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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Algal Biofoundries for the Production of Polyurethane Precursors (CRADA Final Report)

The primary goal of the BEEPs project was to develop a process that could accelerate the development of algae as bioproduction platforms, from initial chemical product concept to an economically viable market supply. Under this program we elected to develop strains of algae that could generate polyurethane precursors, while simultaneously developing basic genetic tools to enable improved algal production systems. This program was specifically designed to incorporate National Laboratories as a means to utilize the expertise and facilities for new bioproduction platforms.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1975

Concept selection and analysis of large wind generator systems

The increasing need to develop alternative energy sources has renewed interest in the use of wind energy for the generation of utility quality electricity. This paper discusses a program to evolve a preliminary design of a cost competitive large wind generator system. An examination of a number of technically feasible alternative wind energy configurations is reported, and the rationale used in selecting the preferred system concept is presented. In addition, preliminary results of an optimization study conducted on the preferred concept are summarized. These show that considerable latitude in the selection of the system design parameters is possible. This permits design decisions to be based on other important factors such as development risk and the suitability of common component designs for systems with different power ratings.

Meier, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Vehicle Design Evaluation Program (VDEP). A computer program for weight sizing, economic, performance and mission analysis of fuel-conservative aircraft, multibodied aircraft and large cargo aircraft using both JP and alternative fuels

The NASA Langley Research Center vehicle design evaluation program (VDEP-2) was expanded by (1) incorporating into the program a capability to conduct preliminary design studies on subsonic commercial transport type aircraft using both JP and such alternate fuels as hydrogen and methane;(2) incorporating an aircraft detailed mission and performance analysis capability; and (3) developing and incorporating an external loads analysis capability. The resulting computer program (VDEP-3) provides a preliminary design tool that enables the user to perform integrated sizing, structural analysis, and cost studies on subsonic commercial transport aircraft. Both versions of the VDEP-3 Program which are designated preliminary Analysis VDEP-3 and detailed Analysis VDEP utilize the same vehicle sizing subprogram which includes a detailed mission analysis capability, as well as a geometry and weight analysis for multibodied configurations.

Oman, B. H.↗
NASA NTRS1982

An overview of large wind turbine tests by electric utilities

A summary of recent plants and experiences on current large wind turbine (WT) tests being conducted by electric utilities is provided. The test programs discussed do not include federal research and development (R&D) programs, many of which are also being conducted in conjunction with electric utilities. The information presented is being assembled in a project, funded by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the objective of which is to provide electric utilities with timely summaries of test performance on key large wind turbines. A summary of key tests, test instrumentation, and recent results and plans is given. During the past year, many of the utility test programs initiated have encountered test difficulties that required specific WT design changes. However, test results to date continue to indicate that long-term machine performance and cost-effectiveness are achievable.

Vachon, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Gas cooled fuel cell systems technology development

The work performed during the Second Logical Unit of Work of a multi-year program designed to develop a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) for electric utility power plant application is discussed. The Second Logical Unit of Work, which covers the period May 14, 1983 through May 13, 1984, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, Morgantown Energy Technology Center, and managed by the NASA Lewis Research Center.

Feret, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Third Flight Magnet

A self-shielded superconducting magnet was designed for the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator Program. This is the third magnet built from this design. The magnets utilize Cryomagnetics' patented ultra-low current technology. The magnetic system is capable of reaching a central field of two tesla at slightly under two amperes and has a total inductance of 1068 henries. This final report details the requirements of the magnet, the specifications of the resulting magnet, the test procedures and test result data for the third magnet (Serial # C-654-M), and recommended precautions for use of the magnet.

