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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

A Method for Scheduling Air Traffic with Uncertain En Route Capacity Constraints

A method for scheduling ground delay and airborne holding for flights scheduled to fly through airspace with uncertain capacity constraints is presented. The method iteratively solves linear programs for departure rates and airborne holding as new probabilistic information about future airspace constraints becomes available. The objective function is the expected value of the weighted sum of ground and airborne delay. In order to limit operationally costly changes to departure rates, they are updated only when such an update would lead to a significant cost reduction. Simulation results show a 13% cost reduction over a rough approximation of current practices. Comparison between the proposed as needed replanning method and a similar method that uses fixed frequency replanning shows a typical cost reduction of 1% to 2%, and even up to a 20% cost reduction in some cases.

Arneson, Heather↗
NASA NTRS2010

Spaceport Performance Measures

Spaceports have traditionally been characterized by performance measures associated with their site characteristics. Measures such as "Latitude" (proximity to the equator), "Azimuth" (range of available launch azimuths) and "Weather" (days of favorable weather) are commonly used to characterize a particular spaceport. However, other spaceport performance measures may now be of greater value. These measures can provide insight into areas of operational differences between competing spaceports and identify areas for improving the performance of spaceports. This paper suggests Figures of Merit (FOMs) for spaceport "Capacity" (number of potential launch opportunities per year and / or potential mass' to low earth orbit (LEO) per year); "Throughput" (actual mass to orbit per year compared to capacity); "Productivity" (labor effort hours per unit mass to orbit); "Energy Efficiency" (joules expended at spaceport per unit mass to orbit); "Carbon Footprint" tons CO2 per unit mass to orbit). Additional FOMS are investigated with regards to those areas of special interest to commercial launch operators, such as "Assignment Schedule" (days required for a binding assignment of a launch site from the spaceport); "Approval Schedule" (days to complete a range safety assessment leading to an approval or disapproval of a launch vehicle); "Affordability" (cost for a spaceport to assess a new launch vehicle); "Launch Affordability" (fixed range costs per launch); "Reconfigure Time" (hours to reconfigure the range from one vehicle's launch ready configuration to another vehicle's configuration); "Turn,Around Time" (minimum range hours required between launches of an identical type launch vehicle). Available or notional data is analyzed for the KSC/CCAFS area and other spaceports. Observations regarding progress over the past few decades are made. Areas where improvement are needed or indicated are suggested.

Finger, G. Wayne↗
NASA NTRS2026

Hot Water, Cold Reality: Feasibility Assessment of Iodine Removal in Heated Spacecraft Potable Water Systems

The current eXploration Potable Water Dispenser (xPWD) design removes iodine upstream of the heated leg due to concerns with the Activated Carbon and Ion Exchange (ACTEX) functionality in hot water, leaving the downstream volume without residual biocide. The NESC determined that this non-iodinated volume is a concern for microbial growth during exploration missions and proposed 33 biocide architecture options for future missions that could address this concern. The top-ranked architecture out of the report was Option 1: moving the iodine removal media as close to the dispensing needle as possible to minimize the wetted components without biocide in the xPWD. Three main challenges were identified with this proposed configuration. First, the hot water at 175 ± 25 °F is a concern for the potential physical degradation of the ion exchange resin and lowered adsorption capacity in activated carbon. Second, moving the ACTEX or alternative sorption media closer to the dispense needle increases the unheated volume downstream of the heater, challenging the ability for dispensed water to meet temperature requirements. Finally, bubbles evolved from dissolved gas coming out of solution in the heater could clog or reduce the efficiency of the sorption media. To address the first challenge, more thermally robust ion exchange resins were identified and adsorption capacity tests were planned and will be discussed in a companion ICES paper (ICES-2026-5). To address the dispense temperature concerns, allowable bed size and architectural configuration changes are proposed. The value of adding phase separators to remove bubbles and potential implementation schemes are discussed. These findings support the development of potable water systems resilient to microbial risks during long-duration space missions.

