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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 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Space-Spurred Metallized Materials

Among a score of applications for a space spinoff reflective material called TXG is the emergency blanket manufactured by Metallized Products, Inc. Used by ski patrol to protect a skier shaken by a fall, the blanket retains up to 80% of user's body heat preventing post accident shock or chills. Carried by many types of emergency teams, blanket is large when unfolded, but folds into a package no larger than a deck of cards. Many other uses include, emergency blankets, all weather blanket, tanning blanket, window shields, radar reflector life raft canopies, etc.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2003

Thermal insulating conformal blanket

The conformal thermal insulating blanket may have generally rigid batting material covered by an outer insulating layer formed of a high temperature resistant woven ceramic material and an inner insulating layer formed of a woven ceramic fiber material. The batting and insulating layers may be fastened together by sewing or stitching using an outer mold layer thread fabricated of a high temperature resistant material and an inner mold layer thread of a ceramic fiber material. The batting may be formed to a composite structure that may have a firmness factor sufficient to inhibit a pillowing effect after the stitching to not more than 0.03 inch. The outer insulating layer and an upper portion of the batting adjacent the outer insulating layer may be impregnated with a ceramic coating material.

Barney, Andrea↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tritium Breeder Composites for Fusion Applications

Due to the short half-life of tritium, all fusion reactors planned for long-term operation using a deuterium-tritium fuel cycle must produce sufficient tritium from reactions outside the core to maintain reactor operation. Typically, the core is surrounded by a tritium breeder blanket filled with lithium-containing materials which react under a neutron flux to form tritium that can then be collected. Here, reactor designers are forced to choose between using chemically reactive liquid breeders (e.g., Pb-Li, FLiBe, Li) or solid breeders, which often have lower lithium concentrations and questionable mechanical integrity under irradiation (e.g., Li4SiO4, Li2TiO3). To expand this pool of options, this work has sought to produce composite tritium breeder materials using lithium-containing ceramics and metal reinforcements. The resultant composite tritium breeders simultaneously feature higher lithium densities and improved mechanical integrity, including tensile strength and toughness, compared to other tritium breeders previously reported in literature.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS1985

Preliminary results of SMM exposed aluminized Kapton and silvered Teflon

Early Space Shuttle flights revealed that organic materials, such as those used in thermal control blankets and paints in the payload bay, were adversely affected in the low Earth orbit environment. Examination of eroded surfaces on these early flights and materials experiments performed on subsequent flights led to the conclusion that atomic oxygen present at Shuttle operating altitudes was responsible for surface degradation. The Solar Maximum Mission provided surfaces that had been exposed in real time to atomic oxygen and ultraviolet radiation. Preliminary results of studies of the microscopic surface effects on silvered Teflon and aluminized Kapton used for thermal control on the Solar Maximum Mission are presented.

Santos-Mason, B.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The use of plasma ashers and Monte Carlo modeling for the projection of atomic oxygen durability of protected polymers in low Earth orbit

The results of ground laboratory and in-space exposure of polymeric materials to atomic oxygen has enabled the development of a Monte Carlo computational model which simulates the oxidation processes of both environments. The cost effective projection of long-term low-Earth-orbital durability of protected polymeric materials such as SiO(x)-coated polyimide Kapton photovoltaic array blankets will require ground-based testing to assure power system reliability. Although silicon dioxide thin film protective coatings can greatly extend the useful life of polymeric materials in ground-based testing, the projection of in-space durability based on these results can be made more reliable through the use of modeling which simulates the mechanistic properties of atomic oxygen interaction, and replicates test results in both environments. Techniques to project long-term performance of protected materials, such as the Space Station Freedom solar array blankets, are developed based on ground laboratory experiments, in-space experiments, and computational modeling.

Banks, Bruce A.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Multilayer insulation materials for reusable space vehicles.

