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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 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Prediction Model for the Life of Nickel-cadmium Batteries in Geosynchronous Orbit Satellites

A mathematical model is described which predicts the service life of nickel-cadmium batteries designed for geosynchronous orbit satellites. Regression analysis technique is used to analyze orbital data on second generation trickle charged batteries. The model gives average cell voltage as a function of design parameters, operating parameters and time. The voltage model has the properties of providing a good fit to the data, good predictive capability, and agreement with known battery performance characteristics. Average cell voltage can be predicted to within 0.02 volts for up to 8 years. This modeling shows that these batteries will operate reliably for 10 years. Third-generation batteries are expected to operate even longer.

Engleman, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Development of vendor evaluation criteria and post-implementation considerations for MSFC center-wide executive information system

In June 1991, the MITRE Corporation submitted a series of recommendations as part of a Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Management Information System Requirements Study, initiated by the Information Systems Office (ISO). A major recommendation of the study was to develop an Executive Information System (EIS) for MSFC executives. ISO was directed, by center management, to proceed with the development of a Center-Wide Executive Information System. Existing EIS prototypes, developed by the Space Shuttle Projects Office and the Payload Projects Office, were reviewed. These existing MSFC prototypes were considered not to encompass the required functionality needed on a center-wide basis. A follow-up study by MITRE provided top-level system requirements. These were later incorporated into a final requirements specification document by Boeing Computer Support Services.

Moynihan, Gary P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A generic archive protocol and an implementation

Archiving vast amounts of data has become a major part of every scientific space mission today. The Generic Archive/Retrieval Services Protocol (GRASP) addresses the question of how to archive the data collected in an environment where the underlying hardware archives may be rapidly changing. GRASP is a device independent specification defining a set of functions for storing and retrieving data from an archive, as well as other support functions. GRASP is divided into two levels: the Transfer Interface and the Action Interface. The Transfer Interface is computer/archive independent code while the Action Interface contains code which is dedicated to each archive/computer addressed. Implementations of the GRASP specification are currently available for DECstations running Ultrix, Sparcstations running SunOS, and microVAX/VAXstation 3100's. The underlying archive is assumed to function as a standard Unix or VMS file system. The code, written in C, is a single suite of files. Preprocessing commands define the machine unique code sections in the device interface. The implementation was written, to the greatest extent possible, using only ANSI standard C functions.

Jordan, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Cooperative Human-Adaptive Traffic Simulation (CHATS)

NASA is considering the development of a Cooperative Human-Adaptive Traffic Simulation (CHATS), to examine and evaluate performance of the National Airspace System (NAS) as the aviation community moves toward free flight. CHATS will be specifically oriented toward simulating strategic decision-making by airspace users and by the service provider s traffic management personnel, within the context of different airspace and rules assumptions. It will use human teams to represent these interests and make decisions, and will rely on computer modeling and simulation to calculate the impacts of these decisions. The simulation objectives will be to examine: 1. evolution of airspace users and the service provider s strategies, through adaptation to new operational environments; 2. air carriers competitive and cooperative behavior; 3. expected benefits to airspace users and the service provider as compared to the current NAS; 4. operational limitations of free flight concepts due to congestion and safety concerns. This paper describes an operational concept for CHATS, and presents a high-level functional design which would utilize a combination of existing and new models and simulation capabilities.

Phillips, Charles T.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Airport Surface Network Architecture Definition

Currently, airport surface communications are fragmented across multiple types of systems. These communication systems for airport operations at most airports today are based dedicated and separate architectures that cannot support system-wide interoperability and information sharing. The requirements placed upon the Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) systems in airports are rapidly growing and integration is urgently needed if the future vision of the National Airspace System (NAS) and the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) 2025 concept are to be realized. To address this and other problems such as airport surface congestion, the Space Based Technologies Project s Surface ICNS Network Architecture team at NASA Glenn Research Center has assessed airport surface communications requirements, analyzed existing and future surface applications, and defined a set of architecture functions that will help design a scalable, reliable and flexible surface network architecture to meet the current and future needs of airport operations. This paper describes the systems approach or methodology to networking that was employed to assess airport surface communications requirements, analyze applications, and to define the surface network architecture functions as the building blocks or components of the network. The systems approach used for defining these functions is relatively new to networking. It is viewing the surface network, along with its environment (everything that the surface network interacts with or impacts), as a system. Associated with this system are sets of services that are offered by the network to the rest of the system. Therefore, the surface network is considered as part of the larger system (such as the NAS), with interactions and dependencies between the surface network and its users, applications, and devices. The surface network architecture includes components such as addressing/routing, network management, network performance and security.

