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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 19 records

Fluorescence Visualization of Hypersonic Flow over Rapid Prototype Wind-Tunnel Models

Reentry models for use in hypersonic wind tunnel tests were fabricated using a stereolithography apparatus. These models were produced in one day or less, which is a significant time savings compared to the manufacture of ceramic or metal models. The models were tested in the NASA Langley Research Center 31-Inch Mach 10 Air Tunnel. Most of the models did not survive repeated tests in the tunnel, and several failure modes of the models were identified. Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of nitric oxide (NO) was used to visualize the flowfields in the wakes of these models. Pure NO was either seeded through tubes plumbed into the model or via a tube attached to the strut holding the model, which provided localized addition of NO into the model s wake through a porous metal cylinder attached to the end of the tube. Models included several 2-inch diameter Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) models and 5-inch diameter Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) models. Various configurations were studied including different sting placements relative to the models, different model orientations and attachment angles, and different NO seeding methods. The angle of attack of the models was also varied and the location of the laser sheet was scanned to provide three-dimensional flowfield information. Virtual Diagnostics Interface technology, developed at NASA Langley, was used to visualize the data sets in post processing. The use of calibration "dotcards" was investigated to correct for camera perspective and lens distortions in the PLIF images. Lessons learned and recommendations for future experiments are discussed.

Alderfer, D. W.

Determining Spatial Coordinates By Laser Ranging

Three range-measuring lasers arranged in triangle measure location of point. Set of three measurements of distances (ranges) of retroreflector on object from three rangefinders provides sufficient information to calculate coordinates of retroreflector in coordinate system defined by rangefinders. If at least three noncollinear retroreflectors attached to object, orientation of object also determined. Potential applications include observation and control of large structures, robotics, and machine vision.

Schumacher, Larry L.

The Polarimetric Radar Scattering Properties of Oriented Aggregates

The scattering properties of aggregates are studied herein. Early aggregates (<7 monomers) of branched planar crystals and mature aggregates (up to 100 monomers) of columns are randomly generated with varying assumptions about the monomer attachment processes and the orientation behavior during collection. The resulting physical properties of the aggregates correspond well with prior in situ and retrieved sizes and shapes. Assumed azimuthally uniform orientations during collection and monomer pivoting upon attachment resulted in flatter and denser aggregates. The column aggregates had lower density and more spherical shapes than the branched planar crystal aggregates. The scattering properties were calculated using the discrete dipole approximation for a set of orientation angles and transformed to spectral coefficients representing modes of orientation angle variability. The zeroth- and second-order coefficients dominate this variability, with the zeroth-order coefficients representing the scattering properties for randomly oriented particles. The second-order coefficients for backscatter showed differences between horizontal and vertical polarization increasing with density, and these coefficients for specific differential phase increase with both mass and density. Similarly, coefficients for the copolar covariance decreased with density. Rapid changes in the contributions to the radar moments from the second-order coefficients from low to moderate density were observed, likely due to the increasing presence of horizontally aligned monomers in the aggregate structure. Differences in how differential reflectivity and correlation coefficient evolve with the orientation distribution parameters suggest that these measurements, along with specific differential phase and reflectivity, provide complementary information about aggregate sizes, shapes, and orientation distributions.

Cloud microphysics

Modular gear bearings

A gearing system using modular gear bearing components. Each component is composed of a core, one or more modules attached to the core and two or more fastening modules rigidly attaching the modules to the core. The modules, which are attached to the core, may consist of gears, rollers or gear bearing components. The core orientation affects the orientation of the modules attached to the core. This is achieved via the keying arrangement of the core and the component modules that attach to the core. Such an arrangement will also facilitate the phase tuning of gear modules with respect to the core and other gear modules attached to the core.

Vranish, John M.

