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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
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NASA NTRS2000

Hypergolic Propellant Safety Course

Under the sponsorship of the NASA Safety Training Center at the Johnson Space Center, a hypergolic propellant safety course has been developed. This is a 2-day course on guidelines for hypergolic propellant system design, materials selection, operations, storage, and transportation. Recognizing that numerous fuels and oxidizers can be hypergolic, this course is specific to the hydrazine family of fuels and nitrogen tetroxide and its variants. The objectives of the course are to enable the student to identify and evaluate the hazards of hypergolic propellants, and to understand the methods for controlling those hazards and responding to emergencies. The course covers properties and hazards of the hydrazines and oxidizers; design and operations in hypergolic facilities; materials selection for use in hypergol systems; storage vessels, piping, and component considerations; hypergol detection; fire fighting practices; operating and transportation principles and procedures; and emergency practices and considerations. A hazards analysis methodology is presented. Numerous references are provided and the applicability of certain regulatory documents is discussed. A brief overview of other propellants, including hydrogen peroxide, is given at the end of the course.

Rathgeber, Kurt A.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Assessment of Countermeasure Efficacy for Long-Term Space Missions

One of the main functions of the upcoming International Space Station (ISS) will be to provide a venue for testing proposed countermeasures for their ability to protect humans from the debilitating effects of longterm space flight. However, several limiting factors preclude an evaluation process similar to that used in clinical trials which traditionally are implemented with large sample sizes of subjects, including control groups, and with blind or double-blind application of treatments according to factorial or other balanced experimental designs. In particular, only very limited numbers of human subjects will be available for actual field testing in the ISS With no more than 125 subjects planned to fly on all ISS missions over 10 years, it is not possible to test extensive combinations of some 15-20 proposed countermeasures. Furthermore because of safety concerns and operational considerations, it is unlikely that anything other than the current best guess at the most effective countermeasure package will ever be used on ISS. In particular, control or placebos will not be allowed. In view of these limitations, historical data and groundbased or animal studies will have to be used to compensate for small sample sizes and lack of controls in the field. As a result, statistical analysis methodology will have to be developed which allows for the integration of these disparate data types into a meaningful evaluation process. The process must be sequential, providing objective rules for deciding through time whether to reject or modify an ineffective countermeasure, or whether to certify one as effective. Additional output should include performance characteristics for all relevant physiological systems, including uncertainty analyses and estimates of accept/reject decision error rates.

Feiveson, Alan H.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Space Station Attitude Control During Payload Operations

Evaluating the feasibility of planned robotic operations requires an analysis methodology and tools that can quickly assess proposed attitude control strategies. In this paper, an efficient approach to model the attitude dynamics of the Space Station during payload motion is presented. This approach is used to formulate an alternative numerical solution for torque equilibrium attitudes including the effect of payload velocity. It is also shown that a judicious choice of attitude command during robotic operations can substantially reduce peak attitude control momentum use.

Bedrossian, Nazareth S.↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Mixed Finite Analysis of Axial Foreshortening

In previous studies, a mixed finite element was derived and shown to be effective in facilitating accurate modal reduction of rotor blades. This study builds upon that earlier work through the development of algorithms that allow the element's Lagrangian axial displacement degrees of freedom to be eliminated in favor of the axial force degrees of freedom. This reduction process, which had been demonstrated previously for the case of a single mixed finite element, may be viewed as a generalization of the UMARC blade analysis methodology to arbitrary topologies. A unique strength of the method. developed here is that the model may consist of two dimensional or even three dimensional elements.

Ruzicka, Gene↗
NASA NTRS2000

Structures IVHM for 3rd Generation RLVs

The primary goal of a Structures Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) system for 3rd generation Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) is to provide near 100% structural sensing coverage and thus eliminate both routine, and especially unplanned, inspections which are costly and time consuming. To meet this goal, significant advances in sensing and measurement system technology, data systems architectures, and structures based analysis methodology will be required to enable the needed large numbers of sensors with little weight penalty. This program will leverage X-33, 2nd Gen RLV, Shuttle, and Aviation Safety SIVHM system development experience to address this goal.