Nguyen, Thanh C.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Remote Asynchronous Message Service Gateway

The Remote Asynchronous Message Service (RAMS) gateway is a special-purpose AMS application node that enables exchange of AMS messages between nodes residing in different AMS "continua," notionally in different geographical locations. JPL s implementation of RAMS gateway functionality is integrated with the ION (Interplanetary Overlay Network) implementation of the DTN (Delay-Tolerant Networking) bundle protocol, and with JPL s implementation of AMS itself. RAMS protocol data units are encapsulated in ION bundles and are forwarded to the neighboring RAMS gateways identified in the source gateway s AMS management information base. Each RAMS gateway has interfaces in two communication environments: the AMS message space it serves, and the RAMS network - the grid or tree of mutually aware RAMS gateways - that enables AMS messages produced in one message space to be forwarded to other message spaces of the same venture. Each gateway opens persistent, private RAMS network communication channels to the RAMS gateways of other message spaces for the same venture, in other continua. The interconnected RAMS gateways use these communication channels to forward message petition assertions and cancellations among themselves. Each RAMS gateway subscribes locally to all subjects that are of interest in any of the linked message spaces. On receiving its copy of a message on any of these subjects, the RAMS gateway node uses the RAMS network to forward the message to every other RAMS gateway whose message space contains at least one node that has subscribed to messages on that subject. On receiving a message via the RAMS network from some other RAMS gateway, the RAMS gateway node forwards the message to all subscribers in its own message space.

Wang, Shin-Ywan↗
NASA NTRS2015

Impact of Airspace Charges on Transatlantic Aircraft Trajectories

Aircraft flying over the airspace of different countries are subject to over-flight charges. These charges vary from country to country. Airspace charges, while necessary to support the communication, navigation and surveillance services, may lead to aircraft flying routes longer than wind-optimal routes and produce additional carbon dioxide and other gaseous emissions. This paper develops an optimal route between city pairs by modifying the cost function to include an airspace cost whenever an aircraft flies through a controlled airspace without landing or departing from that airspace. It is assumed that the aircraft will fly the trajectory at a constant cruise altitude and constant speed. The computationally efficient optimal trajectory is derived by solving a non-linear optimal control problem. The operational strategies investigated in this study for minimizing aircraft fuel burn and emissions include flying fuel-optimal routes and flying cost-optimal routes that may completely or partially reduce airspace charges en route. The results in this paper use traffic data for transatlantic flights during July 2012. The mean daily savings in over-flight charges, fuel cost and total operation cost during the period are 17.6 percent, 1.6 percent, and 2.4 percent respectively, along the cost- optimal trajectories. The transatlantic flights can potentially save $600,000 in fuel cost plus $360,000 in over-flight charges daily by flying the cost-optimal trajectories. In addition, the aircraft emissions can be potentially reduced by 2,070 metric tons each day. The airport pairs and airspace regions that have the highest potential impacts due to airspace charges are identified for possible reduction of fuel burn and aircraft emissions for the transatlantic flights. The results in the paper show that the impact of the variation in fuel price on the optimal routes is to reduce the difference between wind-optimal and cost-optimal routes as the fuel price increases. The additional fuel consumption is quantified using the 30 percent variation in fuel prices during March 2014 to March 2015.

aircraft scheduling↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Hybrid CFD/Engineering Model for Predicting Plume Induced Erosion and Cratering

The Descent Interpolated Gas-Granular Erosion Model (DIGGEM) is a hybrid computational fluid dynamics (CFD) / engineering model calibrated with flight data from Apollo. It is used for the prediction of plume induced viscous erosion and cratering during the descent of landing vehicles. The model assumes a functional relationship between local shear stress and eroded mass flux. It is used along with a suite of other tools to predict complex plume induced environments for Human Landing System (HLS) and Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPSS) vehicles.

