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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 NTRS1986

Wall Interference in Two-Dimensional Wind Tunnels

Viscosity and tunnel-wall constraints introduced via boundary conditions. TWINTN4 computer program developed to implement method of posttest assessment of wall interference in two-dimensional wind tunnels. Offers two methods for combining sidewall boundary-layer effects with upper and lower wall interference. In sequential procedure, Sewall method used to define flow free of sidewall effects, then assessed for upper and lower wall effects. In unified procedure, wind-tunnel flow equations altered to incorporate effects from all four walls at once. Program written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution.

Kemp, William B., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1976

NASTRAN used in a production environment

A finite element analysis procedure built around the NASTRAN system is assessed. A number of support programs that were either written or modified to interface with NASTRAN and some improvements that were made to NASTRAN itself are noted. Some typical models are analyzed and an actual schedule is followed for constructing and analyzing the models to support a large design program.

Wilkinson, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Analytic studies of local-severe-storm observables by satellites

Attention is concentrated on the exceptionally violet whirlwind, often characterized by a fairly vertical axis of rotation. For a cylindrical polar coordinate system with axis coincident with the axis of rotation, the secondary flow involves the radial and axial velocity components. The thesis advanced is, first, that a violent whirlwind is characterized by swirl speeds relative to the axis of rotation on the order of 90 m/s, with 100 m/s being close to an upper bound. This estimate is based on interpretation of funnel-cloud shape (which also suggests properties of the radial profile of swirl, as well as the maximum magnitude); an error assessment of the funnel-cloud interpretation procedure is developed. Second, computation of ground-level pressure deficits achievable from typical tornado-spawning ambients by idealized thermohydrostatic processes suggests that a two-cell structure is required to sustain such large speeds.

Dergarabedian, P.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Energy and remote sensing applications

The nature of the U.S. energy problem is examined. Based upon the best available estimates, it appears that demand for OPEC oil will exceed OPEC productive capacity in the early to mid-eighties. The upward pressure on world oil prices resulting from this supply/demand gap could have serious international consequences, both financial and in terms of foreign policy implementation. National Energy Plan objectives in response to this situation are discussed. Major strategies for achieving these objectives include a conversion of industry and utilities from oil and gas to coal and other abundant fuels. Remote sensing from aircraft and spacecraft could make significant contributions to the solution of energy problems in a number of ways, related to exploration of energy-related resources, the efficiency and safety of exploitation procedures, power plant siting, environmental monitoring and assessment, and the transportation infrastructure.

Summers, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Ground experiments for finding principles and working out methods for preventing adverse effects of weightlessness on the human organism

A comparative assessment of the effectiveness of different prophylactic procedures to prevent the adverse effects of weightlessness is presented. It is concluded that: physical training is most effective but no single method by itself produces the full effect, and an adjustment of regimes to one another enhances the effect. The approved complex of prophylactic procedures affected basic changes occurring in hypokinesia: deficit of muscular activity, no or reduced BP hydrostatic component, reduced volume of blood circulation, reduced hydration level, and the application of various prophylactic complexes during 49 day antiorthostatic hypodynamia eliminated or reduced the adverse effects of weightlessness in simulation.

Kakurin, L. I.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The application of LANDSAT remote sensing technology to natural resources management. Section 1: Introduction to VICAR - Image classification module. Section 2: Forest resource assessment of Humboldt County.

A teaching module on image classification procedures using the VICAR computer software package was developed to optimize the training benefits for users of the VICAR programs. The field test of the module is discussed. An intensive forest land inventory strategy was developed for Humboldt County. The results indicate that LANDSAT data can be computer classified to yield site specific forest resource information with high accuracy (82%). The "Douglas-fir 80%" category was found to cover approximately 21% of the county and "Mixed Conifer 80%" covering about 13%. The "Redwood 80%" resource category, which represented dense old growth trees as well as large second growth, comprised 4.0% of the total vegetation mosaic. Furthermore, the "Brush" and "Brush-Regeneration" categories were found to be a significant part of the vegetative community, with area estimates of 9.4 and 10.0%.

