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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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NASA NTRS1987

Expert systems for space power supply - Design, analysis, and evaluation

The feasibility of applying expert systems to the conceptual design, analysis, and evaluation of space power supplies in particular, and complex systems in general is evaluated. To do this, the space power supply design process and its associated knowledge base were analyzed and characterized in a form suitable for computer emulation of a human expert. The existing expert system tools and the results achieved with them were evaluated to assess their applicability to power system design. Some new concepts for combining program architectures (modular expert systems and algorithms) with information about the domain were applied to create a 'deep' system for handling the complex design problem. NOVICE, a code to solve a simplified version of a scoping study of a wide variety of power supply types for a broad range of missions, has been developed, programmed, and tested as a concrete feasibility demonstration.

Cooper, Ralph S.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Definition of experiments to investigate fire suppressants in microgravity

Defined and justified here are the conceptual design and operation of a critical set of experiments expected to yield information on suppressants and on suppressant delivery systems under realistic spacecraft-fire conditions (smoldering). Specific experiment parameters are provided on the solid fuel (carbon), oxidants (habitable spacecraft atmospheres), fuel/oxidant supply, mixing mode, and rate (quiescent and finite; ventilated and replenishable), ignition mode, event, and reignition tendency, fire-zone size, fire conditions, lifetime, and consequences (toxicity), suppressants (CO2, H2O, N2) and suppressant delivery systems, and diagnostics. Candidate suppressants were identified after an analysis of how reduced gravity alters combustion, and how these alterations may influence the modes, mechanisms, and capacities of terrestrial agents to suppress unwanted combustion, or fire. Preferred spacecraft suppression concepts included the local, near-quiescent application of a gas, vapor, or mist that has thermophysical fire-suppression activity and is chemically inert under terrestrial (normal gravity) combustion conditions. The scale, number, and duration (about 1 hour) of the proposed low-gravity experiments were estimated using data not only on the limitations imposed by spacecraft-carrier (Shuttle or Space Station Freedom) accommodations, but also data on the details and experience of standardized smolder-suppression experiments at normal gravity. Deliberately incorporated into the conceptual design was sufficient interchangeability for the prototype experimental package to fly either on Shuttle now or Freedom later. This flexibility is provided by the design concept of up to 25 modular fuel canisters within a containment vessel, which permits both integration into existing low-gravity in-space combustion experiments and simultaneous testing of separate experiments to conserve utilities and time.

Reuther, James J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The Gas-Grain Simulation Facility (GGSF) for Space Station Freedom - Design concept

The GGSF is specifically designed to accommodate micro-g experiments that investigate long-term effects and interactions between submicron to centimeter size particles. The paper introduces the science disciplines and the type of experiments that are currently envisioned for the GGSF. The broad range of science and technology requirements are discussed, and the Space Station Freedom (SSF) accommodations, and available utilities are reviewed. Based on the requirements and the available accommodations, a facility conceptual design is outlined. The required subsystems are listed, and the rationale and considerations that lead to the selected approach, delineated. The present GGSF concept is that of a modular facility system comprising a flight rack and an array of fully compatible and interchangeable subsystems that are designed to meet a diverse set of science requirements. The modularity allows for future upgrade of various subsystems as technology evolves and for introduction of new modules to accommodate new or different experiments. These features are essential for a facility that is expected to be in service on board the SSF for 10 years or more.

Gat, N.↗

NASA NTRS2001

A Study of the Economic Benefit Potential of Intermodal Transports

A conceptual study was conducted to determine the benefit potential of an Intermodal Transport in which quick change payload modules are used to reduce the cost of air travel by increasing daily utilization. Three basic concepts varying the degree of modularity were investigated for a 122,000 pounds payload 3,000 NM range regional wide body transport. The profit potential for operating as a passenger transport during the day and as a freighter at night was assessed. Assuming current levels of profitability, Intermodal operations could offer an operating cost reduction potential up to 20%. Enabling technology needs are identified as very quiet aircraft for expanded night operations, distributed load carrying quick disconnect latching, and configuration dependent safety issues. Recommendations are made to explore if additional benefits are possible from alternative mission and usage modules.

Nelson, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Modular space structures

The Extendable Tetrahedral Truss orbiting antenna concept, comprising the use of prefabricated, automatically deployable lattice structures and their subsequent assembly into larger structures suitable for microwave antenna use, is described. It is assumed that the Space Shuttle Orbiter payload bay will be able to accommodate only modular portions of the structural system required, and that the Space Shuttle crew will furnish the manual labor entailed by orbital assembly. It is concluded that a deployable beam module system may be a more elegant design solution than the alternative triangular-module system.

