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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 1,171 records · Page 65

A two-dimensional finite difference solution for the transient thermal behavior of tubular solar collector

A numerical procedure was established using the finite-difference technique in the determination of the time-varying temperature distribution of a tubular solar collector under changing solar radiancy and ambient temperature. Three types of spatial discretization processes were considered and compared for their accuracy of computations and for selection of the shortest computer time and cost. The stability criteria of this technique was analyzed in detail to give the critical time increment to ensure stable computations. The results of the numerical analysis were in good agreement with the analytical solution previously reported. The numerical method proved to be a powerful tool in the investigation of the collector sensitivity to two different flow patterns and several flow control mechanisms.

Lansing, F. L.↗

A two-dimensional finite-difference solution for the transient thermal behavior of a tubular solar collector

A numerical procedure was established using the finite-difference technique in the determination of the time-varying temperature distribution of a tubular solar collector under changing solar radiancy and ambient temperature. Three types of spatial discretization processes were considered and compared for their accuracy of computations and for selection of the shortest computer time and cost. The stability criteria of this technique were analyzed in detail to give the critical time increment to ensure stable computations. The results of the numerical analysis were in good agreement with the analytical solution previously reported. The numerical method proved to be a powerful tool in the investigation of the collector sensitivity to two different flow patterns and several flow control mechanisms.

Lansing, F. L.↗

Automated database design technology and tools

The Automated Database Design Technology and Tools research project results are summarized in this final report. Comments on the state of the art in various aspects of database design are provided, and recommendations made for further research for SNAP and NAVMASSO future database applications.

Shen, Stewart N. T.↗

Ground Systems Development Environment (GSDE) interface requirements analysis: Operations scenarios

This report is a preliminary assessment of the functional and data interface requirements to the link between the GSDE GS/SPF (Amdahl) and the Space Station Control Center (SSCC) and Space Station Training Facility (SSTF) Integration, Verification, and Test Environments (IVTE's). These interfaces will be involved in ground software development of both the control center and the simulation and training systems. Our understanding of the configuration management (CM) interface and the expected functional characteristics of the Amdahl-IVTE interface is described. A set of assumptions and questions that need to be considered and resolved in order to complete the interface functional and data requirements definitions are presented. A listing of information items defined to describe software configuration items in the GSDE CM system is included. It also includes listings of standard reports of CM information and of CM-related tools in the GSDE.

Church, Victor E.↗

Parallelization of Rocket Engine Simulator Software (P.R.E.S.S.)

Parallelization of Rocket Engine System Software (PRESS) project is part of a collaborative effort with Southern University at Baton Rouge (SUBR), University of West Florida (UWF), and Jackson State University (JSU). The project has started on October 19, 1995, and after a three-year period corresponding to project phases and fiscal-year funding by NASA Lewis Research Center (now Glenn Research Center), has ended on October 18, 1998. The one-year no-cost extension period was granted on June 7, 1998, until October 19, 1999. The aim of this one year no-cost extension period was to carry out further research to complete the work and lay the groundwork for subsequent research in the area of aerospace engine design optimization software tools. The previous progress for the research has been reported in great detail in respective interim and final research progress reports, seven of them, in all. While the purpose of this report is to be a final summary and an valuative view of the entire work since the first year funding, the following is a quick recap of the most important sections of the interim report dated April 30, 1999.

Cezzar, Ruknet↗

Parallelization of NAS Benchmarks for Shared Memory Multiprocessors

This paper presents our experiences of parallelizing the sequential implementation of NAS benchmarks using compiler directives on SGI Origin2000 distributed shared memory (DSM) system. Porting existing applications to new high performance parallel and distributed computing platforms is a challenging task. Ideally, a user develops a sequential version of the application, leaving the task of porting to new generations of high performance computing systems to parallelization tools and compilers. Due to the simplicity of programming shared-memory multiprocessors, compiler developers have provided various facilities to allow the users to exploit parallelism. Native compilers on SGI Origin2000 support multiprocessing directives to allow users to exploit loop-level parallelism in their programs. Additionally, supporting tools can accomplish this process automatically and present the results of parallelization to the users. We experimented with these compiler directives and supporting tools by parallelizing sequential implementation of NAS benchmarks. Results reported in this paper indicate that with minimal effort, the performance gain is comparable with the hand-parallelized, carefully optimized, message-passing implementations of the same benchmarks.

