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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 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1957

Aerodynamic Heating and Boundary-Layer Transition on a 1/10-Power Nose Shape in Free Flight at Mach Numbers up to 6.7 and Free-Stream Reynolds Numbers up to 16 x 10(exp 6)

A modified 1/10-power nose shape has been tested in free flight at Mach numbers up to 6.7 and free - stream Reynolds numbers based on diameter up to 16 X 10(exp 6). Measured heating rates were presented and compared with calculated values. Agreement ranges from poor on the forward portion of the nose to good on the rearward portion. The local Reynolds numbers of transition based on calculated momentum thickness varied between 1, 600 and 350. Laminar flow was maintained at momentum thickness Reynolds numbers of about 1,000 until the free-stream Reynolds number based on a length of 1 foot reached about 27 X 10(exp 6). At slightly higher free-stream Reynolds numbers transition occurred at momentum thickness Reynolds numbers as low as 250.

Garland, Benjamine J↗
NASA NTRS1954

Impingement of water droplets on wedges and double-wedge airfoils at supersonic speeds

An analytical solution has been obtained for the equations of motion of water droplets impinging on a wedge in a two-dimensional supersonic flow field with a shock wave attached to the wedge. The closed-form solution yields analytical expressions for the equation of the droplet trajectory, the local rate of impingement and the impingement velocity at any point on the wedge surface, and the total rate of impingement. The analytical expressions are utilized to determine the impingement on the forward surfaces of diamond airfoils in supersonic flow fields with attached shock waves. The results presented include the following conditions: droplet diameters from 2 to 100 microns, pressure altitudes from sea level to 30,000 feet, free-stream static temperatures from 420 degrees r, free stream Mach numbers from 1.1 to 2.0, semiapex angles for the wedge from 1.14 degrees to 7.97 degrees, thickness-to-chord ratios for the diamond airfoil from 0.02 to 0.14, chord lengths from 1 to 20 feet, and angles of attack from zero to the inverse tangent of the airfoil thickness-to-chord ratio.

Serafini, John S↗
NASA NTRS2013

Comprehensive Modeling and Analysis of Rotorcraft Variable Speed Propulsion System With Coupled Engine/Transmission/Rotor Dynamics

This project develops comprehensive modeling and simulation tools for analysis of variable rotor speed helicopter propulsion system dynamics. The Comprehensive Variable-Speed Rotorcraft Propulsion Modeling (CVSRPM) tool developed in this research is used to investigate coupled rotor/engine/fuel control/gearbox/shaft/clutch/flight control system dynamic interactions for several variable rotor speed mission scenarios. In this investigation, a prototypical two-speed Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) is proposed and designed to achieve 50 percent rotor speed variation. The comprehensive modeling tool developed in this study is utilized to analyze the two-speed shift response of both a conventional single rotor helicopter and a tiltrotor drive system. In the tiltrotor system, both a Parallel Shift Control (PSC) strategy and a Sequential Shift Control (SSC) strategy for constant and variable forward speed mission profiles are analyzed. Under the PSC strategy, selecting clutch shift-rate results in a design tradeoff between transient engine surge margins and clutch frictional power dissipation. In the case of SSC, clutch power dissipation is drastically reduced in exchange for the necessity to disengage one engine at a time which requires a multi-DCT drive system topology. In addition to comprehensive simulations, several sections are dedicated to detailed analysis of driveline subsystem components under variable speed operation. In particular an aeroelastic simulation of a stiff in-plane rotor using nonlinear quasi-steady blade element theory was conducted to investigate variable speed rotor dynamics. It was found that 2/rev and 4/rev flap and lag vibrations were significant during resonance crossings with 4/rev lagwise loads being directly transferred into drive-system torque disturbances. To capture the clutch engagement dynamics, a nonlinear stick-slip clutch torque model is developed. Also, a transient gas-turbine engine model based on first principles mean-line compressor and turbine approximations is developed. Finally an analysis of high frequency gear dynamics including the effect of tooth mesh stiffness variation under variable speed operation is conducted including experimental validation. Through exploring the interactions between the various subsystems, this investigation provides important insights into the continuing development of variable-speed rotorcraft propulsion systems.

