SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “AFTS”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,153 records · Page 64

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1986

Heat pipe cooling for scramjet engines

Liquid metal heat pipe cooling systems have been investigated for the combustor liner and engine inlet leading edges of scramjet engines for a missile application. The combustor liner is cooled by a lithium-TZM molybdenum annular heat pipe, which incorporates a separate lithium reservoir. Heat is initially absorbed by the sensible thermal capacity of the heat pipe and liner, and subsequently by the vaporization and discharge of lithium to the atmosphere. The combustor liner temperature is maintained at 3400 F or less during steady-state cruise. The engine inlet leading edge is fabricated as a sodium-superalloy heat pipe. Cooling is accomplished by radiation of heat from the aft surface of the leading edge to the atmosphere. The leading edge temperature is limited to 1700 F or less. It is concluded that heat pipe cooling is a viable method for limiting scramjet combustor liner and engine inlet temperatures to levels at which structural integrity is greatly enhanced.

Silverstein, Calvin C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Orbital transfer vehicle concept definition and systems analysis study. Volume 11: Study extension 2 results

Work conducted in the second extension of the Phase A Orbit Transfer Vehicle Concept Definition and Systems Analysis Study is summarized. Four major tasks were identified: (1) define an initial OTV program consistent with near term Civil Space Leadership Initiative missions; (2) develop program evolution to long term advanced missions; (3) investigate the implications of current STS safety policy on an Aft Cargo Carrier based OTV; and (4) expand the analysis of high entry velocity aeroassist. An increased emphasis on the breath of OTV applications was undertaken to show the need for the program on the basis of the expansion of the nation's capabilities in space.

Willcockson, W. H.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Flight motor set 360L001 (STS-26R), volume 1

The NASA space shuttle flight STS-26R, launched at 11:37.00.009 a.m. EDT on 29 Sep. 1988, used the redesigned solid rocket motors (RSRM) 360LOO1A and 360LOO1B. Evaluation of the ground environment instrumentation (GEI) data recorded prior to flight showed: (1) no launch commit criteria violations, (2) that the field joint heater and aft skirt thermal conditioning systems performed adequately, and (3) that the GEI data showed good agreement with thermal model predictions. Evaluation of the developmental flight instrumentation (DFI) revealed excellent agreement with both the predicted and required ballistic specifications. All parameters were well within the CEI specification requirements including propellant burn rates, specific impulse values, and thrust imbalance. Recorded strain values also indicated satisfactory radial growth and stress levels, as well as verification of adequate safety factors. Postflight inspection of the insulation, seals, case, and nozzles showed overall excellent performance. Some thermal DFI protective cork was missing, and inoperative field joint vent valves on the thermal protection cork allowed water entry into the field joints upon splashdown. Evaluation of these anomalies, as well as complete evaluation of all RSRM components, is presented.

Ricks, Glen A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Method to predict external store carriage loads at transonic speeds

A computational method for prediction of external store carriage loads at transonic speeds is described. The geometric flexibility required for treatment of isolated and underwing, pylon mounted stores is achieved by computing solutions on a five level embedded grid arrangement. A completely automated grid generation procedure facilitates applications. Store modeling capability consists of bodies of revolution with multiple fore and aft fins. A body conforming grid improves the accuracy of the computed store body flow field. A nonlinear finite difference relaxation scheme, developed specifically for modified transonic small disturbance flow equations, enhances numerical stability and accuracy. As a result, more accurate treatment of low aspect ratio, highly swept and tapered wing planforms is possible. A limited supersonic freestream capability is also provided. Pressure, load distribution, force and moment correlation show good agreement for several test cases.

Rosen, Bruce S.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Average-passage simulation of counter-rotating propfan propulsion systems as applied to cruise missiles

Counter-rotating propfan (CRP) propulsion technologies are currently being evaluated as cruise missile propulsion systems. The aerodynamic integration concerns associated with this application are being addressed through the computational modeling of the missile body-propfan flowfield interactions. The work described in this paper consists of a detailed analysis of the aerodynamic interactions between the control surfaces and the propfan blades through the solution of the average-passage equation system. Two baseline configurations were studied, the control fins mounted forward of the counter-rotating propeller and the control fins mounted aft of the counter-rotating propeller. In both cases, control fin-propfan separation distance and control fin deflection angle were varied.

Mulac, Richard A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Interior noise control ground test studies for advanced turboprop aircraft applications

The measurement and analysis procedures are documented, and the results of interior noise control ground tests conducted on a DC-9 aircraft test section are summarized. The objectives of these tests were to study the fuselage response characteristics of treated and untreated aircraft with aft-mount advanced turboprop engines and to analyze the effectiveness of selected noise control treatments in reducing passenger cabin noise on these aircraft. The results of fuselage structural mode surveys, cabin cavity surveys and sound intensity surveys are presented. The performance of various structural and cabin sidewall treatments is assessed, based on measurements of the resulting interior noise levels under simulated advanced turboprop excitation.

