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Results for “Refractory material”

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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Organic Entrainment and Preservation in Volcanic Glasses

Unaltered pyroclastic deposits have previously been deemed to have "low" potential for the formation, concentration and preservation of organic material on the Martian surface. Yet volcanic glasses that have solidified very quickly after an eruption may be good candidates for containment and preservation of refractory organic material that existed in a biologic system pre-eruption due to their impermeability and ability to attenuate UV radiation. Analysis using NanoSIMS of volcanic glass could then be performed to both deduce carbon isotope ratios that indicate biologic origin and confirm entrainment during eruption. Terrestrial contamination is one of the biggest barriers to definitive Martian organic identification in soil and rock samples. While there is a greater potential to concentrate organics in sedimentary strata, volcanic glasses may better encapsulate and preserve organics over long time scales, and are widespread on Mars. If volcanic glass from many sites on Earth could be shown to contain biologically derived organics from the original environment, there could be significant implications for the search for biomarkers in ancient Martian environments.

glass from lava domes↗
NASA NTRS1966

Fibers of newly developed refractory ceramics produced by improved process

Rods of refractory ceramic material and glasses having relatively high fusion temperatures and tensile strengths are converted to fiber by subjecting these rods to alternate fusion and gas-jet bursts. The refractory, high tensile strength fibers produced are combined with suitable binder to produce heat-resistant fabrics and rigid structures.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1991

Bioregenerative technologies for waste processing and resource recovery in advanced space life support system

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) for producing oxygen, water, and food in space will require an interactive facility to process and return wastes as resources to the system. This paper examines the bioregenerative techologies for waste processing and resource recovery considered for a CELSS Resource Recovery system. The components of this system consist of a series of biological reactors to treat the liquid and solid material fractions, in which the aerobic and anaerobic reactors are combined in a block called the Combined Reactor Equipment (CORE) block. The CORE block accepts the human wastes, kitchen wastes, inedible refractory plant materials, grey waters from the CELLS system, and aquaculture solids and processes these materials in either aerobic or anaerobic reactors depending on the desired product and the rates required by the integrated system.

Chamberland, Dennis↗
NASA NTRS1988

Making Smaller Microshells From Refractory Metals

Tendency toward gas porosity exploited. Falling through drop tube, fine drops of molten metal lose heat to surroundings, forming hard shells around precipitated gas. Second heating/cooling cycle in drop tube of lower pressure lets gas expand. Process produces smaller shells in greater variety of materials than possible with such current processes as based on hollow-jet instability, dry-chemical blowing or fluid-droplet drying. Shell aspect ratio (ratio of radius to wall thickness) controllable. New process makes shells having diameters smaller than 100 micrometer. There are several candidate shell materials including refractory metals.

Lee, Mark C.↗
NASA NTRS1962

RE-ENTRY MATERIALS

The major requirement for a re-entry material is that it protect the vehicle from the aerodynamic heating associated with re-entry. A relatively short time ago, the term re-entry brought to mind a ballistic type trajectory and its characteristic heat pulse. Today, however, a variety of thermal re-entry conditions are common due to the various types of vehicles currently of interest. Extremes of re-entry heating-time conditions vary from the relatively low heat flux-long time pulse associated with glide and shallow orbital re-entries through high flux-short time ballistic re-entry to the very high heat flux-moderate time pulse associated with super orbital re-entry. Materials for providing thermal protection, therefore, vary considerably depending upon the type of reentry heat-time pulse. From a functional standpoint, thermal protection materials may be divided into two types; absorptive and radiative. The absorptive material dissipates heat by storage (heat sink) or mass transfer and chemical change (ablation, transpiration or sublimation).

Thermal protection↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

HF Vapor Etching for Stardust Particle Extraction: A Progress Report

The Stardust mission captured thousands of particles from Jupiter-family comet 81P/Wild 2 using aluminum foil and silica aerogel collection media [1]. Most studies of Wild 2 material examine refractory terminal particles >1 μm in diameter which are extracted individually from the ends of tracks produced by the particle’s impact into the aerogel medium. A substantial (>65 %) mass fraction of the impactors is present as fine-grained (i.e. <1 μm) material in the ‘bulb’ and walls of the tracks, which may contain preserved organic material and presolar grains [2]. Few presolar grains have been identified in Stardust samples, which has been interpreted as owing to destruction upon impact into the foils and preferential sampling of terminal particles rather than a lack of presolar grains in Wild 2 samples [3-5]. By isolating the fine-grained material from these bulbs and performing microbeam and isotopic analyses (i.e., scanning electron microscopy and NanoSIMS), organic matter and presolar grains can be identified and constraints can be placed on the constituents of primitive outer solar system materials.

Stardust↗
NASA NTRS2006

Materials Development for Hypersonic Flight Vehicles

The DARPA/Air Force Falcon program is planning to flight test several hypersonic technology vehicles (HTV) in the next several years. A Materials Integrated Product Team (MIPT) was formed to lead the development of key thermal protection system (TPS) and hot structures technologies. The technologies being addressed by the MIPT are in the following areas: 1) less than 3000 F leading edges, 2) greater than 3000 F refractory composite materials, 3) high temperature multi-layer insulation, 4) acreage TPS, and 5) high temperature seals. Technologies being developed in each of these areas are discussed in this paper.

