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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 NTRS2016

Method and Apparatus for In-Situ Health Monitoring of Solar Cells in Space

Embodiments of the present invention describe an apparatus including an oscillator, a ramp generator, and an inverter. The oscillator is configured to generate a waveform comprising a low time and a high time. The inverter is configured to receive the waveform generated by the oscillator, and invert the waveform. The ramp generator is configured to increase a gate control voltage of a transistor connected to a solar cell, and rapidly decrease the gate control voltage of the transistor. During the low time, a measurement of a current and a voltage of the solar cell is performed. During the high time, a measurement of a current of a shorted cell and a voltage reference is performed.

Krasowski, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Inverter Output Filter Effect on PWM Motor Drives of a Flywheel Energy Storage System

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been involved in the research and development of high speed flywheel systems for small satellite energy storage and attitude control applications. One research and development area has been the minimization of the switching noise produced by the pulsed width modulated (PWM) inverter that drives the flywheel permanent magnet motor/generator (PM M/G). This noise can interfere with the flywheel M/G hardware and the system avionics hampering the full speed performance of the flywheel system. One way to attenuate the inverter switching noise is by placing an AC filter at the three phase output terminals of the inverter with the filter neutral point connected to the DC link (DC bus) midpoint capacitors. The main benefit of using an AC filter in this fashion is the significant reduction of the inverter s high dv/dt switching and its harmonics components. Additionally, common mode (CM) and differential mode (DM) voltages caused by the inverter s high dv/dt switching are also reduced. Several topologies of AC filters have been implemented and compared. One AC filter topology consists of a two-stage R-L-C low pass filter. The other topology consists of the same two-stage R-L-C low pass filter with a series connected trap filter (an inductor and capacitor connected in parallel). This paper presents the analysis, design and experimental results of these AC filter topologies and the comparison between the no filter case and conventional AC filter.

Santiago, Walter↗
NASA NTRS1992

Modelling a single phase voltage controlled rectifier using Laplace transforms

The development of a 20 kHz, AC power system by NASA for large space projects has spurred a need to develop models for the equipment which will be used on these single phase systems. To date, models for the AC source (i.e., inverters) have been developed. It is the intent of this paper to develop a method to model the single phase voltage controlled rectifiers which will be attached to the AC power grid as an interface for connected loads. A modified version of EPRI's HARMFLO program is used as the shell for these models. The results obtained from the model developed in this paper are quite adequate for the analysis of problems such as voltage resonance. The unique technique presented in this paper uses the Laplace transforms to determine the harmonic content of the load current of the rectifier rather than a curve fitting technique. Laplace transforms yield the coefficient of the differential equations which model the line current to the rectifier directly.

Kraft, L. Alan↗
NASA NTRS1978

Variable Cycle Engine Technology Program Planning and Definition Study

The variable stream control engine, VSCE-502B, was selected as the base engine, with the inverted flow engine concept selected as a backup. Critical component technologies were identified, and technology programs were formulated. Several engine configurations were defined on a preliminary basis to serve as demonstration vehicles for the various technologies. The different configurations present compromises in cost, technical risk, and technology return. Plans for possible variably cycle engine technology programs were formulated by synthesizing the technology requirements with the different demonstrator configurations.

Westmoreland, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Transferring small samples of viscous liquid

To avoid trapped air bubbles, fluid after removing plunger. Plunger is reinserted, syringe inverted, and air bubbles expelled by depressing plunger. Technique makes it easy to control sample quantities as small as one microliter, without problems from bubbles created by plunger suction.

Miller, B. W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Control of multiple resonant power processors in a multi-source system

Analysis and test results show that phasor-regulated, Mapham-derived resonant inverters can be paralleled to provide standardizing interfaces for multiple sources on a utility-type, aerospace power distribution bus. The basic sources do not require matching in any way, and may have grossly different characteristics. Fully stable system architectures with multiple sources, parallel/redundant distribution buses, and a wide variety of loads can be easily constructed and controlled. The commands and parameters available for system control allow for tight tolerance bus voltage control, and absolute power-sharing control from the various sources over the full range of possible source and load variations. That level of control enables simplified load power processing hardware and the distribution of losses to optimally load the source thermal control system. Positive control of all system performance and allocation of losses are not required by all missions or vehicles, and overall vehicle considerations do not always require the loads on vehicle energy sources and thermal control systems to be balanced. In those cases, power system control can be simplified, and a hierarchical set of defaults can be substituted for computer-generated or supervisory input commands to allow for stable, fully autonomous system operation.