Biocide↗
NASA NTRS2026

Hot Water, Cold Reality: Feasibility Assessment of Iodine Removal in Heated Spacecraft Potable Water Systems

The current eXploration Potable Water Dispenser (xPWD) design removes iodine upstream of the heated leg due to concerns with the Activated Carbon and Ion Exchange (ACTEX) functionality in hot water, leaving the downstream volume without residual biocide. The NESC determined that this non-iodinated volume is a concern for microbial growth during exploration missions and proposed 33 biocide architecture options for future missions that could address this concern. The top-ranked architecture out of the report was Option 1: moving the iodine removal media as close to the dispensing needle as possible to minimize the wetted components without biocide in the xPWD. Three main challenges were identified with this proposed configuration. First, the hot water at 175 ± 25 °F is a concern for the potential physical degradation of the ion exchange resin and lowered adsorption capacity in activated carbon. Second, moving the ACTEX or alternative sorption media closer to the dispense needle increases the unheated volume downstream of the heater, challenging the ability for dispensed water to meet temperature requirements. Finally, bubbles evolved from dissolved gas coming out of solution in the heater could clog or reduce the efficiency of the sorption media. To address the first challenge, more thermally robust ion exchange resins were identified and adsorption capacity tests were planned and will be discussed in a companion ICES paper (ICES-2026-5). To address the dispense temperature concerns, allowable bed size and architectural configuration changes are proposed. The value of adding phase separators to remove bubbles and potential implementation schemes are discussed. These findings support the development of potable water systems resilient to microbial risks during long-duration space missions.

PWD↗
NASA NTRS1981

HCMM hydrological analysis in Utah

Progress in analysis of Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) infrared and visible observations of the hydrology of Utah Lake is reported. Correlation between HCMM intensities converted to temperature and ground truth temperatures was investigated, and a conversion offset value determined. Ground truth surface temperatures minus HCMM temperatures were plotted against several hydrological parameters. Relationships among visible data, thermal data, and algae concentrations were considered, and summer concentrations of predominant algae species determined. Investigations on the effects of varying algae concentrations on evaporation rates are reported. Efforts to develop a model for evaporation estimation are reported. The relationship between air and water surface temperatures was studied and the temperature distribution in different segments of the lake investigated. Indications of the existence of thermal springs are reported. Correlation of HCMM surface temperature data and depth to groundwater were investigated.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1984

A thermodynamic model for subsolidus equilibria in the system CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2

It is shown that the high temperature enthalpy of solution data for pure phases and solid solutions in the CMAS system are, for 'gabbroic' and 'peridotitic' compositions, consistent with available phase equilibrium data for the MAS, CAS and CMAS systems. A refined set of values of thermodynamic properties for these phases and solid solutions is tabulated. The small differences between the new data set and that of Helgeson et al. (1978) arise from new data on heat capacity and enthalpy being incorporated. The important constraints applied and the major difficulties in fitting which arose are summarized.

Wood, B. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Pulmonary diffusing capacity, capillary blood volume, and cardiac output during sustained microgravity

We measured pulmonary diffusing capacity (DL), diffusing capacity per unit lung volume, pulmonary capillary blood volume (Vc), membrane diffusing capacity (Dm), pulmonary capillary blood flow or cardiac output (Qc), and cardiac stroke volume (SV) in four subjects exposed to nine days of microgravity. DL in microgravity was elevated compared with preflight standing values and was higher than preflight supine because of the elevation of both Vc and Dm. The elevation in Vc was comparable to that measured supine in 1 G, but the increase in Dm was in sharp contrast to the supine value. We postulate that, in 0 G, pulmonary capillary blood is evenly distributed throughout the lung, providing for uniform capillary filling, leading to an increase in the surface area available for diffusion. By contrast, in the supine 1-G state, the capillaries are less evenly filled, and although a similar increase in blood volume is observed, the corresponding increase in surface area does not occur. DL and its subdivisions showed no adaptive changes from the first measurement 24 h after the start of 0 G to eight days later. Similarly, there were no trends in the postflight data, suggesting that the principal mechanism of these changes was gravitational. The increase in Dm suggests that subclinical pulmonary edema did not result from exposure to 0 G. Qc was modestly increased inflight and decreased postflight compared with preflight standing. Compared with preflight standing, SV was increased 46 percent inflight and decreased 14 percent in the 1st week postflight. There were temporal changes in Qc and SV during 0 G, with the highest values recorded at the first measurement, 24 h into the flight. The lowest values of Qc and SV occurred on the day of return.