PSI↗
DOE OSTI2021

AC Power Flow Based DLMP Calculation and Decomposition Method to Smooth Power Fluctuation of Distributed Renewable Energy Sources

As the penetration of renewable energy sources increases, the growing renewable power variability brings ramping issues to power systems. Meanwhile, the development of distributed energy resources (DERs) makes the distribution systems to provide both energy and ancillary services. To incentivise individual resources and customers to alleviate ramping issues on the demand side, a two-stage distribution locational marginal price (DLMP) calculation and decomposition method is developed to formulate the marginal power ramping price for DERs. In the first stage of the proposed method, a distribution system operator market scheduling model based on AC optimal power flow is designed to estimate the optimal operating point of the distribution system. Subsequently, the voltage and power flow constraints are linearised in stage two to calculate DLMP. Finally, based on the Lagrange function and sensitivity factors, DLMP is decomposed to the marginal costs for active/reactive power, voltage management, power loss and power variability. Case studies demonstrate that the proposed model can effectively smooth the power fluctuation and reduce the ramping flexibility requirements of distribution systems.

AC optimal power flow↗
NASA NTRS2004

Development and Evaluation of an Airborne Separation Assurance System for Autonomous Aircraft Operations

NASA Langley Research Center is developing an Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP) that functions as an Airborne Separation Assurance System for autonomous flight operations. This development effort supports NASA s Distributed Air-Ground Traffic Management (DAG-TM) operational concept, designed to significantly increase capacity of the national airspace system, while maintaining safety. Autonomous aircraft pilots use the AOP to maintain traffic separation from other autonomous aircraft and managed aircraft flying under today's Instrument Flight Rules, while maintaining traffic flow management constraints assigned by Air Traffic Service Providers. AOP is designed to facilitate eventual implementation through careful modeling of its operational environment, interfaces with other aircraft systems and data links, and conformance with established flight deck conventions and human factors guidelines. AOP uses currently available or anticipated data exchanged over modeled Arinc 429 data buses and an Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast 1090 MHz link. It provides pilots with conflict detection, prevention, and resolution functions and works with the Flight Management System to maintain assigned traffic flow management constraints. The AOP design has been enhanced over the course of several experiments conducted at NASA Langley and is being prepared for an upcoming Joint Air/Ground Simulation with NASA Ames Research Center.

Barhydt, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2001

Automating Trend Analysis for Spacecraft Constellations

Spacecraft trend analysis is a vital mission operations function performed by satellite controllers and engineers, who perform detailed analyses of engineering telemetry data to diagnose subsystem faults and to detect trends that may potentially lead to degraded subsystem performance or failure in the future. It is this latter function that is of greatest importance, for careful trending can often predict or detect events that may lead to a spacecraft's entry into safe-hold. Early prediction and detection of such events could result in the avoidance of, or rapid return to service from, spacecraft safing, which not only results in reduced recovery costs but also in a higher overall level of service for the satellite system. Contemporary spacecraft trending activities are manually intensive and are primarily performed diagnostically after a fault occurs, rather than proactively to predict its occurrence. They also tend to rely on information systems and software that are oudated when compared to current technologies. When coupled with the fact that flight operations teams often have limited resources, proactive trending opportunities are limited, and detailed trend analysis is often reserved for critical responses to safe holds or other on-orbit events such as maneuvers. While the contemporary trend analysis approach has sufficed for current single-spacecraft operations, it will be unfeasible for NASA's planned and proposed space science constellations. Missions such as the Dynamics, Reconnection and Configuration Observatory (DRACO), for example, are planning to launch as many as 100 'nanospacecraft' to form a homogenous constellation. A simple extrapolation of resources and manpower based on single-spacecraft operations suggests that trending for such a large spacecraft fleet will be unmanageable, unwieldy, and cost-prohibitive. It is therefore imperative that an approach to automating the spacecraft trend analysis function be studied, developed, and applied to missions such as DRACO with the intent that mission operations costs be significantly reduced. The goal of the Constellation Spacecraft Trend Analysis Toolkit (CSTAT) project is to serve as the pathfinder for a fully automated trending system to support spacecraft constellations. The development approach to be taken is evolutionary. In the first year of the project, the intent is to significantly advance the state of the art in current trending systems through improved functionality and increased automation. In the second year, the intent is to add an expert system shell, likely through the adaptation of an existing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) or government-off-the-shelf (GOTS) tool to implement some level of the trending intelligence that humans currently provide in manual operations. In the third year, the intent is to infuse the resulting technology into a near-term constellation or formation-flying mission to test it and gain experience in automated trending. The lessons learned from the real missions operations experience will then be used to improve the system, and to ultimately incorporate it into a fully autonomous, closed-loop mission operations system that is truly capable of supporting large constellations. In this paper, the process of automating trend analysis for spacecraft constellations will be addressed. First, the results of a survey on automation in spacecraft mission operations in general, and in trending systems in particular will be presented to provide an overview of the current state of the art. Next, a rule-based model for implementing intelligent spacecraft subsystem trending will be then presented, followed by a survey of existing COTS/GOTS tools that could be adapted for implementing such a model. The baseline design and architecture of the CSTAT system will be presented. Finally, some results obtained from initial software tests and demonstrations will be presented.