McGhee, R. Wayne↗
NASA NTRS2011

InSAR Scientific Computing Environment

This computing environment is the next generation of geodetic image processing technology for repeat-pass Interferometric Synthetic Aperture (InSAR) sensors, identified by the community as a needed capability to provide flexibility and extensibility in reducing measurements from radar satellites and aircraft to new geophysical products. This software allows users of interferometric radar data the flexibility to process from Level 0 to Level 4 products using a variety of algorithms and for a range of available sensors. There are many radar satellites in orbit today delivering to the science community data of unprecedented quantity and quality, making possible large-scale studies in climate research, natural hazards, and the Earth's ecosystem. The proposed DESDynI mission, now under consideration by NASA for launch later in this decade, would provide time series and multiimage measurements that permit 4D models of Earth surface processes so that, for example, climate-induced changes over time would become apparent and quantifiable. This advanced data processing technology, applied to a global data set such as from the proposed DESDynI mission, enables a new class of analyses at time and spatial scales unavailable using current approaches. This software implements an accurate, extensible, and modular processing system designed to realize the full potential of InSAR data from future missions such as the proposed DESDynI, existing radar satellite data, as well as data from the NASA UAVSAR (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar), and other airborne platforms. The processing approach has been re-thought in order to enable multi-scene analysis by adding new algorithms and data interfaces, to permit user-reconfigurable operation and extensibility, and to capitalize on codes already developed by NASA and the science community. The framework incorporates modern programming methods based on recent research, including object-oriented scripts controlling legacy and new codes, abstraction and generalization of the data model for efficient manipulation of objects among modules, and well-designed module interfaces suitable for command- line execution or GUI-programming. The framework is designed to allow users contributions to promote maximum utility and sophistication of the code, creating an open-source community that could extend the framework into the indefinite future.

Rosen, Paul A.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Synergizing human expertise and AI efficiency with language model for microscopy operation and automated experiment design

With the advent of large language models (LLMs), in both the open source and proprietary domains, attention is turning to how to exploit such artificial intelligence (AI) systems in assisting complex scientific tasks, such as material synthesis, characterization, analysis and discovery. Here, we explore the utility of LLMs, particularly ChatGPT4, in combination with application program interfaces (APIs) in tasks of experimental design, programming workflows, and data analysis in scanning probe microscopy, using both in-house developed APIs and APIs given by a commercial vendor for instrument control. We find that the LLM can be especially useful in converting ideations of experimental workflows to executable code on microscope APIs. Beyond code generation, we find that the GPT4 is capable of analyzing microscopy images in a generic sense. At the same time, we find that GPT4 suffers from an inability to extend beyond basic analyses for more in-depth technical experimental design. We argue that an LLM specifically fine-tuned for individual scientific domains can potentially be a better language interface for converting scientific ideations from human experts to executable workflows. Such a synergy between human expertise and LLM efficiency in experimentation can open new doors for accelerating scientific research, enabling effective experimental protocols sharing in the scientific community.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Low-GWP HVAC System with Ultra-small Centrifugal Compression

Mechanical Solutions, Incorporated (MSI) was awarded a contract from the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-EE0007042 to advance the potential of vapor compression utilizing an advanced high speed centrifugal compressor with an advanced heat exchanger design. The design was mandated to maintain high efficiency while utilizing a low GWP refrigerant. The specific goal of this program was to develop an advanced 5 ton air conditioning system. The target of the air conditioner is residential and commercial. To accomplish these goals, MSI teamed with Lennox International, a leading air conditioning manufacturer. MSI would design, oversee manufacturing, assemble, and test the compressor, while Lennox designed the heat exchanger and tested the overall air conditioner. Lennox initiated the project with a detailed cycle analysis that examined systems and refrigerants. At various break points, MSI performed a preliminary compressor design to identify realizable targets. Initially, the refrigerant that was targeted was R1234ze(E), but this was subsequently rejected over concerns of flammability. R515a was ultimately accepted as a qualified fluid based upon its GWP and flammability rating. MSI performed a complete design of the centrifugal compressor based upon the cycle system design and analysis. The design was based upon advanced aerodynamics utilizing transient Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), as well as mechanical and rotordynamic analysis. A detailed materials investigation was conducted to ensure mechanical integrity and refrigerant compatibility. To achieve the high rotational speed required by the compressor (105,300 rpm), foil bearings were designed by MSI, as was a high speed motor to provide the required torque for the compressor. All elements of the design complied with Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) principles. The compressor was manufactured in components, utilizing specializing subcontractors throughout the country. The components were assembled into an operational compressor in MSI’s Albany facility, where it was tested in the MSI refrigeration test loop. The compressor achieved 90% of its maximum speed during testing at MSI. The interaction between the inverter and the high speed motor was the reason that full speed could not be attained. The compressor operated smoothly and quietly at all speeds, with the bearings performing as expected. The compressor was then shipped to Lennox’s facilities in Texas, where it was tested in the entire air conditioning system. Lennox was able to achieve 95% of the maximum rotational speed. They employed the same inverter as MSI. Lennox compiled the results of the testing and based upon the results, a go forward plan has been developed to correct the issues with the inverter, as well as redesign some parts that proved to be a challenge during the program. The consensus of the team is that a fully functional air conditioning system can be developed to achieve all of the goals identified in this program.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS2009