Simpson, Myles A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Orbital Transfer Vehicle: Concept definition and system analysis study

Findings and recommendations from the second extension of the Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) concept definition and system analysis study are outlined. The extension study opens the scope of potential recommendations by introducing a variety of ambitious programs, and by making the large cargo vehicle recommended by the Space Transportation Architecture Studies available at no acquisition cost to the OTV program. It is a further objective of the extension study to evaluate the sensitivity of OTV program recommendations to scenario variations such as different mission models, different launch vehicle availability, and different space station availability. Program/mission issues are addressed including safety considerations for the Aft Cargo Carrier (ACC) OTV. Design issues related to the development of a near-term expendable OTV, engine configuration tradeoffs, lunar missions, and program evolution are discussed. Finally, aeroassist considerations for a manned Mars mission and high speed entries are presented.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1989

Low-speed wind tunnel performance of high-speed counterrotation propellers at angle-of-attack

The low-speed aerodynamic performance characteristics of two advanced counterrotation pusher-propeller configurations with cruise design Mach numbers of 0.72 were investigated in the NASA Lewis 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel. The tests were conducted at Mach number 0.20, which is representative of the aircraft take-off/landing flight regime. The investigation determined the effect of nonuniform inflow on the propeller performance characteristics for several blade angle settings and a range of rotational speeds. The inflow was varied by yawing the propeller model to angle-of-attack by as much as plus or minus 16 degrees and by installing on the counterrotation propeller test rig near the propeller rotors a model simulator of an aircraft engine support pylon and fuselage. The results of the investigation indicated that the low-speed performance of the counterrotation propeller configurations near the take-off target operating points were reasonable and were fairly insensitive to changes in model angle-of-attack without the aircraft pylon/fuselage simulators installed on the propeller test rig. When the aircraft pylon/fuselage simulators were installed, small changes in propeller performance were seen at zero angle-of-attack, but fairly large changes in total power coefficient and very large changes of aft-to-forward-rotor torque ratio were produced when the propeller model was taken to angle-of-attack. The propeller net efficiency, though, was fairly insensitive to any changes in the propeller flowfield conditions near the take-off target operating points.

Hughes, Christopher E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Aerodynamic flight evaluation analysis and data base update

Research was conducted to determine the feasibility of replacing the Solid Rocket Boosters on the existing Space Shuttle Launch Vehicle (SSLV) with Liquid Rocket Boosters (LRB). As a part of the LRB selection process, a series of wind tunnel tests were conducted along with aero studies to determine the effects of different LRB configurations on the SSLV. Final results were tabulated into increments and added to the existing SSLV data base. The research conducted in this study was taken from a series of wind tunnel tests conducted at Marshall's 14-inch Trisonic Wind Tunnel. The effects on the axial force (CAF), normal force (CNF), pitching moment (CMF), side force (CY), wing shear force (CSR), wing torque moment (CTR), and wing bending moment (CBR) coefficients were investigated for a number of candidate LRB configurations. The aero effects due to LRB protuberances, ET/LRB separation distance, and aft skirts were also gathered from the tests. Analysis was also conducted to investigate the base pressure and plume effects due to the new booster geometries. The test results found in Phases 1 and 2 of wind tunnel testing are discussed and compared. Preliminary LRB lateral/directional data results and trends are given. The protuberance and gap/skirt effects are discussed. The base pressure/plume effects study is discussed and results are given.

Boyle, W. W.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Knowledge based and interactive control for the Superfluid Helium On-orbit Transfer Project

NASA's Superfluid Helium On-Orbit Transfer (SHOOT) project is a Shuttle-based experiment designed to acquire data on the properties of superfluid helium in micro-gravity. Aft Flight Deck Computer Software for the SHOOT experiment is comprised of several monitoring programs which give the astronaut crew visibility into SHOOT systems and a rule based system which will provide process control, diagnosis and error recovery for a helium transfer without ground intervention. Given present Shuttle manifests, this software will become the first expert system to be used in space. The SHOOT Command and Monitoring System (CMS) software will provide a near real time highly interactive interface for the SHOOT principal investigator to control the experiment and to analyze and display its telemetry. The CMS software is targeted for all phases of the SHOOT project: hardware development, pre-flight pad servicing, in-flight operations, and post-flight data analysis.

Castellano, Timothy P.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Monocular electro-optical stereo scanner

MEOSS is a single optics and single spectral band camera. Three CCD's working in pushbroom mode are mounted perpendicular to the flight direction on a common focal plate. Their oblique views of + and - 23 degrees forward and backward, as well as nadir oriented, lead to threefold stereoscopic images. This principle allows a nearly simultaneous generation of all three images of a stereo triplet. The time gap between the forward and aft looking images guarantees constant illumination conditions. The ground resolution of MEOSS will be 52 by 80 m ground pixel size, height resolution of 55 m and swath width of 255 km. The drifting ground coverage pattern of MEOSS is unique compared to polar orbiting satellites and will allow images of an area to be taken at different times of the day. A scene will consist of 3144 scan lines, with each having 3236 pixels. The data will be received by the Deep Space Network of JPL Goldstone and mailed to Goddard.

