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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) Upper Stage Configuration Selection Process

The Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), a key component of NASA's blueprint for the next generation of spacecraft to take humans back to the moon, is being designed and built by engineers at NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The vehicle s design is based on the results of NASA's 2005 Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS), which called for development of a crew-launch system to reduce the gap between Shuttle retirement and Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) Initial Operating Capability, identification of key technologies required to enable and significantly enhance these reference exploration systems, and a reprioritization of near- and far-term technology investments. The Upper Stage Element (USE) of the CLV is a clean-sheet approach that is being designed and developed in-house, with element management at MSFC. The USE concept is a self-supporting cylindrical structure, approximately 115' long and 216" in diameter, consisting of the following subsystems: Primary Structures (LOX Tank, LH2 Tank, Intertank, Thrust Structure, Spacecraft Payload Adaptor, Interstage, Forward and Aft Skirts), Secondary Structures (Systems Tunnel), Avionics and Software, Main Propulsion System, Reaction Control System, Thrust Vector Control, Auxiliary Power Unit, and Hydraulic Systems. The ESAS originally recommended a CEV to be launched atop a four-segment Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) CLV, utilizing an RS-25 engine-powered upper stage. However, Agency decisions to utilize fewer CLV development steps to lunar missions, reduce the overall risk for the lunar program, and provide a more balanced engine production rate requirement prompted engineers to switch to a five-segment design with a single Saturn-derived J-2X engine. This approach provides for single upper stage engine development for the CLV and an Earth Departure Stage, single Reusable Solid Rocket Booster (RSRB) development for the CLV and a Cargo Launch Vehicle, and single core SSME development. While the RSRB design has changed since the CLV Project's inception, the USE design has remained essentially a clean-sheet approach. Although a clean-sheet upper stage design inherently carries more risk than a modified design, it does offer many advantages: a design for increased reliability; built-in extensibility to allow for commonality/growth without major redesign; and incorporation of state-of-the-art materials, hardware, and design, fabrication, and test techniques and processes to facilitate a potentially better, more reliable system. Because consideration was given in the ESAS to both clean-sheet and modified USE designs, this paper will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches and provide a detailed discussion of trades/selections made that led to the final upper stage configuration.

Davis, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Space shuttle phase B wind tunnel test database

Archived wind tunnel test data are available for flyback booster or other alternate recoverable configurations as well as reusable orbiters studied during initial development (Phase B) of the Space Shuttle. Considerable wind tunnel data were acquired by competing contractors and NASA centers for an extensive variety of configurations with an array of wing and body planforms. This wind tunnel test data has been compiled into a database and are available for application to current winged flyback or recoverable booster aerodynamic studies. The Space Shuttle Phase B Wind Tunnel Database is structured by vehicle component and configuration type. Basic components include the booster, the orbiter and the launch vehicle. Booster configuration types include straight and delta wings, canard, cylindrical, retro-glide and twin body. Orbiter configuration types include straight and delta wings, lifting body, drop tanks and double delta wings.

Glynn, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Space shuttle phase B wind tunnel model and test information. Volume 2: Orbiter configuration

Archived wind tunnel test data are available for flyback booster or other alternative recoverable configurations as well as reusable orbiters studied during initial development (Phase B) of the Space Shuttle. Considerable wind tunnel data was acquired by the competing contractors and the NASA centers for an extensive variety of configurations with an array of wing and body planforms. All contractor and NASA wind tunnel test data acquired in the Phase B development have been compiled into a data base and are available for applying to current winged flyback or recoverable booster aerodynamic studies. The Space Shuttle Phase B Wind Tunnel Data Base is structured by vehicle component and configuration type. Basic components include the booster, the orbiter, and the launch vehicle. Booster configuration types include straight and delta wings, canard, cylindrical, retro-glide and twin body. Orbiter configuration types include straight and delta wings, lifting body, drop tanks, and double delta wings. Launch configuration types include booster and orbiter components in various stacked and tandem combinations.

