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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 271 records · Page 15

Prediction of Airplane Sonic-Boom Pressure Fields

This paper presents a discussion of the sensitivity of supersonic-transport design and operation to sonic-boom considerations and shows the necessity for a study of these problems early in the development program. Methods of predicting pressure signatures are outlined and examples of the correlation of these estimates with wind-tunnel and flight measurements are shown. Estimates of sonic-boom characteristics for a representative supersonic transport show that in the critical transonic acceleration portion of the flight, overpressures somewhat lower than estimated by the use of far-field assumptions may be expected. Promising design possibilities for the achievement of further overpressure reductions are explored.

Carlson, Harry W.↗

Rapid In Situ Ligand‐Exchange Process Used to Prepare 3D PbSe Nanocrystal Superlattice Infrared Photodetectors

Abstract Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals are important building blocks for low‐cost, solution‐processed electronic devices with tunable functionalities. Considerable progress is made in improving charge transport through nanocrystal films by exchanging long insulating ligands with shorter passivating ligands. To take full advantage of this strategy, it is equally important to fabricate close‐packed structures that reduce the average interparticle spacing. Yet it remains a challenge to retain long‐range, close‐packed order after ligand exchange. Here, a novel one‐step in situ ligand‐exchange method is demonstrated that enables rapid (5 min) ligand exchange of nanocrystal films, which are more than 50 layers thick. Using this simple and efficient method, it is shown that the face‐centered cubic ordering of 500 nm thick PbSe nanocrystal films is retained after ligand exchange from oleic acid to benzoic acid. Moreover, it is demonstrated that PbSe nanocrystal photodetectors with a well‐ordered structure have superior optoelectronic properties compared to disordered films; ordered films have a 16× higher responsivity of ≈0.25 A W −1 at 1 V and a 2× faster response time. As far as it is known, this is the first report to realize a rapid one‐step ligand exchange through a thick superlattice film with retention of long‐range order.

infrared detecton↗

The 3D printing and modeling of functionally graded Kelvin foams for controlling crushing performance

Mechanical impact protection is an important consideration in many applications, ranging from product transportation to sports. Cellular materials are typically used due to their desirable energy absorption properties and light weight. However, their large deformation and rate dependent responses (especially of polymer foams) are challenging to consider in design. Additionally, the use of foams with uniform properties, such as uniform density and uniform stiffness, often restricts the designed foams to only be suitable for a narrow range of mechanical impact conditions whereas real applications commonly face unpredictable situations. 3D printing offers fabrication flexibility and thus opens the door to create foams with tailored properties. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of using 3D printing for functionally graded foams (FGFs) that are optimal over a broad range of mechanical environments. The foams are fabricated by the recently developed grayscale digital light processing (g-DLP) method which can print parts with locally designed properties. These foams are tested under drop test conditions and with slower displacement control. We also model the large deformation behavior of FGFs using finite element analysis in which we account for the different viscoelastic behaviors of the distinct grayscale regions. We then use the model to examine the impact mitigation capabilities of FGFs in different loading scenarios. Finally, we show how FGFs can be used to satisfy real-world design goals using the case study of a motorcycle helmet. In contrast to prior work, we investigate continuous, functionally graded foams of a single density that differ in their viscoelastic responses. This work provides further insight into the benefits of viscoelastic properties and modulus graded foams and presents a manufacturing approach that can be used to produce the next generation of flexible lattice foams as mechanical absorbers.

3D printing↗

Solar energy system performance evaluation. Seasonal report for Colt Pueblo, Pueblo, Colorado

The Colt-Pueblo solar energy system, designed to provide space heating and hot water preheating, is described and its operational performance for a 12 month period from February 1979 through January 1980 is evaluated. The space heating subsystem met 31 percent of the measured space heating load which was close to the expected 34 percent solar fraction. Although the hot water solar fraction was 79 percent, the overall energy saving capability was reduced because of the low hot water demand. The measured heating subsystem performance would have improved considerably if the uncontrolled losses primarily from transport piping could have been reduced to an inconsequential level. Fossil energy savings of 70.31 million BTUs are estimated.

Source record↗

Transport of water through the tropical tropopause

Total water was measured in the high troposphere and low stratosphere over Panama during ten aircraft flights. The results show that convective storms provide the means of transporting water into the stratosphere. From a consideration of the anvil heights over different areas of the tropical zone, it follows that a negative gradient of water vapor mixing ratio with altitude must exist over most of the lower stratosphere.