Vaughan, D. H.↗

NASA NTRS1979

X-ray optics for the LAMAR facility, an overview

The paper surveys the Large Area Modular Array of Reflectors (LAMAR), the concept of which is based on meeting two major requirements in X-ray astronomy, large collecting area and moderately good or better angular resolution for avoiding source confusion and imaging source fields. It is shown that the LAMAR provides the same sensitivity and signal to noise in imaging as a single large telescope having the same area and angular resolution but is a great deal less costly to develop, construct, and integrate into a space mission. Attention is also given to the LAMAR modular nature which will allow for an evolutionary development from a modest size array on Spacelab to a Shuttle launched free flyer. Finally, consideration is given to manufacturing methods which show promise of making LAMAR meet the criteria of good angular resolution, relatively low cost, and capability for fast volume production.

Gorenstein, P.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

TriTruss Packaging and Deployment Trade Study

A trade study was conducted that evaluated viable concepts of operation for the packaging and deployment (P&D) of novel deployable modular truss modules, called TriTruss modules, that can be assembled to form a large aperture In-Space Assembled Telescopes (iSAT). In this first phase of an ongoing more comprehensive trade study, concepts were proposed and then evaluated based on initial metrics representing features of an ideal P&D concept. The ideal TriTruss P&D concept is defined as one that: allows for efficient packaging, has sufficient geometric versatility to be launch vehicle independent, provides a stiff and lightweight structure, has low mechanical complexity, and has component modularity. The P&D concept should allow for prelaunch subsystem or utility integration if required. The concept should be kinematically simple and be robotically deployed using a minimum number of specialized tools. The P&D concepts evaluated are categorized as: core collapse, face collapse, and erectable structures. Sub-scale models were constructed to help understand the kinematics and mechanical complexity required to enable P&D. Based on a weighting scale, the most promising candidate P&D concepts have been selected and will undergo more rigorous structural design, analysis, and testing in the study’s next phase. The ultimate goal of the comprehensive trade study will be to recommend a single TriTruss design and associated P&D concept that will be built and evaluated at NASA Langley Research Center’s In-Space Assembly Laboratory.

in-space assembly (ISA)↗

NASA NTRS2018

Plans and Concepts for a New Generation of RTGs for Planetary Science Missions

Of the six types of radioisotope thermoelectric generators NASA has flown in space, only the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) is currently available for spaceflight, and it relies on technology first used for RTGs in the 1970s. The MMRTG is a rugged power system capable of delivering 110W at launch. NASA is considering future missions with higher power demands however, and sponsored a study to identify concepts and plans to address those needs. The Director of NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division was briefed on a potential enhancement to the MMRTG in late-2012, just a couple of days after the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, on Mars. NASA subsequently funded system-level engineering and technology maturation tasks for a proposed enhanced MMRTG, or eMMRTG, in fiscal year 2013. There was no plan to build a complete generator, rather the engineering of one, and the transfer of technology from laboratories at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to industry were begun. NASA has now formed a Project to take the eMMRTG from technology to a qualification unit. This would form the first of a new generation of RTGs in 50 years. NASA has also formed a Project for a Next-Generation RTG concept based upon a study led by this author and a large team. NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program set the objective for the study to explore what possible options NASA has for Next-Generation-RTGs. The scope and breadth of the study included many possible destinations within the solar system, and traded a variety of RTG conceptual designs, and risk rated a variety of thermoelectric materials and couple configurations. Requirements were defined for the RTG concepts, a variety of thermoelectric materials were evaluated to find the most mature candidates, and performance was estimated for each RTG concept that could use the most mature of these new thermoelectric materials. The study relied upon mission concepts outlined in the latest Planetary Science Decadal Survey (2011), other more recent mission studies completed throughout the agency, and recent analyses of potential missions to ocean worlds to identify requirements that were not applied to previous RTGs but might prove valuable to these NG-RTGs. RTG concepts with maximal potential utility were identified as being modular and ranging in power output from 50 to 500W. A variety of RTG design concepts with several distinguishing characteristics were formulated. The plans and concepts for a new generation of RTGs (the eMMRTG and NG-RTG) will be discussed.

