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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

A knowledge-based system design/information tool for aircraft flight control systems

Research aircraft have become increasingly dependent on advanced electronic control systems to accomplish program goals. These aircraft are integrating multiple disciplines to improve performance and satisfy research objective. This integration is being accomplished through electronic control systems. Systems design methods and information management have become essential to program success. The primary objective of the system design/information tool for aircraft flight control is to help transfer flight control system design knowledge to the flight test community. By providing all of the design information and covering multiple disciplines in a structured, graphical manner, flight control systems can more easily be understood by the test engineers. This will provide the engineers with the information needed to thoroughly ground test the system and thereby reduce the likelihood of serious design errors surfacing in flight. The secondary object is to apply structured design techniques to all of the design domains. By using the techniques in the top level system design down through the detailed hardware and software designs, it is hoped that fewer design anomalies will result. The flight test experiences are reviewed of three highly complex, integrated aircraft programs: the X-29 forward swept wing; the advanced fighter technology integration (AFTI) F-16; and the highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT) program. Significant operating technologies, and the design errors which cause them, is examined to help identify what functions a system design/informatin tool should provide to assist designers in avoiding errors.

Mackall, Dale A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Hover in-ground-effect testing of a full-scale, tilt-nacelle V/STOL model

A full-scale, tilt-nacelle V/STOL aircraft model was tested in hover at the National Full Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC), NASA Ames Research Center. The model was powered by two TF-34 turbofan engines. It was tested at several ground heights and control deflections. Test technique and test setup were documented. Limited results show that: (1) a small change in control power with ground height was measured, and control power was found to be good over + or - 20 deg of horizontal vane deflection; (2) integrated fuselage undersurface pressures, when compared with the total model loads and measured thrust, defined the effect of the fountain and its related flow field on model forces and moments; and (3) there was no indication of hot gas ingestion during simulated takeoff in calm winds from wheels on deck ground height.

Eshleman, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Hover in-ground-effect testing of a full-scale, tilt-nacelle V/STOL model

A full-scale, tilt-nacelle V/STOL aircraft model was tested in hover at the National Full Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC), NASA Ames Research Center. The model was powered by two TF-34 turbofan engines. It was tested at several ground heights and control deflections. Test technique and test setup were documented. Limited results show that (1) a small change in control power with ground height was measured, and control power was found to be good over + or - 20 deg of horizontal vane deflection; (2) integrated fuselage undersurface pressures, when compared with the total model loads and measured thrust, defined the effect of the fountain and its related flow field on model forces and moments; and (3) there was no indication of hot gas ingestion during simulated takeoff in calm winds from wheels on deck ground height.

Eshleman, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Ground Handling of Batteries at Test and Launch-site Facilities

Ground handling of flight as well as engineering batteries at test facilities and launch-site facilities is a safety critical process. Test equipment interfacing with the batteries should have the required controls to prevent a hazardous failure of the batteries. Test equipment failures should not induce catastrophic failures on the batteries. Transportation requirements for batteries should also be taken into consideration for safe transportation. This viewgraph presentation includes information on the safe handling of batteries for ground processing at test facilities as well as launch-site facilities.

Jeevarajan, Judith A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Discerning Trends in Performance Across Multiple Events

Mass Data is a computer program that enables rapid, easy discernment of trends in performance data across multiple flights and ground tests. The program can perform Fourier analysis and other functions for the purposes of frequency analysis and trending of all variables. These functions facilitate identification of past use of diagnosed systems and of anomalies in such systems, and enable rapid assessment of related current problems. Many variables, for computation of which it is usually necessary to perform extensive manual manipulation of raw downlist data, are automatically computed and made available to all users, regularly eliminating the need for what would otherwise be an extensive amount of engineering analysis. Data from flight, ground test, and simulation are preprocessed and stored in one central location for instantaneous access and comparison for diagnostic and trending purposes. Rules are created so that an event log is created for every flight, making it easy to locate information on similar maneuvers across many flights. The same rules can be created for test sets and simulations, and are searchable, so that information on like events is easily accessible.

Slater, Simon↗
NASA NTRS1984

An overview of the NASA rotary engine research program

A brief overview and technical highlights of the research efforts and studies on rotary engines over the last several years at the NASA Lewis Research Center are presented. The test results obtained from turbocharged rotary engines and preliminary results from a high performance single rotor engine were discussed. Combustion modeling studies of the rotary engine and the use of a Laser Doppler Velocimeter to confirm the studies were examined. An in-house program in which a turbocharged rotary engine was installed in a Cessna Skymaster for ground test studies was reviewed. Details are presented on single rotor stratified charge rotary engine research efforts, both in-house and on contract.

Meng, P. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

MD-80 aft cabin noise control: A case history

The interior noise technology program to improve the noise environment in the aft cabin of the MD-80 twin jet aircraft is discussed. Two potential noise control treatments were identified: vibration absorber devices for the airframe and for the engine. A series of ground and flight tests using in-service aircraft was then conducted. These tests showed that the vibration absorbers for the airframe and engine decreased aircraft noise significantly.