Glynn, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Open Architecture Data System for NASA Langley Combined Loads Test System

The Combined Loads Test System (COLTS) is a new structures test complex that is being developed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) to test large curved panels and cylindrical shell structures. These structural components are representative of aircraft fuselage sections of subsonic and supersonic transport aircraft and cryogenic tank structures of reusable launch vehicles. Test structures are subjected to combined loading conditions that simulate realistic flight load conditions. The facility consists of two pressure-box test machines and one combined loads test machine. Each test machine possesses a unique set of requirements or research data acquisition and real-time data display. Given the complex nature of the mechanical and thermal loads to be applied to the various research test articles, each data system has been designed with connectivity attributes that support both data acquisition and data management functions. This paper addresses the research driven data acquisition requirements for each test machine and demonstrates how an open architecture data system design not only meets those needs but provides robust data sharing between data systems including the various control systems which apply spectra of mechanical and thermal loading profiles.

Lightfoot, Michael C.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Pinching solutions of slender cylindrical jets

Simplified equations for slender jets are derived for a circular jet of one fluid flowing into an ambient second fluid, the flow being confined in a circular tank. Inviscid flows are studied which include both surface tension effects and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. For slender jets a coupled nonlinear system of equations is found for the jet shape and the axial velocity jump across it. The equations can break down after a finite time and similarity solutions are constructed, and studied analytically and numerically. The break-ups found pertain to the jet pinching after a finite time, without violation of the slender jet ansatz. The system is conservative and admissible singular solutions are those which conserve the total energy, mass, and momentum. Such solutions are constructed analytically and numerically, and in the case of vortex sheets with no surface tension certain solutions are given in closed form.

Papageorgiou, Demetrios T.↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Effect of Friction on Penetration in Friction Stir Welding

"Friction stir butt welding," as it was originally termed by Wayne Thomas and Christopher Dawes, in the early 1990s, but now commonly called "friction stir welding," has made great progress as a new welding technique. Commercially, friction stir welding (FSW) is finding many applications. Marine Aluminum of Norway is using the process for welding 20-meter aluminum sheets for ferry construction. Japan is using the technique in development work on bullet trains. Sapa of Sweden utilizes FSW in the landing of refrigeration units for cargo ships. In the United States, Boeing is using the technique in the production of Delta rockets. Eclipse Aviation Corporation plans to use FSW to produce a business jet available in August, 2003. Marshall Space Flight Center has been investigating the use of FSW for assembly of the Shuttle's external fuel tank since the late 1990s and hopes to have the process in use by the summer of 2002. In FSW, a cylindrical pin tool of hardened steel, is rotated and plunged into the abutting edges of the parts to be joined. The tool is plunged into the weldment to within about .050 in of the bottom to assure full penetration. As the tool moves along the joint, the tool shoulder helps produce frictional heating, causing the material to plasticize. The metal of the two abutting plates flows from the front of the tool to the back where it cools and coalesces to form a weld in the solid phase.

Steve Rapp↗
NASA NTRS1961

Research on Liquid Dynamics in Missile Fuel Tanks

This report presents the results of work completed during the period of 1 July 1961 through 30 September 1961 on the studies of vibrations of flexible tanks containing a liquid with a free surface. The coupling between free surface motion and tank bending is dis- cussed in some detail and preliminary experimental results are given which tend to collaborate the theoretical analysis. Experimental results for the effect of an internal fluid on the breathing frequencies of a circular cylindrical shell are also given. apparently new type of free surface sloshing motion induced by high frequency breathing vibrations is reported.

MISSILE↗
NASA NTRS2007

Analytical Approach for Estimating Preliminary Mass of ARES I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Structural Components