Vermillion, C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Thermal measurements for jets in disturbed and undisturbed crosswind conditions

A direct comparison is made of the thermal field properties for a low-disturbance and a high-disturbance level condition affecting the low-temperature air jets introduced into gas turbine combustor aft sections in order both to cool the high-temperature gases and quench the combustion reactions. Sixty-four fast-response thermocouples were simultaneously sampled and corrected for their time constant effect at a downstream plane close to the jet exit. Histograms formed from independent samples were sufficiently smooth to approximate a pdf.

Wark, Candace E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Laser velocimeter measurements of the flowfield generated by an advanced counterrotating propeller

Results are presented of an 0.72 regime, with the advance ratio of each rotor set at 2.80. The measured data indicate only a slight influence of the potential field of each front rotor blade on the flowfield upstream of the rotor. The data measured downstream of the front rotor characterize the tip vortices, vortex sheets and potential field nonuniformities generated by the front rotor. The unsteadiness of the flow in the rotating frame of reference of the aft rotor is also illustrated.

Podboy, Gary G.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Optical system design alternatives for the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer-Tilt (MODIS-T) for the Earth Observing System (EOS)

The MODIS consists of two synergistic sensors with a total of 104 spectral bands in the 0.4-14.2-micron range. MODIS-T (Tilt) is one of these sensors. It is a 64-channel imaging spectrometer with a required 10 nm spectral resolution (FWHM) in the 400 to 1040 nm spectral range. The system will have a 1 km IFOV, a wide scan for global coverage in three days, and be capable of being pointed fore and aft of nadir by + or - 50 degrees.

Maymon, Peter W.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Supersonic propeller noise in a uniform flow

The sound field produced by a supersonic propeller operating in a uniform flow is investigated. The main interest is the effect of the finite forward flight speed on the directivity of the sound field as seen by an observer on the aircraft. It is found that there are cones of silence on the axis of the propeller. The semiapex angles on these cones are equal fore and aft of the propeller plane, and depend on the tip Mach number only. The Fourier coefficients of the acoustic pressure contain the Doppler amplification factor. The sound field weakens in the upstream direction and strengthen downstream. Kinematic considerations of the emitted Mach waves not only confirm these results, but also provide physical insight into the sound generation mechanism. The predicted zone of silence and the Doppler amplification factor are compared to the theoretical prediction of shock wave formation and the flight test of the SR3 propeller.

Jou, Wen-Huei↗

NASA NTRS1989

Power from the Space Shuttle

The use of the Space Shuttle to provide avionics and electrical power accommodations to a large dedicated payload and/or to multiple smaller payloads throughout the flight is studied. The payload equipment can be mounted in the Shuttle Orbiter aft flight deck and middeck portions of the crew cabins and in the Orbiter cargo bay. The Orbiter provides avionics services to the following major payload classes: the single-section payload, the small payload, the middeck payload, and the Get-Away Special payload.

Speier, William M.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Cabin noise control ground tests for UHB aircraft

Measurement and analysis procedures for cabin noise control ground tests conducted on a DC-9 aircraft test section are presented along with a summary of test results. These tests were designed to analyze the effectiveness of selected noise control treatments in reducing passenger cabin noise on aircraft with aft-mounted, advanced turboprop engines. The performance of various structural and cabin sidewall treatments is assessed, based on measurements of the resulting interior noise levels and fuselage acceleration levels under simulated advanced turboprop excitation.

Simpson, Myles A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Installed propfan (SR-7L) far-field noise characteristics

Far-field noise characteristics of the SR-7L single-rotor propfan were obtained from the Propfan Test Assessment (PTA) aircraft flight tests. The aircraft was flown at low altitudes (about 310m) above the ground at a constant speed of about 92 m/sec. The acoustic data were acquired with an array of ground-flush microphones positioned on both sides of the flight path. Propfan-generated noise levels were extracted from the total aircraft noise, and these data were then used to study the far-field noise characteristics. The directivities at the polar and azimuthal planes, and the variations of the blade-order tone levels with propfan power and blade tip Mach number were derived. The effect of inflow angle was studied by changing the nacelle tilt angle. The levels and the directivity were very sensitive to the nacelle tilt angle (i.e., inflow angle). The noise levels in the aft quadrant were found to be higher than in the forward quadrant. Also, the noise levels on the starboard side of the aircraft were found to be higher than on the port side. The noise levels increase with propfan power and rotational speed.

Reddy, N. N.↗