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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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The finite element machine is a prototype computer designed to support parallel solutions to structural analysis problems. The hardware architecture and support software for the machine, initial solution algorithms and test applications, and preliminary results are described.
The Finite Element Machine at the NASA Langley Research Center is a prototype computer designed to support parallel solutions to structural analysis problems. The hardware architecture and support software for the machine, initial solution algorithms and test applications, and preliminary results are described. Directions for future work are presented.
The rod seal in the Stirling engine has the function of separating high pressure gas from low or ambient pressure oil. An experimental apparatus was designed to measure the oil film thickness distribution for an elastomeric seal in a reciprocating application. Tests were conducted on commercial elastomeric seals having a 76 mm rod and a 3.8 mm axial width. Test conditions included 70 and 90 seal durometers, a sliding velocity of 0.8 m/sec, and a zero pressure gradient across the seal. An acrylic cylinder and a typical synthetic base automotive lubricant were used. The experimental results showed that the effect of seal hardness on the oil film thickness is considerable. A comparison between analytical and experimental oil film profiles for an elastomeric seal during relatively high speed reciprocating motion showed an overall qualitative agreement.
The present investigation is concerned with the significance of the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for the Space Shuttle. On the basis of a study regarding the use of the GPS on the Space Shuttle, it was decided that such a system would greatly benefit Space Shuttle navigation. Studies with GPS user equipment were, therefore, conducted to obtain data and information which would provide a base for the formulation and the further refinement of NASA requirements with respect to the type of set the Shuttle would need. Attention is given to orbit determination, satellite numbers, background information concerning the GPS, the currently available GPS sets, the conducted studies, Shuttle sonic boom recording sites, tests performed with the aid of the Kuiper airborne observatory, and questions regarding the test applicability to Shuttle GPS.
A new flight test technique using a maneuver autopilot is being applied at the Dryden Flight Research Facility of the NASA Ames Research Center. The flight test maneuver autopilot (FTMAP) is designed to provide precise, repeatable control of an aircraft during certain prescribed maneuvers so that a large quantity of high quality test data can be obtained with a minimum of flight time. This paper discusses the control algorithms, the flight test application, and the preliminary flight demonstration results of the FTMAP.
This paper presents the development of a test technique for revalidation of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Main Propulsion System during ground turnaround operations between flights of the Space Transportation System (STS). The Main Propulsion System consists of the three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME's) and the Main Propulsion System (MPS) connecting the SSME's to the orbiter/ground and orbiter/External Tank (ET) interfaces. The Helium Signature Test (HST) performs an end-to-end leak check of the MPS/SSME subsystems that serves as a final validation of those systems for reuse. The test was initially developed during the ground processing flow prior to the STS-6 launch of orbiter Challenger. The test was developed to fulfill a requirement for an overall subsystem leak check as a result of experience gained during the STS-6 Challenger Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) series, during which leaks were encountered in the SSME's that were not detected by routine fluid joint leak checks. The HST technique is described in detail, including orbiter and test equipment configuration, and compared to other leak detection methods used to revalidate MPS/SSME systems for reuse. The HST data base accumulated since STS-6 is summarized and future test applications are described.
In order to produce small droplets for icing cloud simulation, high pressure air atomizing nozzles are used. For certain icing testing applications, median drop sizes as small as 5 mm are needed, which require air atomizing pressures greater than 3000 kPa. Isentropic expansion of the ambient temperature atomizing air to atmospheric pressure can result in air stream temperatures of -160 C which results in ice crystals forming in the cloud. To avoid such low temperatures, it is necessary to heat the air and water to high initial temperatures. An icing spray research program was conducted to map the temperatures below which ice crystals form. A soot slide technique was used to determine the presence of crystals in the spray.
Described is a program for development of coolant passage geometries, material systems, and joining processes that will produce long-life hydrogen-cooled structures for scramjet applications. Tests were performed to establish basic material properties, and samples constructed and evaluated to substantiate fabrication processes and inspection techniques. Results of the study show that the basic goal of increasing the life of hydrogen-cooled structures two orders of magnitude relative to that of the Hypersonic Research Engine can be reached with available means. Estimated life is 19000 cycles for the channels and 16000 cycles for pin-fin coolant passage configurations using Nickel 201. Additional research is required to establish the fatigue characteristics of dissimilar-metal coolant passages (Nickel 201/Inconel 718) and to investigate the embrittling effects of the hydrogen coolant.
Energy conservation and aerodynamic efficiency are the driving forces behind research into methods to reduce turbulent skin friction drag on aircraft fuselages. Fuselage skin friction reductions as small as 10 percent provide the potential for a 250 million dollar per year fuel savings for the commercial airline fleet. One passive drag reduction concept which is relatively simple to implement and retrofit is that of longitudinally grooved surfaces aligned with the stream velocity. These grooves (riblets) have heights and spacings on the order of the turbulent wall streak and burst dimensions. The riblet performance (8 percent net drag reduction thus far), sensitivity to operational/application considerations such as yaw and Reynolds number variation, an alternative fabrication technique, results of extensive parametric experiments for geometrical optimization, and flight test applications are summarized.