Lang, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Testing and Development of NEA Scout Solar Sail Deployer Mechanism

The Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout is a deep space CubeSat designed to use an 86 square meter solar sail to navigate to a near earth asteroid called VG 1991. The solar sail deployment mechanism aboard NEA Scout has gone through numerous design cycles and ground tests since its conception in 2014. An engineering development unit (EDU) was constructed in the spring of 2016 and since then, the NEA Scout team has completed numerous ground deployments aiming to mature the deployment system and the ground test methods used to validate that system. Testing a large, non-rigid gossamer system in 1G environments has presented its difficulties to numerous solar sailing programs before, but NEA Scout’s size, sail configuration, and budget has led the team to develop new deployment techniques and uncover new practices while improving their test methods. NEA Scout’s spooled sail and boom design differs from any solar sail design to date: a single square sail membrane spooled upon a non-circular mandrel and the booms are spooled on two separate coils. This configuration was necessitated by the 6U footprint and is not common among other solar sailing missions. The program has planned and completed 3 separate full scale sail deployments to date, with a flight sail deployment test scheduled for FY18. The sail deployment tests have helped mature flight operations plans and developed preliminary off-nominal deployment mitigation strategies. The paper entitled “Design and Development of NEA Scout Solar Sail Deployer Mechanism” was presented at the 43rd Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium. Since then, the system has matured and completed ascent vent, random vibration, boom deployment and sail deployment tests. This paper will discuss the lessons learned and advancements made while working on solar sail testing and redesign cycles.

Few, Alex↗
NASA NTRS2018

Testing and Development of NEA Scout Solar Sail Deployer Mechanism

The Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) [1] Scout is a deep space CubeSat designed to use an 86 m2 solar sail to navigate to a near earth asteroid called VG 1991. The solar sail deployment mechanism aboard NEA Scout has gone through numerous design cycles and ground tests since its conception in 2014. An engineering development unit (EDU) was constructed in the spring of 2016 and since then, the NEA Scout team has completed numerous ground deployments aiming to mature the deployment system and the ground test methods used to validate that system. Testing a large, non-rigid gossamer system in 1G environments has presented its difficulties to numerous solar sailing programs before, but NEA Scout's size, sail configuration, and budget has led the team to develop new deployment techniques and uncover new practices while improving their test methods. The program has planned and completed 5 separate full scale sail deployments to date, with a flight sail deployment test scheduled for FY18. The paper entitled "Design and Development of NEA Scout Solar Sail Deployer Mechanism" [2] was presented at the 43rd Aerospace Mechanisms Symposia. Since then, the system has matured and completed ascent vent, random vibration, boom deployment and sail deployment tests. This paper will discuss the lessons learned and advancements made while working on solar sail deployment testing and mechanical redesign cycles.

Few, Alex↗
NASA NTRS2005

Ion Engine Plume Interaction Calculations for Prototypical Prometheus 1

Prometheus 1 is a conceptual mission to demonstrate the use of atomic energy for distant space missions. The hypothetical spacecraft design considered in this paper calls for multiple ion thrusters, each with considerably higher beam energy and beam current than have previously flown in space. The engineering challenges posed by such powerful thrusters relate not only to the thrusters themselves, but also to designing the spacecraft to avoid potentially deleterious effects of the thruster plumes. Accommodation of these thrusters requires good prediction of the highest angle portions of the main beam, as well as knowledge of clastically scattered and charge exchange ions, predictions for grid erosion and contamination of surfaces by eroded grid material, and effects of the plasma plume on radio transmissions. Nonlinear interactions of multiple thrusters are also of concern. In this paper we describe two- and three-dimensional calculations for plume structure and effects of conceptual Prometheus 1 ion engines. Many of the techniques used have been validated by application to ground test data for the NSTAR and NEXT ion engines. Predictions for plume structure and possible sputtering and contamination effects will be presented.

Mandell, Myron J.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Ground Operations Aerospace Language (GOAL)

GOAL, is a test engineer oriented language designed to be used to standardize procedure terminology and as the test programming language to be used for ground checkout operations in a space vehicle launch environment. The material presented concerning GOAL includes: (1) a historical review, (2) development objectives and requirements, (3) language scope and format, and (4) language capabilities.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2001

E-4 Test Facility Design Status

Combined-cycle propulsion technology is a strong candidate for meeting NASA space transportation goals. Extensive ground testing of integrated air-breathing/rocket system (e.g., components, subsystems and engine systems) across all propulsion operational modes (e.g., ramjet, scramjet) will be needed to demonstrate this propulsion technology. Ground testing will occur at various test centers based on each center's expertise. Testing at the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center will be primarily concentrated on combined-cycle power pack and engine systems at sea level conditions at a dedicated test facility, E-4. This paper highlights the status of the SSC E-4 test Facility design.

