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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 289 records · Page 16
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NASA NTRS2010

Solutions Remediate Contaminated Groundwater

During the Apollo Program, NASA workers used chlorinated solvents to clean rocket engine components at launch sites. These solvents, known as dense non-aqueous phase liquids, had contaminated launch facilities to the point of near-irreparability. Dr. Jacqueline Quinn and Dr. Kathleen Brooks Loftin of Kennedy Space Center partnered with researchers from the University of Central Florida's chemistry and engineering programs to develop technology capable of remediating the area without great cost or further environmental damage. They called the new invention Emulsified Zero-Valent Iron (EZVI). The groundwater remediation compound is cleaning up polluted areas all around the world and is, to date, NASA's most licensed technology.

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NASA NTRS2010

Inflatable Antennas Support Emergency Communication

Glenn Research Center awarded Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to ManTech SRS Technologies, of Newport Beach, California, to develop thin film inflatable antennas for space communication. With additional funding, SRS modified the concepts for ground-based inflatable antennas. GATR (Ground Antenna Transmit and Receive) Technologies, of Huntsville, Alabama, licensed the technology and refined it to become the world s first inflatable antenna certified by the Federal Communications Commission. Capable of providing Internet access, voice over Internet protocol, e-mail, video teleconferencing, broadcast television, and other high-bandwidth communications, the systems have provided communication during the wildfires in California, after Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi, and following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

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NASA NTRS2010

Programs Model the Future of Air Traffic Management

Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts with Ames Research Center, Intelligent Automation Inc., based in Rockville, Maryland, advanced specialized software the company had begun developing with U.S. Department of Defense funding. The agent-based infrastructure now allows NASA's Airspace Concept Evaluation System to explore ways of improving the utilization of the National Airspace System (NAS), providing flexible modeling of every part of the NAS down to individual planes, airports, control centers, and even weather. The software has been licensed to a number of aerospace and robotics customers, and has even been used to model the behavior of crowds.

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NASA NTRS2010

Energy-Efficient Systems Eliminate Icing Danger for UAVs

Ames Research Center engineer Leonard Haslim invented an anti-icing t echnology called an electroexpulsive separation system, which uses m echanical force to shatter potentially dangerous ice buildup on an ai rcraft surface. Temecula, California-based Ice Management Systems (no w known as IMS-ESS) licensed the technology from Ames and has discov ered a niche market for the lightweight, energy-efficient technology: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). IMS-ESS systems now prevent damagi ng ice accumulation on military UAVs, allowing the vehicles to carry out crucial missions year round.

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NASA NTRS2010

Do-It-Yourself Additives Recharge Auto Air Conditioning

In planning for a return mission to the Moon, NASA aimed to improve the thermal control systems that keep astronauts comfortable and cool while inside a spacecraft. Goddard Space Flight Center awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Mainstream Engineering Corporation, of Rockledge, Florida, to develop a chemical/mechanical heat pump. IDQ Inc., of Garland, Texas, exclusively licensed the technology and incorporates it into its line of Arctic Freeze products for automotive air conditioning applications. While working on the design, Mainstream Engineering came up with a unique liquid additive called QwikBoost to enhance the performance of the advanced heat pump design.

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NASA NTRS2010

Hyperspectral Systems Increase Imaging Capabilities

In 1983, NASA started developing hyperspectral systems to image in the ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths. In 2001, the first on-orbit hyperspectral imager, Hyperion, was launched aboard the Earth Observing-1 spacecraft. Based on the hyperspectral imaging sensors used in Earth observation satellites, Stennis Space Center engineers and Institute for Technology Development researchers collaborated on a new design that was smaller and used an improved scanner. Featured in Spinoff 2007, the technology is now exclusively licensed by Themis Vision Systems LLC, of Richmond, Virginia, and is widely used in medical and life sciences, defense and security, forensics, and microscopy.

