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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

A preliminary study of containment concepts for aircraft landing on elevated STOL-ports

A preliminary study of containment systems for aircraft landing on elevated STOL-ports was conducted as part of an overall study of human acceptance problems associated with STOL operations. The study included a survey and feasibility study of different concepts and a computer analysis of four arrestment systems. The principal conclusion was that a system referred to as the FAA system appears to offer the greatest promise. In this system, standard arresting gear cables are stretched across the roof-top, at roughly 100-foot intervals, but are shielded over the 100-foot-wide primary landing strip. Thus a pilot can land with an arresting hook down, but will not contact the cable unless he swerves off the landing strip, either because he has made a bad landing, or because his landing gear has failed. It was also noted that a suitable curb or guard rail should be developed. Presently available arresting gears and nylon net barriers were considered satisfactory for the overshoot problem.

Haviland, J. K.↗

Thermomechanical Real-Time Hybrid Simulation: Conceptual Framework and Control Requirements

Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) is an enabling technology that has transformed engineering experimentation and helped researchers expand modeling capabilities. However, breakthroughs are necessary to expand the range of hybrid simulation methods and, thus, enable experiments with loading conditions representing multiple hazards. This paper discusses the development of a new thermomechanical RTHS framework and a systematic approach to determining RTHS control requirements. First, the framework is established using a representative finite element model of a layered structural system subjected to thermal loading. A complete two-layer system model serves as the reference system, and it is then partitioned into a numerical layer and an experimental layer that share interface conditions. Next, a thermal actuator is introduced to impose dynamic thermal loading on the experimental subsystem, serving as a transfer system. Finally, control and performance metrics are defined to evaluate the realization of interface boundary conditions and map this to the RTHS execution. Through an illustrative example considering the influence of temperature on a lunar habitat, we demonstrate how to establish controller requirements for RTHS and demonstrate that this approach can be used to conduct RTHS on structures with thermomechanical loading.

Herta Montoya↗

Advanced propulsion for LEO-Moon transport. 1: A method for evaluating advanced propulsion performance

This report describes a study to evaluate the benefits of advanced propulsion technologies for transporting materials between low Earth orbit and the Moon. A relatively conventional reference transportation system, and several other systems, each of which includes one advanced technology component, are compared in terms of how well they perform a chosen mission objective. The evaluation method is based on a pairwise life-cycle cost comparison of each of the advanced systems with the reference system. Somewhat novel and economically important features of the procedure are the inclusion not only of mass payback ratios based on Earth launch costs, but also of repair and capital acquisition costs, and of adjustments in the latter to reflect the technological maturity of the advanced technologies. The required input information is developed by panels of experts. The overall scope and approach of the study are presented in the introduction. The bulk of the paper describes the evaluation method; the reference system and an advanced transportation system, including a spinning tether in an eccentric Earth orbit, are used to illustrate it.

Stern, Martin O.↗

Redundancy management of electrohydraulic servoactuators by mathematical model referencing

A description of a mathematical model reference system is presented which provides redundancy management for an electrohydraulic servoactuator. The mathematical model includes a compensation network that calculates reference parameter perturbations induced by external disturbance forces. This is accomplished by using the measured pressure differential data taken from the physical system. This technique was experimentally verified by tests performed using the H-1 engine thrust vector control system for Saturn IB. The results of these tests are included in this report. It was concluded that this technique improves the tracking accuracy of the model reference system to the extent that redundancy management of electrohydraulic servosystems may be performed using this method.