Improved Joining of Metal Components to Composite Structures

Systems requirements for complex spacecraft drive design requirements that lead to structures, components, and/or enclosures of a multi-material and multifunctional design. The varying physical properties of aluminum, tungsten, Invar, or other high-grade aerospace metals when utilized in conjunction with lightweight composites multiply system level solutions. These multi-material designs are largely dependent upon effective joining techAn improved method of joining metal components to matrix/fiber composite material structures has been invented. The method is particularly applicable to equipping such thin-wall polymer-matrix composite (PMC) structures as tanks with flanges, ceramic matrix composite (CMC) liners for high heat engine nozzles, and other metallic-to-composite attachments. The method is oriented toward new architectures and distributing mechanical loads as widely as possible in the vicinities of attachment locations to prevent excessive concentrations of stresses that could give rise to delaminations, debonds, leaks, and other failures. The method in its most basic form can be summarized as follows: A metal component is to be joined to a designated attachment area on a composite-material structure. In preparation for joining, the metal component is fabricated to include multiple studs projecting from the aforementioned face. Also in preparation for joining, holes just wide enough to accept the studs are molded into, drilled, or otherwise formed in the corresponding locations in the designated attachment area of the uncured ("wet') composite structure. The metal component is brought together with the uncured composite structure so that the studs become firmly seated in the holes, thereby causing the composite material to become intertwined with the metal component in the joining area. Alternately, it is proposed to utilize other mechanical attachment schemes whereby the uncured composite and metallic parts are joined with "z-direction" fasteners. The resulting "wet" assembly is then subjected to the composite-curing heat treatment, becoming a unitary structure. It should be noted that this new art will require different techniques for CMC s versus PMC's, but the final architecture and companion curing philosophy is the same. For instance, a chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) fabrication technique may require special integration of the pre-form and

Semmes, Edmund

Final results of the NASA storm hazards program

Lightning swept-flash attachment patterns and the associated flight conditions were recorded from 1980-1986 during 1496 thunderstorm penetrations and 714 direct strikes with a NASA F-1068 research airplane. These data were studied with an emphasis on lightning avoidance by aircraft and on aircraft protection design. The individual lightning attachment spots, along with crew comments and on-board photographic data were used to identify lightning swept-flash attachment patterns and the orientations of the lightning channels with respect to the airplane. The full-scale in-flight data were compared to results from scale-model arc-attachment tests. The airborne and scale-model data showed that any exterior surface of this airplane may be susceptible to direct lightning attachment. In addition, the altitudes, ambient temperatures, and the relative turbulence and precipitation levels at which the strikes occurred in thunderstorms are summarized and discussed. It was found that the peak strike rate occurred at pressure altitudes betwen 38,000 ft and 40,000 ft, corresponding to ambient temperatures colder than -40 C.

Fisher, Bruce D.

Space research in the era of the space station

The major elements of the NASA manned space station are described, and science activities it could be used for are suggested. The core facilities include at least two major laboratory modules with supporting utilities, including habitation accommodations, docking facilities, power and heat rejection units, and external space and support for attached payloads. A vertically oriented structure, called the Power Tower, is being studied. Scientific accommodations inside the modules include major facility instrumentation for a variety of microgravity research projects, with initial emphasis upon materials research and life sciences. The second element is composed of free-flying satellites operating in orbits near the core station. The third element consists of satellites in polar orbits. One or more large, multi-instrument platforms are planned for Earth observation and solar-terrestrial processes research.

Banks, P. M.

Morphological evidence of mechanoreceptive gravity perception in a water flea - Daphnia magna

Hair-like structures or setae located in the basal membrane of the swimming antennae of the water flea, D. magna, were observed by scanning electron microscopy and compared to mechanoreceptors in the Higher Order Crustacea. Similarities in anatomy, size, attachment, number, length, and orientation support the hypothesis that the setae are rheoceptive mechanoreceptors which mediate gravity perception through deflection by water currents during the sink phase of hop-and-sink swimming behavior.

Meyers, D. G.

Summary of NASA storm hazards lightning research, 1980-1985

Lightning swept-flash attachment patterns and the associated flight conditions were recorded from 1980-1985 during 1378 thunderstorm penetrations and 690 direct strikes with a NASA F-106B research airplane. The individual lightning attachment spots, along with crew comments and onboard photographic data have been used to identify lightning swept-flash attachment patterns and the orientations of the lightning channels with respect to the airplane. The altitudes, ambient temperatures, and the relative turbulence and precipitation levels at which the strikes occurred also are summarized and discussed, with an emphasis on the differences between high and low altitude strikes.

Fisher, B. D.

Uses of the ICRF and implications for future VLBI

Since its inception on 1 Jan 1998, the fundamental ICRF has been set by the VLBI positions of 212 "defining" extragalactic radio sources. In all there are approx.3000 sources with usefully accurate (< few mas) positions consistent with the ICRF. The uses of the ICRF include fundamental astrometry, monitoring of Earth orientation, and spacecraft navigation. For fundamental astrometry, stability and accuracy are most important, and realizations at different frequencies must be in proper registration. However, there is no preferred frequency, and the GAIA mission has the potential for an optical ICRF with 500,000 objects at the 50 microarcsec level some time after the planned 2011 launch. The radio ICRF should be properly prepared for a transition to assure long term stability and consistency. Earth orientation monitoring requires objects attached to the solid Earth, and VLBI will continue to be the fundamental technique. For this purpose it is essential that the new VLBI stations contemplated in the VLBI20l0 report be capable of observing a sufficiently large and well-distributed set of stable sources, and identifying these sources is an on-going effort. Spacecraft navigation by differential VLBI is planned using the Ka-band telemetry signal, and work has begun towards an ICRF realization suitable for this purpose. The balancing of different needs related to the VLBI ICRF will be discussed.

