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At least 1,135 records · Page 63

Videogrammetry Using Projected Circular Targets: Proof-of-Concept Test

Videogrammetry is the science of calculating 3D object coordinates as a function of time from image sequences. It expands the method of photogrammetry to multiple time steps enabling the object to be characterized dynamically. Photogrammetry achieves the greatest accuracy with high contrast, solid-colored circular targets. The high contrast is most often effected using retro-reflective targets attached to the measurement article. Knowledge of the location of each target allows those points to be tracked in a sequence of images, thus yielding dynamic characterization of the overall object. For ultra-lightweight and inflatable gossamer structures (e.g. solar sails, inflatable antennae, sun shields, etc.) where it may be desirable to avoid physically attaching retro-targets, a high-density grid of projected circular targets - called dot projection - is a viable alternative. Over time the object changes shape or position independently of the dots. Dynamic behavior, such as deployment or vibration, can be characterized by tracking the overall 3D shape of the object instead of tracking specific object points. To develop this method, an oscillating rigid object was measured using both retro- reflective targets and dot projection. This paper details these tests, compares the results, and discusses the overall accuracy of dot projection videogrammetry.

Black, Jonathan T.↗

Methods of Measuring Secondary Electron Emission and Analysis of Spacecraft Charging Simulation

The scope of the internship project was to help the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) at KSC gain an understanding as to what parameters related to secondary electron emission (SEE), and electrostatic discharge (ESD) could be measured within its own facilities. As well as assistance in developing a plan for the ESPL to acquire the capabilities to measure other necessary parameters, to reduce the reliance on measurement data from facilities outside of the agency. The intern also worked closely with agency customers of the Launch Services Program (LSP) in expanding the MAPTIS database to incorporate various electrostatic and physical properties of materials used in the Gateway Program. This involved cross-center collaboration with industry and NASA contracted academia members in order to fill in the gaps of data that is missing from the database. Overall, the internship provided assistance in coordinating the approval for more materials to be added to the MAPTIS database, and continuing to assist the team at the ESPL in their consulting work for the agency through the use of various spacecraft charging and ESD simulation programs (i.e., NASCAP, NUMIT2.1). As well as assisting in the CAD design and implementation of an electrodynamic dust shield (EDS) for use in upcoming spaceflight missions. This was all done with the aim of helping the ESPL demonstrate its capabilities for the agency, and to continue expanding and localizing measurement techniques at KSC to help streamline obtaining the information NASA needs to ensure safety in current and future missions.

dust↗

Seven Key Principles of Program and Project Success: A Best Practices Survey

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Organization Design Team (ODT), consisting of 20 seasoned program and project managers and systems engineers from a broad spectrum of the aerospace industry, academia, and government, was formed to support the Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) Program and the Constellation Systems Program. The purpose of the ODT was to investigate organizational factors that can lead to success or failure of complex government programs, and to identify tools and methods for the design, modeling, and analysis of new and more-efficient program and project organizations. The ODT conducted a series of workshops featuring invited lectures from seasoned program and project managers representing 25 significant technical programs spanning 50 years of experience. The result was the identification of seven key principles of program success that can be used to help design and operate future program organizations. This paper presents the success principles and examples of best practices that can significantly improve the design of program, project, and performing technical line organizations, the assessment of workforce needs and organization performance, and the execution of programs and projects.

Bilardo, Vincent J.↗

Digital Radiography Qualification of Tube Welding

The Orion Project will be directing Lockheed Martin to perform orbital arc welding on commodities metallic tubing as part of the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle assembly and integration process in the Operations and Checkout High bay at Kennedy Space Center. The current method of nondestructive evaluation is utilizing traditional film based x-rays. Due to the high number of welds that are necessary to join the commodities tubing (approx 470), a more efficient and expeditious method of nondestructive evaluation is desired. Digital radiography will be qualified as part of a broader NNWG project scope.