Fox, L., III↗

NASA NTRS1984

Application of thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations near maximum lift

The flowfield about a NACA 0012 airfoil at a Mach number of 0.3 and Reynolds number of 1 million is computed through an angle of attack range, up to 18 deg, corresponding to conditions up to and beyond the maximum lift coefficient. Results obtained using the compressible thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations are presented as well as results from the compressible Euler equations with and without a viscous coupling procedure. The applicability of each code is assessed and many thin-layer Navier-Stokes benchmark solutions are obtained which can be used for comparison with other codes intended for use at high angles of attack. Reasonable agreement of the Navier-Stokes code with experiment and the viscous-inviscid interaction code is obtained at moderate angles of attack. An unsteady solution is obtained with the thin-layer Navier-Stokes code at the highest angle of attack considered. The maximum lift coefficient is overpredicted, however, in comparison to experimental data, which is attributed to the presence of a laminar separation bubble near the leading edge not modeled in the computations. Two comparisons with experimental data are also presented at a higher Mach number.

Anderson, W. K.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Fatigue damage analysis under variable amplitude cycling

This paper explores the suitability of a recently proposed mean stress parameter and introduces a nonlinear damage accumulation procedure. Data covering a range of positive and negative stress ratios from +0.6 to -2.66, for several aluminum alloys and steels, are assembled and shown to be well correlated by a simple damage parameter. A nonlinear damage accumulation postulate is advanced to replace the usual linear procedure. Results of critical experiments performed to assess the suitability of the postulate are introduced and shown to support a non-linear criterion. The implications of this work related to variable amplitude life prediction are discussed.

Leis, B. N.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Timber inventory using Landsat

The results of recent efforts to apply Landsat MSS imagery, in concert with topological maps, to forestry timber inventories via the FOCIS program are reported. FOCIS (Forests Classification and Inventory System) was defined for inventorying the lumber volume of coniferous tree types in rugged terrain regions. Data from four bands serve as input for unsupervised clustering and iterative labeling of the elevation, slope angle, and subregions of interest. Simulated photographic maps are generated which serve as overlays for regular maps for assessing timber harvests and sales goals. Sample procedures followed in mapping the Eldorado region forests in the Sierra Nevada mountains are discussed.

Strahler, A. H.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Systematic and random variations in digital Thematic Mapper data

Radiance recorded by any remote sensing instrument will contain noise which will consist of both systematic and random variations. Systematic variations may be due to sun-target-sensor geometry, atmospheric conditions, and the interaction of the spectral characteristics of the sensor with those of upwelling radiance. Random variations in the data may be caused by variations in the nature and in the heterogeneity of the ground cover, by variations in atmospheric transmission, and by the interaction of these variations with the sensing device. It is important to be aware of the extent of random and systematic errors in recorded radiance data across ostensibly uniform ground areas in order to assess the impact on quantative image analysis procedures for both the single date and the multidate cases. It is the intention here to examine the systematic and the random variations in digital radiance data recorded in each band by the thematic mapper over crop areas which are ostensibly uniform and which are free from visible cloud.

Duggin, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1989

The effects of Reynolds number, rotor incidence angle, and surface roughness on the heat transfer distribution in a large-scale turbine rotor passage

A combined experimental and computational program was conducted to examine the heat transfer distribution in a turbine rotor passage geometrically similiar to the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) High Pressure Fuel Turbopump (HPFTP). Heat transfer was measured and computed for both the full-span suction and pressure surfaces of the rotor airfoil as well as for the hub endwall surface. The primary objective of the program was to provide a benchmark-quality data base for the assessment of rotor passage heat transfer computational procedures. The experimental portion of the study was conducted in a large-scale, ambient temperature, rotating turbine model. Heat transfer data were obtained using thermocouple and liquid-crystal techniques to measure temperature distributions on the thin, electrically-heated skin of the rotor passage model. Test data were obtained for various combinations of Reynolds number, rotor incidence angle and model surface roughness. The data are reported in the form of contour maps of Stanton number. These heat distribution maps revealed numerous local effects produced by the three-dimensional flows within the rotor passage. Of particular importance were regions of local enhancement produced on the airfoil suction surface by the main-passage and tip-leakage vortices and on the hub endwall by the leading-edge horseshoe vortex system. The computational portion consisted of the application of a well-posed parabolized Navier-Stokes analysis to the calculation of the three-dimensional viscous flow through ducts simulating the a gas turbine passage. These cases include a 90 deg turning duct, a gas turbine cascade simulating a stator passage, and a gas turbine rotor passage including Coriolis forces. The calculated results were evaluated using experimental data of the three-dimensional velocity fields, wall static pressures, and wall heat transfer on the suction surface of the turbine airfoil and on the end wall. Particular attention was paid to an accurate modeling of the passage vortex and to the development of the wall boundary layers including crossflow.