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NASA NTRS2011

Swarm autonomic agents with self-destruct capability

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments an autonomic entity manages a system by generating one or more stay alive signals based on the functioning status and operating state of the system. In some embodiments, an evolvable synthetic neural system is operably coupled to one or more evolvable synthetic neural systems in a hierarchy. The evolvable neural interface receives and generates heartbeat monitor signals and pulse monitor signals that are used to generate a stay alive signal that is used to manage the operations of the synthetic neural system. In another embodiment an asynchronous Alice signal (Autonomic license) requiring valid credentials of an anonymous autonomous agent is initiated. An unsatisfactory Alice exchange may lead to self-destruction of the anonymous autonomous agent for self-protection.

Hinchey, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Commercialization of LARC (TradeMark) -SI Polyimide Technology

LARC(TradeMark)-SI, Langley Research Center- Soluble Imide, was developed in 1992, with the first patent issuing in 1997, and then subsequent patents issued in 1998 and 2000. Currently, this polymer has been successfully licensed by NASA, and has generated revenues, at the time of this reporting, in excess of $1.4 million. The success of this particular polymer has been due to many factors and many lessons learned to the point that the invention, while important, is the least significant part in the commercialization of this material. Commercial LARC(TradeMark)-SI is a polyimide composed of two molar equivalents of dianhydrides: 4,4 -oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA), and 3,3 ,4,4 -biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 3,4 -oxydianiline (3,4 -ODA) as the diamine. The unique feature of this aromatic polyimide is that it remains soluble after solution imidization in high-boiling, polar aprotic solvents, even at solids contents of 50-percent by weight. However, once isolated and heated above its T(sub g) of 240 C, it becomes insoluble and exhibits high-temperature thermoplastic melt-flow behavior. With these unique structure property characteristics, it was thought this would be an advantage to have an aromatic polyimide that is both solution and melt processable in the imide form. This could potentially lead to lower cost production as it was not as equipment- or labor-intensive as other high-performance polyimide materials that either precipitate or are intractable. This unique combination of properties allowed patents with broad claim coverage and potential commercialization. After the U.S. Patent applications were filed, a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract was awarded to Imtec, Inc. to develop and supply the polyimide to NASA and the general public. Some examples of demonstration parts made with LARC(TradeMark)-SI ranged from aircraft wire and multilayer printed-circuit boards, to gears, composite panels, supported adhesive tape, composite coatings, cookware, and polyimide foam. Even with its unique processing characteristics, the thermal and mechanical properties were not drastically different from other solution or meltprocessable polyimides developed by NASA. LARC(TradeMark)-SI risked becoming another interesting, but costly, high-performance material.

Bryant, Robert G.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Software for Simulating Air Traffic

Future Air Traffic Management Concepts Evaluation Tool (FACET) is a system of software for performing computational simulations for evaluating advanced concepts of advanced air-traffic management. FACET includes a program that generates a graphical user interface plus programs and databases that implement computational models of weather, airspace, airports, navigation aids, aircraft performance, and aircraft trajectories. Examples of concepts studied by use of FACET include aircraft self-separation for free flight; prediction of air-traffic-controller workload; decision support for direct routing; integration of spacecraft-launch operations into the U.S. national airspace system; and traffic- flow-management using rerouting, metering, and ground delays. Aircraft can be modeled as flying along either flight-plan routes or great-circle routes as they climb, cruise, and descend according to their individual performance models. The FACET software is modular and is written in the Java and C programming languages. The architecture of FACET strikes a balance between flexibility and fidelity; as a consequence, FACET can be used to model systemwide airspace operations over the contiguous U.S., involving as many as 10,000 aircraft, all on a single desktop or laptop computer running any of a variety of operating systems. Two notable applications of FACET include: (1) reroute conformance monitoring algorithms that have been implemented in one of the Federal Aviation Administration s nationally deployed, real-time, operational systems; and (2) the licensing and integration of FACET with the commercially available Flight Explorer, which is an Internet- based, real-time flight-tracking system.