Ma, Chopo

Fretting Stresses in Single Crystal Superalloy Turbine Blade Attachments

Single crystal nickel base superalloy turbine blades are being utilized in rocket engine turbopumps and turbine engines because of their superior creep, stress rupture, melt resistance and thermomechanical fatigue capabilities over polycrystalline alloys. Currently the most widely used single crystal nickel base turbine blade superalloys are PWA 1480/1493 and PWA 1484. These alloys play an important role in commercial, military and space propulsion systems. High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) induced failures in aircraft gas turbine and rocket engine turbopump blades is a pervasive problem. Blade attachment regions are prone to fretting fatigue failures. Single crystal nickel base superalloy turbine blades are especially prone to fretting damage because the subsurface shear stresses induced by fretting action at the attachment regions can result in crystallographic initiation and crack growth along octahedral planes. Furthermore, crystallographic crack growth on octahedral planes under fretting induced mixed mode loading can be an order of magnitude faster than under pure mode I loading. This paper presents contact stress evaluation in the attachment region for single crystal turbine blades used in the NASA alternate Advanced High Pressure Fuel Turbo Pump (HPFTP/AT) for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Single crystal materials have highly orthotropic properties making the position of the crystal lattice relative to the part geometry a significant factor in the overall analysis. Blades and the attachment region are modeled using a large-scale 3D finite element (FE) model capable of accounting for contact friction, material orthotrophy, and variation in primary and secondary crystal orientation. Contact stress analysis in the blade attachment regions is presented as a function of coefficient of friction and primary and secondary crystal orientation, Stress results are used to discuss fretting fatigue failure analysis of SSME blades. Attachment stresses are seen to reach peak values at locations where fretting cracks have been observed. Fretting stresses at the attachment region are seen to vary significantly as a function of crystal orientation. Attempts to adapt techniques used for estimating fatigue life in the airfoil region, for life calculations in the attachment region, are presented. An effective model for predicting crystallographic crack initiation under mixed mode loading is required for life prediction under fretting action.

Arakere, Nagaraj K.

Application of Single Crystal Failure Criteria: Theory and Turbine Blade Case Study

The orientation of the single crystal material within a structural component is known to affect the strength and life of the part. The first stage blade of the High Pressure Fuel Turbopump (HPFTP)/ Alternative Turbopump Development (ATD), of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) was used to study the effects of secondary axis'orientation angles on the failure rate of the blade. A new failure criterion was developed based on normal and shear strains on the primary crystallographic planes. The criterion was verified using low cycle fatigue (LCF) specimen data and a finite element model of the test specimens. The criterion was then used to study ATD/HPFTP first stage blade failure events. A detailed ANSYS finite element model of the blade was used to calculate the failure parameter for the different crystallographic orientations. A total of 297 cases were run to cover a wide range of acceptable orientations within the blade. Those orientations are related to the base crystallographic coordinate system that was created in the ANSYS finite element model. Contour plots of the criterion as a function of orientation for the blade tip and attachment were obtained. Results of the analysis revealed a 40% increase in the failure parameter due to changing of the primary and secondary axes of material orientations. A comparison between failure criterion predictions and actual engine test data was then conducted. The engine test data comes from two ATD/HPFTP builds (units F3- 4B and F6-5D), which were ground tested on the SSME at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Both units experienced cracking of the airfoil tips in multiple blades, but only a few cracks grew all the way across the wall of the hollow core airfoil.

