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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

A strip chart recorder pattern recognition tool kit for Shuttle operations

During Space Shuttle operations, Mission Control personnel monitor numerous mission-critical systems such as electrical power; guidance, navigation, and control; and propulsion by means of paper strip chart recorders. For example, electrical power controllers monitor strip chart recorder pen traces to identify onboard electrical equipment activations and deactivations. Recent developments in pattern recognition technologies coupled with new capabilities that distribute real-time Shuttle telemetry data to engineering workstations make it possible to develop computer applications that perform some of the low-level monitoring now performed by controllers. The number of opportunities for such applications suggests a need to build a pattern recognition tool kit to reduce software development effort through software reuse. We are building pattern recognition applications while keeping such a tool kit in mind. We demonstrated the initial prototype application, which identifies electrical equipment activations, during three recent Shuttle flights. This prototype was developed to test the viability of the basic system architecture, to evaluate the performance of several pattern recognition techniques including those based on cross-correlation, neural networks, and statistical methods, to understand the interplay between an advanced automation application and human controllers to enhance utility, and to identify capabilities needed in a more general-purpose tool kit.

Hammen, David G.↗
NASA NTRS1994

F/A-18 and F-16 forebody vortex control, static and rotary-balance results

The results from research on forebody vortex control on both the F/A-18 and the F-16 aircraft will be shown. Several methods of forebody vortex control, including mechanical and pneumatic schemes, will be discussed. The wind tunnel data includes both static and rotary balance data for forebody vortex control. Time lags between activation or deactivation of the pneumatic control and when the aircraft experiences the resultant forces are also discussed. The static (non-rotating) forces and pressures are then compared to similar configurations tested in the NASA Langley and DTRC Wind Tunnel, the NASA Ames 80'x120' Wind Tunnel, and in flight on the High Angle of Attack Research Vehicle (HARV).

Kramer, Brian↗
NASA NTRS1994

Toward an automated signature recognition toolkit for mission operations

Signature recognition is the problem of identifying an event or events from its time series. The generic problem has numerous applications to science and engineering. At NASA's Johnson Space Center, for example, mission control personnel, using electronic displays and strip chart recorders, monitor telemetry data from three-phase electrical buses on the Space Shuttle and maintain records of device activation and deactivation. Since few electrical devices have sensors to indicate their actual status, changes of state are inferred from characteristic current and voltage fluctuations. Controllers recognize these events both by examining the waveform signatures and by listening to audio channels between ground and crew. Recently the authors have developed a prototype system that identifies major electrical events from the telemetry and displays them on a workstation. Eventually the system will be able to identify accurately the signatures of over fifty distinct events in real time, while contending with noise, intermittent loss of signal, overlapping events, and other complications. This system is just one of many possible signature recognition applications in Mission Control. While much of the technology underlying these applications is the same, each application has unique data characteristics, and every control position has its own interface and performance requirements. There is a need, therefore, for CASE tools that can reduce the time to implement a running signature recognition application from months to weeks or days. This paper describes our work to date and our future plans.

Cleghorn, T.↗
NASA NTRS1995

STS-70 Flight: Day 7

The seventh day of the STS-70 Space Shuttle Discovery mission is featured on this video. The astronauts obtained a successful alignment of the Hercules geo-locating camera and evaluated the manual setup procedures for the rotating wall Bioreactor. Specialist Don Thomas activated and deactivated the Microencapsulation in Space experiment, using a device that produces a timed-release of an antibiotic medication in a weightlessness environment. The Discovery crew begins to wrap up their experiments after a week of gathering data, ranging from observations of Earth's surface and atmosphere to biological studies. There are several minutes of Shuttle observations of Earth included.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1995

SVN 9 End-Of-Life testing

SVN 9 was a GPS Block I research and development satellite. When it was launched in Jun. 1984, questions regarding the future performance of atomic frequency standards in orbit remained to be answered. In Mar. 1994, after performing for twice its designed life span, SVN 9 was deactivated as a member of the operational GPS satellite constellation. During the next two months, U.S. Air Force and Rockwell personnel performed various tests to determine just how well the atomic frequency standards had withstood ten years in the space environment. The results of these tests are encouraging. With a full constellation of Block II/IIA satellites on orbit, as well as the anticipated launch of the Block IIR satellites, results from the end of life testing will be helpful in assuring the continued success of the GPS program.