Blair, Michael F.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Wall interference assessment/correction (WIAC) for transonic airfoil data from porous and shaped wall test sections

An existing computational wall interference assessment/correction (WIAC) procedure is applied to two sets of transonic airfoil data obtained from the same model tested in both a porous, planar-wall and a solid, shaped-wall test section. The published airfoil data from the porous test section agrees reasonably well with the published data from the shaped wall test section, although some differences exist. The WIAC procedure is applied to the data to assess and correct any wall interference effects; WIAC corrections generally improve the correlation between the two data sets. As an independent verification, both the published and WIAC corrected airfoil data are compared to Navier-Stokes calculations. Correlations are generally better between the WIAC corrected data and the Navier-Stokes calculations than between similar correlations with the published data.

Mineck, Raymond E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Space Station Freedom/lunar transfer vehicle propellant operation hazard analysis

Space Station Freedom (SSF), as a transportation node for Space Exploration Initiative missions, would involve the assembly and refurbishing of lunar and Mars transfer vehicles. This includes operations involving cryogenic propellants (LH2 7 LO2) such as storing and handling of loaded propellant tanks, assembly onto the vehicle, and propellant transfer. Cryogenic propellants dictate rigorous safety precautions and impose unique requirements to ensure flight safety to both personnel and SSF elements. The objective of this study is to identify potential hazards and risks associated with cryogenic propellants. This involves identification of pertinent system design features and operational procedures. Criticality of identified risks/hazards shall be assessed and those that fall in the catastrophic and critical categories shall include mitigating solutions.

Dominick, Sam↗

NASA NTRS1991

Designing for on-orbit maintenance

The history of conducting maintenance in space is outlined with particular emphasis on Skylab and shuttle missions to develop maintenance concepts for applications to maintaining the Space Station Freedom. In-flight maintenance (IFM) encompasses the activities of the crew alone or with robotic devices inside or outside the pressurized elements. The extravehicular activities (EVAs) and 141 on-orbit intravehicular activities (IVAs) related to space shuttle flights are discussed in terms of task and level of success. Skylab IFM procedures including IVA and EVA are similarly assessed, and two critical issues are identified. Coordination of flight crew, technicians, and other personnel is critical, and the efficient generation, collection, and storage of data is a key to IFM effectiveness. The overriding concern is that design guidelines for IFM learned from other programs are built into the development of technologies for the Space Station Freedom.

Accola, Anne L.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Global Design Optimization for Aerodynamics and Rocket Propulsion Components

Modern computational and experimental tools for aerodynamics and propulsion applications have matured to a stage where they can provide substantial insight into engineering processes involving fluid flows, and can be fruitfully utilized to help improve the design of practical devices. In particular, rapid and continuous development in aerospace engineering demands that new design concepts be regularly proposed to meet goals for increased performance, robustness and safety while concurrently decreasing cost. To date, the majority of the effort in design optimization of fluid dynamics has relied on gradient-based search algorithms. Global optimization methods can utilize the information collected from various sources and by different tools. These methods offer multi-criterion optimization, handle the existence of multiple design points and trade-offs via insight into the entire design space, can easily perform tasks in parallel, and are often effective in filtering the noise intrinsic to numerical and experimental data. However, a successful application of the global optimization method needs to address issues related to data requirements with an increase in the number of design variables, and methods for predicting the model performance. In this article, we review recent progress made in establishing suitable global optimization techniques employing neural network and polynomial-based response surface methodologies. Issues addressed include techniques for construction of the response surface, design of experiment techniques for supplying information in an economical manner, optimization procedures and multi-level techniques, and assessment of relative performance between polynomials and neural networks. Examples drawn from wing aerodynamics, turbulent diffuser flows, gas-gas injectors, and supersonic turbines are employed to help demonstrate the issues involved in an engineering design context. Both the usefulness of the existing knowledge to aid current design practices and the need for future research are identified.

