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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

Aeronautics Learning Laboratory for Science, Technology, and Research (ALLSTAR)

We finished the material development of Level 1, Level 2 and most of Level 3. We created three new galleries, one of streaming videos enabling the user to select his/her appropriate speed of Internet connectivity for better performance. The second gallery on NASA's X-series aircraft and the third is on F-series aircraft. We also completed the placement and activation of all thirteen kiosks. We added one more kiosk over the number suggested in the proposal at Baker Aviation High School - a Dade County Public School for special aviation programs. We felt that the goals of this school matched ALLSTAR's goals and that the placement of the kiosk would better help the local students become interested in the Aviation and Aeronautics field. We continue to work on the development of our "Teacher Resource Guide to ALLSTAR material" in which we tied our material into the national and Florida State standards. We finished the Florida Sunshine State standards, getting positive feedback from local and other educators who use the material on a regular basis. We had another successful workshop on October 29 th, 1997. We introduced the ALLSTAR website and kiosk to about twenty science and history teachers from Dade County Public Schools (DCPS). Most teachers were from middle schools, although we had some from elementary schools also. We provided several demonstrations of the ALLSTAR material to local schools in the Dade County Public Schools (DCPS) system. We used the ALLSTAR material with FIU's summer immersion program for FLAME students. This program includes a high number of minority students interested in science and engineering. We also presented the material at National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and National Congress on Aviation and Space Education (NCASE) conferences and will be presenting the material at the Southeast Florida Aviation Consortium (SEFAC). We provided two on-site workshops in the NSTA conference with total attended of about 70 teachers. The BBS was converted to an on-line discussion forum with a unique section on Blacks in Aviation, Prime Technologies coordinated with NASA LaRC and the Teacher Resource Centers (TRCs) for scale-up of ALLSTAR and performed live demonstrations of the software in schools and at conventions.

Levy, Cesar↗

NASA ALLSTAR Project

We finished the material development of Level 1, Level 2 and most of Level 3. We created three new galleries, one of streaming videos enabling the user to select his/her appropriate speed of Internet connectivity for better performance. The second gallery on NASA's X-series aircraft and the third is on F-series aircraft, We also completed the placement and activation of all thirteen kiosks. We added one more kiosk over the number suggested in the proposal at Baker Aviation High School - a Dade County Public School for special aviation programs. We felt that the goals of this school matched ALLSTAR's goals and that the placement of the kiosk would better help the local students become interested in the Aviation and Aeronautics field. We continue to work on the development of our "Teacher Resource Guide to ALLSTAR material" in which we tied our material into the national and Florida State standards. We finished the Florida Sunshine State standards, getting positive feedback from local and other educators who use the material on a regular basis. We had another successful workshop on October 29th, 1997. We introduced the ALLSTAR website and kiosk to about twenty science and history teachers from Dade County Public Schools (DCPS). Most teachers were from middle schools, although we had some from elementary schools also. We provided several demonstrations of the ALLSTAR material to local schools in the Dade County Public Schools (DCPS) system. We used the ALLSTAR material with FIU's summer immersion program for FLAME students. This program includes a high number of minority students interested in science and engineering. We also presented the material at National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and National Congress on Aviation and Space Education (NCASE) conferences and will be presenting the material at the Southeast Florida Aviation Consortium (SEFAC). We provided two on-site workshops in the NSTA conference with total attended of about 70 teachers. The BBS was converted to an on-line discussion forum with a unique section on Blacks in Aviation, Prime Technologies coordinated with NASA LaRC and the Teacher Resource Centers (TRCS) for scale-up of ALLSTAR and performed live demonstrations of the software in schools and at conventions.

Levy, Cesar↗

NASA Allstar Project Aeronautics Learning Laboratory for Science,Technology, and Research (Allstar)

