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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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637 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1996

Hypervelocity Impact Testing of Nickel Hydrogen Battery Cells

Nickel-Hydrogen (Ni/H2) battery cells have been used on several satellites and are planned for use on the International Space Station. In January 1992, the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) conducted hypervelocity impact testing on Ni/H2 cells to characterize their failure modes. The cell's outer construction was a 24 mil-thick Inconel 718 pressure vessel. A sheet of 1.27 cm thick honeycomb was placed in front of the battery cells during testing to simulate the on-orbit box enclosure. Testing was conducted at the NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF). The hypervelocity gun used was a 7.6 mm (0.30 caliber) two-stage light gas gun. Test were performed at speeds of 3, 6, and 7 km/sec using aluminum 2017 spherical particles of either 4.8 or 6.4 mm diameter as the projectile. The battery cells were electrically charged to about 75 percent of capacity, then back-filled with hydrogen gas to 900 psi simulating the full charge condition. High speed film at 10,000 frames/sec was taken of the impacts. Impacts in the dome area (top) and the electrode area (middle) of the battery cells were investigated. Five tests on battery cells were performed. The results revealed that in all of the test conditions investigated, the battery cells simply vented their hydrogen gas and some electrolyte, but did not burst or generate any large debris fragments.

Frate, David T.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Evidence for Multiple Diagenetic Episodes in Ancient Fluvial‐Lacustrine Sedimentary Rocks in Gale Crater, Mars

The Curiosity rover's exploration of rocks and soils in Gale crater has provided diverse geochemical and mineralogical data sets, underscoring the complex geological history of the region. We report the crystalline, clay mineral, and amorphous phase distributions of four Gale crater rocks from an 80‐m stratigraphic interval. The mineralogy of the four samples is strongly influenced by aqueous alteration processes, including variations in water chemistries, redox, pH, and temperature. Localized hydrothermal events are evidenced by gray hematite and maturation of amorphous SiO 2 to opal‐CT. Low‐temperature diagenetic events are associated with fluctuating lake levels, evaporative events, and ground water infiltration. Among all mudstones analyzed in Gale crater, the diversity in diagenetic processes is primarily captured by the mineralogy and X‐ray amorphous chemistry of the drilled rocks. Variations indicate a transition from magnetite to hematite and an increase in matrix‐associated sulfates suggesting intensifying influence from oxic, diagenetic fluids up section. Furthermore, diagenetic fluid pathways are shown to be strongly affected by unconformities and sedimentary transitions, as evidenced by the intensity of alteration inferred from the mineralogy of sediments sampled adjacent to stratigraphic contacts.

C N Achilles↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Simulated Lunar Gravity Testing of VIPER Loop Heat Pipe

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission consists of a rover designed to explore the lunar south pole. One of the main challenges faced by the rover during the lunar polar exploration is the adverse thermal environment. Temperatures can fluctuate more than a 100°C between day and night; potentially dropping to −246°C in permanent shadow regions. To maintain the rover components within temperature limits, VIPER’s Thermal Management System (TMS) relies heavily on Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs). To assist the design of the thermal management system, an Engineering Design Unit (EDU) LHP has been tested in several opportunities under thermal vacuum (TVAC) environment. Of particular interest was the LHP performance in lunar gravity. To that end, the EDU LHP was tested at the nominal orientation within the rover assembly, vertical, and inclined such that the gravitational component acting on the LHP evaporator and condenser was 1/6g (lunar gravity is 1/6 of Earth gravity) when compared to the vertical configuration. This paper will examine the LHP conductance as one the key parameters to assess the effect of the gravity on the LHP performance.