DeSmidt, Hans A.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Liquid Hydrogen Propellant Tank Sub-Surface Pressurization with Gaseous Helium

A series of tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of a propellant tank pressurization system with the pressurant diffuser intentionally submerged beneath the surface of the liquid. Propellant tanks and pressurization systems are typically designed with the diffuser positioned to apply pressurant gas directly into the tank ullage space when the liquid propellant is settled. Space vehicles, and potentially propellant depots, may need to conduct tank pressurization operations in micro‐gravity environments where the exact location of the liquid relative to the diffuser is not well understood. If the diffuser is positioned to supply pressurant gas directly to the tank ullage space when the propellant is settled, then it may become partially or completely submerged when the liquid becomes unsettled in a microgravity environment. In such case, the pressurization system performance will be adversely affected requiring additional pressurant mass and longer pressurization times. This series of tests compares and evaluates pressurization system performance using the conventional method of supplying pressurant gas directly to the propellant tank ullage, and then supplying pressurant gas beneath the liquid surface. The pressurization tests were conducted on the Engineering Development Unit (EDU) located at Test Stand 300 at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). EDU is a ground based Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) test article supported by Glenn Research Center (GRC) and MSFC. A 150 ft3 propellant tank was filled with liquid hydrogen (LH2). The pressurization system used regulated ambient helium (GHe) as a pressurant, a variable position valve to maintain flow rate, and two identical independent pressurant diffusers. The ullage diffuser was located in the forward end of the tank and was completely exposed to the tank ullage. The submerged diffuser was located in the aft end of the tank and was completely submerged when the tank liquid level was 10% or greater. The ullage diffuser tests were conducted as a baseline to evaluate the performance of the pressurization system, and the submerged diffuser tests showed how the performance of the pressurization system was compromised when the diffuser was submerged in LH2. The test results are evaluated and compared, and included in this report for various propellant tank fill levels.

Stephens, J. R.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Space-to-Ground Optical Interface Verification for the Orion Artemis II Optical (O2O) Communications Demonstration

The Orion Artemis II Optical Communications (O2O) system will demonstrate the operational utility of laser communications for the first crewed Artemis mission scheduled to launch next year. O2O will provide an optical link with data rates up to 260 Mbps return from the moon and up to 20 Mbps forward to the moon. The optical link employs a Serially Concatenated Pulse Position Modulation (SCPPM) communications signal, compliant with the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) standard, and a modulated uplink beacon for acquisition and collaborative tracking. O2O employs optical ground stations located at the White Sands Complex (WSC) and Table Mountain Facility (TMF) to support the Earth end of the link. We describe interface testing performed between the space and ground terminals to verify the physical layer communication and beacon signals.

optical↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Utilization Profiles of the CCSDS Unified Space Link Protocol (USLP)