Rogowski, Robert S.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Development and Validation of High Performance Unshrouded Centrifugal Impeller

The feasibility of using a two-stage unshrouded impeller turbopump to replace the current three-stage reusable launch vehicle engine shrouded impeller hydrogen pump has been evaluated from the standpoint of turbopump weight reduction and overall payload improvement. These advantages are a by-product of the higher tip speeds that an unshrouded impeller can sustain. The issues associated with the effect of unshrouded impeller tip clearance on pump efficiency and head have been evaluated with one-dimensional tools and full three-dimensional rotordynamic fluid reaction forces and coefficients have been established through time dependent computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the whole 360 degree impeller with different rotor eccentricities and whirling ratios. Unlike the shrouded impeller, the unshrouded impeller forces are evaluated as the sum of the pressure forces on the blade and the pressure forces on the hub using the CFD results. The turbopump axial thrust control has been optimized by adjusting the first stage impeller backend wear ring seal diameter and diverting the second stage backend balance piston flow to the proper location. The structural integrity associated with the high tip speed has been checked by analyzing a 3D-Finite Element Model at maximum design conditions (6% higher than the design speed). This impeller was fabricated and tested in the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center water-test rig. The experimental data will be compared with the analytical predictions and presented in another paper. The experimental data provides validation data for the numerical design and analysis methodology. The validated numerical methodology can be used to help design different unshrouded impeller configurations.

Chen, Wei-Chung↗
NASA NTRS2004

NASA Thermographic Inspection of Advanced Composite Materials

As the use of advanced composite materials continues to increase in the aerospace community, the need for a quantitative, rapid, in situ inspection technology has become a critical concern throughout the industry. In many applications it is necessary to monitor changes in these materials over an extended period of time to determine the effects of various load conditions. Additionally, the detection and characterization of defects such as delaminations, is of great concern. This paper will present the application of infrared thermography to characterize various composite materials and show the advantages of different heat source types. Finally, various analysis methodologies used for quantitative material property characterization will be discussed.

Cramer, K. Elliott↗
NASA NTRS2001

Aspect-Oriented Programming

Computer science has experienced an evolution in programming languages and systems from the crude assembly and machine codes of the earliest computers through concepts such as formula translation, procedural programming, structured programming, functional programming, logic programming, and programming with abstract data types. Each of these steps in programming technology has advanced our ability to achieve clear separation of concerns at the source code level. Currently, the dominant programming paradigm is object-oriented programming - the idea that one builds a software system by decomposing a problem into objects and then writing the code of those objects. Such objects abstract together behavior and data into a single conceptual and physical entity. Object-orientation is reflected in the entire spectrum of current software development methodologies and tools - we have OO methodologies, analysis and design tools, and OO programming languages. Writing complex applications such as graphical user interfaces, operating systems, and distributed applications while maintaining comprehensible source code has been made possible with OOP. Success at developing simpler systems leads to aspirations for greater complexity. Object orientation is a clever idea, but has certain limitations. We are now seeing that many requirements do not decompose neatly into behavior centered on a single locus. Object technology has difficulty localizing concerns invoking global constraints and pandemic behaviors, appropriately segregating concerns, and applying domain-specific knowledge. Post-object programming (POP) mechanisms that look to increase the expressiveness of the OO paradigm are a fertile arena for current research. Examples of POP technologies include domain-specific languages, generative programming, generic programming, constraint languages, reflection and metaprogramming, feature-oriented development, views/viewpoints, and asynchronous message brokering. (Czarneclu and Eisenecker s book includes a good survey of many of these technologies).

Elrad, Tzilla↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Quantum Yield of NO3 from Peroxyacetyl Nitrate Photolysis

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) vapor was photolyzed at 248nm and the NO3 photoproduct was detected by laser induced fluorescence. The excited state flourescence contributions were investigated and a data analysis methodology was established to minimize their effects.