Sridhar, Banavar↗
NASA NTRS2011

Stratway: A Modular Approach to Strategic Conflict Resolution

In this paper we introduce Stratway, a modular approach to finding long-term strategic resolutions to conflicts between aircraft. The modular approach provides both advantages and disadvantages. Our primary concern is to investigate the implications on the verification of safety-critical properties of a strategic resolution algorithm. By partitioning the problem into verifiable modules much stronger verification claims can be established. Since strategic resolution involves searching for solutions over an enormous state space, Stratway, like most similar algorithms, searches these spaces by applying heuristics, which present especially difficult verification challenges. An advantage of a modular approach is that it makes a clear distinction between the resolution function and the trajectory generation function. This allows the resolution computation to be independent of any particular vehicle. The Stratway algorithm was developed in both Java and C++ and is available through a open source license. Additionally there is a visualization application that is helpful when analyzing and quickly creating conflict scenarios.

Hagen, George E.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Open-Source Software for Modeling of Nanoelectronic Devices

The Nanoelectronic Modeling 3-D (NEMO 3-D) computer program has been upgraded to open-source status through elimination of license-restricted components. The present version functions equivalently to the version reported in "Software for Numerical Modeling of Nanoelectronic Devices" (NPO-30520), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 27, No. 11 (November 2003), page 37. To recapitulate: NEMO 3-D performs numerical modeling of the electronic transport and structural properties of a semiconductor device that has overall dimensions of the order of tens of nanometers. The underlying mathematical model represents the quantum-mechanical behavior of the device resolved to the atomistic level of granularity. NEMO 3-D solves the applicable quantum matrix equation on a Beowulf-class cluster computer by use of a parallel-processing matrix vector multiplication algorithm coupled to a Lanczos and/or Rayleigh-Ritz algorithm that solves for eigenvalues. A prior upgrade of NEMO 3-D incorporated a capability for a strain treatment, parameterized for bulk material properties of GaAs and InAs, for two tight-binding submodels. NEMO 3-D has been demonstrated in atomistic analyses of effects of disorder in alloys and, in particular, in bulk In(x)Ga(1-x)As and in In(0.6)Ga(0.4)As quantum dots.

Oyafuso, Fabiano↗
NASA NTRS2011

NASA Musculoskeletal Space Medicine and Reconditioning Program

The Astronaut Strength, Conditioning, and Rehabilitation (ASCR) group is comprised of certified strength and conditioning coaches and licensed and certified athletic trainers. The ASCR group works within NASA s Space Medicine Division providing direction and supervision to the astronaut corp with regards to physical readiness throughout all phases of space flight. The ASCR group is overseen by flight surgeons with specialized training in sports medicine or physical medicine and rehabilitation. The goals of the ASCR group include 1) designing and administering strength and conditioning programs that maximize the potential for physical performance while minimizing the rate of injury, 2) providing appropriate injury management and rehabilitation services, 3) collaborating with medical, research, engineering, and mission operations groups to develop and implement safe and effective in-flight exercise countermeasures, and 4) providing a structured, individualized post-flight reconditioning program for long duration crew members. This Panel will present the current approach to the management of musculoskeletal injuries commonly seen within the astronaut corp and will present an overview of the pre-flight physical training, in-flight exercise countermeasures, and post-flight reconditioning program for ISS astronauts.

Kerstman, Eric↗
NASA NTRS2011

LCS Content Document Application

My project at KSC during my spring 2011 internship was to develop a Ruby on Rails application to manage Content Documents..A Content Document is a collection of documents and information that describes what software is installed on a Launch Control System Computer. It's important for us to make sure the tools we use everyday are secure, up-to-date, and properly licensed. Previously, keeping track of the information was done by Excel and Word files between different personnel. The goal of the new application is to be able to manage and access the Content Documents through a single database backed web application. Our LCS team will benefit greatly with this app. Admin's will be able to login securely to keep track and update the software installed on each computer in a timely manner. We also included exportability such as attaching additional documents that can be downloaded from the web application. The finished application will ease the process of managing Content Documents while streamlining the procedure. Ruby on Rails is a very powerful programming language and I am grateful to have the opportunity to build this application.