Campbell, R. A.↗

Development of the Mobile Systems for Conditioning of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources in Serbia - 20105

Sealed radioactive sources (SRS) are being used worldwide in the field of medicine, agriculture, industry and research. They can be found in mobile as well as stationary devices. SRS contains radioactive material that is (a) permanently sealed in a capsule or (b) closely bounded and in a solid form. The capsule or material of an SRS should be strong enough to maintain leak tightness under the conditions of use and purpose for which the source was designed, also in case of accidents. In this case only emitted radiation is utilized. Firstly, the hazard from external radiation has to be considered, but the possibility of contamination due to fracture of the capsule should not be disregarded. The radioactive sources are composed of the radiating isotope contained in the filling medium, the single or double isotope holder that partially or totally surrounds the filling medium, the outer cover that contains the parts mentioned above and the capsule closed airtightly by welding or using some other method. The capsule must be tested for leakage periodically. If the SRS is no longer needed (e.g. replaced by a different technique) or it becomes useless for the intended application (e.g. the activity becomes too weak, the equipment containing the source works poorly or becomes obsolete, the source is damaged or leaking) it is considered disused. Disused sealed radioactive sources (DSRS) are typically conditioned and disposed if a facility is available. If the disposal option is not available, conditioned DSRS should be stored under proper conditions. In some cases, the radionuclide(s) in DSRS can be recovered/recycled or the DSRS can be repurposed for other applications. Conditioning of DSRS ensures containment of the radioactive material, provides confinement for leaking sources, provides sufficient radiation shielding, reduces storage/disposal volume by allowing consolidation of multiple sources into a single storage/disposal container, facilitates transport operations and contributes to safety and security as well. Typically, conditioning technologies are deployed either as permanently installed stationary systems in centralized or mobile on-site waste processing facilities, or in a mobile configuration. Centralized stationary facilities provide a single processing location for multiple users that requires transport of the waste to the facility. On the other hand, mobile systems may be provided for the selection and application of the optimum technology for a specific waste stream (such as DSRS) by bringing the process to the point where the waste is generated. In addition, mobile systems could offer additional flexibility by sharing equipment among multiple waste generating sites for processing campaigns that vary in duration, from very short periods to several years. The term 'mobile processing system' refers to any radioactive waste processing system or component which is designed to be transportable and which is not considered permanently installed. Two mobile system for conditioning of disused sealed radioactive sources are developed in the Public Company Nuclear Facilities of Serbia. Development of these mobile systems was supported by SRB9005 national project via Technical Cooperation of the IAEA. The first mobile system, built inside the 20 feet ISO container, will be used for conditioning of DSRS category 3 to 5. The second mobile system, built inside the 7 m long vehicle (Iveco Daily Van), will be used for dismantling of ionizing smoke detectors mostly with Am-241 sources. Designs of the mobile systems were defined in cooperation with two companies from Belgium (Belgoprocess and Leniko) and a Croatian company Ekoteh as well as with the support of the IAEA experts. The generic safety assessment and operational procedures for the mobile systems are developed. Based on safety assessment the acceptance criteria and operational limits and conditions are established. Operational procedures include: (a) equipment and material requirements, (b) assembling procedure of the mobile unit, (c) procedure for acceptance of devices for dismantling and conditioning, (d) dismantling procedure for devices to recover the DSRS, (e) characterization of DSRS, (f) encapsulation procedure of DSRS, (g) disassembling procedure of the mobile unit, and (h) keeping records, identification and traceability. In addition, radiation safety, health safety, security and emergency preparedness plans are prepared. The generic safety assessment and operational procedures could be updated with site specific requirements, DSRS inventory, and different needs for future customers. Developed mobile systems could be used in all situations when it is feasible to perform conditioning of DSRS on the spot in the county and worldwide. Development of these mobile units was just the first step to create the Reference Center for Radioactive Waste Treatment and Disused Radioactive Sources Conditioning for Small Facilities which can become a regional training center in the future, and/or as a tool for comprehensive national search and secure programmes. In the next phases development of e-learning platforms and blended learning packages as well as application for the IAEA Qualified Technical Centre (QTC) for the management of DSRS is foreseen. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