In January 2004, President Bush gave the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) a vision for Space Exploration by setting our sight on a bold new path to go back to the Moon, then to Mars and beyond. In response to this vision, NASA started the Constellation Program, which is a new exploration launch vehicle program. The primary mission for the Constellation Program is to carry out a series of human expeditions ranging from Low Earth Orbit to the surface of Mars and beyond for the purposes of conducting human exploration of space, as specified by the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE). The intent is that the information and technology developed by this program will provide the foundation for broader exploration activities as our operational experience grows. The ARES I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) has been designated as the launch vehicle that will be developed as a "first step" to facilitate the aforementioned human expeditions. The CLV Project is broken into four major elements: First Stage, Upper Stage Engine, Upper Stage (US), and the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is responsible for the design of the CLV and has the prime responsibility to design the upper stage of the vehicle. The US is the second propulsive stage of the CLV and provides CEV insertion into low Earth orbit (LEO) after separation from the First Stage of the Crew Launch Vehicle. The fully integrated Upper Stage is a mix of modified existing heritage hardware (J-2X Engine) and new development (primary structure, subsystems, and avionics). The Upper Stage assembly is a structurally stabilized cylindrical structure, which is powered by a single J-2X engine which is developed as a separate Element of the CLV. The primary structure includes the load bearing liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellant tanks, a Forward Skirt, the Intertank structure, the Aft Skirt and the Thrust Structure. A Systems Tunnel, which carries fluid and electrical power functions to other Elements of the CLV, is included as secondary structure. The MSFC has an overall responsibility for the integrated US element as well as structural design an thermal control of the fuel tanks, intertank, interstage, avionics, main propulsion system, Reaction Control System (RCS) for both the Upper Stage and the First Stage. MSFC's Spacecraft and Vehicle Department, Structural and Analysis Design Division is developing a set of predicted mass of these elements. This paper details the methodology, criterion and tools used for the preliminary mass predictions of the upper stage structural assembly components. In general, weight of the cylindrical barrel sections are estimated using the commercial code Hypersizer, whereas, weight of the domes are developed using classical solutions. HyperSizer is software that performs automated structural analysis and sizing optimization based on aerospace methods for strength, stability, and stiffness. Analysis methods range from closed form, traditional hand calculations repeated every day in industry to more advanced panel buckling algorithms. Margin-of-safety reporting for every potential failure provides the engineer with a powerful insight into the structural problem. Optimization capabilities include finding minimum weight panel or beam concepts, material selections, cross sectional dimensions, thicknesses, and lay-ups from a library of 40 different stiffened and sandwich designs and a database of composite, metallic, honeycomb, and foam materials. Multiple different concepts (orthogrid, isogrid, and skin stiffener) were run for multiple loading combinations of ascent design load with and with out tank pressure as well as proof pressure condition. Subsequently, selected optimized concept obtained from Hypersizer runs was translated into a computer aid design (CAD) model to account for the wall thickness tolerance, weld land etc for developing the most probable weight of the components. The flow diram summarizes the analysis steps used in developing these predicted mass.

Aggarwal, Pravin↗
NASA NTRS1992

Assessment of a SSF servicing facility

A polygonal pseudo-cylindrical hangar that sustains only the Space Transfer Vehicle (STV) has been proposed as an optimal servicing facility at the Space Station Freedom (SSF). The drop tanks would be placed external to the hangar, with final integration occurring outside the sheltered hangar. The potential locations for the hangar are outboard of a lower keel and above the module pattern. A third possibility combines the two cases, extending a support structure/tunnel below the module pattern to the distance of a lower keel. Calculations of servicing timelines indicate that a single STV could be serviced for its next lunar mission in 2 months using a robot similar to the Flight Telerobotic Servicer.

Zaveri, Rohan↗
NASA NTRS1999

Paramagnetic Liquid Bridge in a Gravity-Compensating Magnetic Field

Magnetic levitation was used to stabilize cylindrical columns of a paramagnetic liquid in air between two solid supports. The maximum achievable length to diameter ratio R(sub max) was approx. (3.10 +/- 0.07), very close to the Rayleigh-Plateau limit of pi. For smaller R, the stability of the column was measured as a function of the Bond number, which could be continuously varied by adjusting the strength of the magnetic field. Liquid bridges supported by two solid surfaces have been attracting scientific attention since the time of Rayleigh and Plateau. For a cylindrical bridge of length L and diameter d, it was shown theoretically that in zero gravity the maximum slenderness ratio R (identically = L/d) is pi. The stability and ultimate collapse of such bridges is of interest because of their importance in a number of industrial processes and their potential for low gravity applications. In the presence of gravity, however, the cylindrical shape of an axisymmetric bridge tends to deform, limiting its stability and decreasing the maximum achievable value of R. Theoretical studies have discussed the stability and possible shapes of axisymmetric bridges. Experiments typically are performed in either a Plateau tank, in which the bridge is surrounded by a density-matched immiscible fluid, or in a space-borne microgravity environment. It has been shown, for example, that the stability limit R can be pushed beyond pi by using flow stabilization, by acoustic radiation pressure, or by forming columns in the presence of an axial electric field. In this work, magnetic levitation was used to simulate a low gravity environment and create quasi-cylindrical liquid columns in air. Use of a magnetic field permits us to continuously vary the Bond number B identically equal to (g)(rho)d(exp 2)/4(sigma), where g is the gravitational acceleration, rho is the density of the liquid, and sigma is the surface tension of the liquid in air. The dimensionless Bond number represents the relative importance of external forces acting on the liquid column to those due to surface tension. Our central result is that in a large magnetic field gradient we could create and stabilize columns of mixtures of water and paramagnetic manganese chloride tetrahydrate (MnCl2.4H2O), achieving a length to diameter ratio very close to pi.