Loop Heat Pipe↗
NASA NTRS2012

General Purpose Data-Driven System Monitoring for Space Operations

Modern space propulsion and exploration system designs are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Determining the health state of these systems using traditional methods is becoming more difficult as the number of sensors and component interactions grows. Data-driven monitoring techniques have been developed to address these issues by analyzing system operations data to automatically characterize normal system behavior. The Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a data-driven system health monitoring software tool that has been successfully applied to several aerospace applications. IMS uses a data mining technique called clustering to analyze archived system data and characterize normal interactions between parameters. This characterization, or model, of nominal operation is stored in a knowledge base that can be used for real-time system monitoring or for analysis of archived events. Ongoing and developing IMS space operations applications include International Space Station flight control, spacecraft vehicle system health management, launch vehicle ground operations, and fleet supportability. As a common thread of discussion this paper will employ the evolution of the IMS data-driven technique as related to several Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) elements. Thematically, the projects listed will be used as case studies. The maturation of IMS via projects where it has been deployed or is currently being integrated to aid in fault detection will be described. The paper will also explain how IMS can be used to complement a suite of other ISHM tools, providing initial fault detection support for diagnosis and recovery

Space Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1993

Performance Results of a Digital Test Signal Generator

Performance results of a digital test signal-generator hardware-demonstration unit are reported. Capabilities available include baseband and intermediate frequency (IF) spectrum generation, for which test results are provided. Repeatability in the setting of a given signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when a baseband or an IF spectrum is being generated ranges from 0.01 dB at high SNR's or high data rates to 0.3 dB at low data rates or low SNR's. Baseband symbol SNR and carrier SNR (P c /N o ) accuracies of 0.1 dB were verified with the built-in statistics circuitry. At low SNR's that accuracy remains to be fully verified. These results were confirmed with measurements from a demodulator synchronizer assembly for the baseband spectrum generation, and with a digital receiver (Pioneer 10 receiver) for the IF spectrum generation.

B O Gutierrez-Luaces↗
NASA NTRS2026

Towards an Improved Understanding of the Antarctic Coastal Zone and Its Contribution to Future Global Sea Level

Understanding the coastal zone of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS), where it interacts with the Southern Ocean and warmer air masses, is crucial for predicting Antarctica's influence on the global climate and sea level. This region has multiple tipping mechanisms that could trigger large, rapid, and potentially irreversible changes in the AIS, the Southern Ocean and their global connections in the coming centuries. The AIS remains the largest source of uncertainty in future sea-level projections. Bed topography beneath the ice shelves and the coastal ice sheet is not yet well documented, and is a major source of this uncertainty. This review assesses current knowledge of the coastal zone and highlights methods to investigate it, including aerogeophysical surveys, ground- and ship-based measurements, satellite observations, and computer modeling. An ensemble analysis of published bed topography data sets identifies significant data gaps and their regional distribution, framed in the context of current ice-sheet behavior and potential instability. We propose scientific priorities and guidelines for future aerogeophysical surveys, advocating for a comprehensive, coordinated international effort to build a next-generation data set of Antarctic bed properties. Such an initiative would significantly advance understanding of the role of coastal processes in ice-sheet dynamics, reducing uncertainties in sea-level rise projections and improving predictions of future ocean and climate changes.

Kenichi Matsuoka↗
NASA NTRS2006

Low Temperature Life-Cycle Testing of a Lithium-Ion Battery for Low-Earth-Orbiting Spacecraft

A flight-qualified, lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery developed for the Mars Surveyor Program 2001 Landeris undergoing life-testing at low temperature under a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) profile to assess its capability to provide long term energy storage for aerospace missions. NASA has embarked upon an ambitious course to return humans to the moon by 2015-2020 in preparation for robotic and human exploration of Mars and robotic exploration of the moons of outer planets. Li-ion batteries are excellent candidates to provide power and energy storage for multiple aspects of these missions due to their high specific energy, high energy density, and excellent low temperature performance. Laboratory testing of Li-ion technology is necessary in order to assess lifetime, characterize multi-cell battery-level performance under aerospace conditions, and to gauge safety aspects of the technology. Life-cycle testing provides an opportunity to examine battery-level performance and the dynamics of individual cells in the stack over the entire life of the battery. Data generated through this testing will be critical to establish confidence in the technology for its widespread use in manned and unmanned missions.