The GEOS Retrospective Data Assimilation System: The 6-hour lag case

The fixed-lag Kalman smoother (FLKS) has been proposed as a framework to construct data assimilation procedures capable of producing high-quality climate research datasets. Fixed-lag Kalman smoother-based systems, referred to as retrospective data assimilation systems, are an extension to three-dimensional filtering procedures with the added capability of incorporating observations not only in the past and present time of the estimate, but also at future times. A variety of simplifications are necessary to render retrospective assimilation procedures practical. In this article, we present an FLKS-based retrospective data assimilation system implementation for the Goddard Earth Observing System (GOES) Data Assimilation System (DAS). The practicality of this implementation comes from the practicality of its underlying (filter) analysis system, i.e., the physical-space statistical analysis system (PSAS). The behavior of two schemes is studied here. The first retrospective analysis (RA) scheme is designed simply to update the regular PSAS analyses with observations available at times ahead of the regular analysis times. Although our GEOS DAS implementation is general, results are only presented for when observations 6-hours ahead of the analysis time are used to update the PSAS analyses and thereby to calculate the so-called lag-1 retrospective analyses. Consistency tests for this RA scheme show that the lag-1 retrospective analyses indeed have better 6-hour predictive skills than the predictions from the regular analyses. This motivates the introduction of the second retrospective analysis scheme which, at each analysis time, uses the 6-hour retrospective analysis to replace the first-guess normally used in the PSAS analysis, and therefore allows the calculation of a revised (filter) PSAS analysis. Since in this scheme the lag-1 retrospective analyses influence the filter results, this procedure is referred to as the retrospective-based iterative analysis (RIA) scheme. Results from the RIA scheme indicate its potential for improving the overall quality of the assimilation.

Zhu, Yan-Qiu↗

Power management

The multihundred kW power system management and a distribution program aims to develop critical components, circuits, and subsystems required to manage the generation, storage, and distribution of energy in large, orbital space systems. To accomplish this objective, a reference system including subsystems for the generation and storage of energy and management of electrical and thermal energy was designed and is being used to assess at the system level the impact of changing various subsystem parameters. A power management subsystem will then be designed. The subsystem is autonomous and based on ground utility systems concepts to the maximum extent possible. An agency power system breadboard is under development for characterizing and verifying the various component and subsystem technology developments.

Graves, J.↗

Tertiary structure and thermal history of the Harquahala and Buckskin Mountains, west central Arizona - Implications for denudation by a major detachment fault system

A regional geometrical model for the Whipple-Buckskin-Bullard detachment system (referred to as the Whipple detachment system) is developed. Mineral separates from samples collected in the Harquahala and Buckskin mountains, which lie in the footwall of the Whipple detachment system, are analyzed by the Ar-40/Ar-39 age spectrum technique to determine the cooling history of the mountain range and the age of the metamorphism. Based on the cooling history of the mountains and the bedrock geology of the Harquahala Mountains, the initial geometry of the Whipple detachment system is reconstructed. Next, estimates of slip on the detachment fault and extension within the upper plate terrane are used to determine the regional pattern of extension. The data on the cooling history, structural geometry, and extension pattern are combined into a geometrical model which reconciles the geological data, according to which the breakaway zones represented by the Harquahala Mountains were unroofed by movement on the gently to moderately dipping segment of a great normal fault system as it cut through the upper crust.

Richard, Stephen M.↗

The Third NASA Goddard Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies

This report contains copies of nearly all of the technical papers and viewgraphs presented at the Goddard Conference on Mass Storage Systems and Technologies held in October 1993. The conference served as an informational exchange forum for topics primarily relating to the ingestion and management of massive amounts of data and the attendant problems involved. Discussion topics include the necessary use of computers in the solution of today's infinitely complex problems, the need for greatly increased storage densities in both optical and magnetic recording media, currently popular storage media and magnetic media storage risk factors, data archiving standards including a talk on the current status of the IEEE Storage Systems Reference Model (RM). Additional topics addressed System performance, data storage system concepts, communications technologies, data distribution systems, data compression, and error detection and correction.

