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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
NASA NTRS1990

Space Station Freedom - Configuration management approach to supporting concurrent engineering and total quality management

Some experiences of NASA configuration management in providing concurrent engineering support to the Space Station Freedom program for the achievement of life cycle benefits and total quality are discussed. Three change decision experiences involving tracing requirements and automated information systems of the electrical power system are described. The potential benefits of concurrent engineering and total quality management include improved operational effectiveness, reduced logistics and support requirements, prevention of schedule slippages, and life cycle cost savings. It is shown how configuration management can influence the benefits attained through disciplined approaches and innovations that compel consideration of all the technical elements of engineering and quality factors that apply to the program development, transition to operations and in operations. Configuration management experiences involving the Space Station program's tiered management structure, the work package contractors, international partners, and the participating NASA centers are discussed.

Gavert, Raymond B.↗
NASA NTRS1991

An experimental apparatus for measuring surface resistance in the submillimeter-wavelength region

A method for measuring the surface electrical resistance of small metallic samples at submillimeter wavelengths is presented which employs a qausi-optical hemispherical resonator fed by an optically pumped far-infrared laser. The small beam size at the sample, which serves as a plane mirror, allows measurements on samples with widths as small as 5 mm. The quality factor is high, and surface resistance losses are readily measurable.

Cook, Jerry D.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Resonant Acoustic Determination of Complex Elastic Moduli

A simple, inexpensive, yet accurate method for measuring the dynamic complex modulus of elasticity is described. Using a 'free-free' bar selectively excited in three independent vibrational modes, the shear modulus is obtained by measuring the frequency of the torsional resonant mode and the Young's modulus is determined from measurement of either the longitudinal or flexural mode. The damping properties are obtained by measuring the quality factor (Q) for each mode. The Q is inversely proportional to the loss tangent. The viscoelastic behavior of the sample can be obtained by tracking a particular resonant mode (and thus a particular modulus) using a phase locked loop (PLL) and by changing the temperature of the sample. The change in the damping properties is obtained by measuring the in-phase amplitude of the PLL which is proportional to the Q of the material. The real and imaginary parts or the complex modulus can be obtained continuously as a function of parameters such as temperature, pressure, or humidity. For homogeneous and isotropic samples only two independent moduli are needed in order to characterize the complete set of elastic constants, thus, values can be obtained for the dynamic Poisson's ratio, bulk modulus, Lame constants, etc.

Brown, David A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Maximum likelihood estimates of polar motion parameters

Two estimators developed by Jeffreys (1940, 1968) are described and used in conjunction with polar-motion data to determine the frequency (Fc) and quality factor (Qc) of the Chandler wobble. Data are taken from a monthly polar-motion series, satellite laser-ranging results, and optical astrometry and intercompared for use via interpolation techniques. Maximum likelihood arguments were employed to develop the estimators, and the assumption that polar motion relates to a Gaussian random process is assessed in terms of the accuracies of the estimators. The present results agree with those from Jeffreys' earlier study but are inconsistent with the later estimator; a Monte Carlo evaluation of the estimators confirms that the 1968 method is more accurate. The later estimator method shows good performance because the Fourier coefficients derived from the data have signal/noise levels that are superior to those for an individual datum. The method is shown to be valuable for general spectral-analysis problems in which isolated peaks must be analyzed from noisy data.

Wilson, Clark R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A quasioptically stabilized resonant-tunneling-diode oscillator for the millimeter- and submillimeter-wave regions

A semiconfocal open-cavity resonator has been used to stabilize a resonant-tunneling-diode waveguide oscillator at frequencies near 100 GHz. The high quality factor of the open cavity resulted in a linewidth of approximately 10 kHz at 10 dB below the peak, which is about 100 times narrower than the linewidth of an unstabilized waveguide oscillator. This technique is well suited for resonant-tunneling-diode oscillators in the submillimeter-wave region.

Brown, Elliott R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Conductor-backed coplanar waveguide resonators of YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) on LaAlO3

Conductor-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) resonators operating at 10.8 GHz have been fabricated from laser ablated and off-axis magnetron sputtered YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) (YBCO) high-temperature superconducting (HTS) thin films on LaAlO3. These resonators were tested in the temperature range from 14 to 92 K. The unloaded quality factor at 77 K of the HTS CBCPW resonators was 3 to 4 times that of a similar gold resonator. To the authors' knowledge, these results represent the first reported measurements of HTS-based CBCPW resonators.

Miranda, Felix A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Electrical-transport properties and microwave device performance of sputtered TlCaBaCuO superconducting thin films

The paper describes the processing and electrical transport measurements for achieving reproducible high-Tc and high-Jc sputtered TlCaBaCuO thin films on LaAlO3 substrates, for microelectronic applications. The microwave properties of TlCaBaCuO thin films were investigated by designing, fabricating, and characterizing microstrip ring resonators with a fundamental resonance frequency of 12 GHz on 10-mil-thick LaAlO3 substrates. Typical unloaded quality factors for a ring resonator with a superconducting ground plane of 0.3 micron-thickness and a gold ground plane of 1-micron-thickness were above 1500 at 65 K. Typical values of penetration depth at 0 K in the TlCaBaCuO thin films were between 7000 and 8000 A.