Peroxyacetyl Nitrate Photolysis↗
NASA NTRS2006

A Robust Scalable Transportation System Concept

This report documents the 2005 Revolutionary System Concept for Aeronautics (RSCA) study entitled "A Robust, Scalable Transportation System Concept". The objective of the study was to generate, at a high-level of abstraction, characteristics of a new concept for the National Airspace System, or the new NAS, under which transportation goals such as increased throughput, delay reduction, and improved robustness could be realized. Since such an objective can be overwhelmingly complex if pursued at the lowest levels of detail, instead a System-of-Systems (SoS) approach was adopted to model alternative air transportation architectures at a high level. The SoS approach allows the consideration of not only the technical aspects of the NAS", but also incorporates policy, socio-economic, and alternative transportation system considerations into one architecture. While the representations of the individual systems are basic, the higher level approach allows for ways to optimize the SoS at the network level, determining the best topology (i.e. configuration of nodes and links). The final product (concept) is a set of rules of behavior and network structure that not only satisfies national transportation goals, but represents the high impact rules that accomplish those goals by getting the agents to "do the right thing" naturally. The novel combination of Agent Based Modeling and Network Theory provides the core analysis methodology in the System-of-Systems approach. Our method of approach is non-deterministic which means, fundamentally, it asks and answers different questions than deterministic models. The nondeterministic method is necessary primarily due to our marriage of human systems with technological ones in a partially unknown set of future worlds. Our goal is to understand and simulate how the SoS, human and technological components combined, evolve.

Hahn, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS2007

Ionospheric E-Region Response to Solar-Geomagnetic Storms Observed by TIMED/SABER and Application to IRI Storm-Model Development

The large thermospheric infrared radiance enhancements observed from the TIMED/SABER experiment during recent solar storms provide an exciting opportunity to study the influence of solar-geomagnetic disturbances on the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. In particular, nighttime enhancements of 4.3 um emission, due to vibrational excitation and radiative emission by NO+, provide an excellent proxy to study and analyze the response of the ionospheric E-region to auroral electron dosing and storm-time enhancements to the E-region electron density. In this paper we give a status report of on-going work on model and data analysis methodologies of deriving NO+ 4.3 um volume emission rates, a proxy for the storm-time E-region response, and the approach for deriving an empirical storm-time correction to International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) E-region NO+ and electron densities.

Mertens, Christopher J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Cloud Radiative Forcing at the ARM Climate Research Facility: Technique, Validation, and Comparison to Satellite-derived Diagnostic Quantities - Part 1

It has been hypothesized that continuous ground-based remote sensing measurements from active and passive remote sensors combined with regular soundings of the atmospheric thermodynamic structure can be combined to describe the effects of clouds on the clear sky radiation fluxes. We critically test that hypothesis in this paper and a companion paper (Part II). Using data collected at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) site sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, we explore an analysis methodology that results in the characterization of the physical state of the atmospheric profile at time resolutions of five minutes and vertical resolutions of 90 m. The description includes thermodynamics and water vapor profile information derived by merging radiosonde soundings with ground-based data, and continues through specification of the cloud layer occurrence and microphysical and radiative properties derived from retrieval algorithms and parameterizations. The description of the atmospheric physical state includes a calculation of the infrared and clear and cloudy sky solar flux profiles. Validation of the methodology is provided by comparing the calculated fluxes with top of atmosphere (TOA) and surface flux measurements and by comparing the total column optical depths to independently derived estimates. We find over a 1-year period of comparison in overcast uniform skies, that the calculations are strongly correlated to measurements with biases in the flux quantities at the surface and TOA of less than 10% and median fractional errors ranging from 20% to as low as 2%. In the optical depth comparison for uniform overcast skies during the year 2000 where the optical depth varies over 3 orders of magnitude we find a mean positive bias of 46% with a median bias of less than 10% and a 0.89 correlation coefficient. The slope of the linear regression line for the optical depth comparison is 0.86 with a normal deviation of 20% about this line. In addition to a case study where we examine the cloud radiative effects at the TOA, surface and atmosphere by a middle latitude synoptic-scale cyclone, we examine the cloud top pressure and optical depth retrievals of ISCCP and LBTM over a period of 1 year. Using overcast period from the year 2000, we find that the satellite algorithms tend to bias cloud tops into the middle troposphere and underestimate optical depth in high optical depth events (greater than 100) by as much as a factor of 2.

