Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Jackson, Kevin.
Energy storage devices are improved by incorporating polyurethane separators, which separators comprise polyurethane polymers prepared by curing a polycarbonate based polyurethane prepolymer, which polyurethane polymers often further comprise metal or ammonium salts and are often swelled by an organic solvent.
A non-aqueous flow cell energy storage device comprises a ionically conductive separator, which separator comprises a polyurethane prepared by curing an isocyanate capped prepolymer, which prepolymer was prepared from a polyol having polycarbonate backbone, wherein the separator may be impregnated with electrolyte salts and/or swelled by an organic solvent.
Supersonic combustion performance of a bi-component gaseous hydrocarbon fuel mixture is one of the primary aspects under investigation in the HIFiRE Flight 2 experiment. In-flight instrumentation and post-test analyses will be two key elements used to determine the combustion performance. Pre-flight computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses provide valuable information that can be used to optimize the placement of a constrained set of wall pressure instrumentation in the experiment. The simulations also allow pre-flight assessments of performance sensitivities leading to estimates of overall uncertainty in the determination of combustion efficiency. Based on the pre-flight CFD results, 128 wall pressure sensors have been located throughout the isolator/combustor flowpath to minimize the error in determining the wall pressure force at Mach 8 flight conditions. Also, sensitivity analyses show that mass capture and combustor exit stream thrust are the two primary contributors to uncertainty in combustion efficiency.
An important part of NASA's mission involves the secondary application of its technologies in the public and private sectors. One current application under development is LiteraCity, a simulation-based instructional package for adults who do not have functional reading skills. Using fuzzy logic routines and other technologies developed by NASA's Information Systems Directorate and hypermedia sound, graphics, and animation technologies the project attempts to overcome the limited impact of adult literacy assessment and instruction by involving the adult in an interactive simulation of real-life literacy activities. The project uses a recursive instructional development model and authentic instruction theory. This paper describes one component of a project to design, develop, and produce a series of computer-based, multimedia instructional packages. The packages are being developed for use in adult literacy programs, particularly in correctional education centers. They use the concepts of authentic instruction and authentic assessment to guide development. All the packages to be developed are instructional simulations. The first is a simulation of 'finding a friend a job.'