Carl, Chad↗

Trajectory Engineering with Modular Patched Conics for Entry Systems and TPS (TEMPEST)

Brief Presenter Biography (35 word limit): Bohdan Wesely is an Aerospace Engineer in the Entry Systems and Technology Division at Ames. He has worked on a variety of projects for NASA including integrated TPS (thermal protection system) flight hardware deliveries and testing services for commercial partners. Introduction: TEMPEST is a new trajectory analysis framework that is designed to fill the gap between dedicated flight mechanics tools and aerothermal and TPS sizing tools. The project started as an SJSU master’s thesis and has since evolved into a general conceptual design tool capable of studying a wide variety of entry problems. Development is ongoing in the Entry Systems and Technology Division at NASA ARC. Why TEMPEST: Space missions involving entry into a planetary atmosphere involve a series of unique requirements across multiple disciplines. Whether it is traditional entry descent and landing (EDL), or aerocapture, the vehicle must navigate to its target landing location or orbit state, and the TPS must protect the payload during entry. The design process typically involves iterative handoffs between various flight mechanics, flow solver, and material response level tools. During the early conceptual phase, a wide variety of feasible trajectories are simulated in a Monte Carlo scenario which broadly satisfy the mission or landing requirements. Next, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC), and other flow solver analyses are performed at various key trajectory points to generate an aero-database, heating and TPS design requirements also emerge at this stage. At this point, with updated aerodynamics from the various flow solvers, trajectories can be re-run, this in turn can change the required freestream conditions for the CFD tools, and as a project progresses, these analyses converge, and uncertainty is reduced. However, there is always a “hand-off” occurring between two inherently coupled phenomena. Analysis Description: One of the goals with TEMPEST is to use a variety of first principles estimation methods coupled with an atmosphere model to predict vehicle aerothermodynamics across the entire flight regime while propagating a 3 or 6 degree of freedom (DoF) trajectory. Aerodynamics methods include modified Newtonian, Maxwell and Cercignani- Lampis-Lord (CLL) for continuum, transitional, and free molecular flow regimes. Aerothermodynamics include boundary layer and reference enthalpy methods, and Mutation++ for non-equilibrium chemistry modeling. TEMPEST is also capable of stitching multiple trajectory segments together to study mission scenarios like multi-pass aerocapture and aero-gravity assists. Most of the program is implemented in MATLAB using modern system objects, it relies on several C++ shared libraries for supporting tools like Gmsh, the Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM), and Mutation++. The various first principles aerothermal estimation methods are discretized across either a structured axisymmetric panel mesh or an unstructured tri-mesh generated from an open-source tool such as Gmsh, this allows solutions on the same mesh to be compared across tools such as CB-Aero. CFD Coupling. A physics-aware, gaussian process CFD anchoring scheme is proposed to adjust the various first principles methods as a CFD database is populated. One goal for this anchoring module is to inform the project where CFD should be run. Full knowledge of the entire trajectory, atmosphere, and aerothermodynamics allows for easier identification of high sensitivity areas and uncertainty quantification. While the first principles effects are well known and proven accurate in existing tools such as CB- Aero and Cart3D, a physics aware CFD anchoring scheme increases tool credibility across a project lifecycle. Material Response Modeling. Correct TPS sizing is critical for optimizing mass for science payloads and ensuring mission success. The process typically involves a thermal analysis along the trajectory with surface heating environments as a boundary condition. Several design constraints are maximum bondline temperature and maximum recession with various margining techniques. The material response tool FIAT, developed out of NASA Ames, is currently being integrated into the TEMPEST environment. TPS recession, shape change, mass loss, and mass property alteration are all factors that can perturb an entry trajectory. For missions like Mars 2020, recession was minimal and was safely handled separately as a post process. For missions such as Jupiter Galileo with a high TPS mass fraction or asteroid entries, recession plays a major role. The proposed fully coupled scheme is to use an epoch-based approach where the trajectory integration is halted after a recession threshold, the energy balance and FIAT are solved at each panel, the mesh, aerodynamics, and mass properties are updated, and the trajectory continues. Several computational tradeoffs have been made during the development of TEMPEST to limit the cost of a single trajectory and preserve its utility as a conceptual, rapid iteration tool. Conclusion: Development of TEMPEST is ongoing and the project is still in its infancy. This talk aims to showcase its unique capabilities to support future NASA entry systems missions.