Hatten, Gregory E.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Laboratory studies of 3.3 micron emission from naphthalene induced by 193 and 248 nanometer excitation

Laboratory studies of infrared emission from gas-phase naphthalene in the 3.3 micrometer region following ultraviolet laser excitation are used to interpret the unidentified infrared bands observed in many astronomical objects. A time-resolved Fourier transform infrared emission technique acquires the time and spectrally resolved data. Two excitation wavelengths are employed: 193 nm and 248 nm. The infrared emission features are strongly dependent on the initial excitation energy. Wavelength-resolved spectra recorded 6.8 microseconds after the laser pulse show a 45/cm redshift from the gas-phase absorption spectra for 193 nm excitation and 25/cm for 248 nm excitation. We hypothesize that a series of sequence bands originating from the highly vibrationally excited ensemble of molecules is responsible for the observed shift. As collisional and radiative deactivation removes energy from the highly vibrationally excited molecules, the maximum in the emission profile gradually approaches the customary absorption maximum. This indicates that the amount of redshift is strongly dependent on the amount of internal vibrational energy in the molecule at the time of the vibrational transition.

Williams, Richard M.↗
NASA NTRS1996

STS-77 Flight Day 10

On this tenth day of the STS-77 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. John H. Casper, Pilot Curtis L. Brown, Jr., and Mission Specialists Andrew S.W. Thomas, Ph.D., Daniel W. Bursch, Mario Runco, Jr., and Marc Garneau, Ph.D., perform a routine check of the shuttle's flight control surfaces and reaction control system jets, wrap up work with a number of scientific investigations, and begin securing the cabin for the trip back to Earth. Most experiments aboard the shuttle have been completed and stowed away, although a few will operate throughout the night and be deactivated once the crew wakes. Crew members Andy Thomas, a native of Australia, and Marc Garneau, a Canadian, each receive special greetings today as STS-77 nears its end. South Australia Premier Dean Brown called Thomas with congratulations early this morning as the shuttle passed above Brown's office in Adelaide, Australia, Thomas' hometown. Later, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien called Garneau to congratulate him on the mission and the joint Canadian Space Agency and NASA experiments that were conducted.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1996

Shape Control of Solar Collectors Using Shape Memory Alloy Actuators

Solar collectors that are focused on a central receiver are designed with a mechanism for defocusing the collector or disabling it by turning it out of the path of the sun's rays. This is required to avoid damaging the receiver during periods of inoperability. In either of these two cases a fail-safe operation is very desirable where during power outages the collector passively goes to its defocused or deactivated state. This paper is principally concerned with focusing and defocusing the collector in a fail-safe manner using shape memory alloy actuators. Shape memory alloys are well suited to this application in that once calibrated the actuators can be operated in an on/off mode using a minimal amount of electric power. Also, in contrast to other smart materials that were investigated for this application, shape memory alloys are capable of providing enough stroke at the appropriate force levels to focus the collector. Design and analysis details presented, along with comparisons to test data taken from an actual prototype, demonstrate that the collector can be repeatedly focused and defocused within accuracies required by typical solar energy systems. In this paper the design, analysis and testing of a solar collector which is deformed into its desired shape by shape memory alloy actuators is presented. Computations indicate collector shapes much closer to spherical and with smaller focal lengths can be achieved by moving the actuators inward to a radius of approximately 6 inches. This would require actuators with considerably more stroke and some alternate SMA actuators are currently under consideration. Whatever SMA actuator is finally chosen for this application, repeatability and fatigue tests will be required to investigate the long term performance of the actuator.

Lobitz, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1996

STS-79 Flight Day 10

On this tenth day of the STS-79 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. William F. Readdy, Pilot Terrence W. Wilcutt, Mission Specialists, Thomas D. Akers, Shannon Lucid, Jay Apt, and Carl E. Walz spent the day stowing equipment and deactivating experiments in preparation for the planned landing at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. All systems aboard the orbiter were checked out overnight in preparation for landing day, including testing the flight control surfaces and thruster jets that will be used to maneuver the spacecraft through the atmosphere.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1995

Spectroscopic Evidence Against Nitric Acid Trihydrate in Polar Stratospheric Clouds

Heterogeneous reactions on polar stratospheric clouds (PSC's) play a key role in the photochemical mechanism thought to be responsible for ozone depletion in the Antarctic and Arctic. Reactions of PSC particles activate chlorine to forms that are capable of photochemical ozone destruction, and sequester nitrogen oxides (NOx) that would otherwise deactivate the chlorine. Although the heterogeneous chemistry is now well established, the composition of the clouds themselves is uncertain. It is commonly thought that they are composed of nitric acid trihydrate, although observations have left this question unresolved. Here we reanalyse infrared spectra of type 1 PSCs obtained in Antarctica in September 1987, using recently measured optical constants of the various compounds that might be present in PSCs. We find these PSCs were not composed of nitric acid trihydrate but instead had a more complex compositon, perhaps that of a ternary solution. Because cloud formation is sensitive to their composition, this finding will alter our understanding of the locations and conditions in which PSCs form. In addition, the extent of ozone loss depends on the ability of the PSCs to remove NOx permanently through sedimentation, The sedimentation rates depend on PSC particle size which in turn is controlled by the composition and formation mechanism.