Waheed, Abdul↗

Liquid Engine Design: Effect of Chamber Dimensions on Specific Impulse

Which assumption of combustion chemistry - frozen or equilibrium - should be used in the prediction of liquid rocket engine performance calculations? Can a correlation be developed for this? A literature search using the LaSSe tool, an online repository of old rocket data and reports, was completed. Test results of NTO/Aerozine-50 and Lox/LH2 subscale and full-scale injector and combustion chamber test results were found and studied for this task. NASA code, Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) was used to predict engine performance using both chemistry assumptions, defined here. Frozen- composition remains frozen during expansion through the nozzle. Equilibrium- instantaneous chemical equilibrium during nozzle expansion. Chamber parameters were varied to understand what dimensions drive chamber C* and Isp. Contraction Ratio is the ratio of the nozzle throat area to the area of the chamber. L is the length of the chamber. Characteristic chamber length, L*, is the length that the chamber would be if it were a straight tube and had no converging nozzle. Goal: Develop a qualitative and quantitative correlation for performance parameters - Specific Impulse (Isp) and Characteristic Velocity (C*) - as a function of one or more chamber dimensions - Contraction Ratio (CR), Chamber Length (L ) and/or Characteristic Chamber Length (L*). Determine if chamber dimensions can be correlated to frozen or equilibrium chemistry.

Hoggard, Lindsay↗

Statistical Short-Range Guidance for Peak Wind Forecasts on Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Phase III

This final report describes the development of a peak wind forecast tool to assist forecasters in determining the probability of violating launch commit criteria (LCC) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The peak winds are an important forecast element for both the Space Shuttle and Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) programs. The LCC define specific peak wind thresholds for each launch operation that cannot be exceeded in order to ensure the safety of the vehicle. The 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) has found that peak winds are a challenging parameter to forecast, particularly in the cool season months of October through April. Based on the importance of forecasting peak winds, the 45 WS tasked the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) to develop a short-range peak-wind forecast tool to assist in forecasting LCC violations.The tool includes climatologies of the 5-minute mean and peak winds by month, hour, and direction, and probability distributions of the peak winds as a function of the 5-minute mean wind speeds.

Crawford, Winifred↗

Habitat Utilization Assessment - Building in Behaviors

Habitability, and the associated architectural and design attributes of an environment, is a powerful performance shaping factor. By identifying how inhabitants use an area, we can draw conclusions about what design or architectural attributes cause what behaviors and systematically design in desired human performance. We are analyzing how a crew uses a long duration habitat and work environment during a four-day underwater mission and identifying certain architectural and design attributes that are related to, and potential enablers of, certain crew behaviors. By identifying how inhabitants use the habitat, we can draw conclusions about what habitability attributes cause what behaviors and systematically design in desired human performance (applicable to NASA's Bioastronautics Human Behavior and Performance Critical Path Roadmap question 6.12). This assessment replicates a methodology reported in a chapter titled "Sociokinetic Analysis as a Tool for Optimization of Environmental Design" by C. Adams.' That study collected video imagery of certain areas of a closed habitat during a 91 day test and from that data calculated time spent in different volumes during the mission, and characterized the behaviors occurring in certain habitat volumes thus concluding various rules for design of such habitats. This study assesses the utilization of the Aquarius Habitat, an underwater station, which will support six Aquanauts for a fourteen-day mission during which the crew will perform specific scientific and engineering studies. Video is recorded for long uninterrupted periods of time during the mission and from that data the time spent in each area is calculated. In addition, qualitative and descriptive analysis of the types of behaviors in each area is performed with the purpose of identifying any behaviors that are not typical of a certain area. If a participant uses an area in a way different from expected, a subsequent analysis of the features of that area may result in conclusions of performance shaping factors. With the addition of this study, we can make comparisons between the two different habitats and begin drawing correlation judgments about design features and behavior. Ideally, this methodology should be repeated in additional Aquarius missions and other analog environments because the real information will come from comparisons between habitats.