Kley, D.↗

Status of advanced orbital transfer propulsion

A new Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) propulsion system that will be used in conjunction with the Space Shuttle, Space Station and Orbit Maneuvering Vehicle is discussed. The OTV will transfer men, large space structures and conventional payloads between low Earth and higher energy orbits. Space probes carried by the OTV will continue the exploration of the solar system. When lunar bases are established, the OTV will be their transportation link to Earth. Critical engine design considerations based upon the need for low cost payload delivery, space basing, reusability, aeroassist maneuvering, low g transfers of large space structures and man rating are described. The importance of each of these to propulsion design is addressed. Specific propulsion requirements discussed are: (1) high performance H2/O2 engine; (2) multiple engine configurations totalling no more than 15,000 lbf thrust 15 to 20 hr life; (3) space maintainable modular design; (4) health monitoring capability; and (5) safety and mission success with backup auxiliary propulsion.

Cooper, L. P.↗

Status of advanced orbital transfer propulsion

A new Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) propulsion system that will be used in conjunction with the Space Shuttle, Space Station and Orbit Maneuvering Vehicle is discussed. The OTV will transfer men, large space structures and conventional payloads between low earth and higher energy orbits. Space probes carried by the OTV will continue the exploration of the solar system. When lunar bases are established, the OTV will be their transportation link to earth. Critical engine design considerations based upon the need for low cost payload delivery, space basing, reusability, aeroassist maneuvering, low g transfers of large space structures and man rating are described. The importance of each of these to propulsion design is addressed. Specific propulsion requirements discussed are: (1) high performance H2/O2 engine; (2) multiple engine configurations totalling no more than 15,000 lbf thrust 15 to 20 hr life; (3) space maintainable modular design; (4) health monitoring capability; and (5) safety and mission success with backup auxiliary propulsion.

Cooper, L. P.↗

Telerobotic technology for nuclear and space applications

Developments in telerobotics applicable to nuclear and space environments are discussed. The advanced servomanipulator (ASM) slave arm force-reflected servomanipulators designed for modular remote maintainability of the Advanced Integrated Maintenance System is examined. Consideration is given to the master controller, transporter, interface package, operator control station, and the control system for the ASM arm. A prototype of a telerobot capable of performing the activity of an astronaut during EVA is developed. The mechanical and control system features of the telerobot are described.

Herndon, J. N.↗

Space Station Information System - Concepts and international issues

The Space Station Information System (SSIS) is outlined in terms of its functions and probable physical facilities. The SSIS includes flight element systems as well as existing and planned institutional systems such as the NASA Communications System, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, and the data and communications networks of the international partners. The SSIS strives to provide both a 'user friendly' environment and a software environment which will allow for software transportability and interoperability across the SSIS. International considerations are discussed as well as project management, software commonality, data communications standards, data security, documentation commonality, transaction management, data flow cross support, and key technologies.

Williams, R. B.↗

Higher order turbulence closure models

Theoretical models are developed and numerical studies conducted on various types of flows including both elliptic and parabolic. The purpose of this study is to find better higher order closure models for the computations of complex flows. This report summarizes three new achievements: (1) completion of the Reynolds-stress closure by developing a new pressure-strain correlation; (2) development of a parabolic code to compute jets and wakes; and, (3) application to a flow through a 180 deg turnaround duct by adopting a boundary fitted coordinate system. In the above mentioned models near-wall models are developed for pressure-strain correlation and third-moment, and incorporated into the transport equations. This addition improved the results considerably and is recommended for future computations. A new parabolic code to solve shear flows without coordinate tranformations is developed and incorporated in this study. This code uses the structure of the finite volume method to solve the governing equations implicitly. The code was validated with the experimental results available in the literature.

Amano, Ryoichi S.↗

SAM 2 measurements of the polar stratospheric aerosol. Volume 9: October 1982 - April 1983

The Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement (SAM) II sensor aboard Nimbus 7 is providing 1.0 micron extinction measurements of Antarctic and Arctic stratospheric aerosols with a vertical resolution of 1 km. Representative examples and weekly averages including corresponding temperature profiles provided by NOAA for the time and place of each SAM II measurement are presented. Contours of aerosol extinction as a function of altitude and longitude or time are plotted, and aerosol optical depths are calculated for each week. Typical values of aerosol extinction and stratospheric optical depth in the Arctic are unusually large due to the presence of material from the El Chichon volcano eruption in the Spring of 1982. For example, the optical depth peaked at 0.068, more than 50 times background values. Typical values of aerosol extinction and stratospheric optical depth in the Antarctic varied considerably during this period due to the transport and arrival of the material from the El Chichon eruption. For example, the stratospheric optical depth varied from 0.002 in October 1982, to 0.021 in January 1983. Polar stratospheric clouds were observed during the Arctic winter, as expected. A representative sample is provided of the ninth 6-month period of data to be used in atmospheric and climatic studies.

Mcmaster, L. R.↗

Spatial transportability of geobotanical spectral signatures associated with soil geochemical anomalies

Consideration is given to a specific problem of spectral signature extension through examination and comparison of multitemporal spectral data signatures developed over a generalized, along-strike geochemical trend located within eastern deciduous hardwood forest. The spectral geobotanical signatures associated with soil Pb, Cu, and Zn anomalies were examined in south-central Virginia. Spectral discrimination between a training pair of anomalous and control sites within the Mineral district was 100 percent successful. It is concluded that spectral geobotanical signatures serve to identify regions of lowered biomass, lowered vigor, and/or differing species composition.