Shyy, Wei↗

NASA NTRS2005

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INFLIGHT COUNTERMEASURE TO MITIGATE POSTFLIGHT GAIT DYSFUNCTION

Following spaceflight crewmembers experience gait and postural instabilities due to inflight adaptive alterations in sensorimotor function. These changes can pose a risk to crew safety if nominal or emergency vehicle egress is required immediately following long-duration spaceflight. At present, no operational countermeasure is available to mitigate postflight locomotor disturbances. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop an inflight training regimen that facilitates the recovery of locomotor function after long-duration spaceflight. The countermeasure we are developing is based on the concept of variable practice. During this type of training the subject gains experience producing the appropriate adaptive motor behavior under a variety of sensory conditions and response constraints. This countermeasure is built around current ISS treadmill exercise activities. Crewmembers will conduct their nominal inflight treadmill exercise while being exposed to variations in visual flow patterns. These variations will challenge the postural and locomotor systems repeatedly, thereby promoting adaptive reorganization in locomotor behavior. As a result of this training a subject learns to solve a class of motor problems, rather than a specific motor solution to one problem, Le., the subject learns response generalizability or the ability to "learn to learn" under a variety of environmental constraints. We anticipate that this training will accelerate recovery of postural and locomotor function during readaptation to gravitational environments following spaceflight facilitating neural adaptation to unit (Earth) and partial (Mars) gravity after long-duration spaceflight. The study calls for one group of subjects to perform the inflight treadmill training regimen while a control group of subjects performs only the nominal exercise procedures. Locomotor function in both groups is assessed before and after spaceflight using two tests of gait function: The Integrated Treadmill Locomotion Test (ITLT) and the Functional Mobility Test (FMT). The ITLT characterizes alterations in the integrated function of multiple sensorimotor subsystems responsible for the control of locomotion. This test calls for subjects to walk on a motorized treadmill while we assess changes in dynamic postural stability, head-trunk coordination, short-latency head stabilization responses, dynamic visual acuity, lower limb coordination strategies and gait cycle timing. To make these assessments we measure the following parameters while subjects walk on the treadmill: 1) full body 3-dimensional kinematics using a motion capture system (Motion Analysis Corp., Santa Rosa, CA); 2) the shock-wave transmitted from heel-strike to the head using triaxial accelerometers placed on the tibia and head (Entran, Fairfield, NJ); 3) vertical forces using an instrumented treadmill (Kistler Instrument Corp., Amherst, NY); 4) Dynamic visual acuity using Landolt Cs presented on a laptop computer located 4m from the eyes and 5) Gait cycle timing using foot-switches (Motion Lab Systems, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA) attached to the plantar surface of each shoe at the heel and toe. The FMT evaluates a subject's ability to perform challenging locomotor maneuvers similar to those encountered during an egress from a space vehicle. Subjects step over and duck under obstacles along with negotiating a series of pylons set up on a base of 10 cm thick medium density foam. The dependent measures for the FMT are time to complete the course and the number of obstacles touched. To date, we have collected pre and postflight locomotion data from Expeditions 5-9 who will serve as part of the control group for this study. Preliminary results comparing the recovery rates in gait control sub-systems obtained from the ITLT and FMT performance showed two recovery patterns: 1) a concordant recovery trend between gait control parameters and FMT performance indicating a restitution pattern of recovery and 2) gait controecovery that lagged recovery in FMT performance suggesting that improvement in locomotor function was attained through a pattern of substitution. These data suggest that recovery of postflight locomotor function may occur through adaptive mechanisms that lead to either restitution or substitution of function. Understanding the modes of postflight readaptation has implications for countermeasure development and testing and in astronaut postflight rehabilitation.

