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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 NTRSDate not supplied

Measuring the Wear and Abrasive Resistance of Air Plasma Sprayed Aluminum Oxide for Lunar Exploration

Lunar regolith, especially finer dust particles traveling at high velocities, can cause significant wear and abrasive damage to structural components that ensure a prolongated presence on the surface of the Moon. With the absence of an atmosphere and lower gravity than on Earth, regolith particles maintain high velocities at large distances from where they were generated, for example next to lunar landers. Wear-resistant ceramic and ceramic composite materials can improve the durability of spacecraft components during long missions on the Moon’s surface. Aluminum oxide coatings are lightweight, have multifunctional properties, and have high strength including high hardness and wear resistance. These properties can help improve the durability of structures used in space exploration. Air plasma sprayed (APS) aluminum oxide coatings have demonstrated the potential to protect critical structures. This study investigated the abrasive wear resistance of APS aluminum oxide coatings via Taber abrasion experiments. Taber abrasion offers the advantage of quantifying the abrasive wear behavior of particles with different shapes on a surface. In this work, an abrasive wheel made of silicon carbide was utilized to evaluate wear properties of specimens progressively over 5000 cycles. This experiment focused on testing two series of specimens to determine whether a bond coat composed of nickel, chromium, aluminum, and yttrium (NiCrAlY) improved the protective behavior of the APS aluminum oxide coating. The specimens varied in topcoat thickness and were made with and without an approximately 100 µm bond coat layer. The mass of the specimens was measured at 400 cycles, 800 cycles, 3800 cycles, and 5000 cycles. Increasing thickness was found to result in higher wear for samples with and without a bond coat. Increased mass loss in samples with a bond coat was observed indicating a need for further studies on the overall impact of the use of a bond coat on the protective behavior of the coatings. To continue designing wear resistant coatings for structural protection in space missions, the multifunctional properties of the APS aluminum oxide coating will be studied. Future experiments will determine whether the APS aluminum oxide coating can protect the structures from other aspects of the harsh space environment, such as extreme temperature variations and ionizing radiation.

aluminum oxide↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Space Charge Analysis Capabilities for the Evaluation of High Voltage Insulation Materials

Materials development is crucial for the advancement of electric aviation. Current research focusing on novel multifunctional materials is underway to solve the needs for aerospace systems; however, additional testing of these materials to understand their failure modes is equally critical. This project will utilize pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) instrumentation to investigate space charge accumulation of multifunctional composites and other insulation materials critical to robust high power transmission systems. Evaluating the space charge phenomena in dielectric materials will provide unique and fundamentally necessary data to determine the feasibility and lifetime of any high voltage insulation system. When electrical charge is injected into a solid dielectric, charge can accumulate and become trapped, leading to the failure of the insulation via breakdown or arcing events. This study will discuss the pulsed electroacoustic methodology and its use on evaluating various dielectric polymer and composite films.

pulsed electroacoustic↗
NASA NTRS2025

The Shape Effect: Influence of 1D and 2D Boron Nitride Nanostructures on the Radiation Shielding, Thermal, and Damping Properties of High-Temperature Epoxy Composites

In space exploration, lightweight multifunctional materials capable of shielding neutron radiation, dissipating heat, and providing damping are essential. Polymer composites reinforced with boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials—specifically one-dimensional boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and two-dimensional boron nitride nanoplatelets (BNNPs)—offer promising solutions. This study investigates how BN nanomaterial morphology influences the performance of high-temperature (HT) epoxy composites. We developed ultralightweight, three-dimensional BN foams comprising 1D BNNTs, 2D BNNPs, and hybrid 1D BNNT/2D BNNP structures via freeze-drying, then infiltrated them with HT epoxy to form dense composites. The BNNT foam exhibited the highest neutron radiation shielding, with a mass absorption coefficient of 26.64 cm2 g −1 , outperforming the hybrid foam (18.18 cm 2 g −1 ) and the BNNP foam (11.12 cm 2 g −1 ). A similar trend was observed in the HT epoxy composites; incorporating these foams at least doubled the mass absorption coefficient compared to the neat polymer. In terms of thermal conductivity, the BNNT/BNNP foam-epoxy composite achieved the highest value of 0.34 W m −1 K −1 , a 2.13-fold increase over neat HT epoxy. The BNNT/BNNP foam-epoxy composites also improved by 1.88 and 1.75 times, respectively. Mechanical testing revealed that BNNP foams withstood the highest loads during nanoindentation (3.53 kN), followed by BNNT/BNNP foams (1.93 kN) and BNNT foams (1.56 kN). All BN foam-epoxy composites exhibited enhanced damping properties, with tan δ increasing by at least 30 % compared to neat HT epoxy. These findings elucidate the impact of BN nanomaterial morphology on the multifunctional performance of HT epoxy composites, offering insights for developing high-performance, tailorable materials for demanding environments.