We finished the material development of Level 1, Level 2 and most of Level 3. We created three new galleries, one of streaming videos enabling the user to select his/her appropriate speed of Internet connectivity for better performance. The second gallery on NASA's X-series aircraft and the third is on F-series aircraft. We also completed the placement and activation of all thirteen kiosks. We added one more kiosk over the number suggested in the proposal at Baker Aviation High School - a Dade County Public School for special aviation programs. We felt that the goals of this school matched ALLSTAR's goals and that the placement of the kiosk would better help the local students become interested in the Aviation and Aeronautics field. We continue to work on the development of our "Teacher Resource Guide to ALLSTAR material" in which we tied our material into the national and Florida State standards. We finished the Florida Sunshine State standards, getting positive feedback from local and other educators who use the material on a regular basis. We had another successful workshop on October 29', 1997. We introduced the ALLSTAR website and kiosk to about twenty science and history teachers from Dade County Public Schools (DCPS). Most teachers were from middle schools, although we had some from elementary schools also. We provided several demonstrations of the ALLSTAR material to local schools in the Dade County Public Schools (DCPS) system. We used the ALLSTAR material with FIU's summer immersion program for FLAME students. This program includes a high number of minority students interested in science and engineering. We also presented the material at National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and National Congress on Aviation and Space Education (NCASE) conferences and will be presenting the material at the Southeast Florida Aviation Consortium (SEFAC). We provided two on-site workshops in the NSTA conference with total attended of about 70 teachers. The BBS was converted to an on-line discussion forum with a unique section on Blacks in Aviation. Prime Technologies coordinated with NASA LARC and the Teacher Resource Centers (TRCs) for scale-up of ALLSTAR and performed live demonstrations of the software in schools and at conventions.

Levy, Cesar↗

Preparation and Properties of Nanocomposites Prepared From Shortened, Functionalized Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

As part of a continuing materials development activity, low color space environmentally stable polymeric materials that possess sufficient electrical conductivity for electrostatic charge dissipation (ESD) have been investigated. One method of incorporating sufficient electrical conductivity for ESD without detrimental effects on other polymer properties of interest (i.e., optical and thermo-optical) is through the incorporation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). However, SWNTs are difficult to fully disperse in the polymer matrix. One means of improving dispersion is by shortening and functionalizing SWNTs. While this improves dispersion, other properties (i.e., electrical) of the SWNTs can be affected which can in turn alter the final nanocomposite properties. Additionally, functionalization of the polymer matrix can also influence nanocomposite properties obtained from shortened, functionalized SWNTs. The preparation and characterization of nanocomposites fabricated from a polyimide, both functionalized and unfunctionalized, and shortened, functionalized SWNTs will be presented.

Smith, J. G., Jr.↗

Composite Javelin

In the photo at right, a unique, advanced type of javelin is undergoing "flight test." The javelin was designed to meet specifications laid down by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, but it has better stability than conventional javelins, according to college athletes who tested it. Its development incorporated aerodynamic design techniques and a composite material developed by NASA's Langley Research Center for aircraft and spacecraft.

Source record↗

Acoustic Absorption in Porous Materials

An understanding of both the areas of materials science and acoustics is necessary to successfully develop materials for acoustic absorption applications. This paper presents the basic knowledge and approaches for determining the acoustic performance of porous materials in a manner that will help materials researchers new to this area gain the understanding and skills necessary to make meaningful contributions to this field of study. Beginning with the basics and making as few assumptions as possible, this paper reviews relevant topics in the acoustic performance of porous materials, which are often used to make acoustic bulk absorbers, moving from the physics of sound wave interactions with porous materials to measurement techniques for flow resistivity, characteristic impedance, and wavenumber.

Kuczmarski, Maria A.↗

National Rocket Propulsion Materials Plan: A NASA, Department of Defense, and Industry Partnership

NASA, Department of Defense, and rocket propulsion industry representatives are working together to create a national rocket propulsion materials development roadmap. This "living document" will facilitate collaboration among the partners, leveraging of resources, and will be a highly effective tool for technology development planning. The structuring of the roadmap, and development plan, which will combine the significant efforts of the Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) Program, and NASA's Integrated Space Transportation Plan (ISTP), is being lead by the IHPRPT Materials Working Group (IMWG). The IHPRPT Program is a joint DoD, NASA, and industry effort to dramatically improve the nation's rocket propulsion capabilities. This phased program is structured with increasingly challenging goals focused on performance, reliability, and cost to effectively double rocket propulsion capabilities by 2010. The IHPRPT program is focused on three propulsion application areas: Boost and Orbit Transfer (both liquid rocket engines and solid rocket motors), Tactical, and Spacecraft. Critical to the success of this initiative is the development and application of advanced materials, processes, and manufacturing technologies. NASA's ISTP is a comprehensive strategy focusing on the aggressive safety, reliability, and affordability goals for future space transportation systems established by the agency. Key elements of this plan are the 2 nd and 3 d Generation Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV). The affordability and safety goals of these generational systems are, respectively, 10X cheaper and 100X safer by 2010, and 100X cheaper and 10,000X safer by 2025. Accomplishment of these goals requires dramatic and sustained breakthroughs, particularly in the development and the application of advanced material systems. The presentation will provide an overview of the IHPRPT materials initiatives, NASA's 2nd and 3 rd Generation RLV propulsion materials projects, and the approach for the development of the national rocket propulsion materials roadmap.