Reid, Concha↗
NASA NTRS2026

Simulating the Lunar Thermal Environment for the Surface-Deployed LEMS Artemis III TVAC Test

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is an autonomous, survive-the lunar-night seismic suite to be deployed on the Lunar surface by the Artemis III crew and designed to operate continuously for two years. It will see the extremes of the Lunar south pole thermal environment where surface temperatures range from -200°C to +20°C and where nighttime duration is at least 354 hours. Given power and mass constraints, the thermal system is limited to 2.5 Watts of heat during the lunar night. Presented is the system thermal vacuum test plan and configuration to validate the thermal control system performance in a flight-like environment. The test will measure the nighttime heat leaks for the bus and 18 seismometers to ensure lunar night survival and operability.

Thermal↗
NASA NTRS2026

Simulating the Lunar Thermal Environment for the Surface-Deployed LEMS Artemis III TVAC Test

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is an autonomous, survive-the lunar-night seismic suite to be deployed on the Lunar surface by the Artemis III crew and designed to operate continuously for two years. It will see the extremes of the Lunar south pole thermal environment where surface temperatures range from -200°C to +20°C and where nighttime duration is at least 354 hours. Given power and mass constraints, the thermal system is limited to 2.5 Watts of heat during the lunar night. Presented is the system thermal vacuum test plan and configuration to validate the thermal control system performance in a flight-like environment. The test will measure the nighttime heat leaks for the bus and 18 seismometers to ensure lunar night survival and operability.

Thermal↗
NASA NTRS2026

Simulating the Lunar Thermal Environment for the Surface-Deployed LEMS Artemis III TVAC Test

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is an autonomous, survive-the lunar-night seismic suite to be deployed on the Lunar surface by the Artemis III crew and designed to operate continuously for two years. It will see the extremes of the Lunar south pole thermal environment where surface temperatures range from -200°C to +20°C and where nighttime duration is at least 354 hours. Given power and mass constraints, the thermal system is limited to 2.5 Watts of heat during the lunar night. Presented is the system thermal vacuum test plan and configuration to validate the thermal control system performance in a flight-like environment. The test will measure the nighttime heat leaks for the bus and 18 seismometers to ensure lunar night survival and operability.

TVAC↗
NASA NTRS2000

Engineering and Abuse Testing of Panasonic Lithium-Ion Battery and Cells

This viewgraph presentation reviews the performance testing of Lithium Ion batteries and cells under different conditions of charge and discharge. The tests show that the 0.5 C rate of charge and discharge might be the ideal condition for long term cycling. It reviews the issues of overcharge and overdischarge of the cells. The cells and the battery have adequate protection under both conditions to prevent any catastrophic occurrences. Temperatures above 150 C are required to vent the cells or cause a thermal runaway, Since this situation is non-credible in the cabin of the Space Shuffle or ISS this should not pose a problem. The presentation includes graphs and charts showing the charge and discharge capacities of the battery and also the current and voltage profiles. A view of a circuit board which contains the controlling mechanism for the battery is also shown.

Jeevarajan, Judith A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

A High Temperature Cyclic Oxidation Data Base for Selected Materials Tested at NASA Glenn Research Center

The cyclic oxidation test results for some 1000 high temperature commercial and experimental alloys have been collected in an EXCEL database. This database represents over thirty years of research at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The data is in the form of a series of runs of specific weight change versus time values for a set of samples tested at a given temperature, cycle time, and exposure time. Included on each run is a set of embedded plots of the critical data. The nature of the data is discussed along with analysis of the cyclic oxidation process. In addition examples are given as to how a set of results can be analyzed. The data is assembled on a read-only compact disk which is available on request from Materials Durability Branch, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio.

Scale Spalling Models↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Roman Space Telescope Optical System: Status, Test, and Verification Update

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (“Roman”) is NASA’s next flagship observatory. Launching in 2026, Roman will explore the nature of dark energy as well as expand the census of exoplanets in our galaxy via microlensing. Roman’s large field of view, agile survey capabilities, and excellent stability enable these scientific objectives, yet present unique challenges for the design, test, and verification of its optical system. Roman recently completed a comprehensive thermal vacuum test of the Spacecraft bus + Integrated Payload Assembly (SCIPA), followed by integrating the Outer Barrel Assembly (OBA), Solar Array Sunshield (SASS), and Deployable Aperture Cover (DAC) with SCIPA to complete the Observatory. This paper will present an overview of the thermal vacuum optical testing as well as a status of the optical system performance and verification.