Davis, George↗
NASA NTRS2011

SpaceCube Demonstration Platform

A document discusses how the HST SM4 SpaceCube flight spare was modified to create an experiment called the Space- Cube Demonstration Platform (SC DP) for use on the MISSE7 Space Station payload (in collaboration with NRL). It is designed to serve as an on-orbit platform for demonstrating advanced fault tolerance technologies. A simple C&DH (command and data handling) system was developed for the Virtex4 FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays). Both Virtex4s on each SpaceCube run the same program, and both receive incoming telemetry. The rad-hard service FPGA performs simple error checking to verify that the incoming telemetry is valid. The SpaceCube framework was modified to allow for new program files to be sent from the ground, to be stored on the SpaceCube, and to be executed through ground commands. Each SpaceCube Virtex4 FPGA has resources set aside for experiments that are functionally isolated from the C&DH system. The experiments communicate to the C&DH system through a set of dual port memories, and this area is where the fault-tolerance experiments are executed. With the use of Xilinx commercial Virtex4 FX60 FPGAs, the fault tolerant framework allows the system to recover from radiation upsets that occur in the rad-soft parts (Virtex4 FPGA logic, embedded PPCs in Virtex4 FPGAs, SDRAM and Flash), the C&DH system that runs simultaneously on both Virtex4 FPGAs that uses a robust telemetry packet structure, checksums, and the rad-hard service FPGA to validate incoming telemetry. The ability to be reconfigured from the ground while in orbit is a novel benefit, as well as is the onboard compression capabilities that allow compressed files from the ground to be uploaded to the SpaceCube.

Espinosa, Daniel↗
DOE OSTI2026

PopGNN: Graph Neural Network-Based Flexible Future Population Forecasting Model

Accurate population forecasts is important to plan critical infrastructure and services, from housing and education to healthcare and transport. However, traditional population prediction studies have only employed traditional machine learning models limited to capture complex spatial interdependencies and patterns. Althogh recently computer vision-based framework was introduced with with promising accuracy, it has critical limitations for real-world planning applications: it function only at fixed spatial resolutions, restricting their use in diverse boundaries such as census tracts, neighborhoods, or administrative zones. Therefore, this study suggests a Graph Neural Network (GNN)-based population prediction framework, called PopGNN. This model recorded remarkable performance compared with state-of-the-art models and traditional baseline models in the grid and administrative boundaries. Furthermore, our framework achieved comparable predictive accuracy to a computer vision-based model in both the South Korea and Tennessee case studies. Consequently, this study is valuable in that a single model can provide accurate population forecasts that address diverse planning demands, ranging from granular grid-level estimates for precise service allocation and facility location planning to aggregate administrative-level forecasts for macro-scale regional policy and resource distribution.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Residual Stress Modeling with Phase Transformation for Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing of B91 Steel

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is an energy-efficient manufacturing technique used for near-net-shape production of functional industrial components. However, heat accumulation during deposition and the associated mechanical and metallurgical changes result in complex residual stress profiles across the cross section of the fabricated components. These residual stresses are detrimental to the service life of the components. In this study, sequentially coupled thermomechanical analysis of WAAM B91 steel is conducted to quantify the residual stress variation across the component. The thermomechanical analysis includes a transient heat transfer model and a static stress model that incorporates the transformation-induced plasticity due to martensitic phase transformation. Here, the experimentally calibrated heat transfer model mirrors the temperature variation of the system during the deposition. The results from the stress model are validated via x-ray diffraction measurements, and the numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental data.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Choosing the Right Tool: A Comparative Study of Wetland Assessment Approaches