Prisk, G. K.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Stream Flow Prediction by Remote Sensing and Genetic Programming

A genetic programming (GP)-based, nonlinear modeling structure relates soil moisture with synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) images to present representative soil moisture estimates at the watershed scale. Surface soil moisture measurement is difficult to obtain over a large area due to a variety of soil permeability values and soil textures. Point measurements can be used on a small-scale area, but it is impossible to acquire such information effectively in large-scale watersheds. This model exhibits the capacity to assimilate SAR images and relevant geoenvironmental parameters to measure soil moisture.

Chang, Ni-Bin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Connecting Federal Agencies to Satellite Earth Observations: NASA’s Satellite Needs Working Group Assessment Process

The Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG), part of the U.S. Group on Earth Observations (USGEO), surveys agencies across the U.S. Government to identify the satellite Earth observations each agency needs to fulfill its high-priority objectives and responsibilities. Around 20 civilian agencies participate in the SNWG survey every two years. After receiving the surveys, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducts an in-depth evaluation of each agency's needs in collaboration with fellow satellite Earth data providers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This assessment process, which takes place over an eight-month period, is divided into distinct phases. NASA first assembles an assessment team with the necessary subject matter expertise to evaluate each submitted need. An in-depth interview with each submitting agency then follows, featuring discussion of current and upcoming satellite missions as well as potential new activities that NASA, NOAA, and/or USGS could undertake to meet the agency's needs. The assessment teams then further evaluate these potential activities or solutions to identify how many agencies would benefit and estimate how much their level of satisfaction would increase. Solutions expected to have broad-reaching and significant agency benefits are proposed by NASA for funding. SNWG agencies receive an assessment report for each submitted need, in which the tri-agency assessment teams provide a detailed evaluation of the agency need, information on relevant satellite missions, and links to specific datasets or training resources. The SNWG Management Office at NASA’s Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT) contributes to NASA’s SNWG assessment in a variety of capacities, including statistical analysis of the survey responses to identify trends and similar needs across multiple agencies. The Management Office also provides analytics for the new proposed solutions, demonstrating and quantifying their potential value. For activities that receive funding, the Management Office manages the implementation process and works to maximize the benefit to SNWG agencies via a Stakeholder Engagement Program.

Katrina Virts↗
NASA NTRS1993

New mission requirements methodologies for services provided by the Office of Space Communications

The Office of Space Communications, NASA Headquarters, has recently revised its methodology for receiving, accepting and responding to customer requests for use of that office's tracking and communications capabilities. This revision is the result of a process which has become over-burdened by the size of the currently active and proposed missions set, requirements reviews that focus on single missions rather than on mission sets, and negotiations most often not completed early enough to effect needed additions to capacity or capability prior to launch. The requirements-coverage methodology described is more responsive to project/program needs and provides integrated input into the NASA budget process early enough to effect change, and describes the mechanisms and tools in place to insure a value-added process which will benefit both NASA and its customers. Key features of the requirements methodology include the establishment of a mechanism for early identification of and systems trades with new customers, and delegates the review and approval of requirements documents to NASA centers in lieu of Headquarters, thus empowering the system design teams to establish and negotiate the detailed requirements with the user. A Mission Requirements Request (MRR) is introduced to facilitate early customer interaction. The expected result is that the time to achieve an approved set of implementation requirements which meet the customer's needs can be greatly reduced. Finally, by increasing the discipline in requirements management, through the use of base lining procedures, a tighter coupling between customer requirements and the budget is provided. A twice-yearly projection of customer requirements accommodation, designated as the Capacity Projection Plan (CPP), provides customer feedback allowing the entire mission set to be serviced.