Bohdan O Wesely↗

Evaluation of an Alternate Method for Determining Yield Strength Offset Values for Selective Laser Sintered Polymeric Materials

Due to the unique characteristics of Additively Manufactured (AM) polymeric materials, typical mechanical strength characterization methods such as those commonly used for traditionally-processed polymers or composite materials can produce results that do not accurately represent material capabilities. In order to characterize mechanical properties of these materials, new test and analysis methods are required. As part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Advanced Composites Project (ACP), Boeing has evaluated true yield testing as an alternative or complimentary test to 0.2% offset yield testing for determining appropriate yield strength values of polymer materials. Previous testing has shown high strain, low modulus polymer materials such as selective laser sintered (SLS) Nylon 11 at elevated temperatures produce large variations in yield strength. The true yield test method was successful in finding the applied strain level when yield commences and appears to offer an increase in data robustness.

Henry, Chelsey↗

NASA Systems Engineering and Safety Culture: Aerospace Project Design and Implementation Challenges

Using Systems Engineering principles and the NASA Glenn Safety procedures and protocols, a rigorous method was developed to ensure safe testing and operation of a small, commercial off the shelf turbofan engine at the Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). The DGEN380 is a small, ~500-lbf thrust class, high-bypass, geared- turbofan engine with a separate flow nozzle. It is a modular, compact, lightweight turbofan with Full-Authority Digital Engine Control. It’s general characteristics make it an ideal candidate for utilization as a testbed for engine aero-acoustic technology maturation in a relevant performance environment. The DGEN380 is the core component of the DGEN Aero-propulsion Research Turbofan (DART) mobile test rig. The full presentation will describe the risk assessment and mitigation process applied to the DART by the project team. The identification and analysis of failure modes led to the development of risk mitigation plans, which include administrative, engineering, and physical controls for the safe operation of the DART test rig at the AAPL facility.

Systems Engineering, Aeronautics, safety↗

Monitoring vegetation conditions from LANDSAT for use in range management

A summary of the LANDSAT Great Plains Corridor projects and the principal results are presented. Emphasis is given to the use of satellite acquired phenological data for range management and agri-business activities. A convenient method of reducing LANDSAT MSS data to provide quantitative estimates of green biomass on rangelands in the Great Plains is explained. Suggestions for the use of this approach for evaluating range feed conditions are presented. A LANDSAT Follow-on project has been initiated which will employ the green biomass estimation method in a quasi-operational monitoring of range readiness and range feed conditions on a regional scale.

Haas, R. H.↗

GREMEX-A new management training concept

Goddard Research Engineering Management Exercise provides experience in R&D project decision making from a management rather than technological view. The participant directs a hypothetical project presented in the management simulation technique. He uses old or new methods without concern for rewards or penalties existing in real life.

Denault, M. F.↗

Spin projection of single-determinant wavefunctions

The components of the one- and two-particle density matrices resulting from spin projection of a single-determinant wave function are rederived by the method of expansion in terms of the natural orbitals of charge density, and the results are found to diverge from those given by Harriman and Sando for the two-particle case. The theory is generalized to include molecules with unequal numbers of electrons and basis orbitals and is applied to a number of organic molecules and ions. The correctness and internal consistency of the results argue in favor of the modification described.

Phillips, D. H.↗

The Pioneer Projects - Economical exploration of the solar system

The interplanetary Pioneer missions are reviewed in terms of management implications and cost control. The responsibilities, organizational structure, and management practices of the Pioneer Projects are presented. The lines of authority and areas of responsibility of the principal organizational elements supporting the Pioneer missions are identified, and the methods employed for maintaining effective and timely interactions among these elements are indicated. The technical and administrative functions of various organizational elements of the project are described. The management and control of activities prior to and during the hardware procurement phase are described to indicate the basis for obtaining visibility of the technical progress, utilization of resources, and cost performance of the contractors and other institutions supporting the Pioneer projects.