There are over 700 aquatic ecological assessment approaches across the globe that meet specific institutional goals. However, in many cases, multiple assessment tools are designed to meet the same management need, resulting in a confusing array of overlapping options. Here, we look at six riverine wetland assessments currently in use in Montana, USA, and ask which tool (1) best captures the condition across a disturbance gradient and (2) has the most utility to meet the regulatory or management needs. We used descriptive statistics to compare wetland assessments (n = 18) across a disturbance gradient determined by a landscape development intensity. Factor analysis showed that many of the tools had internal metrics that did not correspond well with overall results, hindering the tool’s ability to act as designed. We surveyed regional wetland managers (n = 56) to determine the extent of their use of each of the six tools and how well they trusted the information the assessment tool provided. We found that the Montana Wetland Assessment Methodology best measured the range of disturbance and had the highest utility to meet Clean Water Act (CWA§ 404) needs. Montana Department of Environmental Quality was best for the CWA§ 303(d) & 305(b) needs. The US Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Riparian Assessment Tool was the third most used by managers but was the tool that had the least ability to distinguish across a disturbance, followed by the US Bureau of Land Management’s Proper Functioning Condition.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Large-Signal Stability of Phase-Balanced Equilibria in Single-Phase Grid-Forming Inverter Systems

This article explores the setup where large numbers of single-phase grid-forming inverters with droop control across distribution networks self-organize into a stable and balanced system with 120° phase offsets across aggregates in the absence of balanced three-phase generating resources or external communication. A suite of circuit- and system-theoretic notions are leveraged to derive a dynamical model for phase-angle differences across aggregates of inverters connected in the three phases. Focusing on this model, large-signal stability is established and the region of attraction of the phase-balanced equilibria is determined with the aid of a Lyapunov function. Experimental validation for a bench-top prototype network is included to support the analytical developments. Altogether, the effort supports the vision of facilitating balanced operation of distribution networks with grid-forming inverters during service disruptions at the bulk transmission network.

Droop control↗
DOE OSTI2021

Tree Diversity, Site Index, and Carbon Storage Decrease With Aridity in Douglas-Fir Forests in Western Canada

Forests are important for biodiversity, timber production and carbon accumulation, but these ecosystem services may be impacted by climate change. Field data collected from individual forest types occurring across a climatic gradient can contribute to forecasting these consequences. We examined how changes in temperature, precipitation and aridity affect ecosystem services in 23 mature Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in nine climatic regions across a 900 km gradient in British Columbia, Canada. Using Canadian National Forest Inventory methodology, we assessed richness and diversity of plant functional groups, site index, and above- and below-ground carbon stocks. As aridity increased, ecosystem-level tree species richness declined on average from four to one species, Douglas-fir site index declined from 30 to 15 m, and ecosystem carbon storage decreased from 565 to 222 Mg ha –1 . Tree species richness was positively and herb species richness negatively correlated with carbon storage. Carbon storage by ecosystem compartment was largest in aboveground live tree biomass, declining in the following order: mineral soils > coarse woody debris and dead standing trees > forest floor > small and fine woody debris > understory plants. Mineral soil carbon at depths of 0-15 cm, 15-35 cm, and 35-55 cm increased with increasing mean annual precipitation and decreasing aridity. Our results indicate that as aridity increases and precipitation decreases, tree species richness, site index and carbon storage in existing Douglas-fir forests declines. However, assisted or natural migration of Douglas-fir into more humid regions could be associated with more diverse, productive, carbon-rich forests. This study informs carbon stock vulnerability and provides empirical data essential for carbon stock forecasts.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1976

Dimensional stability

The temporal stability of glass and glass-ceramic materials is important to the success of a large diffraction-limited telescope. The results are presented of an experimental study of the dimensional stability of glasses and glass ceramics being considered for substrates of massive diffraction-limited mirrors designed for several years of service in earth orbit. The purpose of the study was to measure the relative change in length of the candidate substrate materials, to the order of 5 parts in 10 to the 8th power, as a function of several years time. The development of monolithic test etalons, the development and improvement of two types of ultra-high precision interferometers, and certain aspects of tests data presently achieved are discussed.

Hocken, R.↗