The purpose of this paper is to identify the utilization profiles for interfacing the Data Protocol Sublayer using the Unified Space Link Protocols (USLP) (reference 1) with the space link coding procedures as specified in the CCSDS Coding & Synchronization Blue Books (references 2 through 5), used in both telecommand and telemetry applications. This paper describes how the USLP Protocol utilizes the coding and synchronization sublayer to support: a. Direct to Earth (DTE) telemetry links for engineering and science data b. Direct to Earth (DTE) telemetry links for very high rate science data c. Direct from Earth (DFE) command, sequencing and flight software loads d. Space to Space Links (Proximity) utilized by orbiters for data exchange to/from surface bound assets. The CCSDS has divided the functions of the Data Link Layer into two sublayers: the Data Link Protocol Sublayer (DLP-SL) and the Coding and Synchronization Sublayer (CS-SL). The Data Link Protocol Sublayer (DLP-SL) interfaces to the users, accepting the data that is to be transported, on the sending side of the link, and delivering that data on the receiving end. The Transfer Frame is the data unit that is transferred across the Data Link Protocol Sublayer and the Coding and Synchronization Sublayer boundary. The Coding and Synchronization Sublayer (CS-SL) provides the encoding, randomization, and frame synchronization functions that prepares the USLP Transfer Frame for transport across the space link. The CS-SL is divided into 2 processes: 1) The Frame Interface Processes (FIP) performs the interface functions required to prepare the data for delivery to the Coding/Decoding Process (CDP). This process includes prepending a Frame Start Marker to the provided frame, when management has designated that the frame is not to be aligned to the codeblock or when there is no block code used. 2) The Coding/Decoding Process (CDP) performs the forward error correction processes that are used to optimize the performance of the link and minimize the error rate. The CDP creates the symbol stream that is delivered to the Physical Layer. The transfer of the USLP transfer frames across different types of space links is the focus of this paper. The Protocol Data Unit (PDU) that is passed in both directions between the Data Link Protocol Sublayer (DLP-SL) and Coding and Synchronization Sublayer (CS-SL) is the transfer frame. The USLP frame structure provides flexibility that can be constrained by the functions utilized within the CS-SL that prepare the transfer frame for transit. For example, the USLP transfer frame contains a length field that enables the frame to be of variable length but CS-SL under certain conditions may constrain the frame to be fixed in length. This paper describes 5 operational modes available for use by the Data Link Layer to provide data exchange across the USLP space link. These modes are different because different operational requirements apply to vastly different types of space links and thus the communications implementation requirements differ. The environmental issues include the power or energy available, the distance between the end points of the link, the complexity of the equipment available at those end points, the atmospheric conditions and radiometric frequency selection. The CS-SL utilizes different forward error correcting codes supported by specific operational modes to configure the data for transit. This paper describes all of the operational modes in a series of data models which decompose the functionality between the Data Link Protocol Sublayer and the Coding and Synchronization sublayer. The operational modes described are: 1. Uncoded Mode: has been used for short links that contain significant available power to provide an acceptable frame error rate. The frames in this mode can be variable in length and typically use an error detection algorithm (i.e., CRC) to determine if there are errors in the received frame. 2. Convolutional Only Mode: is currently the prime forward error correction coding used for the proximity links. The frames in this mode can be variable in length and typically use an error detection algorithm (i.e., CRC) to determine if there are errors in the received frame. 3. Variable Length Frame Aligned to Variable Length Codeblock (TC): is used for Direct from Earth links were power levels are high and the simple, least complex code i.e., the BCH code is used. This mode has been in use since the early 1970s. The BCH code is a short code and the decoder is easy to implement. 4. Fixed Length Frame Aligned to Fixed Length Codeblock (AOS/TM): was introduced when the concatenated Convolutional and Reed-Solomon Code was formulated to provide significant reduction in link data error rate and the ability to determine if there was an error in the decoded codeblock. The frame is aligned to the codeblock so that there is a one to one relationship of frame errors to codeblock errors without additional error detection coding being added. This mode requires the protocol frames to be the exact size of the message portion of the codeblock. 5. Frames Unaligned to Fixed Length Codeblocks (Currently used for very high rates and space to space links): This mode is currently used for missions that have a very high data rate that can be controlled adaptively as the environment changes and as the next generation operating mode for the proximity link. This mode from a coded data stream point of view is exactly like that described in 4. above, except that the frame need not be aligned to the codeblock. There is no requirement on frame length when using this mode. Thus when using USLP it can be used to support links that require short or long frames. There is also no mandatory requirement that frames cannot be separated by idle data reducing the tight data rate connection requirements between the data link protocol sublayer and the coding & synchronization sublayer. In conclusion, how these operational modes can be put to use in mission operational scenarios is described for Direct from Earth links (DFE), Direct to Earth links (DTE), and Proximity links.

Greenberg, E.↗
NASA NTRS1980

An SCR inverter for electric vehicles

An inverter for an electric vehicle propulsion application has been designed and constructed to excite a polyphase induction motor from a fixed propulsion battery source. The inverter, rated at 35kW peak power, is fully regenerative and permits vehicle operation in both the forward and reverse directions. Thyristors are employed as the power switching devices arranged in a dc bus commutated topology. This paper describes the major role the controller plays in generating the motor excitation voltage and frequency to deliver performance similar to dc systems. Motoring efficiency test data for the controller are presented. It is concluded that an SCR inverter in conjunction with an ac induction motor is a viable alternative to present dc vehicle propulsion systems on the basis of performance and size criteria.

