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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 253 records · Page 14

Full-Scale Wind-Tunnel Investigation of the Drag Characteristics of an HU2K Helicopter Fuselage

An investigation was conducted in the Langley full-scale tunnel to determine the drag characteristics of the HU2K helicopter fuselage. The effects of body shape, engine operation, appendages, and leakage on the model drag were determined. The results of the tests showed that the largest single contribution to the parasite drag was that of the rotor hub installation which produced about 80 percent of the drag of the sealed and faired production body. Fairings on the rotor hub and blade retentions, or a cleaned-up hub and retentions, appeared to be the most effective single modifications tested. The total drag of all protuberances and air leakage also contributed a major part of the drag - an 83-percent increase over the drag of the sealed and faired production body. An additional increment of drag was caused by the basic shape of the fuselage - 19 percent more than the drag obtained when the fuselage shape was extensively refaired. Another sizable increment of drag was caused by the engine oil-cooler exit which gave a drag of 8 percent of that of the sealed and faired production body.

Scallion, William I.↗

Blading System and Method For Controlling Structural Vibrations

A new blading system for controlling the structural vibrations in axial-flow compressors, turbines, or fans, as in aircraft engines and like turbomachines including a stator disc and a rotor disc is presented. The rotor disc defines several radial hubs that retain the rotor blading systems. Each blading system includes a blade formed of an airfoil, and a root attachment which is dimensioned to fit within, and to engage a corresponding hub. Viscoelastic dampers are selectively applied to the outer surfaces of the root attachment on which compressive or shear forces are likely to develop, intermediate the root attachment and the hub, for compression therebetween upon rotation of the rotor disc, in order to dampen structural vibrations. One advantage presented by the viscoelastic dampers lies in its simplicity, efficiency, cost effectiveness, and its ability to be retrofitted into existing turbomachines with minor surface treatment of the root attachments. Furthermore, since the dampers are not exposed to the inflowing airstream, they do not affect the aerodynamic performance of the turbomachine. Another feature of the damping system is that it provides a significant source of damping to minimize destructive structural vibrations, thereby increasing the durability of the turbomachine, and reducing acoustic noise accompanying high amplitude vibrations.

Nguyen, Nhan↗

Preliminary Planar Formation-Flight Dynamics Near Sun-Earth L2 Point

A few space agencies are planning missions to the vicinity of the Sun-Earth L(sub 2) point, some involving a distributed space system of telescope spacecraft, configured in a plane about a hub. An improved understanding is developed of the relative motion of such objects in formation flight. The telescope equations of motion are written relative to the hub, in terms of the hub s distance from L(sub 2), and an analytical solution is developed, useful for performing orbit control analysis. A halo telescope orbit is investigated, with initial conditions selected to avoid resonance excitation. An example case of the resulting solution is presented.

Segerman, Alan M.↗

The Temporal Configuration of Airline Networks

The deregulation of US aviation in 1978 resulted in the reconfiguration of airline networks into hub-and-spoke systems, spatially concentrated around a small number of central airports or 'hubs' through which an airline operates a number of daily waves of flights. A hub-and-spoke network requires a concentration of traffic in both space and time. In contrast to the U.S. airlines, European airlines had entered the phase of spatial network concentration long before deregulation. Bilateral negotiation of traffic fights between governments forced European airlines to focus their networks spatially on small number of 'national' airports. In general, these star-shaped networks were not coordinated in time. Transfer opportunities at central airports were mostly created 'by accident'. With the deregulation of the EU air transport market from 1988 on, a second phase of airline network concentration started. European airlines concentrated their networks in time by adopting or intensifying wave-system structures in their flight schedules. Temporal concentration may increase the competitive position of the network in a deregulated market because of certain cost and demand advantages.

Burghouwt, Guillaume↗

Lewis Investigates Frequency Sharing Between Future NASA Space Systems and Local Multipoint Distribution Systems in the 27-GHz Band