Clinton, Raymond G., Jr.↗

Metal Fused Filament Fabrication of Titanium Alloy for In Space Manufacturing

NASA is developing materials and processes for the in-space manufacturing of many items for the International Space Station (ISS) and future exploration platforms. These new manufacturing processes will require the further development of current 3D printing processes to achieve high-performance metal parts within the power and space constraints of the ISS. Manufacturing Ti-6Al-4V alloy parts with 3D printing using a metal fused filament fabrication (MF3) process is an alternative process to the Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) of the metal powders additive manufacturing process. Our initial work fabricating Ti-6Al-4V parts from Ti-6Al-4V powder-binder feedstock and processed with the MF3 process has resulted in 95-97% sintered densities. The current development work of optimized sintered properties investigates the effects of variation in sintering time, temperature, and vacuum on the sintered properties of Ti-6Al-4V MF3 printed tensile bars. Sintered properties such as density, hardness, and tensile properties were characterized followed by microstructural and chemical (O/C/N) analysis to understand the role of sintering process on the ensuing material properties. Future development of the MF3 process will also involve investigation of the effects of micro-milling the Ti-64Al-4V powder to nanometer particle sizes and the investigation of laser sintering of the 3D printed devices. This new micro-milling technique will have broad application to other areas that require particle size reduction of hard metallic materials, such as Nuclear Thermal Propulsion and other NASA technologies. Laser sintering in lieu of high temperature thermal sintering should allow for significant power reduction and improved processing speeds.

sintering, alloys, 3D printing↗

Establishing and Maintaining the Digital Thread of Additively Manufactured Materials and Applications

Additive Manufacturing (AM) and Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) are complementary enabling technologies for design and manufacturing of “fit-for-purpose” materials. Both technologies will impact rapid material design, reduction in cost- and time-to-market for new applications, and discovery and implementation of new materials. An ICME approach to design, however, requires experimentally validated material models at multiple length and time scales, an integrated framework that can connect analysis tools with one another to ensure the digital thread of an application is maintained, and the manufacturing (e.g., AM) capability to leverage processing-structure-property-performance (PSPP) relationships to achieve spatially varying material properties where desired. AM enables the implementation of the design of an optimized, spatially varying microstructure through careful selection of the processing parameters used during an additively manufactured build. In order to establish these PSPP relations, a large amount of data is necessary, and that data must be properly captured, analyzed and maintained in an information management system that can establish the required traceability between various aspects of the design process to ensure an application’s digital thread is maintained (from design to end of life). Such an information management system must be able to capture feedstock material pedigree, resulting microstructure from various build parameters, subsequent mechanical properties derived from testing, developed material models, and enable spatial variations in material assignment in an engineering application. Furthermore, the information management system should be easily integrated with traditionally engineered materials in a single, centralized platform to enable an ICME optimization tool to explore both types of manufacturing processes. At NASA GRC, a robust, 21st century materials information management system has been previously developed with a focus towards enabling ICME. In this work, GRC’s ICME schema is extended to accommodate additively manufactured materials, enabling storage of both traditionally and additively manufactured materials in the same construct. The methodology for properly capturing additively manufactured materials across the entire material lifecycle is presented, following the previously established database best practices, as a potential framework for establishing PSPP relationships for additively manufactured materials and applying them to engineering applications.

Data management↗

Advanced composite applications for sub-micron biologically derived microstructures

A major thrust of advanced material development is in the area of self-assembled ultra-fine particulate based composites (micro-composites). The application of biologically derived, self-assembled microstructures to form advanced composite materials is discussed. Hollow 0.5 micron diameter cylindrical shaped microcylinders self-assemble from diacetylenic lipids. These microstructures have a multiplicity of potential applications in the material sciences. Exploratory development is proceeding in application areas such as controlled release for drug delivery, wound repair, and biofouling as well as composites for electronic and magnetic applications, and high power microwave cathodes.