Latos, T.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Principles for system level electrochemistry

The higher power and higher voltage levels anticipated for future space missions have required a careful review of the techniques currently in use to preclude battery problems that are related to the dispersion characteristics of the individual cells. Not only are the out-of-balance problems accentuated in these larger systems, but the thermal management considerations also require a greater degree of accurate design. Newer concepts which employ active cooling techniques are being developed which permit higher rates of discharge and tighter packing densities for the electrochemical components. This paper will put forward six semi-independent principles relating to battery systems. These principles will progressively address cell, battery and finally system related aspects of large electrochemical storage systems.

Thaller, L. H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

20/30 GHz satellite personal communications networks

The feasibility of personal communications networks that can provide 4.8-kbps voice communications between portable terminals and a hub station via a Ka-band geosynchronous satellite has been investigated. Tradeoffs are examined so that the combined system of hub and gateway earth stations, the satellite, and the personal terminals can provide a competitive service in terms of cost, availability, and quality. A baseline system is described using a spacecraft with approximately 140 spot beams that cover CONUS with 5-watt power amplifiers in each beam. Satellite access in both the forward and return directions uses frequency division multiple access/code division multiple access with a chip rate of 2.5 Mchip/sec.

Palmer, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Properties and Radial Trends of Coronal Mass Ejecta and Their Associated Shocks Observed by Ulysses in the Ecliptic Plane

In this paper, magnetic and plasma measurements are used to analyze 17 interplanetary coronal mass ejections (CMEs) identified by Ulysses during its in-ecliptic passage to Jupiter. We focus on the expansion characteristics of these CMEs (as inferred from the time rate of change of the velocity profiles through the CMEs) and the properties of 14 forward shocks unambiguously associated with these CMEs. We highlight radial trends from 1 to 5.4 AU. Our results indicate that the CMEs are generally expanding at all heliocentric distances. With regard to the shocks preceding these ejecta, we note the following: (1) There is a clear tendency for the shock speed (in the upstream frame of reference) to decrease with increasing heliocentric distance as the CMEs transfer momentum to the ambient solar wind and slow down; (2) 86% of the shock fronts are oriented in the ecliptic plane such that their normals point westward (i.e., in the direction of planetary motion about the Sun), (3) 86% of the shocks are propagating toward the heliographic equator; and (4) no clear trend was found in the strength of the shocks versus heliocentric distance. These results are interpreted using simple dynamical arguments and are supported by fluid and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations.

Riley, Pete↗
NASA NTRS1998

Lift Fan Nozzle for Joint Strike Fighter Tested in NASA Lewis' Powered Lift Rig

Under a nonreimbursable space act agreement between the NASA Lewis Research Center and the Allison Advanced Development Company, Allison tested a lift fan nozzle in Lewis' Powered Lift Rig. This test was in support of the Joint Strike Fighter program (formerly the Joint Advanced Strike Technology) sponsored by the Department of Defense, which will develop and field an affordable, multirole, next-generation, strike fighter aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and foreign allies. Allison, along with Pratt & Whitney Company, is part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation team that is scheduled to build a concept demonstrator aircraft by fiscal year 2001. The test was initiated in April and successfully completed in mid-July of 1997. Allison supplied a one-third-scale model of the lift fan nozzle, and Lewis provided the facility and the necessary support team. Various configurations, including pitching vectored angles ranging from 15deg forward to 60deg backward, were tested over a range of nozzle pressure ratios. Nozzle flow rates, thrust, and static pressures were measured for each of the configurations. Results from the test met the design requirements for the Joint Strike Fighter program and were in agreement with Allison's internal computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses. Data obtained from this test will also be used in the full-scale design of the lift fan system.