Results of an extensive study conducted to evaluate multilayer insulation (MLI) materials suitable for repeated space vehicle operation are presented. Materials studied were radiation shields, shield spacers, blanket face sheets, fasteners, and adhesives. The Superfloc MLI concept - Kapton shields goldized on both sides as the radiation barrier with Dacron flock tufts as the spacers - appeared to be an excellent MLI for reusable cryogenic tankage. Superfloc configurations consisting of various combinations of film, spacer, and adhesive materials were manufactured and tested. Tensile, flexing, expansion, and cycling tests were performed on goldized Kapton and Mylar Superfloc and Beta glass reinforced Pyre ML face sheet material. A face sheet material that retains its shape was developed. Polyphenylene oxide material was selected for fabricating lightweight twin and tri-pin fasteners, together with grommets, face sheets, and reinforcement slabs. Measured material thermal conductivity values are tabulated.

Leonhard, K. E.↗
DOE OSTI2022

GAMBL – A dual-cooled fusion blanket using SiC-based structures

We describe a novel fusion reactor blanket concept called GAMBL – GA Modular BLanket. This design concept exploits the advantages of SiC-based structures while minimizing their limitations. Material microstructures are tailored for different functions throughout the first wall and blanket, including the use of graded W/SiC composites to enhance heat transfer capabilities and resist erosion at the plasma-facing surface. The design contains a decoupled first wall and breeding blanket, which we show can provide adequate tritium breeding. By decoupling the breeding part of the blanket, we can operate at very low PbLi breeder pressure and support gravity loads in simple, radiatively-cooled structural beams that do not contain coolant. First wall performance capabilities are enhanced by eliminating constraints imposed by the deep blanket. We have performed initial fluid, thermal, mechanical and neutronics analysis of this concept to show its capabilities to meet the design requirements. R&D needs are mostly related to materials development. Except for unique manufacturing needs, no new facilities are required beyond existing or planned facilities for the US base program on steel-based DCLL blankets.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1979

Nonterrestrial material processing and manufacturing of large space systems

Nonterrestrial processing of materials and manufacturing of large space system components from preprocessed lunar materials at a manufacturing site in space is described. Lunar materials mined and preprocessed at the lunar resource complex will be flown to the space manufacturing facility (SMF), where together with supplementary terrestrial materials, they will be final processed and fabricated into space communication systems, solar cell blankets, radio frequency generators, and electrical equipment. Satellite Power System (SPS) material requirements and lunar material availability and utilization are detailed, and the SMF processing, refining, fabricating facilities, material flow and manpower requirements are described.

Von Tiesenhausen, G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Space environment durability of beta cloth in LDEF thermal blankets

Beta cloth performance for use on long-term space vehicles such as Space Station Freedom (S.S. Freedom) requires resistance to the degrading effects of the space environment. The major issues are retention of thermal insulating properties through maintaining optical properties, preserving mechanical integrity, and generating minimal particulates for contamination-sensitive spacecraft surfaces and payloads. The longest in-flight test of beta cloth's durability was on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), where it was exposed to the space environment for 68 months. The LDEF contained 57 experiments which further defined the space environment and its effects on spacecraft materials. It was deployed into low-Earth orbit (LEO) in Apr. 1984 and retrieved Jan. 1990 by the space shuttle. Among the 10,000 plus material constituents and samples onboard were thermal control blankets of multilayer insulation with a beta cloth outer cover and Velcro attachments. These blankets were exposed to hard vacuum, thermal cycling, charged particles, meteoroid/debris impacts, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and atomic oxygen (AO). Of these space environmental exposure elements, AO appears to have had the greatest effect on the beta cloth. The beta cloth analyzed in this report came from the MSFC Experiment S1005 (Transverse Flat-Plate Heat Pipe) tray oriented approximately 22 deg from the leading edge vector of the LDEF satellite. The location of the tray on LDEF and the placement of the beta cloth thermal blankets are shown. The specific space environment exposure conditions for this material are listed.