Schnur, J. M.↗

Superconductivity devices: Commercial use of space

The work described in this report covers various aspects of the Rainbow solid-state actuator technology. It is presented in six parts dealing with materials, processing, fabrication, properties and associated phenomena. The Rainbow actuator technology is a relatively new materials development which had its inception in 1992. It consists of a new processing technology for preparing piezoelectric and electrostrictive ceramic materials. It involves a high temperature chemical reduction process which leads to an internal pre-stressing of the oxide wafer, thus the name Rainbow, an acronym for Reduced And INternally Biased Oxide Wafer. Ceramics fabricated by this method produce bending-mode actuator devices which possess several times more displacement and load bearing capacity than present-day benders (unimorphs, bimorphs). It is anticipated that these solid-state, electromechanical actuators which can be used in a number of applications in space such as cryopump motors, anti-vibration active structures, autoleveling platforms, telescope mirror correctors and autofocusing devices. When considering any of these applications, the key to the development of a successful device is the successful development of a ceramic material which can produce maximum displacement per volt input; hence, this initiative involving a solid-state means for achieving unusually high electromechanical displacement can be significant and far reaching. An additional benefit obtained from employing the piezoelectric effect in these actuator devices is the ability to also utilize them as sensors; and, indeed, they can be used as both motor (actuator) and generator (sensor) in multifunction devices.

Haertling, Gene↗

Study on utilization of advanced composites in commercial aircraft wing structures, volume 2

A plan is defined for a composite wing development effort which will assist commercial transport manufacturers in reaching a level of technology readiness where the utilization of composite wing structure is a cost competitive option for a new aircraft production plan. The recommended development effort consists of two programs: a joint government/industry material development program and a wing structure development program. Both programs are described in detail.

Sakata, I. F.↗

Thermal-barrier-coated turbine blade study

The effects of coating TBC on a CF6-50 stage 2 high-pressure turbine blade were analyzed with respect to changes in the mean bulk temperature, cooling air requirements, and high-cycle fatigue. Localized spallation was found to have a possible deleterious effect on low-cycle fatigue life. New blade design concepts were developed to take optimum advantage of TBCs. Process and material development work and rig evaluations were undertaken which identified the most promising combination as ZrO2 containing 8 w/o Y2O3 applied by air plasma spray onto a Ni22Cr-10Al-1Y bond layer. The bond layer was applied by a low-pressure, high-velocity plasma spray process onto the base alloy. During the initial startup cycles the blades experienced localized leading edge spallation caused by foreign objects.

Siemers, P. A.↗

Reliability and engineering of thin-film photovoltaic modules

Objectives were to: examine thin-film cell attributes that influence module performance and reliability, explore the lessons and applicability of crystalline-silicon module technology to thin-film modules, review the current status of thin-film module technologies, and identify problem areas and needed research. A major need is to separate the effects and resons for reversible degradatin from nonreversible degradation. Amorphous-silicon (a-Si) reliability investigations are focusing on exploratory research investigations, accelerated Arrhenius-type testing of a-Si cells, real-time outdoor exposure testing of a-Si cells, cell failure analysis, and failure mechanism research. Studies included the reduction in strength of glass by high temperature depositions on glass and laser scribing, encapsulation materials development needs, and the testing of modules. The new materials and processes in thin-film modules will require a delinquent reliability effort, including: establishment of mechanism-specific reliability goals; quantification of mechanism parameter dependencies; prediction of expected long-term degradation; identification of cost-effective solutions; and testing and failure analysis of trial solutions.

Royal, E. L.↗

[Advanced Composites Technology Initiatives]

This final report closes out the W02 NASA Grant #NCC5-646. The FY02 grant for advanced technology initiatives through the Advanced Composites Technology Institute in Bridgeport, WV, at the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) Bridgeport Manufacturing Technology Center, is complete; all funding has been expended. RCBI continued to expand access to technology; develop and implement a workforce-training curriculum; improve material development; and provide prototyping and demonstrations of new and advanced composites technologies for West Virginia composites firms. The FY 02 efforts supported workforce development, technical training and the HST development effort of a super-lightweight composite carrier prototype and expanded the existing technical capabilities of the growing aerospace industry across West Virginia to provide additional support for NASA missions. Additionally, the Composites Technology and Training Center was awarded IS0 9001 - 2000 certification and Cleanroom Class 1000 certification during this report period.

Mark R. Julian↗

Maypole (Hoop/Column) concept development program

The program is divided into six tasks: preliminary design and performance; materials development; advanced concepts; economic assessment; demonstration/verification models; and a 15 meter engineering model. All support the main objective of the program which is the technology development necessary to evaluate, design, manufacture, package, transport and deploy the Hoop/Column reflector by means of a ground-based test program. Progress for each task is reported.

Sullivan, M. R.↗