Whitmore, Mihriban↗

Peak Wind Forecasts for the Launch-Critical Wind Towers on Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Phase IV

This final report describes the development of a peak wind forecast tool to assist forecasters in determining the probability of violating launch commit criteria (LCC) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The peak winds arc an important forecast clement for both the Space Shuttle and Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) programs. The LCC define specific peak wind thresholds for each launch operation that cannot be exceeded in order to ensure the safety of the vehicle. The 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) has found that peak winds are a challenging parameter to forecast, particularly in the cool season months of October through April. Based on the importance of forecasting peak winds, the 45 WS tasked the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) to update the statistics in the current peak-wind forecast tool to assist in forecasting LCC violations. The tool includes onshore and offshore flow climatologies of the 5-minute mean and peak winds and probability distributions of the peak winds as a function of the 5-minute mean wind speeds.

Crawford, Winifred↗

Observational Analysis of Cloud and Precipitation in Midlatitude Cyclones: Northern Versus Southern Hemisphere Warm Fronts

Extratropical cyclones are responsible for most of the precipitation and wind damage in the midlatitudes during the cold season, but there are still uncertainties on how they will change in a warming climate. An ubiquitous problem amongst General Circulation Models (GCMs) is a lack of cloudiness over the southern oceans that may be in part caused by a lack of clouds in cyclones. We analyze CloudSat, CALIPSO and AMSR-E observations for 3 austral and boreal cold seasons and composite cloud frequency of occurrence and precipitation at the warm fronts for northern and southern hemisphere oceanic cyclones. We find that cloud frequency of occurrence and precipitation rate are similar in the early stage of the cyclone life cycle in both northern and southern hemispheres. As cyclones evolve and reach their mature stage, cloudiness and precipitation at the warm front increase in the northern hemisphere but decrease in the southern hemisphere. This is partly caused by lower amounts of precipitable water being available to southern hemisphere cyclones, and smaller increases in wind speed as the cyclones evolve. Southern hemisphere cloud occurrence at the warm front is found to be more sensitive to the amount of moisture in the warm sector than to wind speeds. This suggests that cloudiness in southern hemisphere storms may be more susceptible to changes in atmospheric water vapor content, and thus to changes in surface temperature than their northern hemisphere counterparts. These differences between northern and southern hemisphere cyclones are statistically robust, indicating A-Train-based analyses as useful tools for evaluation of GCMs in the next IPCC report.

Naud, Catherine M.↗

Multi-Element Integrated Project Planning at Kennedy Space Center

This presentation demonstrates how the ASRC Scheduling team developed working practices to support multiple NASA and ASRC Project Managers using the enterprise capabilities of Primavera P6 and P6 Web Access. This work has proceeded as part of Kennedy Ground Systems' preparation for its transition from the Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program. The presenters will cover Primavera's enterprise-class capabilities for schedule development, integrated critical path analysis, and reporting, as well as advanced Primavera P6 Web Access tools and techniques for communicating project status.

Mullon, Robert↗

Enhancing Cassini Operations & Science Planning Tools

The Cassini team uses a variety of software utilities as they manage and coordinate their mission to Saturn. Most of these tools have been unchanged for many years, and although stability is a virtue for long-lived space missions, there are some less-fragile tools that could greatly benefit from modern improvements. This report shall describe three such upgrades, including their architectural differences and their overall impact. Emphasis is placed on the motivation and rationale behind architectural choices rather than the final product, so as to illuminate the lessons learned and discoveries made.These three enhancements included developing a strategy for migrating Science Planning utilities to a new execution model, rewriting the team's internal portal for ease of use and maintenance, and developing a web-based agenda application for tracking the sequence of files being transmitted to the Cassini spacecraft. Of this set, the first two have been fully completed, while the agenda application is currently in the early prototype stage.

science planning↗

Presenting Model-Based Systems Engineering Information to Non-Modelers

NASA’s Human Research Program’s (HRP) Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element adopted Systems Engineering (SE) principles and Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools to capture the system functions, system architecture, requirements, interfaces, and clinical capabilities for a future exploration medical system. There are many different stakeholders who may use the information in the model: systems engineers, requirement engineers, clinicians (doctors, nurses, and pharmacists), scientists, and program managers. Many of these individuals do not have access to MBSE modeling toolsor have never used these tools. Many of these individuals (clinicians, scientists, even program managers)may have no experience with SE in general let alone interpreting a systems model. The challenge faced by ExMC was how to present the content in the model to non-modelers in a way they could understand with limited to no training in MBSE or the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) without using the modeling tool. Therefore, from the model, ExMC created an HTML report that is accessible to anyone with a browser. When creating the HTML report, the ExMC SE team talked to stakeholders and received their feedback on what content they wanted and how to display this content. Factoring in feedback, the report arranges the content in a way that not only directs readers through the SE process taken to derive the requirements, but also helps them to understand the fundamental steps in an SE approach. The report includes links to source information (i.e., NASA documentation that describes levels of care) and other SE deliverables (e.g., Concept of Operations). These links were provided to aid in the understanding of how the team created this content through a methodical SE approach. This paper outlines the process used to develop the model, the data chosen to share with stakeholders, many of the model elements used in the report, the review process stakeholders followed, the comments received from the stakeholders, and the lessons ExMC learned through producing this HTML report.