Holmes, Dwight P.↗
NASA NTRS2021

A Critical Look at Coulomb Counting Approach for State of Charge Estimation in Batteries

In this paper, we consider the problem of state-of-charge estimation for rechargeable batteries. Coulomb counting is a well-known method for estimating the state of charge, and it is regarded as accurate as long as the battery capacity and the beginning state of charge are known. The Coulomb counting approach, on the other hand, is prone to inaccuracies from a variety of sources, and the magnitude of these errors has not been explored in the literature. We formally construct and quantify the state-of-charge estimate error during Coulomb counting due to four types of error sources: (1) current measurement error; (2) current integration approximation error; (3) battery capacity uncertainty; and (4) timing oscillator error/drift. It is demonstrated that the state-of-charge error produced can be either time-cumulative or state-of-charge-proportional. Time-cumulative errors accumulate over time and have the potential to render the state-of-charge estimation utterly invalid in the long term. The proportional errors of the state of charge rise with the accumulated state of charge and reach their worst value within one charge/discharge cycle. The study presents methods for reducing time-cumulative and state-of-charge-proportional mistakes through simulation analysis.

Battery management system↗
NASA NTRS1982

The economics of bootstrapping space industries - Development of an analytic computer model

A simple economic model of 'bootstrapping' industrial growth in space and on the Moon is presented. An initial space manufacturing facility (SMF) is assumed to consume lunar materials to enlarge the productive capacity in space. After reaching a predetermined throughput, the enlarged SMF is devoted to products which generate revenue continuously in proportion to the accumulated output mass (such as space solar power stations). Present discounted value and physical estimates for the general factors of production (transport, capital efficiency, labor, etc.) are combined to explore optimum growth in terms of maximized discounted revenues. It is found that 'bootstrapping' reduces the fractional cost to a space industry of transport off-Earth, permits more efficient use of a given transport fleet. It is concluded that more attention should be given to structuring 'bootstrapping' scenarios in which 'learning while doing' can be more fully incorporated in program analysis.

Goldberg, A. H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Distribution of human waste samples in relation to sizing waste processing in space

Human waste processing for closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) in space requires that there be an accurate knowledge of the quantity of wastes produced. Because initial CELSS will be handling relatively few individuals, it is important to know the variation that exists in the production of wastes rather than relying upon mean values that could result in undersizing equipment for a specific crew. On the other hand, because of the costs of orbiting equipment, it is important to design the equipment with a minimum of excess capacity because of the weight that extra capacity represents. A considerable quantity of information that had been independently gathered on waste production was examined in order to obtain estimates of equipment sizing requirements for handling waste loads from crews of 2 to 20 individuals. The recommended design for a crew of 8 should hold 34.5 liters per day (4315 ml/person/day) for urine and stool water and a little more than 1.25 kg per day (154 g/person/day) of human waste solids and sanitary supplies.

Parker, Dick↗
NASA NTRS2005

Atmospheric Hydroperoxides in West Antarctica: Links to Stratospheric Ozone and Atmospheric Oxidation Capacity