Mildice, James↗
NASA NTRS1959

Free-Spinning Characteristics of a 1/30-Scale Model of the Grumman WF-2 Airplane

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 20-foot free-spinning tunnel on a 1/30-scale model of the Grumman WF-2 airplane. The effects of control settings and movements upon the erect-spin and recovery characteristics for the flight gross-weight loading with normal center-of-gravity and rearward center-of-gravity positions were determined. For the inverted-spin tests, the flight gross-weight loading with normal center-of-gravity position was used. Brief tests were also made with the radome removed to determine the effect of the radome on the spin and recovery characteristics of the airplane. The results of the tests of the model indicate that erect spins of the airplane in the flight gross-weight loading with the normal (26.3-percent mean aerodynamic chord) center-of-gravity position and with the most rearward (30-percent mean aerodynamic chord) center-of-gravity position possible will be satisfactorily terminated by full rudder reversal to against the spin accompanied by movement of the elevator to at least two-thirds down. With the radome removed, the spin will be steeper and considerably more oscillatory than with the radome on. Recoveries by the preceding technique will be satisfactory. Inverted spins of the airplane will be satisfactorily terminated by full rudder reversal followed by neutralization of the longitudinal and lateral controls.

Lee, Henry A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

External control of planetary radio emission

Recent studies using data from Voyagers 1 and 2 to correlate variations in the Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR) with changes in solar-wind properties are summarized and illustrated with graphs. Best SKR correlations have been obtained with the solar-wind ram pressure and the related kinetic energy flux. It is pointed out that the related phenomenon on earth, the auroral kilometric radiation, occurs mainly in the nightside auroral region (as opposed to the dayside cleft region for SKR) and is best correlated with solar-wind velocity and inverted-V electron-precipitation events, implying a different stimulation process. The evidence for solar-wind control of the non-Io-related decametric radiation of Jupiter is also reviewed.

Rucker, H. O.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Integrated High-Speed Torque Control System for a Robotic Joint

A control system for achieving high-speed torque for a joint of a robot includes a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) having a collocated joint processor and high-speed communication bus. The PCBA may also include a power inverter module (PIM) and local sensor conditioning electronics (SCE) for processing sensor data from one or more motor position sensors. Torque control of a motor of the joint is provided via the PCBA as a high-speed torque loop. Each joint processor may be embedded within or collocated with the robotic joint being controlled. Collocation of the joint processor, PIM, and high-speed bus may increase noise immunity of the control system, and the localized processing of sensor data from the joint motor at the joint level may minimize bus cabling to and from each control node. The joint processor may include a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

Davis, Donald R.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Robust Control Design for Uncertain Nonlinear Dynamic Systems

Robustness to parametric uncertainty is fundamental to successful control system design and as such it has been at the core of many design methods developed over the decades. Despite its prominence, most of the work on robust control design has focused on linear models and uncertainties that are non-probabilistic in nature. Recently, researchers have acknowledged this disparity and have been developing theory to address a broader class of uncertainties. This paper presents an experimental application of robust control design for a hybrid class of probabilistic and non-probabilistic parametric uncertainties. The experimental apparatus is based upon the classic inverted pendulum on a cart. The physical uncertainty is realized by a known additional lumped mass at an unknown location on the pendulum. This unknown location has the effect of substantially altering the nominal frequency and controllability of the nonlinear system, and in the limit has the capability to make the system neutrally stable and uncontrollable. Another uncertainty to be considered is a direct current motor parameter. The control design objective is to design a controller that satisfies stability, tracking error, control power, and transient behavior requirements for the largest range of parametric uncertainties. This paper presents an overview of the theory behind the robust control design methodology and the experimental results.

Kenny, Sean P.↗
NASA NTRS2017

A Study of the Degradation of Electronic Speed Controllers for Brushless DC Motors

Brushless DC motors are frequently used in electric aircraft and other direct drive applications. As these motors are notactually direct current machines but synchronous alternating current machines; they are electronically commutated by a power inverter. The power inverter for brushless DC motors typically used in small scale UAVs is a semiconductor base delectronic commutator that is external to the motor and is referred to as an electronic speed control (ESC). This paper examines the performance changes of a UAV electric propulsion system resulting from ESC degradation. ESC performance is evaluated in simulation and on a new developed test bed featuring propulsion components from a reference UAV. An increase in the rise fall times of the switched voltages is expected to cause timing issues at high motor speeds. This study paves the way for further development of diagnostic and prognostic methods for inverter circuits which are part of the overall electric UAV system.