Linton, Roger C.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integral analysis of the effect of material dimension and composition on tokamak neutronics *

Abstract The neutronics performance of a tokamak has been identified as an important factor in designing a fusion power plant. The design of the tokamak should not only meet operational parameters such as sufficient tritium breeding, but also safety parameters such as low structural material activation. This paper investigates the impacts of the neutronics metrics for the ARC-class tokamak, a compact tokamak with an immersion blanket, by perturbing the first five layers of structural material—first wall, inner vacuum vessel, coolant salt channel, neutron multiplier, and outer vacuum vessel. The goal of this work is to provide insight into shaping and scaling the flux on each layer to obtain optimized operational and safety metrics through quantification of the responses from each perturbation. Results show that increased first wall thickness can increase the tritium breeding ratio (TBR) in specific configurations with high 6 Li enrichments and that vacuum vessels decrease TBR for low- 6 Li enrichment configurations. It was also found that the neutron multiplier can either increase or decrease TBR depending on the configuration. The response of metrics to the change in layer thickness and enrichment also varies depending on the vacuum vessel material. The integral impacts of 6 Li enrichment, layer thicknesses, and vacuum vessel material choice are investigated and presented in this paper.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS2016

Below Ambient and Cryogenic Thermal Testing

Methods and apparatus for the testing of below-ambient temperature thermal insulation systems have been developed based on boiloff calorimetry. Boiloff calorimetry provides a direct measure of heat flow for below-ambient temperature conditions. The effective thermal conductivity (ke) and heat flux (q) of a test specimen are calculated for a fixed environmental condition (warm boundary temperature; cold boundary temperature; ambient or vacuum pressure). Through its heat of vaporization, liquid nitrogen (LN2) serves as the energy meter. Different apparatus have been built for flat-plate, cylindrical, and pipeline test specimens. Boundary temperatures can range from 353 K down to 77 K (80 C to -196 C). By interposing different insulation layers on the cold boundary, the cryogenic boiloff method is suitable for a wide range of below-ambient temperature applications. A cylindrical apparatus, Cryostat-100, as well as the pipeline test apparatus, Cryostat-P100, are thermally guarded and directly measure absolute thermal performance in watts. Pipe insulation systems can be mechanical, double-walled, or vacuum-jacketed including materials such as foams, cellular glass, aerogel blankets, clam-shell panels, and multilayer insulation. Two test pipelines, 12-meter-long, are mounted between two cold box assemblies. The test pipeline diameter is from 25-mm to 76-mm while the maximum outside diameter including insulation is up to 204-mm. The cold pipe tester design and test methods are discussed, as well as results for select thermal insulation materials. Progress toward a comparative type, bench-top cold pipe tester (Cryostat-P200) is also discussed.

Fesmire, James E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A photovoltaic catenary-tent array for the Martian surface

To provide electrical power during an exploration mission to Mars, a deployable tent-shaped structure with a flexible photovoltaic (PV) blanket is proposed. The array is designed with a self-deploying mechanism utilizing pressurized gas expansion. The structural design for the array uses a combination of cables, beams, and columns to support and deploy the PV blanket. Under the force of gravity a cable carrying a uniform load will take the shape of a catenary curve. A catenary-tent collector is self shadowing which must be taken into account in the solar radiation calculation. The shape and the area of the shadow on the array was calculated and used in the determination of the global radiation on the array. The PV blanket shape and structure dimension were optimized to achieve a configuration which maximizes the specific power (W/kg). The optimization was performed for four types of PV blankets (Si, GaAs/Ge, GaAs CLEFT, and amorphous Si) and four types of structure materials (Carbon composite, Aramid Fiber composite, Aluminum, and Magnesium). The results show that the catenary shape of the PV blanket, which produces the highest specific power, corresponds to zero end angle at the base with respect to the horizontal. The tent angle is determined by the combined effect of the array structure specific mass and the PV blanket output power. The combination of carbon composite structural material and GaAs CLEFT solar cells produce the highest specific power. The study was carried out for two sites on Mars corresponding to the Viking Lander locations. The designs were also compared for summer, winter, and yearly operation.