Spahr, J. R.↗

Lineaments on Skylab photographs: Detection, mapping, and hydrologic significance in central Tennessee

The author has identified the following significant results. Lineaments were detected on Skylab photographs by stereo viewing, projection viewing, and composite viewing. Sixty-nine percent more lineaments were found by stereo viewing than by projection, but segments of projection lineaments are longer; total length of lineaments found by these two methods is nearly the same. Most Skylab lineaments consist of topographic depression: stream channel alinements, straight valley walls, elongated swales, and belts where sinkholes are abundant. Most of the remainder are vegetation alinements. Lineaments are most common in dissected areas having a thin soil cover. Results of test drilling show: (1) the median yield of test wells on Skylab lineaments is about six times the median yield of all existing wells; (2) three out of seven wells on Skylab lineaments yield more than 6.3 1/s (110 gal/min): (3) low yields are possible on lineaments as well as in other favorable locations; and (4) the largest well yields can be obtained at well locations of Skylab lineaments that also are favorably located with respect to topography and geologic structure, and are in the vicinity of wells with large yields.

Moore, G. K.↗

Silicon Ingot Casting - Heat Exchanger Method (HEM). Multi-Wire Slicing - Fixed Abrasive Slicing Technique (Fast). Phase 4 Silicon Sheet Growth Development for the Large Area Sheet Task of the Low-Cost Solar Array Project

The crystallinity of large HEM silicon ingots as a function of heat flow conditions is investigated. A balanced heat flow at the bottom of the ingot restricts spurious nucleation to the edge of the melted-back seed in contact with the crucible. Homogeneous resistivity distribution over all the ingot has been achieved. The positioning of diamonds electroplated on wirepacks used to slice silicon crystals is considered. The electroplating of diamonds on only the cutting edge is described and the improved slicing performance of these wires evaluated. An economic analysis of value added costs of HEM ingot casting and band saw sectioning indicates the projected add on cost of HEM is well below the 1986 allocation.

Schmid, F.↗

Composite structural materials

Transverse properties of fiber constituents in composites, fatigue in composite materials, matrix dominated properties of high performance composites, numerical investigation of moisture effects, numerical investigation of the micromechanics of composite fracture, advanced analysis methods, compact lug design, and the RP-1 and RP-2 sailplanes projects are discussed.

Ansell, G. S.↗

Assessment of Alternative Aircraft Fuels

The purpose of this symposium is to provide representatives from industry, government, and academia concerned with the availability and quality of future aviation turbine fuels with recent technical results and a status review of DOD and NASA sponsored fuels research projects. The symposium has included presentations on the potential crude sources, refining methods, and characteristics of future fuels; the effects of changing fuel characteristics on the performance and durability of jet aircraft components and systems; and the prospects for evolving suitable technology to produce and use future fuels.

Source record↗

Characterization of Interlaminar Crack Growth in Composites with the Double Cantilever Beam Specimen

A project to examine the double cantilever beam specimen as a quantitative test method to assess the resistance of various composite materials to interlaminar crack growth is discussed. A second objective is to investigate the micromechanics of failure for composites with tough matrix resins from certain generic types of polymeric systems: brittle thermosets, toughened thermosets, and thermoplastics. Emphasis is given to a discussion of preliminary results in two areas: the effects of temperature and loading rate for woven composites, and the effects of matrix toughening in woven and unidirectional composites.

Hunston, D. L.↗

An overview of some investigations of pressure and thermal distributions induced by trailing edge controls on hypersonic aircraft

Detailed surface heat transfer and pressure distributions have been obtained in three-dimensional shock-wave boundary-layer interactions flow regions. The data described were obtained on fundamental shapes: planar wings with trailing edge flaps or spoilers and planar or cylindrical center bodies, representative of the aft portion of hypersonic aircraft. An overview of the work is presented; details of the projects are available in many reports in the open literature. Analytic, empiric methods are advanced for predicting the extent of separation and the increased heat transfer and pressure loads in three-dimensional separated flow regions.

Kaufman, Louis G., II↗

HOST combustion R and T overview

The overall objective of the Turbine Engine Hot Section Technology Combustion Project was to develop and verify improved and more accurate numerical analysis methods for increasing the ability to design with confidence combustion systems for advanced aircraft gas turbine engines. The objective was approached from two directions: computational and experimental. On the computational side, the approach was to first assess and evaluate existing combustor aerothermal analysis models. On the experimental side, three types of experiments are identified; first, fundamental experiments directed toward improved understanding of the flow physics and chemistry; second, experiments run to provide data for the empirical modeling of complex phenomena; and third, benchmark experiments for computer code validation.

Gaugler, Raymond E.↗