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At least 1,567 records · Page 87

An orbiting molecular shield vacuum facility - A materials laboratory in space

Certain classes of materials processing experiments require a combination of near zero gravity and ultrahigh vacuum. This combination of environmental requirements can be obtained within a molecular shield vacuum facility deployed from the Space Shuttle Orbiter. To avoid degradation by Orbiter effluents, it is necessary to deploy the facility from the Orbiter's immediate vicinity to a distance of about 100 meters. This may be achieved with an extendable/retractable boom, so that power and other resources are supplied by the Orbiter. Alternatively, the facility may be deployed as a free-flyer satellite and retrieved on a subsequent Orbiter mission. Preliminary results of boom design and dynamics analyses are presented.

Youngblood, J. W.↗

Lightning-activated electrical ground for cable shields

Device protects cables used to connect circuits that are physically separated from lightning-induced high-voltage. Circuit returns to normal high impedance open configuration after lightning-induced shield voltage is dissipated.

Castle, K. D.↗

Silica heat shield sizing

The sensitivity of silica heat shield requirements to gap width, tile edge radius, and heat transfer distribution within tile gaps was investigated. A two-dimensional thermal model was modified and used to determine the effect of two dimensional heat transfer distributions at high temperature reusable surface insulation edges on shuttle thermal protection system (TPS) requirements. The sensitivity of TPS requirements to coating thickness, emissivity, substructure thickness, and changes in gap heating for several locations on shuttle was also studied. An inverse solution technique was applied to temperature data obtained in the Ames 20 MW turbulent duct in order to examine the effect of tile edge radius on TPS requirements. The derived heating values were then used to predict TPS requirements. Results show that increasing tile radius reduces TPS requirements.

Ebbesmeyer, L. H.↗

High purity silica reflective heat shield development

Measurements were made of reflectance in the vacuum ultraviolet down to 0.15 micron. Scattering coefficients (S) and absorption coefficients (K) were also measured. These coefficients express the optical properties and are used directly in a thermodynamic analysis for sizing a heat shield. The effect of the thin silica melt layer formed during entry was also studied from the standpoint of trapped radiant energy.

Blome, J. C.↗

Evaluation of coated columbium alloy heat shields for space shuttle thermal protection system application

A three-phase program to develop and demonstrate the feasibility of a metallic heat shield suitable for use on Space Shuttle Orbiter class vehicles at operating surface temperatures of up to 1590 K (2400 F) is summarized. An orderly progression of configuration studies, material screening tests, and subscale structural tests was performed. Scale-up feasibility was demonstrated in the final phase when a sizable nine-panel array was fabricated and successfully tested. The full-scale tests included cyclic testing at reduced air pressure to 1590 K (2400 F) and up to 158 dB overall sound pressure level. The selected structural configuration and design techniques succesfully eliminated thermal induced failures. The thermal/structural performance of the system was repeatedly demonstrated. Practical and effective field repair methods for coated columbium alloys were demonstrated. Major uncertainties of accessibility, refurbishability, and durability were eliminated.

Black, W. E.↗

Status of the Electroforming Shield Design (ESD) project

The utilization of a digital computer to augment electrodeposition/electroforming processes in which nonconducting shielding controls local cathodic current distribution is reported. The primary underlying philosophy of the physics of electrodeposition was presented. The technical approach taken to analytically simulate electrolytic tank variables was also included. A FORTRAN computer program has been developed and implemented. The program utilized finite element techniques and electrostatic theory to simulate electropotential fields and ionic transport.

Fletcher, R. E.↗

Arc heater code validation tests of heat shield materials

Results are reported for tests of candidate heat-shield materials for outer-planet entry probes, which were conducted in two different arc-heater facilities at heating rates below those predicted for entry. One facility supplied a combined radiative-convective heating environment in air while the other provided a hydrogen/helium environment for convective heating only. Both 'infinite-slab' and 'finite-slab' models consisting of various carbon phenolic (CP) and fused silica (FS) materials were tested. The test results obtained are expressed in terms of ablation rates and surface as well as in-depth temperature variations with time for the air environment and in terms of normalized ablation rate as a function of temperature for the H/He environment. The measured values are compared with calculations based on a charring material thermal response and ablation code. For the CP models, good agreement between predicted and measured mass-loss rates is noted, surface temperatures in air are predicted within 18%, and in-depth temperature predictions are shown to be conservative in comparison with measured values. For the FS models, discrepancies are found between the predicted and measured mass-loss rates and surface temperatures.

Kesselring, J. P.↗

Shield volcanism and lithospheric structure beneath the Tharsis plateau, Mars

The heights of four great shield volcanoes, when interpreted as reflecting the local hydrostatic head on a common source of upwelling magma, provide significant constraints on models of lithospheric structure beneath the Tharsis plateau. If Bouguer gravity anomalies are modeled in terms of a variable thickness crust, and a two-component (crust/mantle) earth-like structure is assumed for the Martian lithosphere, the derived model lithosphere beneath the Tharsis plateau has the following properties: (1) the upper low-density 'crustal' component is thickened beneath the Tharsis plateau; (2) the lower high-density 'mantle' component is thinned beneath the Tharsis plateau; and (3) there is a net gradient on the base of the Martian lithosphere directed downward away from beneath the summit of the Tharsis plateau. A long history of magmatic intrusion is hypothesized to have been the cause of the updoming of the Tharsis plateau and the maintenance of the plateau in a state of only partial compensation.