At the request of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the NASA Lewis Research Center undertook an intensive study to examine the feasibility of frequency sharing between future NASA space services and proposed Local Multipoint Distribution Systems (LMDS) in the 25.25- to 27.5-GHz band. This follows NASA's earlier involvement in the FCC's 1994 Negotiated Rule Making Committee which studied frequency sharing between Ka-band Fixed Satellite Services and LMDS in the 27.5- to 29.5-GHz band. LMDS is a terrestrial, cellular, wireless communication service primarily intended to provide television distribution from hub stations located within relatively small cells to fixed subscriber receivers. Some proposed systems, however, also plan to offer interactive services via subscriber-to-hub transmissions. LMDS providers anticipate that their systems will be a cost-effective alternative to cable television systems, especially in urban areas. LMDS proponents have expressed an interest in using frequencies below 27.5 GHz. NASA, however, plans to operate three types of space systems below 27.5 GHz. The H, I, and J follow-on satellites for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), which are planned for launch beginning in 1999, are designed to receive high-data-rate transmissions (up to 800 Mbps) from low-Earth orbiting "user" spacecraft in the 25.25- to 27.5-GHz band. In this case, the potential interference is the aggregate interference from LMDS transmitters (both hubs and subscribers) into the TDRSS tracking receive beams as they sweep over the Earth's surface while tracking lower altitude user spacecraft.

Source record↗

Impulsive Injection for Compressor Stator Separation Control

Flow control using impulsive injection from the suction surface of a stator vane has been applied in a low speed axial compressor. Impulsive injection is shown to significantly reduce separation relative to steady injection for vanes that were induced to separate by an increase in vane stagger angle of 4 degrees. Injected flow was applied to the airfoil suction surface using spanwise slots pitched in the streamwise direction. Injection was limited to the near-hub region, from 10 to 36 percent of span, to affect the dominant loss due to hub leakage flow. Actuation was provided externally using high-speed solenoid valves closely coupled to the vane tip. Variations in injected mass, frequency, and duty cycle are explored. The local corrected total pressure loss across the vane at the lower span region was reduced by over 20 percent. Additionally, low momentum fluid migrating from the hub region toward the tip was effectively suppressed resulting in an overall benefit which reduced corrected area averaged loss through the passage by 4 percent. The injection mass fraction used for impulsive actuation was typically less than 0.1 percent of the compressor through flow.

Culley, Dennis E.↗

Electrode support for gas arc welding torch having coaxial vision

An improved electrode mounting structure for a gas tungsten arc welding torch having a coaxial imaging system. The electrode mounting structure includes a support having a central hub and a plurality of spokes which extend from the hub generally radially with respect to the axis of the torch into supporting engagement with the interior walls of the torch. The spaces between the spokes are optical passages for transmission of light to form the image. A tubular collet holder is threadedly engaged at its upper end to the hub and extends downwardly toward the open end of the torch. The collet holder has an inwardly tapering constriction near its lower end. An electrode-retaining, tubular collet is mounted within the collet holder and has a longitudinally split and tapered end seating against the tapered constriction. A spring seats against the upper end of the collet and forces the split end against the tapered constriction to wedge the split end radially inwardly to grip the electrode within the collet.

Richardson, Richard W.↗

Expanding Regional Airport Usage to Accommodate Increased Air Traffic Demand

Small regional airports present an underutilized source of capacity in the national air transportation system. This study sought to determine whether a 50 percent increase in national operations could be achieved by limiting demand growth at large hub airports and instead growing traffic levels at the surrounding regional airports. This demand scenario for future air traffic in the United States was generated and used as input to a 24-hour simulation of the national airspace system. Results of the demand generation process and metrics predicting the simulation results are presented, in addition to the actual simulation results. The demand generation process showed that sufficient runway capacity exists at regional airports to offload a significant portion of traffic from hub airports. Predictive metrics forecast a large reduction of delays at most major airports when demand is shifted. The simulation results then show that offloading hub traffic can significantly reduce nationwide delays.

Russell, Carl R.↗

SERVIR Support to NSDI Efforts in Mesoamerica, Africa and the Himalayas

SERVIR is a joint effort between NASA, USAID to build or improve capacities in developing regions to help adaptation to climate change by taking advantage of Earth Observation data for decision making. The project began in 2004, in Mesoamerica, partnering with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development(CCAD), the World Bank and CATHALAC. CATHALAC, located in Panama, serves as the regional hub for Mesoamerica since 2005. Two additional regional hubs have been established (in Easters & Western Africa - at RCMRD, Kenya, and The Himalayas- at ICIMOD, Nepal), and two more regional hubs are soon to be launched.

Delgado, Francisco↗

Reverse Flow Engine Core Having a Ducted Fan with Integrated Secondary Flow Blades

Secondary air flow is provided for a ducted fan having a reverse flow turbine engine core driving a fan blisk. The fan blisk incorporates a set of thrust fan blades extending from an outer hub and a set of integral secondary flow blades extending intermediate an inner hub and the outer hub. A nacelle provides an outer flow duct for the thrust fan blades and a secondary flow duct carries flow from the integral secondary flow blades as cooling air for components of the reverse flow turbine engine.