Woerner, David F.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Design of a modular digital computer system, CDRL no. D001, final design plan

The engineering breadboard implementation for the CDRL no. D001 modular digital computer system developed during design of the logic system was documented. This effort followed the architecture study completed and documented previously, and was intended to verify the concepts of a fault tolerant, automatically reconfigurable, modular version of the computer system conceived during the architecture study. The system has a microprogrammed 32 bit word length, general register architecture and an instruction set consisting of a subset of the IBM System 360 instruction set plus additional fault tolerance firmware. The following areas were covered: breadboard packaging, central control element, central processing element, memory, input/output processor, and maintenance/status panel and electronics.

Easton, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS2019

In Space Assembled Telescope (ISAT) Study Preliminary Findings

“When is it advantageous to assemble telescopes in space rather than deploying them from launch vehicle fairings”? This question forms the crux of the objectives of a NASA study we have been conducting in collaboration with colleagues from different NASA centers, industry and academia. In this study, we have engaged a broad cross section of experts from the various fields of optics engineering, that is, telescope design and instrument design, structure and thermal engineering, robotics, launch system engineering, orbital mechanics, integration and testing, astrophysics, and NASA programmatics among others. Initial efforts began with a quick review of the current state of art of the component technologies that contribute towards an in-space assembled telescope. Then, leveraging the collective expertise of the diverse group of experts, we formulated a reference telescope design and attempted to develop a baseline approach to modularize the telescope into components amenable for robotic assembly. The group identified different trades associated with modularization and also developed a set of criteria to discern between the different options as revealed by the trades. Based on the modularization of the telescope, we will assess the impact of various launch vehicles, orbits for assembly and operation, robotic systems and operational approaches, and other related variables. From this, a concept to assemble the reference telescope in space from modular components will be developed. Based on this concept, and definition of the modules, we will develop a mission lifecycle plan for an assembled telescope over different phases of preliminary design, detailed design, assembly-test-and-integration, and in space operations. The mission lifecycle plan will be used to evaluate cost and risk implications of in-space assembly toward answering our fundamental question of the advantages, if any, of assembling a telescope in space as compared to self-deployment. In this paper, we summarize the objectives of the study, a review of the status of the underlying component technologies, a description of the methodology, including three different multi-day technical interchange meetings (TIMs), summary of findings from the TIMs and other related activities. In addition, a detailed description of the various factors that impact in-space assembly, their interplay and criteria for discerning among them, a preliminary description of the life cycle plan, including the test and integration plan, and initial observations on cost and risk implications will be included in the paper.

Mukherjee, Rudranarayan↗

NASA NTRS1986

Equipment concept design and development plans for microgravity science and applications research on space station: Combustion tunnel, laser diagnostic system, advanced modular furnace, integrated electronics laboratory

Taking advantage of the microgravity environment of space NASA has initiated the preliminary design of a permanently manned space station that will support technological advances in process science and stimulate the development of new and improved materials having applications across the commercial spectrum. Previous studies have been performed to define from the researcher's perspective, the requirements for laboratory equipment to accommodate microgravity experiments on the space station. Functional requirements for the identified experimental apparatus and support equipment were determined. From these hardware requirements, several items were selected for concept designs and subsequent formulation of development plans. This report documents the concept designs and development plans for two items of experiment apparatus - the Combustion Tunnel and the Advanced Modular Furnace, and two items of support equipment the Laser Diagnostic System and the Integrated Electronics Laboratory. For each concept design, key technology developments were identified that are required to enable or enhance the development of the respective hardware.

Uhran, M. L.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Certification of tactics and strategies in aviation

