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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 1,441 records · Page 80
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Internal computational fluid mechanics on supercomputers for aerospace propulsion systems

The accurate calculation of three-dimensional internal flowfields for application towards aerospace propulsion systems requires computational resources available only on supercomputers. A survey is presented of three-dimensional calculations of hypersonic, transonic, and subsonic internal flowfields conducted at the Lewis Research Center. A steady state Parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) solution of flow in a Mach 5.0, mixed compression inlet, a Navier-Stokes solution of flow in the vicinity of a terminal shock, and a PNS solution of flow in a diffusing S-bend with vortex generators are presented and discussed. All of these calculations were performed on either the NAS Cray-2 or the Lewis Research Center Cray XMP.

Andersen, Bernhard H.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Degradation mechanisms of materials for large space systems in low Earth orbit

Degradation was explored of various materials used in aerospace vehicles after severe loss of polymeric material coatings (Kapton) was observed on an early shuttle flight in low Earth orbit. Since atomic oxygen is the major component of the atmosphere at 300 km, and the shuttle's orbital velocity produced relative motion corresponding to approx. 5 eV of oxygen energy, it was natural to attribute much of this degradation to oxygen interaction. This assumption was tested using large volume vacuum systems and ion beam sources, in an exploratory effort to produce atomic oxygen of the appropriate energy, and to observe mass loss from various samples as well as optical radiation. Several investigations were initiated and the results of these investigations are presented in four papers. These papers are summarized. They are entitled: (1) The Space Shuttle Glow; (2) Laboratory Degradation of Kapton in a Low Energy Oxygen Ion Beam; (3) The Energy Dependence and Surface Morphology of Kapton Degradation Under Atomic Oxygen Bombardment; and (4) Surface Analysis of STS 8 Samples.

Gordon, William L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Computer control of a microgravity mammalian cell bioreactor

The initial steps taken in developing a completely menu driven and totally automated computer control system for a bioreactor are discussed. This bioreactor is an electro-mechanical cell growth system cell requiring vigorous control of slowly changing parameters, many of which are so dynamically interactive that computer control is a necessity. The process computer will have two main functions. First, it will provide continuous environmental control utilizing low signal level transducers as inputs and high powered control devices such as solenoids and motors as outputs. Secondly, it will provide continuous environmental monitoring, including mass data storage and periodic data dumps to a supervisory computer.

Hall, William A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Mechanized fluid connector and assembly tool system with ball detents

A fluid connector system is disclosed which includes a modified plumbing union having a rotatable member for drawing said union into a fluid tight condition. A drive tool is electric motor actuated and includes a reduction gear train providing an output gear engaging an integral peripheral spur gear on the rotatable member. Coaxial alignment means are attached to both the connector assembly and the drive tool. A hand lever actuated latching system includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced latching balls selectively wedged against the alignment means attached to the connector assembly or to secure the drive tool with its output gear in mesh with the integral peripheral spur gear. The drive motor is torque, speed, and direction controllable.

Zentner, Ronald C.↗
NASA NTRS1920

Aluminum and its light alloys

Report is a summary of research work which has been done here and abroad on the constitution and mechanical properties of the various alloy systems with aluminum. The mechanical properties and compositions of commercial light alloys for casting, forging, or rolling, obtainable in this country are described.

Merica, Paul D↗
NASA NTRS2005

SHERPA Electromechanical Test Bed

SHERPA (Strap-on High-altitude Entry Reconnaissance and Precision Aeromaneuver system) is a concept for low-cost-high-accuracy Martian reentry guidance for small scout-class missions with a capsule diameter of approximately 1 meter. This system uses moving masses to change the center of gravity of the capsule in order to control the lift generated by the controlled imbalance. This project involved designing a small proof-of-concept demonstration system that can be used to test the concept through bench-top testing, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and eventually through a drop test from a helicopter. This project has focused on the Mechatronic design aspects of the system including the mechanical, electrical, computer, and low-level control of the concept demonstration system.