Bell, R.↗

Development of a teaching tool to encourage high school students to study aerospace technical subjects

This report details the efforts to develop a design competition aimed at high school students which will encourage them to study aerospace technical subjects. It has been shown that such competitions - based on an industry simulation game - are valuable ways to energize high school students to study in this area. Under the grant, a new competition scenario was developed, in keeping with NASA-Dryden's mission to develop aircraft and foster knowledge about aeronautics. Included are preliminary background materials and information which, if the grant is continued, would form the basis of a national competition for high school students, wherein they would design an Aerospaceport in a future year, taking into consideration the requirements of aircraft, spacecraft- ground transportation systems, passengers who use the facility, and employees who operate it. Many of the Competition methods were studied and tested during two existing local competitions in the disadvantaged communities of Lancaster and Victorville, California.

Gale, Anita↗

A Global Data Assimilation System for Atmospheric Aerosol

We will give an overview of an aerosol data assimilation system which combines advances in remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols, aerosol modeling and data assimilation methodology to produce high spatial and temporal resolution 3D aerosol fields. Initially, the Goddard Aerosol Assimilation System (GAAS) will assimilate TOMS, AVHRR and AERONET observations; later we will include MODIS and MISR. This data assimilation capability will allows us to integrate complementing aerosol observations from these platforms, enabling the development of an assimilated aerosol climatology as well as a global aerosol forecasting system in support of field campaigns. Furthermore, this system provides an interactive retrieval framework for each aerosol observing satellites, in particular TOMS and AVHRR. The Goddard Aerosol Assimilation System (GAAS) takes advantage of recent advances in constituent data assimilation at DAO, including flow dependent parameterizations of error covariances and the proper consideration of model bias. For its prognostic transport model, GAAS will utilize the Goddard Ozone, Chemistry, Aerosol, Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model developed at NASA/GSFC Codes 916 and 910.3. GOCART includes the Lin-Rood flux-form, semi-Langrangian transport model with parameterized aerosol chemistry and physical processes for absorbing (dust and black carbon) and non-absorbing aerosols (sulfate and organic carbon). Observations and model fields are combined using a constituent version of DAO's Physical-space Statistical Analysis System (PSAS), including its adaptive quality control system. In this talk we describe the main components of this assimilation system and present preliminary results obtained by assimilating TOMS data.

daSilva, Arlindo↗

PRSEUS Structural Concept Development

A lighter, more robust airframe is one of the key technological advancements necessary for the successful launch of any large next-generation transport aircraft. Such a premise dictates that considerable improvements beyond current state-of-the-art aluminum structures is needed, and that improvements of this magnitude will require an extensive use of composite materials that are not only lightweight, but also economical to produce. To address this challenge, researchers at NASA and The Boeing Company are developing a novel structural concept called the Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) under the Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project. It is an integrally stiffened panel concept that is stitched together and designed to maintain residual load-carrying capabilities under a variety of damage scenarios. In addition to improved structural performance, an important facet of this unique arrangement of stitched carbon fibers is its innovative manufacturing method that has the potential to lower fabrication costs by eliminating fasteners and autoclave cures. The rationale and development status for this new approach forms the basis of the work described in this paper. The test specimens described herein were fabricated, or are currently being fabricated, by The Boeing Company, while the structural analyses and testing tasks are being performed by NASA and Boeing personnel.

Velicki, Alex↗

Long-Term Ozone Variability and Trends from Reanalyses: Can It Be Done?

Stratospheric ozone concentrations have begun to show early signs of recovery following the implementation of the Montreal Protocol and its amendments as well as in response to decreasing upper-stratospheric temperatures. Secular trends in stratospheric ozone are modulated by considerable interannual variability and systematic changes in transport patterns that are expected under increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, especially in the lower stratosphere. These factors necessitate the continued close monitoring of stratospheric ozone in upcoming decades, with a special focus on the lower stratosphere.As highly resolved data sets combining a plethora of observations with model simulations atmospheric reanalyses are, in principle, well suited for the task. All major reanalyses generate ozone output. However, significant spurious discontinuities that arise from step changes in the observing systems prevent a straightforward analysis of ozone trends and long-term variability. Building on our recent work, in this presentation we will demonstrate that trend detection is nonetheless possible using the ozone record from NASA's MERRA-2 (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2) reanalysis bias-corrected using a chemistry model simulation as a transfer function. Next, we will outline several strategies to reduce artificial discontinuities in the ozone record in future NASA reanalyses. This discussion will be illustrated by an example of joint assimilation of bias-corrected ozone profiles from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite (2004 to present) and the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite Limb Profiler (OMPS-LP) sensors that are expected to operate on future NOAA platforms.

Wargan, Krzysztof↗