Kazue Orikasa↗
NASA NTRS2015

Flexible Electronics-Based Transformers for Extreme Environments

This paper provides a survey of the use of modular multifunctional systems, called Flexible Transformers, to facilitate the exploration of extreme and previously inaccessible environments. A novel dynamics and control model of a modular algorithm for assembly, folding, and unfolding of these innovative structural systems is also described, together with the control model and the simulation results.

dynamics↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modification of Hexagonal Boron Nitride with Metal Oxides

The development of multifunctional hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) materials aims to capitalize on the intrinsic properties of hBN which include being electrically insulating, thermally conductive, and chemically and thermally stable at high temperatures. The creation of novel composite materials that include these properties is required to address our current aerospace and space engineering challenges. Researchers at NASA Glenn have done significant prior work which has produced processes to intercalate, exfoliate, coat, and functionalize various hBN materials. This presentation covers our recent progress towards the integration of titanium oxides into hBN utilizing our previous methods along with optimizing and producing new methods to create novel functional hBN nanomaterials.

boron nitride↗
NASA NTRS1972

Earth orbit navigation study. Volume 2: System evaluation

An overall systems evaluation was made of five candidate navigation systems in support of earth orbit missions. The five systems were horizon sensor system, unkown landmark tracking system, ground transponder system, manned space flight network, and tracking and data relay satellite system. Two reference missions were chosen: a low earth orbit mission and a transfer trajectory mission from low earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit. The specific areas addressed in the evaluation were performance, multifunction utilization, system mechanization, and cost.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

Holographic storage of multicolor information.

Discussion of the merits of the use of holography for storing multicolor information. Holography is shown capable to provide in a compact, easily duplicated, inexpensive, and readily retrievable manner the storage capacity required for the ever growing amounts of alphanumeric, graphic, continuous tone, color, and black-and-white data generated. Following a definition of the holographic concept, the advantages of holography for multicolor information recording, indexing, registration, and reconstruction are reviewed. Special attention is given to display applications including a multicolor moving-map display, a NASA multifunction display, and an automatic-test-equipment information storage system.

Burton, G. T.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Performance improvement in remote manipulation with time delay by means of a learning system.

A teleoperating system is presented that involves shared control between a human operator and a general-purpose computer-based learning machine. This setup features a trainable control network termed the autonomous control subsystem (ACS) which is able to observe the operator's control actions, learn the task at hand, and take appropriate control actions. A working ACS system is described that has been put in operation for the purpose of exploring the uses of a remote intelligence of this type. The expansion of the present system into a multifunctional learning machine capable of a greater degree of autonomy is also discussed.

Freedy, A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A flight investigation of a terminal area navigation and guidance concept for STOL aircraft

A digital avionics system referred to as STOLAND has been test-flown in the NASA CV-340 to obtain performance data for time-controlled guidance in the manual flight director mode. The advanced system components installed in the cockpit included an electronic attitude director indicator and an electronic multifunction display. Navigation guidance and control computations were all performed in the digital computer. Approach paths were flown which included a narrow 180-deg turn and a 1-min, 5-deg straight-in approach to the 30-m altitude go-around point. Results are presented for 20 approaches: (1) blended radio/inertial navigation using TACAN and a microwave scanning beam landing guidance system (MODILS) permitted a smooth transition from area navigation (TACAN) to precision terminal navigation (MODILS), (2) guidance system (flight director) performance measured at an altitude of 30.5 m was within that prescribed for category II CTOL operations on a standard runway, and (3) time of arrival at a point about 2 mi from touchdown was about 4 sec plus or minus sec later than the computed nominal arrival time.

Smith, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Development of beam lead RF integrated circuits

This paper describes the design and development of a set of multifunction VHF/UHF integrated circuits aimed at providing a major improvement in spacecraft radio reliability through low stress operation and the processing of these circuits in beam-lead form. The methods evolved for the high frequency characterization of the devices are discussed together with the design of suitable test fixtures. Typical test results and the distribution of test parameters are presented. A unique carrier for beam-lead devices is described, and the need for such a device is discussed. The application of the carrier to device screening, burn-in and drift measurements is discussed together with the incentives for providing these capabilities. An overview of the integration of the devices into the spacecraft radio is given and candidate assembly processes are discussed. The technology impact of this approach upon future spacecraft radio systems is qualitatively examined.

Kline, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Payload specialist station study. Part 2: CEI specifications (part 1)

The performance, design, and verification specifications are established for the multifunction display system (MFDS) to be located at the payload station in the shuttle orbiter aft flight deck. The system provides the display units (with video, alphanumerics, and graphics capabilities), associated with electronic units and the keyboards in support of the payload dedicated controls and the displays concept.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1976

Payload specialist station study: Volume 2, part 3: Program analysis and planning for phase C/D

The controls and displays (C&D) required at the Orbiter aft-flight deck (AFD) and the core C&D required at the Payload Specialist Station (PSS) are identified in this document. The AFD C&D Concept consists of a multifunction display system (MFDS) and elements of multiuse mission support equipment (MMSE). The MFDS consists of two CRTs, a display electronics unit (DEU), and a keyboard. The MMSE consists of a manual pointing controller (MPC), five digit numeric displays, 10 character alphanumeric legends, event timers, analog meters, rotary and toggle switches. The MMSE may be hardwired to the experiment, or interface with a data bus at the PSS for signal processing. The MFDS has video capability, with alphanumeric and graphic overlay features, on one CRT and alphanumeric and graphic (tricolor) capability on a second CRT. The DEU will have the capability to communicate, via redundant data buses, with both the spacelab experiment and subsystem computers.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1976

Multi purpose display panel

The multi purpose panel (MPP) project was undertaken to demonstrate the feasibility of producing a control signal which could be time shared among several subsystems and which would permit rapid and inexpensive modification of control panel functions. It is intended to bridge the gap between Multifunction Display Systems, which offer excellent display flexibility but present man-machine interface problems, and dedicated control panels, which offer no flexibility. A control panel was developed with programmable displays located near enough to control and display components to provide an acceptable man-machine interface.

Source record↗