Implementation of an Adaptive Controller System from Concept to Flight Test

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center (Edwards, California) is conducting ongoing flight research using adaptive controller algorithms. A highly modified McDonnell-Douglas NF-15B airplane called the F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) is used to test and develop these algorithms. Modifications to this airplane include adding canards and changing the flight control systems to interface a single-string research controller processor for neural network algorithms. Research goals include demonstration of revolutionary control approaches that can efficiently optimize aircraft performance in both normal and failure conditions and advancement of neural-network-based flight control technology for new aerospace system designs. This report presents an overview of the processes utilized to develop adaptive controller algorithms during a flight-test program, including a description of initial adaptive controller concepts and a discussion of modeling formulation and performance testing. Design finalization led to integration with the system interfaces, verification of the software, validation of the hardware to the requirements, design of failure detection, development of safety limiters to minimize the effect of erroneous neural network commands, and creation of flight test control room displays to maximize human situational awareness; these are also discussed.

Larson, Richard R.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Utilization of a CRT display light pen in the design of feedback control systems

A hierarchical structure of the interlinked programs was developed to provide a flexible computer-aided design tool. A graphical input technique and a data structure are considered which provide the capability of entering the control system model description into the computer in block diagram form. An information storage and retrieval system was developed to keep track of the system description, and analysis and simulation results, and to provide them to the correct routines for further manipulation or display. Error analysis and diagnostic capabilities are discussed, and a technique was developed to reduce a transfer function to a set of nested integrals suitable for digital simulation. A general, automated block diagram reduction procedure was set up to prepare the system description for the analysis routines.

Thompson, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Design and Verification Guidelines for Vibroacoustic and Transient Environments

Design and verification guidelines for vibroacoustic and transient environments contain many basic methods that are common throughout the aerospace industry. However, there are some significant differences in methodology between NASA/MSFC and others - both government agencies and contractors. The purpose of this document is to provide the general guidelines used by the Component Analysis Branch, ED23, at MSFC, for the application of the vibroacoustic and transient technology to all launch vehicle and payload components and payload components and experiments managed by NASA/MSFC. This document is intended as a tool to be utilized by the MSFC program management and their contractors as a guide for the design and verification of flight hardware.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1973

Carbide fuel pin and capsule design for irradiations at thermionic temperatures

The design of a capsule assembly to evaluate tungsten-emitter - carbide-fuel combinations for thermionic fuel elements is presented. An inpile fuel pin evaluation program concerned with clad temperture, neutron spectrum, carbide fuel composition, fuel geometry,fuel density, and clad thickness is discussed. The capsule design was a compromise involving considerations between heat transfer, instrumentation, materials compatibility, and test location. Heat-transfer calculations were instrumental in determining the method of support of the fuel pin to minimize axial temperature variations. The capsule design was easily fabricable and utilized existing state-of-the-art experience from previous programs.