A method is presented which gives robot designers a starting point for designing 'optimal' robots for space applications. Test results on a robot kinematically similar to a Puma 560 are summarized, indicating the inadequacies of current kinematic design. The work that still needs to be done to achieve a full, working system is described.
In order to produce small droplets for icing cloud simulation, high pressure air atomizing nozzles are used. For certain icing testing applications, median drop sizes as small as 5 mm are needed, which require air atomizing pressures greater than 3000 kPa. Isentropic expansion of the ambient temperature atomizing air to atmospheric pressure can result in air stream temperatures of -160 C which results in ice crystals forming in the cloud. To avoid such low temperatures, it is necessary to heat the air and water to high initial temperatures. An icing spray research program was conducted to map the temperatures below which ice crystals form. A soot slide technique was used to determine the presence of crystals in the spray.
A binary synaptic matrix chip has been developed for electronic neural networks. The matrix chip contains a programmable 32X32 array of 'long channel' NMOSFET binary connection elements implemented in a 3-micron bulk CMOS process. Since the neurons are kept off-chip, the synaptic chip serves as a 'cascadable' building block for a multi-chip synaptic network as large as 512X512 in size. As an alternative to the programmable NMOSFET (long channel) connection elements, tailored thin film resistors are deposited, in series with FET switches, on some CMOS test chips, to obtain the weak synaptic connections. Although deposition and patterning of the resistors require additional processing steps, they promise substantial savings in silicon area. The performance of synaptic chip in a 32-neuron breadboard system in an associative memory test application is discussed.
The feasibility of using a contoured honeycomb model to generate a thick boundary layer in high-speed, compressible flow was investigated. The contour of the honeycomb was tailored to selectively remove momentum in a minimum of streamwise distance to create an artificially thickened turbulent boundary layer. Three wind tunnel experiments were conducted to verify the concept. Results indicate that this technique is a viable concept, especially for high-speed inlet testing applications. In addition, the compactness of the honeycomb boundary layer simulator allows relatively easy integration into existing wind tunnel model hardware.
Development of the Sandia Transportable Triggered Lightning Instrumentation Facility (SATTLIF) was motivated by a requirement for the in situ testing of a munitions storage bunker. Transfer functions relating the incident flash currents to voltages, currents, and electromagnetic field values throughout the structure will be obtained for use in refining and validating a lightning response computer model of this type of structure. A preliminary shakedown trial of the facility under actual operational conditions was performed during summer of 1990 at the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) rocket-triggered lightning test site. A description is given of the SATTLIF, which is readily transportable on a single flatbed truck of by aircraft, and its instrumentation for measuring incident lightning channel currents and the responses of the systems under test. Measurements of return-stroke current peaks obtained with the SATTLIF are presented. Agreement with data acquired on the same flashes with existing KSC instrumentation is, on average, to within approximately 7 percent. Continuing currents were measured with a resolution of approximately 2.5 A. This field trial demonstrated the practicality of using a transportable triggered lightning facility for specialized test applications.
This paper describes a shear test method for polymers and composite materials, based on the Iosipescu (1967) shear test which was originally developed for use with homogeneous isotropic metals. Special attention is given to the loading fixture for the test, the standard specimen design and shear stress measurements. The range of the test applications is indicated. The method is in the final stages of being accepted as an ASTM standard.
Dynamic simulation of compressor and gas turbine performance is useful in a variety of design, analysis, and test applications. Mathematical models employing estimated or experimentally-derived component characteristics have been widely used, especially for near-design-point studies of acceleration and deceleration transients and control strategies. With recent progress in simulation methods and computational power, it has become possible to build models with detail at the stage level, and with fundamental fluid mechanics input. Such models are more useful because of the ability to study the details of inter-component flow property behavior during machine transients, even including stall and surge. Dynamic performance simulation models are discussed with emphasis on the fundamental principles of the models and the methods used to represent component and stage flow characteristics. Results of several simulations of the dynamic behavior of multistage compressors are shown with comparisons to experimental data. Possibilities for advanced computational techniques for near-real-time simulations of compressors and gas turbines are reviewed.
An iterative method based on the use of approximate transfer operators, which was designed initially to solve multilevel NLTE line formation problems in stellar atmospheres, is adapted and applied to the solution of the NLTE molecular band radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres. The matrices to be constructed and inverted are much smaller than those used in the traditional Curtis matrix technique, which makes possible the treatment of more realistic problems using relatively small computers. This technique converges much more rapidly than straightforward iteration between the transfer equation and the equations of statistical equilibrium. A test application of this new technique to the solution of NLTE radiative transfer problems for optically thick and thin bands (the 4.3 micron CO2 band in the Venusian atmosphere and the 4.7 and 2.3 micron CO bands in the earth's atmosphere) is described.
A porous electrode modeling technique is discussed which is considered a viable means for quantitatively predicting Ni-Cd cell performance. The authors describe the integration of the cell model into a battery model useful in the design and operation of aerospace applications. Test data from a sealed boilerplate cell are presented for constant current charge and discharge conditions. Performance predictions for similar cases have been performed, and a comparison to the boilerplate data is made. Areas for further development are also noted.