Kisska, Michael K.↗

Fan Stagger Angle for Dirt Rejection

A gas turbine engine includes a spool, a turbine coupled to drive the spool, a propulsor coupled to be rotated about an axis by the turbine through the spool, and a gear assembly coupled between the propulsor and the spool such that rotation of the turbine drives the propulsor at a different speed than the spool. The propulsor includes a hub and a row of propulsor blades that extend from the hub. Each of the propulsor blades has a span between a root at the hub and a tip, and a chord between a leading edge and a trailing edge. The chord forms a stagger angle alpha with the axis, and the stagger angle alpha is less than 15 deg. at a position along the propulsor blade that is within an inboard 20% of the span.

Gallagher, Edward J.↗

RTAPS (Research and Technology for Aerospace Propulsion Systems): Simulation of Structural Loads within a Hybrid Gear Resulting From Loading at the Gear Teeth

This report investigates the practical usage of hybrid structures for rotorcraft gearing. The primary driver for utilizing hybrid structures for rotorcraft gearing is to reduce the drive system weight. The hybrid structure concept featured in this study for rotorcraft gearing consists of a metallic gear tooth-rim, a web section manufactured from composite materials, and a metallic hub. The metallic gear tooth-rim is manufactured from conventional gear steel alloys, such as AISI 9310. The gear tooth-rim attaches to the outer diameter of the web section made from composite materials. The inner diameter of the composite web can then attach to a metallic hub, completing the assembly. It is assumed that areas of the shafting or hub where rolling element bearings may ride must remain as gear steel alloys for this study.

Hybrid Structures↗

RTAPS (Research and Technology for Aerospace Propulsion Systems): Simulation of Structural Loads within a Hybrid Gear Resulting From Loading at the Gear Teeth

This report investigates the practical usage of hybrid structures for rotorcraft gearing. The primary driver for utilizing hybrid structures for rotorcraft gearing is to reduce the drive system weight. The hybrid structure concept featured in this study for rotorcraft gearing consists of a metallic gear tooth-rim, a web section manufactured from composite materials, and a metallic hub. The metallic gear tooth-rim is manufactured from conventional gear steel alloys, such as AISI 9310. The gear tooth-rim attaches to the outer diameter of the web section made from composite materials. The inner diameter of the composite web can then attach to a metallic hub, completing the assembly. It is assumed that areas of the shafting or hub where rolling element bearings may ride must remain as gear steel alloys for this study.

Naffin, Richard K.↗

Shake Test Results and Dynamic Characterization of the Large Rotor Test Apparatus in the NFAC 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel

Prior to the full-scale wind tunnel test of the UH-60A Airloads rotor, a shake test was completed on the Large Rotor Test Apparatus. The goal of the shake test was to characterize the oscillatory response of the test rig and provide a dynamic calibration of the balance to permit accurate measurement of vibratory hub loads. This paper provides a summary of the shake test results, including balance, shaft bending gauge, and accelerometer measurements. Sensitivity to hub mass and angle of attack were investigated during the shake test. Hub mass was found to have an important impact on the vibratory forces and moments measured at the balance, especially near the UH-60A 4/rev frequency. Comparisons were made between the accelerometer data and an existing finite-element model, showing agreement on mode shapes, but not on natural frequencies. The results suggest that the shake test data can be used to correct in-plane loads measurements up to 10 Hz and normal loads up to 30 Hz.

Shake Test↗

A Design Methodology for Optimizing and Integrating Composite Materials in Gear Structures

The application of composite materials to gear structures is complex because of the gear shape, the need for precise dimensional tolerances, and the complex dynamic load condition. Methods are presented in this work to design and optimize an integrated composite hub-web structure that can be used as part of a hybrid composite-steel gear. The composite hub-web structure is a planar structure with a large decrease in thickness from the hub to the rim. Methods for design and optimization of this variable-thickness structure are presented along with a method for forming braided prepreg material to conform to the shape of this structure. A layered approach is presented that integrates cut plies or filler materials for thickness buildup with continuous-fiber layers for the primary load path. An additional gear design concept is presented that has an axially extended continuous-fiber composite structure that can be combined with the planar structure. A proposed optimization methodology is introduced where an optimized design is output for each type of optimization simulation. Through this process, composite knowledge can be incorporated in the optimization, and more control is given over the design during the process. The methods in this study provide a tool for designing and optimizing composite structures for gears and other high-power-density applications.