Wason, John D.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Is Q for Quantum? From Quantum Mechanics to Formation of the Solar System

The realization in 1985 that fullerenes exist in nature [1] as a third form of carbon-carbon clustering, continues to inspire new areas of research. In particular, the study of closed-cage endohedral fullerenes [2-6] is of scientific interest because of its potential application in a number of promising fields from medical imaging to astrophysics. One of these is to provide a possible chronometer for studying the age and origin of certain astromaterials in the solar system. Fullerenes are closed carbon cages that are fundamentally related to a long-standing debate over the "Q-Phase" origin of planetary noble gases in carbonaceous chondrites [7]. Although Q-phase has been identified as the carrier of planetary noble gases [8- 10], its physical nature has not been explained. Our limited understanding of it is based primarily on the laboratory chemical processing which it survives as well as the fact that it must have been widely distributed in the solar nebula [11]. Yet as important as it might be while preoccupying some 30 years of research, the question of what actually is Q-phase remains unresolved.

Wilson, T. L.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Equipment for On-Wafer Testing From 220 to 325 GHz

A system of electronic instrumentation, constituting the equivalent of a two-port vector network analyzer, has been developed for use in on-wafer measurement of key electrical characteristics of semiconductor devices at frequencies from 220 to 325 GHz. A prior system designed according to similar principles was reported in Equipment for On-Wafer Testing at Frequencies Up to 220 GHz (NPO-20760), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 11 (November 2001), page 42. As one would expect, a major source of difficulty in progressing to the present higher-frequency-range system was the need for greater mechanical precision as wavelengths shorten into the millimeter range, approaching the scale of mechanical tolerances of prior systems. The system (see figure) includes both commercial off-the-shelf and custom equipment. As in the system of the cited prior article, the equipment includes test sets that are extended versions of commercial network analyzers that function in a lower frequency range. The extension to the higher frequency range is accomplished by use of custom frequency-extension modules that contain frequency multipliers and harmonic mixers. On-wafer measurement is made possible by waveguide wafer probes that were custom designed and built for this wavelength range, plus an on-wafer calibration substrate designed for use with these probes. In this case, the calibration substrate was specially fabricated by laser milling. The system was used to make the first on-wafer measurements of a semiconductor device in the frequency range from 220 to 320 GHz. Some of the measurement results showed that the device had gain.

Samoska, Lorene↗
NASA NTRS2011

Electrochemical and mechanical polishing and shaping method and system

A method and system are provided for the shaping and polishing of the surface of a material selected from the group consisting of electrically semi-conductive materials and conductive materials. An electrically non-conductive polishing lap incorporates a conductive electrode such that, when the polishing lap is placed on the material's surface, the electrode is placed in spaced-apart juxtaposition with respect to the material's surface. A liquid electrolyte is disposed between the material's surface and the electrode. The electrolyte has an electrochemical stability constant such that cathodic material deposition on the electrode is not supported when a current flows through the electrode, the electrolyte and the material. As the polishing lap and the material surface experience relative movement, current flows through the electrode based on (i) adherence to Faraday's Law, and (ii) a pre-processing profile of the surface and a desired post-processing profile of the surface.

Engelhaupt, Darell E.↗
NASA NTRS2018

ADEPT, A Mechanically Deployable Re-Entry Vehicle System, Enabling Interplanetary CubeSat and Small Satellite Missions

There is growing interest for utilizing Small Satellites beyond low Earth orbit. A number of secondary CubeSat payload missions are planned at Mars, cis-Lunar Space, near Earth objects, and moons of the Gas Giants. Use of smaller systems may enable utilization of otherwise unused capacity of larger "host" missions. Development of re-entry systems that leverage and accommodate Small Satellite technology will substantially expand the range of mission applications by offering the capability for high speed entry or aerocapture at destinations with atmospheres. Deployable entry vehicles (DEVs) offer benefits over traditional rigid aeroshells including volume, mass and payload form factor. The Adaptive Deployable Entry and Placement Technology (ADEPT) offers such a delivery capability for Small Sat or CubeSat orbiter(s), in-situ elements, or landers. The ADEPT system can package with off the shelf CubeSat deployment systems (1U-16U) to offer a delivery capability for a single CubeSat or constellations. Furthermore, ADEPT can deliver the same science payload to a destination with a stowed diameter a factor of 3-4 times smaller than an equivalent rigid aeroshell, alleviating volumetric constraints on the secondary payload accommodation or primary carrier spacecraft bus. This paper will describe ADEPT's current development status and define various interplanetary mission concepts in order to provide guidelines for potential Small Satellite payload developers and mission implementers.