Kobler, Benjamin↗

Satellite power system concept development and evaluation program. Volume 2: System definition

The system level results of the system definition studies performed by NASA as a part of the Department of Energy/NASA satellite power system concept development and evaluation program are summarized. System requirements and guidelines are discussed as well as the major elements that comprise the reference system and its design options. Alternative system approaches including different system sizes, solid state amplifier (microwave) concepts, and laser power transmission system cost summaries are reviewed. An overview of the system analysis and planning efforts is included. The overall study led to the conclusion that the reference satellite power system concept is a feasible baseload source of electrical power and, within the assumed guidelines, the minimum cost per kilowatt is achieved at the maximum output of 5 gigawatts to the utility grid. Major unresolved technical issues include maximum allowable microwave power density in the ionosphere and performance/mass characteristics of laser power transmission systems.

Source record↗

Current GPS/GLONASS time reference and UTC

The world's two global satellite navigation systems, GPS and GLONASS, will both become operational during the early 1990's. Each will offer, independently of the other, precise location and time transfer continuously anywhere in the world and indeed in space itself. Many potential users, in particular the civil aviation community, are keenly interested in a joint GPS/GLONASS operation since it would offer substantial advantages in defining and maintaining the integrity of the navigation aid. The question arises of compatibility of GPS/GLONASS from the point of view of satellite on-board clocks, their system references, their national standards and ultimately UTC. Results are presented on the characterization of GLONASS system and spacecraft clocks as compared to their Navstar GPS counterparts.

Daly, Peter↗

A reference model for space data system interconnection services

The widespread adoption of standard packet-based data communication protocols and services for spaceflight missions provides the foundation for other standard space data handling services. These space data handling services can be defined as increasingly sophisticated processing of data or information received from lower-level services, using a layering approach made famous in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Open System Interconnection Reference Model (OSI-RM). The Space Data System Interconnection Reference Model (SDSI-RM) incorporates the conventions of the OSIRM to provide a framework within which a complete set of space data handling services can be defined. The use of the SDSI-RM is illustrated through its application to data handling services and protocols that have been defined by, or are under consideration by, the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS).

Pietras, John↗

In-flight angular alignment of inertial navigation systems by means of radio aids

The principles involved in the angular alignment of the inertial reference by nondirectional data from radio aids are developed and compared with conventional methods of alignment such as gyro-compassing and pendulous vertical determination. The specific problem is considered of the space shuttle reentry and a proposed technique for the alignment of the inertial reference system some time before landing. A description is given of the digital simulation of a transponder interrogation system and of its interaction with the inertial navigation system. Data from reentry simulations are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of in-flight inertial system alignment. Concluding remarks refer to other potential applications such as space shuttle orbit insertion and air navigation of conventional aircraft.

Tanner, W.↗

Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) Clock and Timing

The PIP-II timing system is planned to be a two-part system consisting of a global timing system (referred to as ACLK) that provides high level, event-based timing for the whole Fermilab accelerator complex while the second part is a RF synchronized clock system unique to the PIP-II Linac itself (referred to as LCLK). The ACLK System will make use of an external 10 MHz GPS based signal source as a reference for its 650 MHz phase lock as it is the reference frequency for the TCLK output of the system (needed to support legacy hardware around complex). The LCLK System will use a PIP-II Linac RF reference (162.5 MHz) from the Linac LLRF system to allow beam synchronized event placement. Both the ACLK and LCLK systems will have a clock output with a data frame of 16 event bits + 32 data bits with frames broadcast at 650 MHz, phase locked to the 10MHz reference in the case of ACLK and the PIP-II LLRF sourced 162.5 MHz reference in the case of LCLK.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Photovoltaic and thermal energy conversion for solar powered satellites

A summary is provided concerning the most important aspects of present investigations related to a use of solar power satellites (SPS) as a future source of terrestrial energy. General SPS characteristics are briefly considered, early work is reviewed, and a description of current investigations is presented. System options presently under study include a photovoltaic array, a thermionic system, and a closed Brayton cycle. Attention is given to system reference options, basic building blocks, questions of system analysis and engineering, photovoltaic conversion, and the utility interface. It is concluded that an SPS may be cost effective compared to terrestrial systems by 1995.

Von Tiesenhausen, G. F.↗