The paper suggests that the 'tactics and strategies' notion is a highly suitable paradigm to describe the cognitive involvement of human operators in advanced aviation systems (far more suitable than classical functional analysis), and that the workload and situational awareness of operators are intimately associated with the planning and execution of their tactics and strategies. If system designers have muddled views about the collective tactics and strategies to be used during operation, they will produce sub-optimum designs. If operators use unproven and/or inappropriate tactics and strategies, the system may fail. The author wants to make a point that, beyond certification of people or system designs, there may be a need to go into more detail and examine (certify?) the set of tactics and strategies (i.e., the Operational Concept) which makes the people and systems perform as expected. The collective tactics and strategies determine the information flows and situational awareness which exists in organizations and composite human-machine systems. The available infrastructure and equipment (automation) enable these information flows and situational awareness, but are at the same time the constraining factor. Frequently, the tactics and strategies are driven by technology, whereas we would rather like to see a system designed to support an optimized Operational Concept, i.e., to support a sufficiently coherent, cooperative and modular set of anticipation and planning mechanisms. Again, in line with the view of MacLeod and Taylor (1993), this technology driven situation may be caused by the system designer's and operator job designer's over-emphasis on functional analysis (a mechanistic engineering concept), at the expense of a subject which does not seem to be well understood today: the role of the (human cognitive and/or automated) tactics and strategies which are embedded in composite human-machine systems. Research would be needed to arrive at a generally accepted 'planning theory' which can elevate the analysis, description and design of tactics and strategies from today's cottage industry methods to an engineering discipline. The available infrastructure and equipment (automation) enable these information flows and situational awareness, but are at the same time the constraining factor. Frequently, the tactics and strategies are driven by technology, whereas we would rather like to see a system designed to support an optimized Operational Concept, i.e., to support a sufficiently coherent, cooperative and modular set of anticipation and planning mechanisms. Again, in line with the view of MacLeod and Taylor (1993), this technology driven situation may be caused by the system designer's and operator job designer's over-emphasis on functional analysis (a mechanistic engineering concept), at the expense of a subject which does not seem to be well understood today: the role of the (human cognitive and/or automated) tactics and strategies which are embedded in composite human-machine systems. Research would be needed to arrive at a generally accepted 'planning theory' which can evaluate the analysis, description and design of tactics and strategies from today's cottage industry methods to an engineering discipline.

Koelman, Hartmut↗

NASA NTRS1967

Structural Analysis and Matrix Interpretive System /SAMIS/

Structural Analysis and Matrix Interpretive System eliminates high-speed digital computer restrictions of lack of generalization and lack of flexibility. Programming concepts of the system are standardization, modularity, and programming for intermediate-size problems.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1975

In-orbit servicing

A concept called the low-cost modular spacecraft, in which the subsystems would be contained in replaceable modules and which would be capable of various applications, is under engineering development. Studies have shown that servicing of such a spacecraft on orbit by the Space Shuttle over an extended lifetime is more economical than three other alternatives: launching replacement satellites on conventional boosters as existing satellites fail, launching replacements by Shuttle, or launching replacement satellites and retrieving malfunctioning satellites by Shuttle. For on-orbit servicing, the Shuttle would use its Remote Manipulator system (RMS) to bring the malfunctioning satellite into its cargo bay. The Flight Support System (FSS) on the Orbiter used for servicing the satellite would include an appendage storage frame, a retention cradle, a positioning platform, a Module Exchange Mechanism (MEM), and a storage magazine. Ground simulations are under way with the Orbiter mockup.

Cepollina, F. J.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Experimental investigation of a swept-strut fuel-injector concept for scramjet application

Results are presented of an experiment to investigate the behavior at Mach 4 flight conditions of the swept-strut fuel-injector concept employed in the Langley integrated modular scramjet engine design. Autoignition of the hydrogen fuel was not achieved at stagnation temperatures corresponding to a flight Mach number of 4; however, once ignition was achieved, stable combustion was maintained. Pressure disturbances upstream of the injector location, which were caused by fuel injection and combustion, were generally not observed; this indicates the absence of serious adverse combustor-inlet interactions. Mixing performance and reaction performance determined from probe surveys and wall pressure data indicate that high combustion efficiency should be obtained with the combustor length provided in the scramjet engine design. No adverse interaction between the perpendicular and parallel fuel-injection modes was observed.

Anderson, G. Y.↗

NASA NTRS1980

User's guide to SFTRAN

Structured programming language has been given new features and some limitations are removed. Language runs more efficiently, and concepts of top down development and modularity are extended to task management.

Fessler, T. E.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Low NOx heavy fuel combustor concept program

A total of twelve low NOx combustor configurations, embodying three different combustion concepts, were designed and fabricated as modular units. These configurations were evaluated experimentally for exhaust emission levels and for mechanical integrity. Emissions data were obtained in depth on two of the configurations.

White, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Design of Software for Design of Finite Element for Structural Analysis

The concepts of software engineering which allow a user of the finite element method to describe a model, to collect and to check the model data in a data base as well as to form the matrices required for a finite element calculation are examined. Next the components of the model description are conceived including the mesh tree, the topology, the configuration, the kinematic boundary conditions, the data for each element, and the loads. The possibilities for description and review of the data are considered. The concept of the segments for the modularization of the programs follows the components of the model description. The significance of the mesh tree as a globular guiding structure will be understood in view of the principle of the unity of the model, the mesh tree, and the data base. The user-friendly aspects of the software system will be summarized: the principle of language communication, the data generators, error processing, and data security.

Helfrich, Reinhard↗