Blasius, K. R.↗

Shielding effects in Norton County and other aubrites

Al-26 (dpm/kg) and/or He, Ne, and Ar have been measured in samples of the Norton County meteorite from three different depths. The gas contents yield a shielding-corrected age of 75.8 + or - 5.7 million years. The ratio of atomic production rates P(Al-26)/P(Ne-21) is 0.22 + or - 0.02. He-3, Ne-21, and Al-26 increase with decreasing Ne-22/Ne-21 at nearly the same rates as they do in the smaller Keyes chondrite. Al-26 contents were measured in Bustee, Khor Temiki, Pesyanoe, and Shallowater meteorites. The ratio of observed to predicted Al-26 content correlates with Ne-22/Ne-21, and comparison with the corresponding chondrite correlation indicates that such aubrites as Malakal may have experienced an unusually high flux of cosmic rays.

Herzog, G. F.↗

Splicing shielded cables

Simple repair technique retains cable characteristic impedance. Shielded-Cable Splicing Technique retains cable characteristic impedance. Procedure involves splicing inner conductors in staggered pattern, installing jumper braid by heat-shrinking two solder sleeves, and placing insulation sleeve over repaired section and heat-shrinking it. Two possible insulation materials are modified polyvinylidene fluoride and polytetrafluoroethylene.

Lind, W. P.↗

The design of reactive shielded magnet clutches

The design of reactive shielded magnet clutches is considered along with their schematics, design formulas and characteristics of clutches in general. The design method suggested makes it possible to reduce calculation errors to 10%.

Gertsov, S. M.↗

Effect of experiments on the density distribution in a molecular shield

A steady-state, collisionless flow analysis has been made of the density distribution within a hemisphere-disk system due to independent, uniformly distributed internal gas sources. The model may be used to estimate the density within a molecular shield, deployed from the Shuttle Orbiter, which contains internal experiments having a prescribed gas source. Contour plots of the density distribution within the system are presented for disk-to-hemisphere radius ratios of 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7, and for disk-to-hemisphere surface emission flux density ratios of 0.01, 1, and 100. The hemisphere-disk system is compared to the empty hemisphere and it is found that if the disk emission flux density is the same as the hemisphere and the disk radius is not greater than one-third of the hemisphere radius, the increase in density at the center of the hemisphere-disk system is less than 50%.

Hueser, J. E.↗

Interleaved shielding for cables

Interleaved wrapping of metal foil shielding on power cables gives more effective electromagnetic interference protection without increasing amount of material or weight.

Read, G. R.↗

Space Shuttle Orbiter AFT heat shield seal

The evolution of the orbiter aft heat shield seal (AHSS) design, which involved advancing mechanical seal technology in severe thermal environment is discussed. The baseline design, various improvements for engine access, and technical problem solution are presented. It is a structure and mechanism at the three main propulsion system (MPS) engine interfaces to the aft compartment structure. Access to each MPS engine requires disassembly and removal of the AHSS. Each AHSS accommodates the engine movement, is exposed to an extremely high temperature environment, and is part of the venting control of the aft compartment.

Walkover, L. J.↗

Magnetic shielding of large high-power-satellite solar arrays using internal currents

Present concepts for solar power satellites involve dimensions up to tens of kilometers and operating internal currents up to hundreds of kiloamperes. A question addressed is whether the local magnetic fields generated by these strong currents during normal operation can shield the array against impacts by plasma ions and electrons (and from thruster plasmas) which can cause possible losses such as power leakage and surface erosion. One of several prototype concepts was modeled by a long narrow rectangular panel 2 km wide and 20 km long. The currents flow in a parallel across the narrow dimension (sheet current) and along the edge (wire currents). The wire currents accumulate from zero to 100 kiloamp and are the dominant sources. The magnetic field is approximated analytically. The equations of motion for charged particles in this magnetic field are analyzed. The ion and electron fluxes at points on the surface are represented analytically for monoenergetic distributions and are evaluated.

Parker, L. W.↗

Safety shield for vacuum/pressure chamber viewing port

Observers are protected from flying debris resulting from a failure of a vacuum or pressure chamber viewing port following an implosion or explosion by an optically clear shatter resistant safety shield which spaced apart from the viewing port on the outer surface of the chamber.

Shimansky, R. A.↗

Preliminary design study of solar probe heat shields

The requirements, constraints, design guidelines, and expected performances of heat-shield systems for a solar probe are analyzed. A multiple-stage, asymmetric, right-angle radiation cascade configuration is used as the basis for comparison. Output-to-input radiative flux ratios are first calculated for a system employing gray surfaces. Assuming that the temperature of the inner surface of the payload bus is allowed to reach 400 K, it is shown that four- and five-stage cascade systems employing graphite can approach, respectively, to within about 5.5 and 4 solar radii of the sun. The systems using slip-cast silica and tungsten are then analyzed accounting for the degradation of surface-optical performance caused by the solar wind. It is shown that two- and three-stage silica-tungsten systems can approach, respectively, to within 4 and 3 solar radii of the sun.

Park, C.↗