Mace, Gerald G.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) HGAS Induced Jitter

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive assessment of High Gain Antenna System induced jitter on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The jitter prediction is created using a coupled model of the structural dynamics, optical response, control systems, and stepper motor actuator electromechanical dynamics. The paper gives an overview of the model components, presents the verification processes used to evaluate the models, describes validation and calibration tests and model-to-measurement comparison results, and presents the jitter analysis methodology and results.

Liu, Alice↗
NASA NTRS2007

Quantifying Low Energy Proton Damage in Multijunction Solar Cells

An analysis of the effects of low energy proton irradiation on the electrical performance of triple junction (3J) InGaP2/GaAs/Ge solar cells is presented. The Monte Carlo ion transport code (SRIM) is used to simulate the damage profile induced in a 3J solar cell under the conditions of typical ground testing and that of the space environment. The results are used to present a quantitative analysis of the defect, and hence damage, distribution induced in the cell active region by the different radiation conditions. The modelling results show that, in the space environment, the solar cell will experience a uniform damage distribution through the active region of the cell. Through an application of the displacement damage dose analysis methodology, the implications of this result on mission performance predictions are investigated.

Messenger, Scott R.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Impact Testing on Reinforced Carbon-Carbon Flat Panels with Ice Projectiles for the Space Shuttle Return to Flight Program

Following the tragedy of the Orbiter Columbia (STS-107) on February 1, 2003, a major effort commenced to develop a better understanding of debris impacts and their effect on the space shuttle subsystems. An initiative to develop and validate physics-based computer models to predict damage from such impacts was a fundamental component of this effort. To develop the models it was necessary to physically characterize reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) along with ice and foam debris materials, which could shed on ascent and impact the orbiter RCC leading edges. The validated models enabled the launch system community to use the impact analysis software LS-DYNA (Livermore Software Technology Corp.) to predict damage by potential and actual impact events on the orbiter leading edge and nose cap thermal protection systems. Validation of the material models was done through a three-level approach: Level 1--fundamental tests to obtain independent static and dynamic constitutive model properties of materials of interest, Level 2--subcomponent impact tests to provide highly controlled impact test data for the correlation and validation of the models, and Level 3--full-scale orbiter leading-edge impact tests to establish the final level of confidence for the analysis methodology. This report discusses the Level 2 test program conducted in the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) Ballistic Impact Laboratory with ice projectile impact tests on flat RCC panels, and presents the data observed. The Level 2 testing consisted of 54 impact tests in the NASA GRC Ballistic Impact Laboratory on 6- by 6-in. and 6- by 12-in. flat plates of RCC and evaluated three types of debris projectiles: Single-crystal, polycrystal, and "soft" ice. These impact tests helped determine the level of damage generated in the RCC flat plates by each projectile and validated the use of the ice and RCC models for use in LS-DYNA.

Melis, Matthew E.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Impact Testing on Reinforced Carbon-Carbon Flat Panels With BX-265 and PDL-1034 External Tank Foam for the Space Shuttle Return to Flight Program

Following the tragedy of the Orbiter Columbia (STS-107) on February 1, 2003, a major effort commenced to develop a better understanding of debris impacts and their effect on the space shuttle subsystems. An initiative to develop and validate physics-based computer models to predict damage from such impacts was a fundamental component of this effort. To develop the models it was necessary to physically characterize reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) along with ice and foam debris materials, which could shed on ascent and impact the orbiter RCC leading edges. The validated models enabled the launch system community to use the impact analysis software LS-DYNA (Livermore Software Technology Corp.) to predict damage by potential and actual impact events on the orbiter leading edge and nose cap thermal protection systems. Validation of the material models was done through a three-level approach: Level 1-fundamental tests to obtain independent static and dynamic constitutive model properties of materials of interest, Level 2-subcomponent impact tests to provide highly controlled impact test data for the correlation and validation of the models, and Level 3-full-scale orbiter leading-edge impact tests to establish the final level of confidence for the analysis methodology. This report discusses the Level 2 test program conducted in the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) Ballistic Impact Laboratory with external tank foam impact tests on flat RCC panels, and presents the data observed. The Level 2 testing consisted of 54 impact tests in the NASA GRC Ballistic Impact Laboratory on 6- by 6-in. and 6- by 12-in. flat plates of RCC and evaluated two types of debris projectiles: BX-265 and PDL-1034 external tank foam. These impact tests helped determine the level of damage generated in the RCC flat plates by each projectile and validated the use of the foam and RCC models for use in LS-DYNA.