Siegel, B. L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

The SGI/Cray T3E: Experiences and Insights

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the fifth most powerful supercomputer in the world, a 1024 processor SGI/Cray T3E-600. The original 512 processor system was placed at Goddard in March, 1997 as part of a cooperative agreement between the High Performance Computing and Communications Program's Earth and Space Sciences Project (ESS) and SGI/Cray Research. The goal of this system is to facilitate achievement of the Project milestones of 10, 50 and 100 GFLOPS sustained performance on selected Earth and space science application codes. The additional 512 processors were purchased in March, 1998 by the NASA Earth Science Enterprise for the NASA Seasonal to Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP). These two "halves" still operate as a single system, and must satisfy the unique requirements of both aforementioned groups, as well as guest researchers from the Earth, space, microgravity, manned space flight and aeronautics communities. Few large scalable parallel systems are configured for capability computing, so models are hard to find. This unique environment has created a challenging system administration task, and has yielded some insights into the supercomputing needs of the various NASA Enterprises, as well as insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the T3E architecture and software. The T3E is a distributed memory system in which the processing elements (PE's) are connected by a low latency, high bandwidth bidirectional 3-D torus. Due to the focus on high speed communication between PE's, the T3E requires PE's to be allocated contiguously per job. Further, jobs will only execute on the user specified number of PE's and PE timesharing is possible but impractical. With a highly varied job mix in both size and runtime of jobs, the resulting scenario is PE fragmentation and an inability to achieve near 100% utilization. SGI/Cray has provided several scheduling and configuration tools to minimize the impact of fragmentation. These tools include PScheD (the political scheduler), GRM (the global resource manager) and NQE (the Network Queuing Environment). Features and impact of these tools will be discussed, as will resulting performance and utilization data. As a distributed memory system, the T3E is designed to be programmed through explicit message passing. Consequently, certain assumptions related to code design are made by the operating system (UNICOS/mk) and its scheduling tools. With the exception of HPF, which does run on the T3E, however poorly, alternative programming styles have the potential to impact the T3E in unexpected and undesirable ways. Several examples will be presented (preceeded with the disclaimer, "Don't try this at home! Violators will be prosecuted!")

Bernard, Lisa Hamet↗
NASA NTRS2019

Space Launch System and Missions to Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits

The first major evolution of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will begin its flights starting in the mid-2020’s. This new configuration, called Block 1B, replaces the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage with a larger Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). The additional capability provided by the new upper stage will allow SLS to send heavier payloads into deep space. One destination of interest to the SLS program is called a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO). This is a type of lunar orbit with multiple advantages for deep space exploration. These benefits include Earth/lunar access, low station-keeping requirements, and high communication potential with Earth. Therefore, it is a leading candidate for the proposed Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G). This paper will provide a detailed assessment of the SLS Block 1B requirements and capabilities for sending payloads to an NRHO. Analysts at Marshall Space Flight Center are producing a multi-year mission availability scan for the SLS Block 1B configuration to a predefined NRHO orbit. The analysis produces an optimized trajectory for each day of the scan window. A maximized payload and minimized propellant requirement are determined for each day. All maneuvers from launch to the end of the Trans-Lunar-Injection (TLI) are being modeled as finite burns. Injections into an NRHO are being modeled as impulsive maneuvers. The payload element is arbitrary, but includes sufficient mass to represent a large habitat or propulsion module. The resulting parameters of payload capability, delta-v requirements, and launch windows length vary over the course of the scan. Many launch days in the scan are eliminated in post-processing as they violate mission constraints such as payload mass and propellant usage to insert into an NRHO. Based off previous one-year scan results for the SLS Block 1B Design Analysis Cycle 2 (DAC-2), it is expected that there will be one to three days per week where the payload is able to insert into an NRHO within SLS constraints objectives. This scan provides results for longer than one-year, allowing analysts to better understand the launch availability and energy requirements of SLS Block 1B over time. The in-space mission design and scans utilize Copernicus, an n-body trajectory optimization tool originally developed out of the University of Texas at Austin with further development at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. To seed the in-space trajectory, Copernicus uses a plugin to call a database of SLS ascent trajectories optimized in the Program to Simulate Optimized Trajectories II (POST2). The ascent trajectories are developed using a framework that parametrizes payload mass and LEO inclination, and targets a 100 nmi (nautical mile) altitude circular parking orbit. Though this analysis is specific to the SLS program, it will provide a summary of mission design benefits and constraints associated with generic NRHO access, and may be applied to other programs or concepts that will utilize this orbit.