Toon, Owen B.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Spectroscopic Evidence Against Nitric Acid Trihydrate in Polar Stratospheric Clouds

Heterogeneous reactions on polar stratospheric clouds (PSC's) play a key role in the photochemical mechanisms thought to be responsible for ozone depletion in the Antarctic and the Arctic. Reactions on PSC particles activate chlorine to forms that are capable of photochemical ozone destruction, and sequester nitrogen oxides (NOx) that would otherwise deactivate the chlorine. Although the heterogeneous chemistry is now well established, the composition of the clouds themselves is uncertain. It is commonly thought that they are composed of nitric acid trihydrate, although observations have left this question unresolved. Here we reanalyse infrared spectra of type I PCS's obtained in Antarctica in September 1987, using recently measured optical constraints of the various compounds that might be present in PSC's. We find that these PSC's were not composed of nitric acid trihydrate but instead had a more complex composition perhaps that of a ternary solution. Because cloud formation is sensitive to their composition, this finding will alter our understanding of the locations and conditions in which PSCs form. In addition, the extent of ozone loss depends on the ability of the PSC's to remove NOx permanently through sedimentation. The sedimentation rates depend on PSC particle size which in turn is controlled by the composition and formation mechanism.

Toon, Owen B.↗
NASA NTRS1997

STS-81 Flight Day 10

On this tenth day of the STS-81 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Michael A. Baker, Pilot Brent W. Jett, Mission Specialists, John M. Grunsfeld, Marsha S. Ivins, Peter J.K. Wisoff, and John Blaha, prepare for the return back to earth. The shuttle's key flight control systems are checked for entry and landing phase of the mission. Commander Mike Baker and Pilot Brent Jett activate one of Atlantis' three hydraulic power units to test the shuttle's aerosurfaces. Baker and Jett fire Atlantis' steering jets in a routine prelanding checkout. The astronauts also test a medical restraint system in the Spacehab module, placing two crewmembers in the device. Crewmembers then begin to stow items away in the crew cabin, initiate the scheduled deactivation of Spacehab systems and associated hardware.

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NASA NTRS1996

Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Oxidation of Atmospheric Trace Contaminants

Heterogeneous photocatalysis involves the use of a light-activated catalyst at room temperature in order to carry out a desired reaction. In the presence of molecular oxygen, illumination of the n-type semiconductor oxide titanium dioxide (TiO2) provides for production of highly active forms of oxygen, such as hydroxyl radicals, which are able to carry out the complete oxidative destruction of simple hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, ethylene, propylene, and carbon monoxide. This broad oxidation potential, coupled with the ability with sufficient residence time to achieve complete oxidation of simple hydrocarbon contaminants to carbon dioxide and water, indicated that heterogeneous photocatalysis should be examined for its potential for purification of spacecraft air. If a successful catalyst and photoreactor could be demonstrated at the laboratory level, such results would allow consideration of photocatalysts as a partial or complete replacement of adsorption systems, thereby allowing for reduction in lift-off weight of a portion of the life support system for the spacecraft, or other related application such as a space station or a conventional commercial aircraft. The present research was undertaken to explore this potential through achievement of the following plan of work: (a) ascertain the intrinsic kinetics of conversion of pollutants of interest in spacecraft, (b) ascertain the expected lifetime of catalysts through examination of most likely routes of catalyst deactivation and regeneration, (c) model and explore experimentally the low pressure drop catalytic monolith, a commercial configuration for automotive exhaust control, and (d) examine the kinetics of multicomponent conversions. In the recent course of this work, we have also discovered how to increase catalyst activity via halide promotion which has allowed us to achieve approximately 100% conversion of an aromatic contaminant (toluene) in a very short residence time of 5-6 milliseconds.

