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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 307 records · Page 17
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NASA NTRS2013

An Airborne Parachute Compartment Test Bed for the Orion Parachute Test Program

The test program developing parachutes for the Orion/MPCV includes drop tests with parachutes deployed from an Orion-like parachute compartment at a wide range of dynamic pressures. Aircraft and altitude constraints precluded the use of an Orion boilerplate capsule for several test points. Therefore, a dart-shaped test vehicle with a hi-fidelity mock-up of the Orion parachute compartment has been developed. The available aircraft options imposed constraints on the test vehicle development and concept of operations. Delivery of this test vehicle to the desired velocity, altitude, and orientation required for the test is a di cult problem involving multiple engineering disciplines. This paper describes the development of the test technique. The engineering challenges include extraction from an aircraft, reposition of the extraction parachute, and mid-air separation of two vehicles, neither of which has an active attitude control system. The desired separation behavior is achieved by precisely controlling the release point using on-board monitoring of the motion. The design of the test vehicle is also described. The trajectory simulations and other analyses used to develop this technique and predict the behavior of the test vehicle are reviewed in detail. The application of the technique on several successful drop tests is summarized.

Moore, James W.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Comparative Study on High-Order Positivity-preserving WENO Schemes

The goal of this study is to compare the results obtained by non-positivity-preserving methods with the recently developed positivity-preserving schemes for representative test cases. In particular the more di cult 3D Noh and Sedov problems are considered. These test cases are chosen because of the negative pressure/density most often exhibited by standard high-order shock-capturing schemes. The simulation of a hypersonic nonequilibrium viscous shock tube that is related to the NASA Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST) is also included. EAST is a high-temperature and high Mach number viscous nonequilibrium ow consisting of 13 species. In addition, as most common shock-capturing schemes have been developed for problems without source terms, when applied to problems with nonlinear and/or sti source terms these methods can result in spurious solutions, even when solving a conservative system of equations with a conservative scheme. This kind of behavior can be observed even for a scalar case (LeVeque & Yee 1990) as well as for the case consisting of two species and one reaction (Wang et al. 2012). For further information concerning this issue see (LeVeque & Yee 1990; Griffiths et al. 1992; Lafon & Yee 1996; Yee et al. 2012). This EAST example indicated that standard high-order shock-capturing methods exhibit instability of density/pressure in addition to grid-dependent discontinuity locations with insufficient grid points. The evaluation of these test cases is based on the stability of the numerical schemes together with the accuracy of the obtained solutions.

Kotov, Dmitry V.↗
NASA NTRS2013

A Particle-in-Cell Simulation for the Traveling Wave Direct Energy Converter (TWDEC) for Fusion Propulsion

A Particle-in-cell simulation model has been developed to study the physics of the Traveling Wave Direct Energy Converter (TWDEC) applied to the conversion of charged fusion products into electricity. In this model the availability of a beam of collimated fusion products is assumed; the simulation is focused on the conversion of the beam kinetic energy into alternating current (AC) electric power. The model is electrostatic, as the electro-dynamics of the relatively slow ions can be treated in the quasistatic approximation. A two-dimensional, axisymmetric (radial-axial coordinates) geometry is considered. Ion beam particles are injected on one end and travel along the axis through ring-shaped electrodes with externally applied time-varying voltages, thus modulating the beam by forming a sinusoidal pattern in the beam density. Further downstream, the modulated beam passes through another set of ring electrodes, now electrically oating. The modulated beam induces a time alternating potential di erence between adjacent electrodes. Power can be drawn from the electrodes by connecting a resistive load. As energy is dissipated in the load, a corresponding drop in beam energy is measured. The simulation encapsulates the TWDEC process by reproducing the time-dependent transfer of energy and the particle deceleration due to the electric eld phase time variations.