Gorospe, George E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1978

An inverter/controller subsystem optimized for photovoltaic applications

Conversion of solar array dc power to ac power stimulated the specification, design, and simulation testing of an inverter/controller subsystem tailored to the photovoltaic power source characteristics. This paper discusses the optimization of the inverter/controller design as part of an overall Photovoltaic Power System (PPS) designed for maximum energy extraction from the solar array. The special design requirements for the inverter/controller include: (1) a power system controller (PSC) to control continuously the solar array operating point at the maximum power level based on variable solar insolation and cell temperatures; and (2) an inverter designed for high efficiency at rated load and low losses at light loadings to conserve energy. It must be capable of operating connected to the utility line at a level set by an external controller (PSC).

Pickrell, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Inversion of imaging spectrometry data using singular value decomposition

The use of imaging spectrometers, which acquire data that are both spectrally contiguous images and spatially contiguous spectra, for quantitative remote sensing of the earth is addressed. Such data sets cannot be analyzed fully using either existing spectroscopic or image techniques. Singular value decomposition (SVD) is used here for spectral unmixing and determination of the spatial scales of mixing. It is shown that when it is used to invert the mixing endmember library, SVD allows more insight into library characteristics and more control of the inversion process than other commonly used matrix inversion techniques.

Boardman, Joe W.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Machine Learning for Dynamical Modeling of a Flexible Inverted Pendulum System

The inverted pendulum system, a canonical example of an unstable mechanical system, is often used to model the control problems encountered in the flight of rockets in the initial stages of launch, when the airspeed is too small for aerodynamic stability. A system with a flexible pendulum is a variant that more accurately simulates rocket flight nonlinearities (particularly, the flex modes of the rocket). To increase NASA capability of modeling dynamical systems for which closed form solutions are not clear or easily developed, this project aims to provide a machine learning approach that produces a learned dynamical model of the PENNY robot (a rover with a flexible inverted pendulum) from operational data. The developed approach can then be generalized to other complex dynamical systems, including but not limited to rockets and other robotic systems.

M. A. DuPuis↗
NASA NTRS1992

Self-learning fuzzy controllers based on temporal back propagation

This paper presents a generalized control strategy that enhances fuzzy controllers with self-learning capability for achieving prescribed control objectives in a near-optimal manner. This methodology, termed temporal back propagation, is model-insensitive in the sense that it can deal with plants that can be represented in a piecewise-differentiable format, such as difference equations, neural networks, GMDH structures, and fuzzy models. Regardless of the numbers of inputs and outputs of the plants under consideration, the proposed approach can either refine the fuzzy if-then rules if human experts, or automatically derive the fuzzy if-then rules obtained from human experts are not available. The inverted pendulum system is employed as a test-bed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme and the robustness of the acquired fuzzy controller.

Jang, Jyh-Shing R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Flight effects on the aerodynamic and acoustic characteristics of inverted profile coannular nozzles

The effect of forward flight on the jet noise of coannular exhaust nozzles, suitable for Variable Stream Control Engines (VSCE), was investigated in a series of wind tunnel tests. The primary stream properties were maintained constant at 300 mps and 394 K. A total of 230 acoustic data points was obtained. Force measurement tests using an unheated air supply covered the same range of tunnel speeds and nozzle pressure ratios on each of the nozzle configurations. A total of 80 points was taken. The coannular nozzle OASPL and PNL noise reductions observed statically relative to synthesized values were basically retained under simulated flight conditions. The effect of fan to primary stream area ratio on flight effects was minor. At take-off speed, the peak jet noise for a VSCE was estimated to be over 6 PNdB lower than the static noise level. High static thrust coefficients were obtained for the basic coannular nozzles, with a decay of 0.75 percent at take-off speeds.

Kozlowski, H.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Definition study for photovoltaic residential prototype system

A parametric sensitivity study and definition of the conceptual design is presented. A computer program containing the solar irradiance, solar array, and energy balance models was developed to determine the sensitivities of solar insolation and the corresponding solar array output at five sites selected for this study as well as the performance of several solar array/battery systems. A baseline electrical configuration was chosen, and three design options were recommended. The study indicates that the most sensitive parameters are the solar insolation and the inverter efficiency. The baseline PST selected is comprised of a 133 sg m solar array, 250 ampere hour battery, one to three inverters, and a full shunt regulator to limit the upper solar array voltage. A minicomputer controlled system is recommended to provide the overall control, display, and data acquisition requirements. Architectural renderings of two photovoltaic residential concepts, one above ground and the other underground, are presented. The institutional problems were defined in the areas of legal liabilities during and after installation of the PST, labor practices, building restrictions and architectural guides, and land use.

Imamura, M. S.↗