Hochstadt, Jake↗
NASA NTRS2011

Analytical Approach in DeCoM

There are many papers on describing a LHP as an overall system, but few detail on the condenser section of a loop heat pipe. The DeCoM (Deepak Condenser Model) method utilizes user set initial parameters in-order to simulate a condenser by calculating the interactions between the fluid and the wall. Equations are derived for two sections of the condenser: a two-phase section and a subcooled (liquid) section. All Equations are based upon the conservation of energy theory, from which fluid temperature, and fluid quality values are solved. In order to solve for the heat transfer value, between fluid and the wall in two phase section, the Lockhart-Martinelli correlation method was implemented as a solution approach. For Liquid phase, the Reynolds number was used in-order to differentiate the flow state, from either turbulent or laminar, and Nusselt number was used to solve for the film coefficient. To represent these calculations for both sections a flow chart is presented in order to display the execution process of DeCoM. The benefit of DeCoM is that it is capable of performing preliminary analysis without requiring a license and without much of users knowledge on condensers.

Patel, Deepak↗
NASA NTRS2011

DeCoM Validation

Deepak Condenser Model (DeCoM) was validated in a two-step process. The first step validated DeCoM/TTH/FloCAD against a simplified 1D (1D fluid flow and 1D heat flow) scenario. Through this simplification the fluid calculations were simple enough that the results were comparable to hand calculations. Once a method was compared against 1D case, the next step was the verification against a 2D test case. 2D is only for heat flow, while the fluid flow is still 1D. The test data was obtained from the project Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) which performed a Looped Heat Pipe (LHP) test and contained necessary condenser information; such as a test point and condenser configuration. From the GLAS LHP test report, the construction of the LHP condenser and correlation was roughly possible. The assumptions and limitations are discussed, within this paper, of the 2D correlation. The success of DeCoM is illustrated by the results after correlation to the test data. Results show the differences between the model and the test setup, as well as explaining the probable cause for the differences; another set of results were produced after taking into account these differences, such as parasitic heat leak. Substantial effort has been made in listing the possibilities to further develop DECOM, thus to make it more reliable, user-friendly, and better integrated with generic SINDA models. The comparison of DeCoM to FloCAD and TTH LHP should not be taken as a definite answer to choosing DeCoM as a condenser modeler, rather as an alternate to obtaining preliminary results without the complexity of TTH LHP and license of FloCAD.

Patel, Deepak↗
NASA NTRS2011

Data Service Provider Cost Estimation Tool

The Data Service Provider Cost Estimation Tool (CET) and Comparables Database (CDB) package provides to NASA s Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) the ability to estimate the full range of year-by-year lifecycle cost estimates for the implementation and operation of data service providers required by ESE to support its science and applications programs. The CET can make estimates dealing with staffing costs, supplies, facility costs, network services, hardware and maintenance, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software licenses, software development and sustaining engineering, and the changes in costs that result from changes in workload. Data Service Providers may be stand-alone or embedded in flight projects, field campaigns, research or applications projects, or other activities. The CET and CDB package employs a cost-estimation-by-analogy approach. It is based on a new, general data service provider reference model that provides a framework for construction of a database by describing existing data service providers that are analogs (or comparables) to planned, new ESE data service providers. The CET implements the staff effort and cost estimation algorithms that access the CDB and generates the lifecycle cost estimate for a new data services provider. This data creates a common basis for an ESE proposal evaluator for considering projected data service provider costs.