Chap, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS2012

Using Gravity Assists in the Earth-moon System as a Gateway to the Solar System

For spacecraft departing the Earth - Moon system, lunar flybys can significantly increase the hype rbolic escape energy (C3, in km 2 /sec 2 ) for a modest increase in flight time. Within ~2 months, lunar flybys can produce a C3 of ~2. Over 4 - 6 months, lunar flybys alone can increase the C3 to ~4.5, or they can provide for additional periapsis burns to increase the C3 from ~2 -3 to 10 or more, suitable for planetary missions. A lunar flyby departure can be followed by additional ∆ -V (such as that efficiently provided by a low thrust system, eg. Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP)) to raise the Earth - relative velocity (at a ratio of more than 2:1) before a subsequent Earth flyby, which redirects that velocity to a more di stant target, all within not much more than a year. This paper describes the applicability of lunar flybys for different flight times and propulsi on systems, and illustrates this with instances of past usage and future possibilities. Examples discussed i nclude ISEE - 3, Nozomi, STEREO, 2018 Mars studies (which showed an 8% payload increase), and missions to Near Earth Objects (NEOs). In addition, the options for the achieving the initial lunar flyby are systematically discussed, with a view towards their p ractical use with in a compact launch period. In particular, we show that launches to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) as a secondary payload provide a feasible means of obtaining a lunar flyby for an acceptable cost, even for SEP systems that cannot ea sily deliver large ∆ - Vs at periapsis. Taken together, these results comprise a myriad of options for increasing the mission performance, by the efficient use of lunar flybys within an acceptable extension of the flight time.

lunar fly-bys↗
NASA NTRS2014

Compositional Diversity of the Vestan Regolith Derived from Howardite Compositions and Dawn VIR Spectra

Howardite, eucrite and diogenite meteorites likely come from asteroid 4 Vesta [1]. Howardites - physical mixtures of eucrites and diogenites - are of two subtypes: regolithic howardites were gardened in the true regolith; fragmental howardites are simple polymict breccias [2]. The Dawn spacecraft imaged the howarditic surface of Vesta with the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) resulting in qualitative maps of the distributions of distinct diogenite-rich and eucrite-rich terranes [3, 4]. We are developing a robust basis for quantitative mapping of the distribution of lithologic types using spectra acquired on splits of well-characterized howardites [5, 6]. Spectra were measured on sample powders sieved to <75 μm in the laboratories of the Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali and Brown University. Data reduction was done using the methods developed to process Dawn VIR spectra [4]. The band parameters for the ~1 and ~2 μm pyroxene absorption features (hereafter BI and BII) can be directly compared to Dawn VIR results. Regolithic howardites have shallower BI and BII absorptions compared to fragmental howardites with similar compositions. However, there are statistically significant correlations between Al or Ca contents and BI or BII center wavelengths regardless of howardite subtype. Diogenites are poor in Al and Ca while eucrites are rich in these elements. The laboratory spectra can thus be directly correlated with the percentage of eucrite material contained in the howardites. We are using these correlations to quantitatively map Al and Ca distributions, and thus the percentage of eucritic material, in the current regolith of Vesta.

Mittlefehldt, D. W.↗
NASA NTRS2014

An Overview of the Characterization of the Space Launch Vehicle Aerodynamic Environments

Aerodynamic environments are some of the rst engineering data products that are needed to design a space launch vehicle. These products are used in performance predic- tions, vehicle control algorithm design, as well as determing loads on primary and secondary structures in multiple discipline areas. When the National Aeronautics and Space Admin- istration (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program was established with the goal of designing a new, heavy-lift launch vehicle rst capable of lifting the Orion Program Multi- Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) to low-earth orbit and preserving the potential to evolve the design to a 200 metric ton cargo launcher, the data needs were no di erent. Upon commencement of the new program, a characterization of aerodynamic environments were immediately initiated. In the time since, the SLS Aerodynamics Team has produced data describing the majority of the aerodynamic environment de nitions needed for structural design and vehicle control under nominal ight conditions. This paper provides an overview of select SLS aerodynamic environments completed to date.

Blevins, John A.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Efficient Creation of Overset Grid Hole Boundaries and Effects of Their Locations on Aerodynamic Loads

Recent developments on the automation of the X-rays approach to hole-cutting in over- set grids is further improved. A fast method to compute an auxiliary wall-distance function used in providing a rst estimate of the hole boundary location is introduced. Subsequent iterations lead to automatically-created hole boundaries with a spatially-variable o set from the minimum hole. For each hole boundary location, an averaged cell attribute measure over all fringe points is used to quantify the compatibility between the fringe points and their respective donor cells. The sensitivity of aerodynamic loads to di erent hole boundary locations and cell attribute compatibilities is investigated using four test cases: an isolated re-entry capsule, a two-rocket con guration, the AIAA 4th Drag Prediction Workshop Common Research Model (CRM), and the D8 \Double Bubble" subsonic aircraft. When best practices in hole boundary treatment are followed, only small variations in integrated loads and convergence rates are observed for different hole boundary locations.