Jeff Cohen↗

Presenting Model-Based Systems Engineering Information to Non-Modelers

NASA’s Human Research Program’s (HRP) Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element adopted Systems Engineering (SE) principles and Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools to capture the system functions, system architecture, requirements, interfaces, and clinical capabilities for a future exploration medical system. There are many different stakeholders who may use the information in the model: systems engineers, clinicians (physicians, nurses, and pharmacists), scientists, and program managers. Many of these individuals do not have access to MBSE modeling tools or have never used these tools. Many of these individuals (clinicians, scientists, even program managers) may have no experience with SE in general let alone interpreting a systems model. The challenge faced by ExMC was how to present the content in the model to non-modelers in a way they could understand with limited to no training in MBSE or the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) without using the modeling tool. Therefore, from the model, ExMC created an HTML report that is accessible to anyone with a browser. When creating the HTML report, the ExMC SE team talked to stakeholders and received their feedback on what content they wanted and how to display this content. Factoring in feedback, the report arranges the content in a way that not only directs readers through the SE process taken to derive the requirements, but also helps them to understand the fundamental steps in an SE approach. The report includes links to source information (i.e., NASA documentation that describes levels of care) and other SE deliverables (e.g., Concept of Operations). These links were provided to aid in the understanding of how the team created this content through a methodical SE approach. This paper outlines the process used to develop the model, the data chosen to share with stakeholders, many of the model elements used in the report, the review process stakeholders followed, the comments received from the stakeholders, and the lessons ExMC learned through producing this HTML report.1Trade names and trademarks are used in this report for identification only. Their usage does not constitute an official endorsement, either expressed or implied, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Jeffrey R. Cohen↗

Presenting Model-Based Systems Engineering Information to Non-Modelers

NASA’s Human Research Program’s (HRP) Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element adopted Systems Engineering (SE) principles and Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools to capture the system functions, system architecture, requirements, interfaces, and clinical capabilities for a future exploration medical system. There are many different stakeholders who may use the information in the model: systems engineers, clinicians (physicians, nurses, and pharmacists), scientists, and program managers. Many of these individuals do not have access to MBSE modeling tools or have never used these tools. Many of these individuals (clinicians, scientists, even program managers) may have no experience with SE in general let alone interpreting a systems model. The challenge faced by ExMC was how to present the content in the model to non-modelers in a way they could understand with limited to no training in MBSE or the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) without using the modeling tool. Therefore, from the model, ExMC created an HTML report that is accessible to anyone with a browser. When creating the HTML report, the ExMC SE team talked to stakeholders and received their feedback on what content they wanted and how to display this content. Factoring in feedback, the report arranges the content in a way that not only directs readers through the SE process taken to derive the requirements, but also helps them to understand the fundamental steps in an SE approach. The report includes links to source information (i.e., NASA documentation that describes levels of care) and other SE deliverables (e.g., Concept of Operations). These links were provided to aid in the understanding of how the team created this content through methodical SE approach. This paper outlines the process used to develop the model, the data chosen to share with stakeholders, many of the model elements used in the report, the review process stakeholders followed, the comments received from the stakeholders, and the lessons ExMC learned through producing this HTML report.

Jeffrey R. Cohen↗

Effects of Cooling Holes on SiC/SiC Strength and Durability

Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) such as SiC/SiC are currently operating in select high temperature components of turbine engines. When these materials are implemented in components at higher operating temperatures, film cooling may be necessary. Film cooling requires holes to be fabricated at appropriate locations within these components. This study examines the effect of cooling holes on SiC/SiC composite strength and durability. Mechanical test data on specimens with multiple holes is reported for isothermal conditions at room and elevated temperatures. Tools such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and Acoustic Emission (AE) are used to monitor strain and cracking upon loading.

Ceramic matrix composite↗