Bloomberg, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Habitability Designs for Crew Exploration Vehicle

NASA's space human factors team is contributing to the habitability of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), which will take crews to low Earth orbit, and dock there with additional vehicles to go on to the moon's surface. They developed a task analysis for operations and for self-sustenance (sleeping, eating, hygiene), and estimated the volumes required for performing the various tasks and for the associated equipment, tools and supplies. Rough volumetric mockups were built for crew evaluations. Trade studies were performed to determine the size and location of windows. The habitability analysis also contributes to developing concepts of operations by identifying constraints on crew time. Recently completed studies provided stowage concepts, tools for assessing lighting constraints, and approaches to medical procedure development compatible with the tight space and absence of gravity. New work will be initiated to analyze design concepts and verify that equipment and layouts do meet requirements.

Woolford, Barbara↗

NASA NTRS2005

Development of an Inflight Countermeasure to Mitigate Postflight Gait Dysfunction

Following spaceflight crewmembers experience gait and postural instabilities due to inflight adaptive alterations in sensorimotor function. These changes can pose a risk to crew safety if nominal or emergency vehicle egress is required immediately following long-duration spaceflight. At present, no operational countermeasure is available to mitigate postflight locomotor disturbances. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop an inflight training regimen that facilitates the recovery of locomotor function after long-duration spaceflight. The countermeasure we are developing is based on the concept of variable practice. During this type of training the subject gains experience producing the appropriate adaptive motor behavior under a variety of sensory conditions and response constraints. This countermeasure is built around current ISS treadmill exercise activities. Crewmembers will conduct their nominal inflight treadmill exercise while being exposed to variations in visual flow patterns. These variations will challenge the postural and locomotor systems repeatedly, thereby promoting adaptive reorganization in locomotor behavior. As a result of this training a subject learns to solve a class of motor problems, rather than a specific motor solution to one problem, Le., the subject learns response generalizability or the ability to "learn to learn" under a variety of environmental constraints. We anticipate that this training will accelerate recovery of postural and locomotor function during readaptation to gravitational environments following spaceflight facilitating neural adaptation to unit (Earth) and partial (Mars) gravity after long-duration spaceflight. The study calls for one group of subjects to perform the inflight treadmill training regimen while a control group of subjects performs only the nominal exercise procedures. Locomotor function in both groups is assessed before and after spaceflight using two tests of gait function: The Integrated Treadmill Locomotion Test (ITLT) and the Functional Mobility Test (FMT). The ITLT characterizes alterations in the integrated function of multiple sensorimotor subsystems responsible for the control of locomotion. This test calls for subjects to walk on a motorized treadmill while we assess changes in dynamic postural stability, head-trunk coordination, short-latency head stabilization responses, dynamic visual acuity, lower limb coordination strategies and gait cycle timing. To make these assessments we measure the following parameters while subjects walk on the treadmill: 1) full body 3-dimensional kinematics using a motion capture system (Motion Analysis Corp., Santa Rosa, CA); 2) the shock-wave transmitted from heel-strike to the head using triaxial accelerometers placed on the tibia and head (Entran, Fairfield, NJ); 3) vertical forces using an instumented treadmill (Kistler Instrument Corp., Amherst, NY); 4) Dynamic visual acuity using Landolt Cs presented on a laptop computer located 4m from the eyes and 5) Gait cycle timing using foot-switches (Motion Lab Systems, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA) attached to the plantar surface of each shoe at the heel and toe. The FMT evaluates s. subject's ability to perform challenging locomotor maneuvers similar to those encountered during an egress from a space vehicle. Subjects step over and duck under obstacles along with negotiating a series of pylons set up on a base of 10 cm thick medium density foam. The dependent measures for the FMT are time to complete the course and the number of obstacles touched. To date, we have collected pre and postflight locomotion data from Expeditions 5-9 who will serve as part of the control group for this study. Preliminary results comparing the recovery rates in gait control sub-systems obtained from the ITLT and FMT performance showed two recovery patterns: 1) a concordant recovery trend between gait control parameters and FMT performance indicating a restitution pattern of recovery and 2) gait controecovery that lagged recovery in FMT performance suggesting that improvement in locomotor function was attained through a pattern of substitution. These data suggest that recovery of postflight locomotor function may occur through adaptive mechanisms that lead to either restitution or substitution of function. Understanding the modes of postflight readaptation has implications for countermeasure development and testing and in astronaut postflight rehabilitation.

Bloomberg, J. J.↗