Sayyah, Tarek

Evaluation of a Human Modeling Software Tool in the Prediction of Extra Vehicular Activity Tasks for an International Space Station Assembly Mission

The difficulty of accomplishing work in extravehicular activity (EVA) is well documented. It arises as a result of motion constraints imposed by a pressurized spacesuit in a near-vacuum and of the frictionless environment induced in microgravity. The appropriate placement of foot restraints is crucial to ensuring that astronauts can remove and drive bolts, mate and demate connectors, and actuate levers. The location on structural members of the foot restraint sockets, to which the portable foot restraint is attached, must provide for an orientation of the restraint that affords the astronaut adequate visual and reach envelopes. Previously, the initial location of these sockets was dependent upon the experienced designer's ability to estimate placement. The design was tested in a simulated zero-gravity environment; spacesuited astronauts performed the tasks with mockups while submerged in water. Crew evaluation of the tasks based on these designs often indicated the bolt or other structure to which force needed to be applied was not within an acceptable work envelope, resulting in redesign. The development of improved methods for location of crew aids prior to testing would result in savings to the design effort for EVA hardware. Such an effort to streamline EVA design is especially relevant to International Space Station construction and maintenance. Assembly operations alone are expected to require in excess of four hundred hours of EVA. Thus, techniques which conserve design resources for assembly missions can have significant impact. We describe an effort to implement a human modelling application in the design effort for an International Space Station Assembly Mission. On Assembly Flight 6A, the Canadian-built Space Station Remote Manipulator System will be delivered to the U.S. Laboratory. It will be released from its launch restraints by astronauts in EVA. The design of the placement of foot restraint sockets was carried out using the human model Jack, and the modelling results were compared with actual underwater test results. The predicted locations of the sockets was found to be acceptable for 94% of the tasks attempted by the astronauts, This effort provides confidence in the capabilities of this package to accurately model tasks. It therefore increases assurance that the tool maybe used early in the design process.

Dischinger, H. Charles

Some cable suspension systems and their effects on the flexural frequencies of slender aerospace structures

The effects of several cable suspension configurations on the first free-free flexural frequency of uniform beams have been determined by experiment and analysis. The results of this study confirm that in general the larger the test vehicle the larger is the flexural frequency measurement error attributable to a given cable suspension configuration. For horizontally oriented beams representing modern aerospace vehicles of average size and flexibility, the restraining effects of all but the shortest support cables were minor. The restraining effects of support cables of moderate length attached near the base of vertically oriented vehicles were overshadowed by the effects of beam compression due to gravity.

Herr, R. W.

The Annular Suspension and Pointing System /ASPS/

The Annular Suspension and Pointing System (ASPS) may be attached to a carrier vehicle for orientation, mechanical isolation, and fine pointing purposes applicable to space experiments. It has subassemblies for both coarse and vernier pointing. A fourteen-degree-of-freedom simulation of the ASPS mounted on a Space Shuttle has yielded initial performance data. The simulation describes: the magnetic actuators, payload sensors, coarse gimbal assemblies, control algorithms, rigid body dynamic models of the payload and Shuttle, and a control system firing model.

Anderson, W. W.

Orient and Chutjian Reply

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electron attachment trochoidal analyzers

The Virtual Tablet: Virtual Reality as a Control System

In the field of human-computer interaction, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have been rapidly growing areas of interest and concerted development effort thanks to both private and public research. At NASA, a number of groups have explored the possibilities afforded by AR and VR technology, among which is the IT Advanced Concepts Lab (ITACL). Within ITACL, the AVR (Augmented/Virtual Reality) Lab focuses on VR technology specifically for its use in command and control. Previous work in the AVR lab includes the Natural User Interface (NUI) project and the Virtual Control Panel (VCP) project, which created virtual three-dimensional interfaces that users could interact with while wearing a VR headset thanks to body- and hand-tracking technology. The Virtual Tablet (VT) project attempts to improve on these previous efforts by incorporating a physical surrogate which is mirrored in the virtual environment, mitigating issues with difficulty of visually determining the interface location and lack of tactile feedback discovered in the development of previous efforts. The physical surrogate takes the form of a handheld sheet of acrylic glass with several infrared-range reflective markers and a sensor package attached. Using the sensor package to track orientation and a motion-capture system to track the marker positions, a model of the surrogate is placed in the virtual environment at a position which corresponds with the real-world location relative to the user's VR Head Mounted Display (HMD). A set of control mechanisms is then projected onto the surface of the surrogate such that to the user, immersed in VR, the control interface appears to be attached to the object they are holding. The VT project was taken from an early stage where the sensor package, motion-capture system, and physical surrogate had been constructed or tested individually but not yet combined or incorporated into the virtual environment. My contribution was to combine the pieces of hardware, write software to incorporate each piece of position or orientation data into a coherent description of the object's location in space, place the virtual analogue accordingly, and project the control interface onto it, resulting in a functioning object which has both a physical and a virtual presence. Additionally, the virtual environment was enhanced with two live video feeds from cameras mounted on the robotic device being used as an example target of the virtual interface. The working VT allows users to naturally interact with a control interface with little to no training and without the issues found in previous efforts.

virtual control interface