Lam, David W.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Web Monitoring of EOS Front-End Ground Operations, Science Downlinks and Level 0 Processing

This paper addresses the efforts undertaken and the technology deployed to aggregate and distribute the metadata characterizing the real-time operations associated with NASA Earth Observing Systems (EOS) high-rate front-end systems and the science data collected at multiple ground stations and forwarded to the Goddard Space Flight Center for level 0 processing. Station operators, mission project management personnel, spacecraft flight operations personnel and data end-users for various EOS missions can retrieve the information at any time from any location having access to the internet. The users are distributed and the EOS systems are distributed but the centralized metadata accessed via an external web server provide an effective global and detailed view of the enterprise-wide events as they are happening. The data-driven architecture and the implementation of applied middleware technology, open source database, open source monitoring tools, and external web server converge nicely to fulfill the various needs of the enterprise. The timeliness and content of the information provided are key to making timely and correct decisions which reduce project risk and enhance overall customer satisfaction. The authors discuss security measures employed to limit access of data to authorized users only.

Cordier, Guy R.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Spinal Elongation and its Effects on Seated Height in a Microgravity Environment (Spinal)

The primary objective of this project is to provide information pertaining to changes in seated height due to spinal elongation in a microgravity environment. The proposed experiment aims to collect seated height data for subjects exposed to microgravity environments, provide information relating to seated height rate of change over time, and feed new information regarding the elongation of the spine forward into the design of Constellation systems. Historical data indicates that spinal elongation occurs when crewmembers are subjected to microgravity. In as little as two days, the typical crewmember will exhibit increases in stature of up to 3 percent. However, data has been collected only for crewmembers in standing postures, and a limited pool of subjects was available. Due to the criticality of seated height in the design of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), a better understanding of the effects of microgravity on seated height is necessary. Small changes in seated height that may not have impacted crew accommodation in previous programs will have significant effects on crew accommodation due to the layout of seats in the CEV. The proposed study will directly measure changes in seated height for crewmembers in the Shuttle cockpit. An anthropometer will be used to record measurements to the top of the head of a seated subject, and an orthogonal photograph will be taken in order to measure seated height based on scaling references of known sizes as well as verify the posture and positioning remained consistent throughout the study. Data gained from this study will provide better information to CEV designers. Accurate measurements of crew seated height will be valuable for vehicle and habitation designers for future programs as well.

Rajulu, Sudhakar↗
NASA NTRS2011

Estimation and Validation of Oceanic Mass Circulation from the GRACE Mission

Since the launch of the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) in March 2002, the Earth's surface mass variations have been monitored with unprecedented accuracy and resolution. Compared to the classical spherical harmonic solutions, global high-resolution mascon solutions allows the retrieval of mass variations with higher spatial and temporal sampling (2 degrees and 10 days). We present here the validation of the GRACE global mascon solutions by comparing mass estimates to a set of about 100 ocean bottom pressure (OSP) records, and show that the forward modelling of continental hydrology prior to the inversion of the K-band range rate data allows better estimates of ocean mass variations. We also validate our GRACE results to OSP variations modelled by different state-of-the-art ocean general circulation models, including ECCO (Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean) and operational and reanalysis from the MERCATOR project.

Boy, J.-P.↗
NASA NTRS2019

In-Flight Line-Of-Sight Pointing Performance for the GOES-16 and GOES-17 Spacecraft

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R program (GOES-R) has launched two of the next generation geostationary weather satellites, both of which are now fully operational. GOES-16 launched in November 2016, and GOES-17 launched in March 2017. In this paper, we present the pointing and pointing stability results of the two spacecraft, with specific focus on aspects of the design related to mitigating jitter. The flight instrument suite includes 6 seismic accelerometers sampled at approximately 2 kilohertz, allowing in-flight verification of pointing stability and comparison back to simulation predictions. This paper compares the observed flight results with the simulation predictions for acceleration and shock response spectrum (SRS) for various operational scenarios and instrument observation modes. Passive isolation of both the reaction wheels and the payload deck have proved to be effective in reducing jitter responses. Active Vibration Damping (AVD) of flexible-body modes attenuates the low frequency motion of the vehicle appendages, improving the low-frequency pointing performance. Knowledge of the instrument scan mirror motion is fed forward to the reaction wheel control, reducing disturbances on the spacecraft bus. Attitude knowledge and rate data are provided to the primary Earth-observing instrument with an accuracy defined by the Integrated Rate Error (IRE) requirements. The data are used to adjust instrument scanning. As we show in this paper, the in-flight performance of the GN&C (Guidance, Navigation and Control) design provides the necessary capabilities to achieve the demanding GOES-R mission objectives while its robustness enabled the simultaneous operation of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) prime and redundant cryocoolers (CCs) to resolve an in-flight cooling anomaly on GOES-17.