Adaptive Deployable Entry and Placement Technology↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Leveraging Human Performance Data to Change the Narrative that People are the Safety Problem

The study of errors and failure has a long and productive history in the behavioral sciences. By studying how systems fail, we rule out various mechanisms for how those systems might work, thereby refining our theories of how they actually work. Human performance, however, includes more than errors; human performance comprises both failures and successes. A systematic bias to collect and analyze data only on error affects the decisions we make as a community by promoting the narrative that “people are the safety problem.” This narrative manifests in both obvious and subtle ways in the design of systems intended for human use. When the only safety data that are available are about human failure, then “data-driven” designs can only consider that humans fail. Changing this narrative will depend on new data and new ways to examine data – specifically, data on the processes by which human create and contribute to safety. An alternate narrative is that people represent a primary source of safety, through their capability to anticipate, monitor for, respond to, and learn from expected and unexpected change. This presentation will describe research efforts to expand the range of safety-relevant events to include not just rare safety failures but frequent safety successes. These efforts include use of data from both operations and simulations to develop methods and metrics for learning from structured observation, self-report, and system data.

Jon Holbrook↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop - Flexicask Design and Testing Report

This report documents the design development and testing of the Flexicask system for the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL). Currently, METL has completed Phase I construction and has been operating for over a year. The Flexicask system (Figure 1) was designed to allow for the removal and insertion of test articles into a METL test vessel while maintaining an acceptable inert atmosphere to minimize contamination of the METL sodium. This report discusses the design development of the Flexicask system, the commissioning and testing of the system, and the initial use of the Flexicask system to remove the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) from the METL Test Vessel 1.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS1989

Docking mechanism for spacecraft

A system is presented for docking a space vehicle to a space station where a connecting tunnel for in-flight transfer of personnel is required. Cooperable coupling mechanisms include docking rings on the space vehicle and space station. The space station is provided with a tunnel structure, a retraction mechanism, and a docking ring. The vehicle coupling mechanism is designed to capture the station coupling mechanism, arrest relative spacecraft motions while limiting loads to acceptable levels, and then realign the spacecraft for final docking and tunnel interconnection. The docking ring of the space vehicle coupling mechanism is supported by linear attentuator actuator devices, each of which is controlled by a control system which receives loading information signals and attenuator stroke information signals from each device and supplies output signals for controlling its linear actuation to attenuate impact loading or to realign the spacecraft for final docking and tunnel interconnection. The retraction mechanism is used to draw the spacecraft together after initial contact and coupling. Tunnel trunnions, cooperative with the latches on the space vehicle constitute the primary structural tie between the spacecraft in final docked configuration.

Lange, Gregory A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Validating the airborne and ground based components of a differential GPS system

A differential GPS mechanization of an external data link concept under development at NASA Ames Research Center is discussed. The system is intended to evaluate the use of differential GPS to support helicopter approach operation. Analytical techniques for static testing and evaluation of the system hardware and software performance in real time are described. Several techniques that have been used to detect and rectify a specific problem encountered during the tests are dicussed. An example of flight test results using the validated system is provided.

Edwards, F. G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Compact scheme for systems of equations applied to fundamental problems of mechanics of continua

Compact scheme formulation was used in the treatment of boundary conditions for a system of coupled diffusion and Poisson equations. Models and practical solutions of specific engineering problems arising in solid mechanics, chemical engineering, heat transfer and fuid mechanics are described and analyzed for efficiency and accuracy. Only 2-D cases are discussed and a new method of numerical treatment of boundary conditions common in the fundamental problems of mechanics of continua is presented.

Klimkowski, Jerzy Z.↗