Crutchik, M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Post flight system analysis of FRECOPA (AO 138)

The unexpected duration for the flight of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) conducted CNES to create a special investigation group in order to analyze all the materials and systems which compose the French Cooperative Payload (FRECOPA) except the experiments especially prepared for the flight. The FRECOPA tray was on the trailing face (V-) of the LDEF and protected from the atomic oxygen flux during all the flight. However, the solar irradiation was very important with solar flux quite perpendicular to the experiment once an orbit. There was also a good vacuum environment. The objectives are to test the effects of the combined space environment on materials and components like: structure, thermal control coatings and blankets, electronic unit, motors, and mechanical fixtures. When the LDEF returned to Kennedy Space Center, a visual inspection showed the very good behavior of the materials used and it was noted that the three mechanisms to open and close the experiment canisters worked completely. Many impacts of micrometeoroids or space debris on the structure and on the thermal protections were observed. After FRECOPA was brought back to Toulouse, many tests were performed and include: working order tests, mechanical tests (tension), optical and electronic microscopy (SEM), surface analysis (ESCA, SIMS, RBS, AUGER, etc.), thermal analysis, pressure measurements, and gas analysis (outgassing tests). The results of these experiments are discussed.

Durin, Christian↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluation of measuring thermal conductivity of isotropic and anisotropic thermally insulating materials by transient plane source (Hot Disk) technique

The transient plane source (TPS) technique, also referred as the Hot Disk method, has been widely used due to its ability to measure the thermal properties of an extensive range of materials (solids, liquids, and powder). Recently, it has been recognized that typical Hot Disk sensors can influence TPS results of thermally insulating materials and lead to an overestimation of thermal conductivity. Although improvements have been proposed, they have not yet been implemented in the commercial TPS, leaving researchers with non-standardized modifications or options provided by a commercial Hot Disk apparatus. An empirical study of thermally insulating materials such as extruded polystyrene (XPS) and aerogel blanket is conducted in order to address the factors that affect the reliability of thermal conductivity k obtained using the commercial TPS apparatus. Sensor size, input power, duration of the measurements, applied pressure, and, in the case of anisotropic materials, heat capacity are investigated, and the results are compared with those using a Heat Flow Meter apparatus. The effect of sensor size on the k value is ascribed to heat loss through connecting leads and is more pronounced in smaller sensors and in materials with lower k values . In the case of XPS and aerogel, the effect becomes minimal for sensors with a radius r ≥ 6.4 mm. The low input power yields a high scattering of the results and should be avoided. Applied contact pressure and the tested region of the specimen play an important role in experiments with low-density fibrous materials due to the large percentage of heat being transferred by radiation and the heterogeneous nature of the samples, respectively. Additionally, the sensitivity of anisotropic measurements to the value of the material’s volumetric heat capacity ( ρC p ) is shown, emphasizing the need for the precise determination.

thermal conductivity↗
NASA NTRS1989

Photovoltaic array environmental protection program

During the photovoltaic array environmental protection program, a coating material, application technique, and design approach intended to protect flexible solar array blankets during a nominal fifteen-year operating lifetime were developed. Numerous thin-film coatings for protecting the Kapton polyimide material used in the construction of the Space Station Freedom flexible solar array blanket were evaluated. The critical solar array design features and protection measures are discussed with special emphasis on the effects of solar array fabrication and flexible printed circuit manufacturing processes on coating durability. The results of the mechanical and environmental test evaluation, including oxygen plasma, neutral oxygen beam, and UV/charged-particle combined exposure, are discussed. These results led to the selection of a silicon dioxide thin-film coating to protect the solar array blanket from the low-earth-orbit atomic oxygen environment.