Statham, T. L.↗
DOE OSTI2015

NJOY21: Making NJOY Suitable for the 21. Century - 14409

NJOY has a long history of nuclear data processing. NJOY began as a successor to MINX (Multigroup Interpretation of Nuclear X-Sections), a Los Alamos code and was first publicly released in the summer of 1977. The initial version included modules such as RECONR for resonance reconstruction on a union energy grid, BROADR for Doppler broadening plus a new Multigroup averaging program, GROUPR and an associated output module, DTR. Soon thereafter the HEATR, ERRORR, and THERMR modules were added to NJOY. By the mid 1980's, NJOY had a worldwide user community. The current version of NJOY2012 was released in December 2012. NJOY2012 builds on the success of more than 45 years of nuclear data processing at Los Alamos National Laboratory. NJOY2012 was rewritten using Fortran 90/95, utilizing among other things the concepts of public and private variables, eliminating common blocks in lieu of Fortran modules and taking advantage of allocatable arrays. A new version of NJOY is being developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory; NJOY21: NJOY for the 21. Century. NJOY21 uses modern programming standards of quality, reliability, and maintainability. It is being designed from the ground up to utilize modern methods of interacting with computer codes by providing an interactive and scripting (e.g., Python) interface. This will allow scientists the ability to more easily work with the results of the various steps in the processing of nuclear data. NJOY21 will continue the legacy of NJOY by providing a trusted and verified processing code that is fast, flexible, easy to use and customize and capable of handling both modern and established nuclear data formats. This paper introduces NJOY21 by first relating the history of NJOY; the majority of the paper will discuss NJOY21. NJOY21 will take advantage of the many decades of nuclear data processing experience that is contained in NJOY2012 and previous versions of NJOY and extend the capabilities and convenience of processing nuclear data. We will discuss how NJOY21 will remain backwards compatible with NJOY2012 - i.e., how current NJOY2012 input decks will continue to work with NJOY21. We will also discuss the verification and validation of the NJOY21 code base. Finally we will discuss new features in NJOY21 that do not exist in NJOY2012. These features include changes in how a scientist can interact with NJOY to process and verify and validate nuclear data; and the ability to read and write new nuclear data formats. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The ANGSA Program: A Low-cost Lunar "Sample Return Mission". An Overview and Progress over the Last 18 Months

The Apollo Program returned 381 kg of samples. Analyses of these samples have provided fundamental insights into the origin and history of the Earth-Moon system and how planets and even solar systems work. These samples have provided ground truth for every post-Apollo mission to the Moon for the interpretation of remotely sensed data. After 50 years of analysis and study, our sophistication for handling and examining samples has greatly increased. Some special samples that were collected or preserved in unique containers or environments remain unexamined by standard or advanced analytical approaches. The Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) Program was designed to examine a subset of these special samples. The ANGSA consortium consists of 9 original teams funded by NASA that have combined into a single science team referred to as the ANGSA Science Team. The program was designed to function as the sample analysis portion of a sample return mission with processing, preliminary examination, and analyses utilizing new and improved technologies and recent mission observations. The ANGSA Program links the first generation of lunar explorers (Apollo) with future explorers of the Moon (Artemis). The purpose of this abstract is to highlight the ANGSA samples, science and engineering goals, and progress made so far. Related abstracts and talks will focus on the links between Apollo and Artemis, geologic context, and initial examination, processing, and results.

F M McCubbin↗