Mahajan, Milind P.↗
NASA NTRS1966

Tooling concepts for assembly of large structures

Manufacture of the S-IC stage of the Saturn V space vehicle has resulted in new. concepts and innovations in the field of tooling. The structure size (35-ft diameter), the high reliability and accuracy requirements, and the low density or production quantity lead to a greater degree of simplicity, economy, and versatility in fabrication and assembly tooling. There are three specific concepts which should be applicable in industry, local jigging for welding, rotation of structures in vertical assemblies, and the assembly of two structures. The usual weld jigging serves a two-fold purpose: (a) to support the molten weld puddle and (b) to force and maintain alinement of the parts being welded. The extension of this method to large-diameter tanks is expensive and difficult. An alternate procedure used at MSFC is to perform free-state welding and use local jigging (stra1rclamps) and intermittent tack welding. Cylindrical structures can be accurately rotated for routing or welding on a simplified ring turntable. The tool consists of a ring of the structure diameter resting on rollers. Torque is nearly zero since the ring is rotated by friction rollers with the force being applied at the ring perimeter. Two such turntables are used at MSFC. The horizontal mating of two large components, where controlled motions of small magnitude are necessary, can be easily done by positioning units equipped with air-bearings. Such bearings are usable on concrete of minimum surface preparation and require no special air pressure source. This concept is used in assembly of the two S-IC containers.

Saturn S-IC stage↗
NASA NTRS2012

Velocity Vector Field Visualization of Flow in Liquid Acquisition Device Channel

A capillary flow liquid acquisition device (LAD) for cryogenic propellants has been developed and tested in NASA Glenn Research Center to meet the requirements of transferring cryogenic liquid propellants from storage tanks to an engine in reduced gravity environments. The prototypical mesh screen channel LAD was fabricated with a mesh screen, covering a rectangular flow channel with a cylindrical outlet tube, and was tested with liquid oxygen (LOX). In order to better understand the performance in various gravity environments and orientations at different liquid submersion depths of the screen channel LAD, a series of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of LOX flow through the LAD screen channel was undertaken. The resulting velocity vector field visualization for the flow in the channel has been used to reveal the gravity effects on the flow in the screen channel.

McQuillen, John B.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Assembly of 5.5-Meter Diameter Developmental Barrel Segments for the Ares I Upper Stage

Full scale assembly welding of Ares I Upper Stage 5.5-Meter diameter cryogenic tank barrel segments has been performed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). One full-scale developmental article produced under the Ares 1 Upper Stage project is the Manufacturing Demonstration Article (MDA) Barrel. This presentation will focus on the welded assembly of this barrel section, and associated lessons learned. Among the MDA articles planned on the Ares 1 Program, the Barrel was the first to be completed, primarily because the process of manufacture from piece parts (barrel panels) utilized the most mature friction stir process planned for use on the Ares US program: Conventional fixed pin Friction Stir Welding (FSW). This process is in use on other space launch systems, including the Shuttle s External Tank, the Delta IV common booster core, the Delta II, and the Atlas V rockets. The goals for the MDA Barrel development were several fold: 1) to prove out Marshall Space Flight Center s new Vertical Weld Tool for use in manufacture of cylindrical barrel sections, 2) to serve as a first run for weld qualification to a new weld specification, and 3) to provide a full size cylindrical section for downstream use in precision cleaning and Spray-on Foam Insulation development. The progression leading into the welding of the full size barrel included sub scale panel welding, subscale cylinder welding, a full length confidence weld, and finally, the 3 seamed MDA barrel processing. Lessons learned on this MDA program have been carried forward into the production tooling for the Ares 1 US Program, and in the use of the MSFC VWT in processing other large scale hardware, including two 8.4 meter diameter Shuttle External Tank barrel sections that are currently being used in structural analysis to validate shell buckling models.