Bilger, Kevin M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Effects of the LDEF environment on the Ag/FEP thermal blankets

This presentation was made by Francois Levadou at the NASA Langley Research Center LDEF materials workshop, November 19-22, 1991. It represents the results to date on the examination of silvered teflon thermal blankets primarily from the Ultra-heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment and also from the blanket from the Park Seed Company experiment. ESA/ESTEC and Boeing conducted a number of independent measurements on the blankets and in particular on the exposed fluorinated ethylene-propylene (FEP) layer of the blankets. Mass loss, thickness, and thickness profile measurements have been used by ESA, Boeing, and NASA LeRC to determine recession and average erosion yield under atomic oxygen exposure. Tensile strength and percent elongation to failure data, surface characterization by ESCA, and SEM images are presented. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory analysis of vacuum radiation effects is also presented. The results obtained by the laboratories mentioned and additional results from the Aerospace Corporation on samples provided by Boeing are quite similar and give confidence in the validity of the data.

Levadou, Francois↗
NASA NTRS2014

Geologic Mapping of Ejecta Deposits in Oppia Quadrangle, Asteroid (4) Vesta

Oppia Quadrangle Av-10 (288-360 deg E, +/- 22 deg) is a junction of key geologic features that preserve a rough history of Asteroid (4) Vesta and serves as a case study of using geologic mapping to define a relative geologic timescale. Clear filter images, stereo-derived topography, slope maps, and multispectral color-ratio images from the Framing Camera on NASA's Dawn spacecraft served as basemaps to create a geologic map and investigate the spatial and temporal relationships of the local stratigraphy. Geologic mapping reveals the oldest map unit within Av-10 is the cratered highlands terrain which possibly represents original crustal material on Vesta that was then excavated by one or more impacts to form the basin Feralia Planitia. Saturnalia Fossae and Divalia Fossae ridge and trough terrains intersect the wall of Feralia Planitia indicating that this impact basin is older than both the Veneneia and Rheasilvia impact structures, representing Pre-Veneneian crustal material. Two of the youngest geologic features in Av-10 are Lepida (approximately 45 km diameter) and Oppia (approximately 40 km diameter) impact craters that formed on the northern and southern wall of Feralia Planitia and each cross-cuts a trough terrain. The ejecta blanket of Oppia is mapped as 'dark mantle' material because it appears dark orange in the Framing Camera 'Clementine-type' colorratio image and has a diffuse, gradational contact distributed to the south across the rim of Rheasilvia. Mapping of surface material that appears light orange in color in the Framing Camera 'Clementine-type' color-ratio image as 'light mantle material' supports previous interpretations of an impact ejecta origin. Some light mantle deposits are easily traced to nearby source craters, but other deposits may represent distal ejecta deposits (emplaced greater than 5 crater radii away) in a microgravity environment.

Asteroids↗
DOE OSTI2025

Microstructure and mechanical behavior of a TiC nanoprecipitate strengthened V Alloy

The V-4Cr-4Ti (V44) alloys have been proposed as the prime candidate structural material for self-cooled liquid Li blanket and other designs for fusion energy applications. However, the applications of the V44 alloy are limited to a narrow operation temperature window, due to reduction in creep strength at or above 700 °C and susceptibility to irradiation hardening and embrittlement when irradiated below 400 °C. Here, in this work, we explore the feasibility of designing a novel V alloy to form a high number density of TiC nanoprecipitates, in order to simultaneously improve creep strength and provide defect sinks to mitigate irradiation hardening. Computational thermodynamics was used to design a new alloy (V44C) to achieve our goal of high TiC nanoprecipitates density within the alloy V44 matrix. To ensure scalability, the new alloy was made through arc-melting and ingot-casting followed by hot forging, cold rolling and heat treatments of homogenization and precipitation aging. The microstructure was characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and APT, confirming the existence of nanoprecipitates predicted in the thermodynamic calculations. In addition to microstructural evaluation tensile properties at room temperature and 700 °C, and Charpy impact energy at room temperature were measured. The microstructure and mechanical properties were then compared with those from a historic reference V44 alloy. The tensile strength improvement in V44C was rationalized based on particle and solid solution strengthening mechanism. The fracture behavior was discussed based on the fractography results and necking deformation behavior.

Alloys development↗