Line-of-Sight↗
NASA NTRS1996

Communications and information research: Improved space link performance via concatenated forward error correction coding

With the development of new advanced instruments for remote sensing applications, sensor data will be generated at a rate that not only requires increased onboard processing and storage capability, but imposes demands on the space to ground communication link and ground data management-communication system. Data compression and error control codes provide viable means to alleviate these demands. Two types of data compression have been studied by many researchers in the area of information theory: a lossless technique that guarantees full reconstruction of the data, and a lossy technique which generally gives higher data compaction ratio but incurs some distortion in the reconstructed data. To satisfy the many science disciplines which NASA supports, lossless data compression becomes a primary focus for the technology development. While transmitting the data obtained by any lossless data compression, it is very important to use some error-control code. For a long time, convolutional codes have been widely used in satellite telecommunications. To more efficiently transform the data obtained by the Rice algorithm, it is required to meet the a posteriori probability (APP) for each decoded bit. A relevant algorithm for this purpose has been proposed which minimizes the bit error probability in the decoding linear block and convolutional codes and meets the APP for each decoded bit. However, recent results on iterative decoding of 'Turbo codes', turn conventional wisdom on its head and suggest fundamentally new techniques. During the past several months of this research, the following approaches have been developed: (1) a new lossless data compression algorithm, which is much better than the extended Rice algorithm for various types of sensor data, (2) a new approach to determine the generalized Hamming weights of the algebraic-geometric codes defined by a large class of curves in high-dimensional spaces, (3) some efficient improved geometric Goppa codes for disk memory systems and high-speed mass memory systems, and (4) a tree based approach for data compression using dynamic programming.

Rao, T. R. N.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Rain compensation algorithm for ACTS mobile terminal

The initial advanced communication technology satellite (ACTS) mobile terminal (AMT) demonstrations will involve two-way communications between the high-bit-rate link evaluation terminal (HBR-LET), which is a fixed terminal (FT), and a van-housed mobile terminal (MT). The HBR-LET has the capability of adjusting its transmitted uplink power over an approximately 10-dB range to compensate for forward uplink rain attenuation. However, because of size and weight limitations, the MT cannot use power control as a rain compensation technique. Consequently, the AMT rain compensation algorithm (RCA) is based on a formula for varying the transmitted data rate in either direction to maintain link performance within acceptable limits. The objective of the AMT RCA is to ensure reliable operation in both the forward and return directions despite the possibility of uplink or downlink fading due to rain events in the vicinity of the FT or MT. In particular, the RCA must maintain at least a 3-dB link margin at the highest possible transmission rate (AMT can operate at 9.6, 4.8, or 2.4 kb/s) permitted by the prevailing channel conditions. The 3-dB minimum link margin is a system design safety factor to accommodate conceivable implementation losses.

Levitt, Barry K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Investigation of a moving-model technique for measuring ground effect

A ground-based testing technique is under development for the measurement of dynamic or time-dependent ground effects which may be present during aircraft approach and landing. The technique utilizes a model moving horizontally over an upwardly-inclined ground plane to simulate rate of descent. Results were obtained in the Langley Research Center (LaRC) Vortex Research Facility (VRF) for a generic 60 delta wing and for an F-18 configuration, both with and without thrust reversing, at forward speeds up to 100 ft/sec. These same models and support hardware were also tested in the LaRC 14 by 22 Foot Subsonic Tunnel at identical conditions (but without rate of descent) with and without a moving-belt ground plane to obtain data for comparison.

Kemmerly, Guy T.↗