information (generally about 85 to 95 percent) is contained in the signal intensity transitions rather than levels; and performance is optimized when the OTF of the imaging system is nearly limited to the sampling passband to minimize aliasing at the cost of blurring, and the SNR is very high to permit the retrieval of small spatial detail from the extensively blurred signal. Shading the lens aperture transmittance to increase depth of field and using a regular hexagonal sensor-array instead of square lattice to decrease sensitivity to edge orientation also improves the signal information density up to about 30 percent at high SNRs.

Huck, F. O.↗
NASA NTRS1983

An algorithm for the empirical optimization of antenna arrays

A numerical technique is presented to optimize the performance of arbitrary antenna arrays under realistic conditions. An experimental-computational algorithm is formulated in which n-dimensional minimization methods are applied to measured data obtained from the antenna array. A numerical update formula is used to induce partial derivative information without requiring special perturbations of the array parameters. The algorithm provides a new design for the antenna array, and the method proceeds in an iterative fashion. Test case results are presented showing the effectiveness of the algorithm.

Blank, S.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Technical support for AXAF

The effects of ray aberrations due to various surface errors on the point image are discussed, and a new method and rationale for optimizing the performance of nested arrays of grazing incidence telescopes is introduced.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1984

Transparent arrays: Progress toward higher efficiency

Principles and design considerations of IR transparent solar arrays are discussed. Optimization of performance of flexible solar arrays was studied. Measured solar absorptance as low as alpha s = 0.59 was achieved which leads to a predicted BOL power density of 182.7 = W/square meters. Advanced array concepts, system level cascaded panels, and transparent rigid panels are proposed and expected benefits discussed.

Pack, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

AFTI/F-16 DFCS development summary - A report to industry multimode control law design

The primary goal of the AFTI/F-16 program is to develop a reliable triplex digital multimode flight control system; this system is to be tailored to optimize fighter performance and capable of six-degree-of-freedom decoupled aircraft control. The multiple digital control law configurations arrived at through flight testing are presented. The changes in these designs from the results of flight tests establish that flight testing is an integral part of the development process. The flight test results are analyzed here from the standpoint of pilot comments and resulting control law design modifications.

Toles, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Adaptive mobile access protocol (AMAP) for the message service of a land mobile satellite experiment (MSAT-X)

This paper describes a feasibility study of the adaptive mobile access protocol (AMAP) for MSATA-X, a proposed experimental mobile satellite communication network. The mobiles are dispersed over a wide geographical area and the channel data rate is limited due to the size and cost limitations of mobile antennas. AMAP is a reservation based multiple-access scheme. The available bandwidth is divided into subchannels, which are divided into reservation and message channels. The ALOHA multiple-access scheme is employed in the reservation channels, while the message channels are demand assigned. AMAP adaptively reallocates the reservation and message channels to optimize system performance. It has been shown that if messages are generated at a rate of one message per hour, AMAP can support approximately 2000 active users per 2400 bit/s channel with an average delay of 1.4 s.

Li, V. O. K.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Structural Tailoring of SSME Blades (vanes)

The engine blade design optimization program STAEBL (Structural Tailoring of Engine Blades) is available at the NASA Lewis computer facility. The analysis capabilities of this program were extended to typical loading conditions for SSME turbopump blades including thermal and pressure loading. Input files for representative SSME blade designs were developed and sample optimization studies for these blades completed. The structural tailoring program combines a general optimization package and a finite element blade analysis package. The analysis package's capabilities include natural frequency, maximum stress, and forced response computation, and fatigue life and flutter analysis. Optimization is performed using the feasible directions method. The current design is modified by perturbing the design variables so that the design constraints are satisfied while the objective function, such as blade weight, is reduced at the maximum rate. The program's geometric design variables include blade thickness distribution, thickness to chord ratios, and root chord.

Rubinstein, R.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Antenna pointing of large flexible telecommunications spacecraft

Attitude control problems for large flexible telecommunications spacecraft were investigated. A typical S/C configuration is described and modeled by modal data derived from a finite element analysis. The effect of structural flexibility on radio-frequency sensor is analyzed. Model reduction using modal gain considerations is applied. Two control concepts are investigated: separate central body and antenna pointing control using direct feedback laws, centralized control using modal observer and optimal control. Performances of each concept and the algorithm implementation are assessed.

Govin, B.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Diamondlike carbon protective coatings for IR materials

Diamondlike carbon (DLC) films have the potential to protect optical windows in applications where it is important to maintain the integrity of the specular transmittance of these films on ZnS and ZnSe infrared transmitting windows. The films must be adherent and durable such that they protect the windows from rain and particle erosion as well as chemical attack. In order to optimize the performance of these films, 0.1 micro m thick diamondlike carbon films were deposited on fused silica and silicon wafers, using three different methods of ion beam deposition. One method was sputter deposition from a carbon target using an 8 cm ion source. The merits of hydrogen addition were experimentally evaluated in conjunction with this method. The second method used a 30 cm hollow cathode ion source with hydrocarbon/Argon gases to deposit diamondlike carbon films from the primary beam at 90 to 250 eV. The third method used a dual beam system employing a hydrocarbon/Argon 30 cm ion source and an 8 cm ion source. Films were evaluated for adherence, intrinsic stress, infrared transmittance between 2.5 and 50 micro m, and protection from particle erosion. An erosion test using a sandblaster was used to give quantitative values of the protection afforded to the fused silica by the diamondlike carbon films. The fused silica surfaces protected by diamondlike carbon films were exposed to 100 micro m diameter SiO particles at 60 mi/hr (26.8/sec) in the sandblaster.

Mirtich, M. J.↗