Melis, Matthew E.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Advanced High-Temperature Flexible TPS for Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators

Typical entry vehicle aeroshells are limited in size by the launch vehicle shroud. Inflatable aerodynamic decelerators allow larger aeroshell diameters for entry vehicles because they are not constrained to the launch vehicle shroud diameter. During launch, the hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (HIAD) is packed in a stowed configuration. Prior to atmospheric entry, the HIAD is deployed to produce a drag device many times larger than the launch shroud diameter. The large surface area of the inflatable aeroshell provides deceleration of high-mass entry vehicles at relatively low ballistic coefficients. Even for these low ballistic coefficients there is still appreciable heating, requiring the HIAD to employ a thermal protection system (TPS). This TPS must be capable of surviving the heat pulse, and the rigors of fabrication handling, high density packing, deployment, and aerodynamic loading. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of flexible TPS tests and results, conducted over the last three years. This paper also includes an overview of each test facility, the general approach for testing flexible TPS, the thermal analysis methodology and results, and a comparison with 8-foot High Temperature Tunnel, Laser-Hardened Materials Evaluation Laboratory, and Panel Test Facility test data. Results are presented for a baseline TPS layup that can withstand a 20 W/cm2 heat flux, silicon carbide (SiC) based TPS layup, and polyimide insulator TPS layup. Recent work has focused on developing material layups expected to survive heat flux loads up to 50 W/cm2 (which is adequate for many potential applications), future work will consider concepts capable of withstanding more than 100 W/cm2 incident radiant heat flux. This paper provides an overview of the experimental setup, material layup configurations, facility conditions, and planned future flexible TPS activities.

DelCorso, Joseph A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Analyses of Injection-Coupled Combustion Instability from J-2X Gas Generator Development

During development of the gas generator for the liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen propellant J-2X rocket engine, combustion instabilities were observed near the frequency of the first longitudinal acoustic mode of the hot gas combustion chamber duct. These instabilities were similar to intermediate-frequency or buzz-type instabilities as described in historical programs, except for several aspects: 1) the frequencies were low, in the realm of chug; 2) at times the instability oscillation amplitudes were quite large, with peak-to-peak amplitudes exceeding 50% of the mean chamber pressure along with the appearance of harmonics; 3) the chamber excitation was related to but not exactly at the first longitudinal combustion chamber acoustic mode; and 4) the injector provided mass flow rate oscillations induced by capacitance and inertance effects in the injector rather than by organ pipe resonances of the coaxial oxidizer posts. This type of combustion instability is referred to as "injection coupling" because one critical driving source of the instability is mass flow rate oscillations from the injector. However, the type of injection coupling observed here is different than observed in previous instances of buzz instability with coaxial injectors, because of the lower frequencies and lack of influence from the oxidizer post organ pipe resonances. Test data and preliminary analyses of the initial combustion instabilities were presented in several papers at the 5th Liquid Propulsion Subcommittee meeting. Since that time, additional hot-fire tests with several new hardware configurations have been conducted, and additional analyses have been completed. The analytical models described in previous papers have been updated to include the influences of new geometrical configurations, including a different oxidizer injector manifold configuration and a branch pipe in the hot gas duct that supplies gaseous helium during the start transient to pre-spin the turbine. In addition, the analysis methodology has been revisited to evaluate the potential influence of a combustion response as well as an injection response.

Hulka, James R.↗