optimization↗

HelioSwarm: The Swarm is the Observatory

HelioSwarm will transform our understanding of space plasma turbulence by being the first-of-its-kind simultaneous, multiscale observatory comprising multiple spacecraft. HelioSwarm was competitively selected under the Heliophysics Explorers Program 2019 Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX) Announcement of Opportunity. The central powered-ESPA hub spacecraft is co-orbited by eight SmallSat Node spacecraft, together moving through a High Earth Orbit to obtain data in various solar wind regimes. The mission architecture is that of hub-and-spoke, with the larger hub serving as a communications relay between the nodes and DSN. Mission operations, management, and technical oversight are provided by NASA Ames Research Center; the spacecraft are provided by Northrop Grumman and BCT. The instrument suite includes foreign-contributed instruments and U.S. ones, all under the oversight of University of New Hampshire (which is also the Principal Investigator’s home institution and Science Operations Center). The mission timeline from launch through conclusion of the one-year science mission is provided along with a summarized concept of operations, with particular emphasis on placing the nodes in their proper relative orbit loops to form the geometry needed for science collection at apogee. A brief discussion of how a combination of legacy tools and custom-created swarm analysis tools are used to design the swarm and sort and visualize the collected science data and telemetry in context is provided. Finally, an exploration of the pathfinding nature of HelioSwarm and some implications for future large scientific swarms is offered.

Heliophysics↗

HelioSwarm: The Swarm is the Observatory

The HelioSwarm Mission will transform our understanding of space plasma turbulence by being the first-of-its-kind simultaneous, multiscale observatory comprising multiple spacecraft. HelioSwarm was competitively selected under the Heliophysics Explorers Program 2019 Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX) Announcement of Opportunity. The central powered-ESPA Hub spacecraft is co-orbited by eight SmallSat Node spacecraft, together moving through a High Earth Orbit to obtain data in various solar wind regimes. The mission architecture is that of hub-and-spoke, with the larger hub serving as a communications relay between the Nodes and DSN. Mission operations, management, and technical oversight are provided by NASA Ames Research Center; the spacecraft are provided by Northrop Grumman and BCT. The instrument suite includes foreign-contributed instruments and U.S. ones, all under the oversight of University of New Hampshire (which is also the Principal Investigator’s home institution and Science Operations Center). The mission timeline from launch through conclusion of the one-year science mission is provided along with a summarized concept of operations, with particular emphasis on placing the Nodes in their proper relative orbit loops to form the geometry needed for science collection at apogee. A brief discussion of how a combination of legacy tools and custom-created swarm analysis tools are used to design the swarm and sort and visualize the collected science data and telemetry in context is provided. Finally, an exploration of the pathfinding nature of HelioSwarm and some implications for future large scientific swarms is offered.

Heliophysics↗

An ALMA Glimpse of Dense Molecular Filaments Associated with High-mass Protostellar Systems in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Recent millimeter/submillimeter facilities have revealed the physical properties of filamentary molecular clouds in relation to high-mass star formation. A uniform survey of the nearest, face-on star-forming galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), complements the Galactic knowledge. We present ALMA survey data with a spatial resolution of ∼0.1 pc in the 0.87 mm continuum and HCO+ (4–3) emission toward 30 protostellar objects with luminosities of 104–105.5L⊙ in the LMC. The spatial distributions of the HCO+ (4–3) line and thermal dust emission are well correlated, indicating that the line effectively traces dense, filamentary gas with an H2 volume density of ≳105 cm−3 and a line mass of ∼103–104M⊙ pc−1. Furthermore, we obtain an increase in the velocity line widths of filamentary clouds, which follows a power-law dependence on their H2 column densities with an exponent of ∼0.5. This trend is consistent with observations toward filamentary clouds in nearby star-forming regions within ≲1 kpc from us and suggests enhanced internal turbulence within the filaments due to surrounding gas accretion. Among the 30 sources, we find that 14 are associated with hub-filamentary structures, and these complex structures predominantly appear in protostellar luminosities exceeding ∼5 × 104L⊙. The hub-filament systems tend to appear in the latest stages of their natal cloud evolution, often linked to prominent H II regions and numerous stellar clusters. Our preliminary statistics suggest that the massive filaments accompanied by hub-type complex features may be a necessary intermediate product in forming extremely luminous high-mass stellar systems capable of ultimately dispersing the parent cloud.

Marta M Sewilo↗