Fontaine, Kathy↗
NASA NTRS2011

Multidisciplinary Tool for Systems Analysis of Planetary Entry, Descent, and Landing

Systems analysis of a planetary entry (SAPE), descent, and landing (EDL) is a multidisciplinary activity in nature. SAPE improves the performance of the systems analysis team by automating and streamlining the process, and this improvement can reduce the errors that stem from manual data transfer among discipline experts. SAPE is a multidisciplinary tool for systems analysis of planetary EDL for Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Titan. It performs EDL systems analysis for any planet, operates cross-platform (i.e., Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems), uses existing software components and open-source software to avoid software licensing issues, performs low-fidelity systems analysis in one hour on a computer that is comparable to an average laptop, and keeps discipline experts in the analysis loop. SAPE uses Python, a platform-independent, open-source language, for integration and for the user interface. Development has relied heavily on the object-oriented programming capabilities that are available in Python. Modules are provided to interface with commercial and government off-the-shelf software components (e.g., thermal protection systems and finite-element analysis). SAPE currently includes the following analysis modules: geometry, trajectory, aerodynamics, aerothermal, thermal protection system, and interface for structural sizing.

Samareh, Jamshid A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Remediation Technologies Eliminate Contaminants

All research and development has a story behind it, says Jacqueline Quinn, environmental engineer at Kennedy Space Center. For Quinn, one such story begins with the Saturn 1B launch stand at Kennedy and ends with a unique solution to a challenging environmental problem. Used in a number of Apollo missions and during the Skylab program, the Saturn 1B launch stand was dismantled following the transition to the Space Shuttle Program and stored in an open field at Kennedy. Decades later, the Center s Environmental Program Office discovered evidence of chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the field s soil. The findings were puzzling since PCBs a toxin classified as a probable carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been banned in the United States since 1979. Before the ban, PCBs were commonly used in transformer oils that leached into the ground when the oils were changed out and dumped near transformer sites, but there were no electrical transformers near the dismantled stand. It soon became apparent that the source of the PCBs was the launch stand itself. Prior to the ban, PCBs were used extensively in paints to add elasticity and other desirable characteristics. The PCB-laden paint on the Saturn 1B launch stand was flaking off into the field s soil. Nobody knew there were PCBs in the paint, says Quinn, noting that the ingredient was not monitored carefully when it was in use in 1960s. In fact, she says, the U.S. EPA was not even established until 1970, a year after Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon. Nobody knew any better at the time, Quinn says, but today, we have the responsibility to return any natural environmental media to as close to pristine a condition as possible. Quinn, fellow engineer Kathleen Loftin, and other Kennedy colleagues already had experience developing unprecedented solutions for environmental contamination; the team invented the emulsified zero-valent iron (EZVI) technology to safely treat groundwater tainted by chlorinated solvents once used to clean rocket engine components. The award-winning innovation (Spinoff 2010) is now NASA s most licensed technology to date. PCBs in paint presented a new challenge. Removing the launch stand for recycling proved a difficult operation; the toxic paint had to be fully stripped from the steel structure, a lengthy and costly process that required the stripped paint to be treated before disposal. Noting the lack of efficient, environmentally friendly options for dealing with PCBs, Quinn and her colleagues developed the Activated Metal Treatment System (AMTS). AMTS is a paste consisting of a solvent solution containing microscale particles of activated zero-valent metal. When applied to a painted surface, the paste extracts and degrades the PCBs into benign byproducts while leaving the paint on the structure. This provides a superior alternative to other methods for PCB remediation, such as stripping the paint or incinerating the structure, which prevents reuse and can release volatized PCBs into the air. Since its development, AMTS has proven to be a valuable solution for removing PCBs from paint, caulking, and various insulation and filler materials in older buildings, naval ships, and former munitions facilities where the presence of PCBs interferes with methods for removing trace explosive materials. Miles of potentially toxic caulking join sections of runways at airports. Any of these materials installed before 1979 potentially contain PCBs, Quinn says. "This is not just a NASA problem," she says. "It s a global problem."

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