Glass, David E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

A ceramic nozzle for the NASA-Langley 2.4-m /8.0-ft/ high temperature structures tunnel

Two materials, a refractory castable ceramic and a SiO2-SiO2 composite, were fabricated as nozzle inserts for the Langley Research Center's 2.4-m (8.0-ft) high temperature structures tunnel. The high pressure and intense heat of the CH4-air products of the combustion-gas stream limits the materials that can be used in this tunnel. The castable-ceramic material showed good resistance to erosion and the thermal loads imposed on it by the gas stream but failed in tension when subjected to high hoop stresses. The SiO2-SiO2-composite nozzle insert withstood the thermomechanical loads but eroded unacceptably with increasing test temperature and pressure.

Buckley, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Emittance Measurements Relevant to a 250 W(sub t) Class RTPV Generator for Space Exploration

A proposed 250 Wt Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (RTPV) power system for utilization in lunar exploration and the subsequent exploration of Mars is described. Details of emitter selection are outlined for use in a maintenance free power supply that is productive over a 14-year mission life. Thorough knowledge of a material s spectral emittance is essential for accurate modeling of the RTPV system. While sometimes treated as a surface effect, emittance involves radiation from within a material. This creates a complex thermal gradient which is a combination of conductive and radiative heat transfer mechanisms. Emittance data available in the literature is a valuable resource but it is particular to the test sample s physical characteristics and the test environment. Considerations for making spectral emittance measurements relevant to RTPV development are discussed. Measured spectral emittance data of refractory emitter materials is given. Planned measurement system modifications to improve relevance to the current project are presented.

Wolford, Dave↗
NASA NTRS2005

Performance Assessment of Refractory Concrete Used on the Space Shuttle's Launch Pad

The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) maintains several facilities for launching space vehicles. During recent launches it has been observed that the refractory concrete materials that protect the steel-framed flame duct are breaking away from this base structure and are being projected at high velocities. There is significant concern that these projected pieces can strike the launch complex or space vehicle during the launch, jeopardizing the safety of the mission. A qualification program is in place to evaluate the performance of different refractory concretes and data from these tests have been used to assess the performance of the refractory concretes. However, there is significant variation in the test results, possibly making the existing qualification test program unreliable. This paper will evaluate data from past qualification tests, identify potential key performance indicators for the launch complex, and will recommend a new qualification test program that can be used to better qualify refractory concrete.

Trejo, David↗
NASA NTRS1991

Irradiation effects on comets and cometary debris

Experimental results obtained over the past 10 years on the chemical and physical changes induced by ion and electron irradiation of materials relevant to comets are reviewed, and their physical interpretation and their relevance for cometary astrophysics are addressed. Four phases of the irradiation history are considered: the precometary phase, the accretion phase, the cometary phase, and the postcometary phase. The relevant applications of laboratory results are reviewed. The ability of ion irradiation of simple carbon-containing ices to produce complex refractory organic materials is discussed. In the Oort cloud, this process can occur several meters into the surface, so that the buildup of a stable organic crust may occur. Ion irradiation at various stages is compared with other models for the production of organics.

Strazzulla, G.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Modifications of comet materials by the sublimation process: Results from simulation experiments

An active comet like comet Halley loses by sublimation a surface layer of the order of 1 m thickness per perihelion passage. In situ measurements show that water ice is the main constituent which contributes to the gas emission although even more volatile species (CO, NH3, CH4, CO2 etc.) have been identified. Dust particles which were embedded in the ices are carried by the sublimating gases. Measurements of the chemical composition of cometary grains indicate that they are composed of silicates of approximate chondritic composition and refractory carbonaceous material. Comet simulation experiments show that significant modifications of cometary materials occur due to sublimation process in near surface layers which have to be taken into account in order to derive the original state of the material.

Gruen, E.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Toward an In-Depth Material Model for Cermet Nuclear Thermal Rocket Fuel Elements

The development and qualification of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) fuel element technologies would be aided by an in-depth model of material response and failure modes at operating conditions. Integrated computational materials engineering techniques have the potential to provide such a model, as demonstrated here through three case studies focused on a tungsten-uranium mononitride cermet fuel. The first case focuses on the erosion of tungsten (W, also named wolfram), a nominal coating/cladding material, in hot hydrogen. Ab initio techniques are used to calculate erosion rates and thermal expansion at NTP operating conditions. The second focuses on the stability of uranium mononitride (UN) fuels at high temperature and in the presence of hydrogen. Phase diagram techniques reveal potential instabilities and decomposition pathways at high hydrogen concentrations. The third focuses on using microstructure information to predict high temperature mechanical response and failure of tungsten, used in refractory cermet materials. Combined finite element and discrete dislocation dynamics techniques provide mechanical properties in agreement with experimental methods. The integration of these techniques for an all-encompassing material model is discussed.

cermet↗