Overset↗
NASA NTRS2012

The Possible Interstellar Anion CH2CN-: Spectroscopic Constants, Vibrational Frequencies, and Other Considerations

The A 1B1 <-1A0 excitation into the dipole-bound state of the cyanomethyl anion (CH2CN􀀀) has been hypothesized as the carrier for one di use interstellar band. However, this particular molecular system has not been detected in the interstellar medium even though the related cyanomethyl radical and the isoelectronic ketenimine molecule have been found. In this study we are employing the use of proven quartic force elds and second-order vibrational perturbation theory to compute accurate spectroscopic constants and fundamental vibrational frequencies for ~X 1A0 CH2CN􀀀 in order to assist in laboratory studies and astronomical observations. Keywords: Astrochemistry, ISM: molecular anions, Quartic force elds, Rotational constants, Vibrational frequencies

Astrochemistry↗
NASA NTRS2014

Design of a K/Q-band Beacon Receiver for the Alphasat TDP#5 Experiment

This paper describes the design and performance of a coherent K/Q-band (20/40GHz) beacon receiver developed at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) that will be installed at the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) for use in the Alphasat Technology Demonstration Payload #5 (TDP#5) beacon experiment. The goal of this experiment is to characterize rain fade attenuation at 40GHz to improve the performance of existing statistical rain attenuation models in the Q-band. The ground terminal developed by NASA GRC utilizes an FFT-based frequency estimation receiver capable of characterizing total path attenuation effects due to gaseous absorption, clouds, rain, and scintillation. The receiver system has been characterized in the lab and demonstrates a system dynamic range performance of better than 58dB at 1Hz and better than 48dB at 10Hz rates.

beacon receiver↗
NASA NTRS2014

Interstellar Organics, the Solar Nebula, and Saturn's Satellite Phoebe

The diffuse interstellar medium inventory of organic material (Pendleton et al. 1994, Pe 2002) was likely incorporated into the molecular cloud in which the solar nebula condensed. This provided the feedstock for the fo planets, and the smaller icy bodies in the region outside Neptune's orbit (transneptunian objects, or TNOs). Saturn's satellites Phoeb open a window to the composition of one class of TNO as revealed by the near-infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) on the Cass Phoebe (mean diameter 213 km) is a former TNO now orbiting Saturn. VIMS spectral maps of Phoebe's surface reveal a complex consisting of prominent aromatic (CH) and aliphatic hydrocarbon (CH2, CH3) absorption bands (3.2-3.6 μm). Phoebe is the source encircling Saturn, and from which particles (~5-20 μm size) spiral inward toward Saturn. They encounter Iapetus and Hyperion wh blanket the native H2O ice of those two bodies. Quantitative analysis of the hydrocarbon bands on Iapetus demonstrates that aroma abundant as aliphatic CH2+CH3, significantly exceeding the strength of the aromatic signature in interplanetary dust particles, com carbonaceous meteorites (Cruikshank et al. 2013). A similar excess of aromatics over aliphatics is seen in the qualitative analysis o itself (Dalle Ore et al. 2012). The Iapetus aliphatic hydrocarbons show CH2/CH3 ~4, which is larger than the value found in the di as Phoebe is a primitive body that formed in the outer regions of the solar nebula and has preserved some of the original nebula inv understanding the content and degree of processing of that nebular material. There are other Phoebe-like TNOs that are presently b in the organic spectral region, but JWST will open that possibility for a number of objects. We now need to explore and understand organic-bearing Solar System material to the solar nebula and the inventory of ISM materials incorporated therein.

Interstellar↗
NASA NTRS2013

Absorption Efficiencies of Forsterite. I: DDA Explorations in Grain Shape and Size

We compute the absorption efficiency (Q(sub abs)) of forsterite using the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) in order to identify and describe what characteristics of crystal grain shape and size are important to the shape, peak location, and relative strength of spectral features in the 8 - 40 micron wavelength range. Using the DDSCAT code, we compute Q(sub abs) for non-spherical polyhedral grain shapes with a(sub eff) = 0.1 micron. The shape characteristics identified are: 1) elongation/reduction along one of three crystallographic axes; 2) asymmetry, such that all three crystallographic axes are of different lengths; and 3) the presence of crystalline faces that are not parallel to a specific crystallographic axis, e.g., non-rectangular prisms and (di)pyramids. Elongation/reduction dominates the locations and shapes of spectral features near 10, 11, 16, 23.5, 27, and 33.5 micron, while asymmetry and tips are secondary shape effects. Increasing grain sizes (0.1 - 1.0 micron) shifts the 10, 11 micron features systematically towards longer wavelengths and relative to the 11 micron feature increases the strengths and slightly broadens the longer wavelength features. Seven spectral shape classes are established for crystallographic a-, b-, and c-axes and include columnar and platelet shapes plus non-elongated or equant grain shapes. The spectral shape classes and the effects of grain size have practical application in identifying or excluding columnar, platelet or equant forsterite grain shapes in astrophysical environs. Identification of the shape characteristics of forsterite from 8 - 40 micron spectra provides a potential means to probe the temperatures at which forsterite formed.