Matthew Bolcar↗
NASA NTRS1994

Thermal Testing of High Performance: Thermal Barrier Coatings for Turbine Blades

A 350 micron thick 7 wt.% Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 (7YSZ) ceramic Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) was manufactured in an argon atmosphere and with a strictly controlled substrate temperature on flat IN 600 samples and on IN 100 aircraft turbine blades. This new atmosphere and temperature controlled spraying (ATCS) allows the reduction of the residual stresses and an improvement in the microstructure and in the mechanical properties of the coating. The good performance of these new TBC's was assessed in thermal fatigue and in thermal shock tests carried out in air at 1100°C and at 1280°C respectively. The oxidation rate of the metal-ceramic interface was measured at 1100°C. Failure of the TBC's was induced only by the deterioration (like oxidation, cracking, ...) of the uncoated parts of the samples, as testing temperature was too severe for the base metals. Spalling was thereafter driven by compressive stresses near the aluminum oxide layer at the metal-ceramic interface. The results of these tests underline the good quality of the ceramic coating manufactured by the new ATCS technology.

L Bertamini↗
NASA NTRS2012

Analysis of Screen Channel LAD Bubble Point Tests in Liquid Methane at Elevated Temperature

This paper examines the effect of varying the liquid temperature and pressure on the bubble point pressure for screen channel Liquid Acquisition Devices in cryogenic liquid methane using gaseous helium across a wide range of elevated pressures and temperatures. Testing of a 325 x 2300 Dutch Twill screen sample was conducted in the Cryogenic Components Lab 7 facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Test conditions ranged from 105 to 160K and 0.0965 – 1.78 MPa. Bubble point is shown to be a strong function of the liquid temperature and a weak function of the amount of subcooling at the LAD screen. The model predicts well for saturated liquid but under predicts the subcooled data.

Reaction Control System↗
NASA NTRS1984

RCA SATCOM Battery in Orbit Performance Update and Accelerated Life Test Results

No significant degradation of nickel cadmium battery performance in SATCOM F1 and F2 after almost 8 and 7-3/4 years in orbit was shown. Battery minimum discharge voltage data are presented for these spacecraft. In addition, 2 groups of nickel cadmium cells which are representative of those in orbit are undergoing real time eclipse-reduced suntime cycling in the laboratory. These groups of cells, which are being cycled at a maximum of 53% and 62% depth of discharge (based on actual capacity), have completed 14 and 15 eclipse seasons, respectively. Data for these groups of cells are presented and are compared with the in-orbit battery data.

Gaston, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Design and Use of Calorimeters For Characterization of High-Enthalpy Flows in Arc-Heated Test Facilities

High-enthalpy, arc-heated flows used for aerothermal testing present a challenging environment for flow characterization. This paper describes the design and use of cooled dwell probes used for heat-transfer and pressure characterization of the NASA and United States Department of Defense (DoD) arc facilities located at Moffett Field, CA, and Arnold Air Force Base, TN. Dwell calorimeters designed, fabricated, and tested by Thermal Technologies, Inc. (TTI) in the NASA IHF and the USAF H1 and H2 arc test facilities provide heat flux and pressure data with excellent repeatability. These calorimeters use standard Gardon calorimeter gages and pressure ports with unique cooling systems enabling them to withstand the severe arc-heated environments for durations sufficient for acquisition of steady-state data. The TTI probes have proven very robust in the extreme aerothermal environments of these facilities. This paper provides an overview of calorimeter instruments typically used in arc facilities, discusses design features of the TTI dwell probes, presents selected data acquired by the TTI calorimeters, and provides comparisons with data acquired from using measurement techniques.

D Mark Smith↗