Carter, Robert W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Superfluid and normal fluid helium II in a rotating tank under low and microgravity environments

The physical behavior of superfluid and normal fluid helium II is discussed. It is shown that the centrifugal force due to a rotating container can never separate the superfluid from the normal fluid helium in a large rotating cylindrical spacecraft. A classical approach is appropriate for treating superfluid and normal fluid cryogenic helium as a mixture without separation in a large rotating cylinder in a spacecraft propellant systems.

Hung, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Asymmetric Bulkheads for Cylindrical Pressure Vessels

Asymmetric bulkheads are proposed for the ends of vertically oriented cylindrical pressure vessels. These bulkheads, which would feature both convex and concave contours, would offer advantages over purely convex, purely concave, and flat bulkheads (see figure). Intended originally to be applied to large tanks that hold propellant liquids for launching spacecraft, the asymmetric-bulkhead concept may also be attractive for terrestrial pressure vessels for which there are requirements to maximize volumetric and mass efficiencies. A description of the relative advantages and disadvantages of prior symmetric bulkhead configurations is prerequisite to understanding the advantages of the proposed asymmetric configuration: In order to obtain adequate strength, flat bulkheads must be made thicker, relative to concave and convex bulkheads; the difference in thickness is such that, other things being equal, pressure vessels with flat bulkheads must be made heavier than ones with concave or convex bulkheads. Convex bulkhead designs increase overall tank lengths, thereby necessitating additional supporting structure for keeping tanks vertical. Concave bulkhead configurations increase tank lengths and detract from volumetric efficiency, even though they do not necessitate additional supporting structure. The shape of a bulkhead affects the proportion of residual fluid in a tank that is, the portion of fluid that unavoidably remains in the tank during outflow and hence cannot be used. In this regard, a flat bulkhead is disadvantageous in two respects: (1) It lacks a single low point for optimum placement of an outlet and (2) a vortex that forms at the outlet during outflow prevents a relatively large amount of fluid from leaving the tank. A concave bulkhead also lacks a single low point for optimum placement of an outlet. Like purely concave and purely convex bulkhead configurations, the proposed asymmetric bulkhead configurations would be more mass-efficient than is the flat bulkhead configuration. In comparison with both purely convex and purely concave configurations, the proposed asymmetric configurations would offer greater volumetric efficiency. Relative to a purely convex bulkhead configuration, the corresponding asymmetric configuration would result in a shorter tank, thus demanding less supporting structure. An asymmetric configuration provides a low point for optimum location of a drain, and the convex shape at the drain location minimizes the amount of residual fluid.

Ford, Donald B.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Modeling Xenon Tank Pressurization using One-Dimensional Thermodynamic and Heat Transfer Equations

As a first step in understanding what ground support equipment (GSE) is required to provide external cooling during the loading of 5,000 kg of xenon into 4 aluminum lined composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), a modeling analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel. The goals of the analysis were to predict xenon temperature and pressure throughout loading at the launch facility, estimate the time required to load one tank, and to get an early estimate of what provisions for cooling xenon might be needed while the tanks are being filled. The model uses the governing thermodynamic and heat transfer equations to achieve these goals. Results indicate that a single tank can be loaded in about 15 hours with reasonable external coolant requirements. The model developed in this study was successfully validated against flight and test data. The first data set is from the Dawn mission which also utilizes solar electric propulsion with xenon propellant, and the second is test data from the rapid loading of a hydrogen cylindrical COPV. The main benefit of this type of model is that the governing physical equations using bulk fluid solid temperatures can provide a quick and accurate estimate of the state of the propellant throughout loading which is much cheaper in terms of computational time and licensing costs than a Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis while capturing the majority of the thermodynamics and heat transfer.

Thermodynamic tank modeling↗
NASA NTRS1982

CAM controlled retractable door latch

A latching mechanism in which there is linear movement and rotational movement is described. The umbilical doors of the space shuttle orbiter are required to be open during vehicle launch. After the external tank is released, the doors are closed. Presently, the device for maintaining the doors in an open position is mounted on the external tank and therefore has a single mission life. The latching mechanism of the invention is mounted in the orbiter and therefore is returned and has multimission capability. The latching mechanism is comprised of a pair of concentric nested, cylindrical cams and motors to actuate the cams, and latch pin all contained within a cover mounted on a support bracket carried by the substructure. A shaft having a latch pin is mounted inside the inner cylindrical cam.

Carsley, R. B.↗