circumstellar matter↗
NASA NTRS2014

Comparitive Study of High-Order Positivity-Preserving WENO Schemes

In gas dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics flows, physically, the density ρ and the pressure p should both be positive. In a standard conservative numerical scheme, however, the computed internal energy is The ideas of Zhang & Shu (2012) and Hu et al. (2012) precisely address the aforementioned issue. Zhang & Shu constructed a new conservative positivity-preserving procedure to preserve positive density and pressure for high-order Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (WENO) schemes by the Lax-Friedrichs flux (WENO/LLF). In general, WENO/LLF is obtained by subtracting the kinetic energy from the total energy, resulting in a computed p that may be negative. Examples are problems in which the dominant energy is kinetic. Negative ρ may often emerge in computing blast waves. In such situations the computed eigenvalues of the Jacobian will become imaginary. Consequently, the initial value problem for the linearized system will be ill posed. This explains why failure of preserving positivity of density or pressure may cause blow-ups of the numerical algorithm. The adhoc methods in numerical strategy which modify the computed negative density and/or the computed negative pressure to be positive are neither a conservative cure nor a stable solution. Conservative positivity-preserving schemes are more appropriate for such flow problems. too dissipative for flows such as turbulence with strong shocks computed in direct numerical simulations (DNS) and large eddy simulations (LES). The new conservative positivity-preserving procedure proposed in Hu et al. (2012) can be used with any high-order shock-capturing scheme, including high-order WENO schemes using the Roe's flux (WENO/Roe). The goal of this study is to compare the results obtained by non-positivity-preserving methods with the recently developed positivity-preserving schemes for representative test cases. In particular the more di cult 3D Noh and Sedov problems are considered. These test cases are chosen because of the negative pressure/density most often exhibited by standard high-order shock-capturing schemes. The simulation of a hypersonic nonequilibrium viscous shock tube that is related to the NASA Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST) is also included. EAST is a high-temperature and high Mach number viscous nonequilibrium ow consisting of 13 species. In addition, as most common shock-capturing schemes have been developed for problems without source terms, when applied to problems with nonlinear and/or sti source terms these methods can result in spurious solutions, even when solving a conservative system of equations with a conservative scheme. This kind of behavior can be observed even for a scalar case as well as for the case consisting of two species and one reaction.. This EAST example indicated that standard high-order shock-capturing methods exhibit instability of density/pressure in addition to grid-dependent discontinuity locations with insufficient grid points. The evaluation of these test cases is based on the stability of the numerical schemes together with the accuracy of the obtained solutions.

Schemes↗
NASA NTRS2014

Towards a Formal Semantics of Flight Plans and Trajectories

In the National Airspace System, ight plans are often used only as a planning tool by air trac controllers and aircraft operators. These plans are implicitly translated into trajectories by the pilot or by the ight management system, and subsequently own by the aircraft. This translation process inevitably introduces di erences between the plan and the trajectory. However, given the current intended usage, exact correspondence between the plan and the trajectory is not needed. To achieve greater capacity and eciency, future air trac management concepts are being designed around the use of trajectories where predictability is extremely important. In this paper, a mathematical relationship between ight plans and trajectories is explored with the goal of making feasible, highly accurate predictions of future positions and velocities of aircraft. The goal here is to describe, in mathematically precise detail, a formal language of trajectories, whereby all receivers of the trajectory information will be able to arrive at precisely the same trajectory predication and to do this without having aircraft broadcast a large amount of data. Although even a four-dimensional ight plan is simple in structure, this paper will show that it is inherently ambiguous and will explore these issues in detail. In e ect, we propose that a rigorous semantics for ight plans can be developed and this will serve as an important stepping stone towards trajectory-based operations in the National Airspace System.