The troposphere above the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) was sampled for hydroperoxides at 21 locations during 2-month-long summer traverses from 2000 to 2002, as part of US ITASE (International Transantarctic Scientific Expedition). First time quantitative measurements using an HPLC method showed that methylhydroperoxide (MHP) is the only important organic hydroperoxide occurring in the Antarctic troposphere, and that it is found at levels ten times those previously predicted by photochemical models. During three field seasons, means and standard deviations for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were 321+/-158 pptv, 650+/-176 pptv and 330+/-147 pptv. While MHP was detected, but not quantified in December 2000, levels in summer 2001 and 2002 were 317+128 pptv and 304+/-172.2 pptv. Results from firn air experiments and diurnal variability of the two species showed that atmospheric H2O2 is significantly impacted by a physical snow pack source between 76 and 90degS, whereas MHP is not. We show strong evidence of a positive feedback between stratospheric ozone and H2O2 at the surface. Between November-27 and December-12 in 2001, when ozone column densities dropped below 220 DU (means in 2000 and 2001 were 318 DU and 334 DU, respectively), H2O2 was 1.7 times that observed in the same period in 2000 and 2002, while MHP was only 80% of the levels encountered in 2002. Photochemical box model runs suggest that NO and OH levels on WAIS are closer to coastal values, while Antarctic Plateau levels are higher, confirming that region to be a highly oxidizing environment. The modeled sensitivity of H2O2 and particularly MHP to NO offers the potential to use atmospheric hydroperoxides to constrain the NO background and thus estimate the past oxidation capacity of the remote atmosphere. Index Terms: 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere: composition and chemistry; 0322 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks; 1610 Global Change: Atmosphere (03 15,0325); 0736 Cryosphere: Snow (1827, 1863); 0724 Cryosphere: Ice Cores (4932) Keywords: hydrogen peroxide, methylhydroperoxide, Antarctica, air-snow exchange, stratospheric ozone, atmospheric oxidation capacity

Frey, Markus M.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Wind utilization in remote regions: An economic study

A wind driven generator was considered as a supplement to a diesel group, for the purpose of economizing fuel when wind power is available. A specific location on Hudson's Bay, Povognituk, was selected. Technical and economic data available for a wind machine of 10-kilowatt nominal capacity and available wind data for that region were used for the study. After subtracting the yearly wind machine costs from savings in fuel costs, a net savings of $1400 per year is realized. These values are approximate, but are though to be highly conservative.

Vansant, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Capacity and cutoff rate of (M+1)-ary decision rules for noisy M-ary optical PPM channel

The channel capacity C and the cutoff rate R sub o of two (M + 1)-ary decision rules for noisy M slots/symbol optical pulse position modulation (PPM) with ideal photon counting are computed and compared. Also the values of the optimum thresholds needed to minimize the signal requirements are given. With a minor increase in hardware complexity, the symbol by symbol threshold decision rule is shown to be superior to the slot by slot threshold detection and decision rule in two aspects: first, it saves more than 0.5 dB in signal energy for the very noisy cases of more than one noise photon per slot (for low noise cases it also saves signal energy, but a negligibly small amount). Second, it is more robust to variations in the noise level.

Lee, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

CO2 compressor vibration and cause analysis

The operational experience of a large turbine drive carbon dioxide compressor train in a urea plant with capacity of 1620 tons/day is considered. After the initial start-up in 1976, the vibration in the HP cylinder was comparatively serious. The radial vibration reached 4.2 to 4.5 mils and fluctuated around this value. It was attributed to the rotating stall based on the spectrum analysis. Additional return line from the 4th to 4th and higher temperature of the 4th inlet has cured the vibration. Problems are described which were encountered in the operation along with their solutions, and/or improvements.

Ying, Y. L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Lung volumes during sustained microgravity on Spacelab SLS-1

Gravity is known to influence the topographical gradients of pulmonary ventilation, perfusion, and pleural pressures. The effect of sustained microgravity on lung volumes has not previously been investigated. Pulmonary function tests were performed by four subjects before, during, and after 9 days of microgravity exposure. Ground measurements were made in standing and supine postures. Tests were performed using a bag-in-box and flowmeter system and a respiratory mass spectrometer. Measurements of tidal volume (V(sub T)), expiratory reserve volume (ERV), inspiratory and expiratory vital capacities (IVC, EVC), functional residual capacity (FRC), and residual volume (RV) were made. During microgravity, V(sub T) decreased by 15%. IVC and EVC were slightly reduced during the first 24 hrs of microgravity and returned to 1 g standing values within 72 hrs after the onset of microgravity. FRC was reduced by 15% and ERV decreased by 10-20%. RV was significantly reduced by 18%. The reductions in FRC, ERV, and V(sub T) during microgravity are probably due to the cranial shift of the diaphragm and an increase in intrathoracic blood volume.

Elliott, Ann R.↗