Ryan, Harry↗
NASA NTRS1994

Subsonic aerodynamic characteristic of semispan commercial transport model with wing-mounted advanced ducted propeller operating in reverse thrust

A test was conducted in the Langley 14 by 22 Foot Subsonic Tunnel to determine the effect of the reverse-thrust flow field of a wing-mounted advanced ducted propeller on the aerodynamic characteristics of a semispan subsonic high-lift transport model. The advanced ducted propeller (ADP) model was mounted separately in position alongside the wing so that only the aerodynamic interference of the propeller and nacelle affected the aerodynamic performance of the transport model. Mach numbers ranged from 0.14 to 0.26; corresponding Reynolds numbers ranged from 2.2 to 3.9 x 10(exp 6). The reverse-thrust flow field of the ADP shielded a portion of the wing from the free-stream airflow and reduced both lift and drag. The reduction in lift and drag was a function of ADP rotational speed and free-stream velocity. Test results included ground effects data for the transport model and ADP configuration. The ground plane caused a beneficial increase in drag and an undesirable slight increase in lift. The ADP and transport model performance in ground effect was similar to performance trends observed for out of ground effect. The test results form a comprehensive data set that supports the application of the ADP engine and airplane concept on the next generation of advanced subsonic transports. Before this investigation, the engine application was predicted to have detrimental ground effect characteristics. Ground effect test measurements indicated no critical problems and were the first step in proving the viability of this engine and airplane configuration.

Applin, Zachary T.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Matlab GUI for a Fluid Mixer

The Test and Engineering Directorate at NASA John C. Stennis Space Center developed an interest to study the modeling, evaluation, and control of a liquid hydrogen (LH2) and gas hydrogen (GH2) mixer subsystem of a ground test facility. This facility carries out comprehensive ground-based testing and certification of liquid rocket engines including the Space Shuttle Main engine. A software simulation environment developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK (M/S) will allow NASA engineers to test rocket engine systems at relatively no cost. In the progress report submitted in February 2004, we described the development of two foundation programs, a reverse look-up application using various interpolation algorithms, a variety of search and return methods, and self-checking methods to reduce the error in returned search results to increase the functionality of the program. The results showed that these efforts were successful. To transfer this technology to engineers who are not familiar with the M/S environment, a four-module GUI was implemented allowing the user to evaluate the mixer model under open-loop and closed-loop conditions. The progress report was based on an udergraduate Honors Thesis by Ms. Jamie Granger Austin in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Tulane University, during January-May 2003, and her continued efforts during August-December 2003. In collaboration with Dr. Hanz Richter and Dr. Fernando Figueroa we published these results in a NASA Tech Brief due to appear this year. Although the original proposal in 2003 did not address other components of the test facility, we decided in the last few months to extend our research and consider a related pressurization tank component as well. This report summarizes the results obtained towards a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the evaluation and control of the hydrogen mixer subsystem model and for the pressurization tank each taken individually. Further research would combine the two components - mixer and tank, for a more realistic simulation tool.

Barbieri, Enrique↗
NASA NTRS2014

RL10 Engine Ability to Transition from Atlas to Shuttle/Centaur Program

A key launch vehicle design feature is the ability to take advantage of new technologies while minimizing expensive and time consuming development and test programs. With successful space launch experiences and the unique features of both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle) and Atlas/Centaur programs, it became attractive to leverage these capabilities. The Shuttle/Centaur Program was created to transition the existing Centaur vehicle to be launched from the Space Shuttle cargo bay. This provided the ability to launch heaver and larger payloads, and take advantage of new unique launch operational capabilities. A successful Shuttle/Centaur Program required the Centaur main propulsion system to quickly accommodate the new operating conditions for two new Shuttle/Centaur configurations and evolve to function in the human Space Shuttle environment. This paper describes the transition of the Atlas/Centaur RL10 engine to the Shuttle/Centaur configurations; shows the unique versatility and capability of the engine; and highlights the importance of ground testing. Propulsion testing outcomes emphasize the value added benefits of testing heritage hardware and the significant impact to existing and future programs.

Propulsion Testing↗
NASA NTRS1986

Nonlinear rotordynamics analysis

Three analytic consequences of the nonlinear Jeffcott equations are examined. The primary application of these analyses is directed toward understanding the excessive vibrations recorded in the Liquid Oxygen (LOX) pump of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) during hot firing ground testing. The first task is to provide bounds on the coefficients of the equations which delimit the two cases of numerical solution as a circle or an annulus. The second task examines the mathematical generalization to multiple forcing functions, which includes the special problems of mass imbalance, side force, rubbing, and combination of these forces. Finally, stability and boundedness of the steady-state solutions is discussed and related to the corresponding linear problem.

Day, W. B.↗