Hagen, George E.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Design of a K/Q-Band Beacon Receiver for the Alphasat Technology Demonstration Payload (TDP) #5 Experiment

This paper describes the design and performance of a coherent KQ-band (2040 GHz) beacon receiver developed at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) that will be installed at the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) for use in the Alphasat Technology Demonstration Payload 5 (TDP5) beacon experiment. The goal of this experiment is to characterize rain fade attenuation at 40 GHz to improve the performance of existing statistical rain attenuation models in the Q-band. The ground terminal developed by NASA GRC utilizes an FFT-based frequency estimation receiver capable of characterizing total path attenuation effects due to gaseous absorption, clouds, rain, and scintillation. The receiver system has been characterized in the lab and demonstrates a system dynamic range performance of better than 58 dB at 1 Hz and better than 48 dB at 10 Hz rates.

rain fade↗
NASA NTRS2014

Preliminary Results of the NASA Beacon Receiver for Alphasat Aldo Paraboni TDP5 Propagation Experiment

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) have initiated a joint propagation campaign within the framework of the Alphasat propagation experiment to characterize rain attenuation, scintillation, and gaseous absorption effects of the atmosphere in the 40 GHz band. NASA GRC has developed and installed a K/Q-band (20/40 GHz) beacon receiver at the POLIMI campus in Milan, Italy, which receives the 20/40 GHz signals broadcast from the Alphasat Aldo Paraboni TDP#5 beacon payload. The primary goal of these measurements is to develop a physical model to improve predictions of communications systems performance within the Q-band. Herein, we describe the design and preliminary performance of the NASA propagation terminal, which has been installed and operating in Milan since May 2014. The receiver is based upon a validated Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) I/Q digital design approach utilized in other operational NASA propagation terminals, but has been modified to employ power measurement via a frequency estimation technique and to coherently track and measure the amplitude of the 20/40 GHz beacon signals. The system consists of a 1.2-m K-band and a 0.6-m Qband Cassegrain reflector employing synchronous open-loop tracking to track the inclined orbit of the Alphasat satellite. An 8 Hz sampling rate is implemented to characterize scintillation effects, with a 1-Hz measurement bandwidth dynamic range of 45 dB. A weather station with an optical disdrometer is also installed to characterize rain drop size distribution for correlation with physical based models.

propagation↗
NASA NTRS2013

PMD IVS Analysis Center

The main activities carried out at the PMD (Politecnico di Milano DIIAR) IVS Analysis Center during 2012 are briefly higlighted, and future plans for 2013 are sketched out. We principally continued to process European VLBI sessions using different approaches to evaluate possible differences due to various processing choices. Then VLBI solutions were also compared to the GPS ones as well as the ones calculated at co-located sites. Concerning the observational aspect, several tests were performed to identify the most suitable method to achieve the highest possible accuracy in the determination of GNSS (GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM) satellite positions using the VLBI technique.

Tornatore, Vincenza↗
NASA NTRS2011

EPOXI Trajectory and Maneuver Analyses

The EPOXI mission is a NASA Discovery Mission of Opportunity combining two separate investigations: Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh) and Deep Impact eXtended Investigation (DIXI). Both investigations reused the DI instruments and spacecraft that successfully flew by the comet Tempel-1 (4 July 2005). For EPOCh, the goal was to find exoplanets with the high resolution imager, while for DIXI it was to fly by the comet Hartley 2 (4 Nov 2010). This paper documents the navigation experience of the earlier ma-neuver analyses critical for the EPOXI mission including statistical ?V analyses and other useful analyses in designing maneuvers. It also recounts the trajectory design leading up to the final reference trajectory to Hartley 2.

trajectory design↗
NASA NTRS2013

Terminal Guidance Navigation for an Asteroid Impactor Spacecraft

Near Earth Asteroids could potentially cause a great deal of devastation if one were to impact the Earth. If such an asteroid were found, the next step would be to mitigate the threat by one of several options, the most viable of which is to deflect the asteroids trajectory such that it misses the Earth by hitting it at a very high velocity with a spacecraft. The technology to perform such a deflection has been demonstrated by the Deep Impact (DI) mission, which successfully collided with comet Tempel 1 in July 2005 using an onboard autonomous navigation system, called AutoNav, for the terminal phase of the mission. In this paper, we evaluate the ability of AutoNav to impact a wide range of scenarios that an deflection mission could encounter, varying parameters such as the approach velocity, phase angle, size of the asteroid, and the determination of spacecraft attitude. Using realistic Monte Carlo simulations, we tabulated the probability of success of the deflection as a function of these parameters, and find the highest sensitivity to be due the spacecraft attitude determination mode. We conclude with some recommendations for future work.

autonomous navigation↗