Ollis, David F.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Oxidation of Atmospheric Trace Contaminants

Heterogeneous photocatalysis involves the use of a light-activated catalyst at room temperature in order to carry out a desired reaction. In the presence of molecular oxygen, illumination of the n-type semiconductor oxide titanium dioxide (TiO2) provides for production of highly active forms of oxygen, such as hydroxyl radicals, which are able to carry out the complete oxidative destruction of simple hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, ethylene, propylene, and carbon monoxide. This broad oxidation potential, coupled with the ability with sufficient residence time to achieve complete oxidation of simple hydrocarbon contaminants to carbon dioxide and water, indicated that heterogeneous photocatalysis should be examined for its potential for purification of spacecraft air. If a successful catalyst and photoreactor could be demonstrated at the laboratory level, such results would allow consideration of photocatalysts as a partial or complete replacement of adsorption systems, thereby allowing for reduction in lift-off weight of a portion of the life support system for the spacecraft, or other related application such as a space station or a conventional commercial aircraft. The present research was undertaken to explore this potential through achievement of the following plan of work: (a) ascertain the intrinsic kinetics of conversion of pollutants of interest in spacecraft, (b) ascertain the expected lifetime of catalysts through examination of most likely routes of catalyst deactivation and regeneration (c) model and explore experimentally the low pressure drop catalytic monolith, a commercial configuration for automotive exhaust control (d) examine the kinetics of multicomponent conversions. In the recent course of this work, we have also discovered how to increase catalyst activity via halide promotion which has allowed us to achieve approximately 100% conversion of an aromatic contaminant (toluene) in a very short residence time of 5-6 milliseconds.

Ollis, David F.↗
NASA NTRS1997

STS-83 Day 04

On this fourth day of the STS-83 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. James D. Halsell, Jr. Pilot Susan L. Still, Payload Cmdr, Janice E. Voss, Mission Specialists Michael L. Gernhardt and Donald A. Thomas, and Payload Specialist Gregory T. Linteris, and Roger K. Crouch complete science work aboard Spacelab module and begin deactivating experiments in preparation for an early return to Earth.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1995

Heterogeneous Chemistry Related to Stratospheric Aircraft

Emissions from stratospheric aircraft that may directly or indirectly affect ozone include NO(y), H2O, soot and sulfuric acid. To fully assess the impact of such emissions, it is necessary to have a full understanding of both the homogeneous and heterogeneous transformations that may occur in the stratosphere. Heterogeneous reactions on stratospheric particles play a key role in partitioning ozone-destroying species between their active and reservoir forms. In particular, heterogeneous reactions tend to activate odd chlorine while deactivating odd nitrogen. Accurate modeling of the net atmospheric effects of stratospheric aircraft requires a thorough understanding of the competing effects of this activation/deactivation. In addition, a full understanding of the potential aircraft impacts requires that the abundance, composition and formation mechanisms of the particles themselves be established. Over the last three years with support from the High Speed Research Program, we have performed laboratory experiments to determine the chemical composition, formation mechanism, and reactivity of stratospheric aerosols.

Tolbert, Margaret A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Investigation of NOx Removal from Small Engine Exhaust

Contribution of emissions from small engines to the air pollution is significant. Due to differences in operating conditions and economics, the pollution control systems designed for automobiles will be neither suitable nor economically feasible for use on small engines. The objective of this project was to find a catalyst for the removal of NOx from the exhaust of small engines which use a rich air to fuel ratio. The desired catalyst should be inexpensive so that the cost of the pollution control unit will be only a small fraction of the total equipment cost. The high cost of noble metals makes them too expensive for use as NOx catalyst for small engines. Catalytic reduction of Nitrogen Oxide (NO) can also be accomplished by base-metal oxide catalysts. The main disadvantage of base-metal catalysts is their deactivation by poisons and high temperatures. Requirements for the length of the life of the small engine exhaust catalysts are much less than those for automobile exhaust catalysts. Since there is no oxygen in the exhaust gases, reduction selectivity is not a problem. Also, the reducing exhaust gases might help prevent the harmful interactions of the catalyst with the support. For these reasons only the supported metal oxide catalysts were investigated in this project.

Akyurtlu, Ates↗
NASA NTRS1999

Investigation of NO(x) Removal from Small Engine Exhaust

Contribution of emissions from small engines to the air pollution is significant. Due to differences in operating conditions and economics, the pollution control systems designed for automobiles will be neither suitable nor economically feasible for use on small engines. The objective of this project was to find a catalyst for the removal of NOx from the exhaust of small engines which use a rich air to fuel ratio. The desired catalyst should be inexpensive so that the cost of the pollution control unit will be only a small fraction of the total equipment cost. The high cost of noble metals makes them too expensive for use as NOx catalyst for small engines. Catalytic reduction of NO can also be accomplished by base-metal oxide catalysts. The main disadvantage of base-metal catalysts is their deactivation by poisons and high temperatures. Requirements for the length of the life of the small engine exhaust catalysts are much less than those for automobile exhaust catalysts. Since there is no oxygen in the exhaust gases, reduction selectivity is not a problem. Also, the reducing exhaust gases might help prevent the harmful interactions of the catalyst with the support. For these reasons only the supported metal oxide catalysts were investigated in this project.

Akyurtlu, Ates↗