Subramanyam, G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Conductor-backed coplanar waveguide resonators of Y-Ba-Cu-O and Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O on LaAlO3

Conductor-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) resonators operating at 10.8 GHz have been fabricated from Tl-Ba-Ca-O (TBCCO) and Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) thin films on LaAlO3. The resonators consist of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) patterned on the superconducting film side of the LaAlO3 substrate with a gold ground plane coated on the opposite side. These resonators were tested in the temperature range from 14 to 106 K. At 77 K, the best of our TBCCO and YBCO resonators have an unloaded quality factor (Qo) 7 and 4 times, respectively, larger than that of a similar all-gold resonator. In this study, the Qo's of the TBCCO resonators were larger than those of their YBCO counterparts throughout the aforementioned temperature range.

Miranda, F. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Development of Miniaturized Optimized Smart Sensors (MOSS) for space plasmas

The cost of space plasma sensors is high for several reasons: (1) Most are one-of-a-kind and state-of-the-art, (2) the cost of launch to orbit is high, (3) ruggedness and reliability requirements lead to costly development and test programs, and (4) overhead is added by overly elaborate or generalized spacecraft interface requirements. Possible approaches to reducing costs include development of small 'sensors' (defined as including all necessary optics, detectors, and related electronics) that will ultimately lead to cheaper missions by reducing (2), improving (3), and, through work with spacecraft designers, reducing (4). Despite this logical approach, there is no guarantee that smaller sensors are necessarily either better or cheaper. We have previously advocated applying analytical 'quality factors' to plasma sensors (and spacecraft) and have begun to develop miniaturized particle optical systems by applying quantitative optimization criteria. We are currently designing a Miniaturized Optimized Smart Sensor (MOSS) in which miniaturized electronics (e.g., employing new power supply topology and extensive us of gate arrays and hybrid circuits) are fully integrated with newly developed particle optics to give significant savings in volume and mass. The goal of the SwRI MOSS program is development of a fully self-contained and functional plasma sensor weighing 1 lb and requiring 1 W. MOSS will require only a typical spacecraft DC power source (e.g., 30 V) and command/data interfaces in order to be fully functional, and will provide measurement capabilities comparable in most ways to current sensors.

Young, D. T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Galactic cosmic ray transport methods and radiation quality issues

An overview of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) interaction and transport methods, as implemented in the Langley Research Center GCR transport code, is presented. Representative results for solar minimum, exo-magnetospheric GCR dose equivalents in water are presented on a component by component basis for various thicknesses of aluminum shielding. The impact of proposed changes to the currently used quality factors on exposure estimates and shielding requirements are quantified. Using the cellular track model of Katz, estimates of relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for the mixed GCR radiation fields are also made.

Townsend, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Design aspects and comparison between high Tc superconducting coplanar waveguide and microstrip line

The high T sub c superconducting microstrip line and coplanar waveguide are compared in terms of the loss characteristics and the design aspects. The quality factor Q values for each structure are compared in respect to the same characteristic impedance with the comparable dimensions of the center conductor of the coplanar waveguide and the strip of the microstrip line. Also, the advantages and disadvantages for each structure are discussed in respect to passive microwave circuit applications.

Kong, K. S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Depth-dose equivalent relationship for cosmic rays at various solar minima

Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) pose a serious radiation hazard for long-duration missions. In designing a lunar habitat or a Mars transfer vehicle, the radiation exposure determines the GCR shielding thickness, and hence the weight of spacecraft. Using the spherically symmetric diffusion theory of the solar modulation of GCR, and data on the differential energy spectra of H, He, O, and Fe, from 1965 to 1989, it has been shown that (1) the flux is determined by the diffusion parameter which is a function of the time in the solar cycle, and (2) the fluxes in the 1954 and 1976-1977 solar minima were similar and higher than those in 1965. In this paper, we have extended the spherical solar modulation theory back to 1954. The 1954-1955 GCR flux was nearly the same as that from 1976 to 1977; the 1965 flux values were nearly the same as those in 1986. Using this theory we have obtained the GCR spectra for all the nuclei, and calculated the depth dose as a function of Al thickness. It is shown that the shielding required to stay below 0.5 Sv is 17.5 -3/+8 g/sq cm of Al, and 9 -1.5/+5 g/sq cm to stay below 0.6 Sv. The calculated dose equivalent using the ICRP 60 values for quality factors is about 15 percent higher than that calculated using the ICRP 26 value.

Badhwar, G. D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Radiation considerations for interplanetary missions

Galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) poses a serious radiation hazard for long-duration missions. In designing a lunar habitat or Mars transfer vehicle, the worst-case radiation exposure determines shielding thickness and, hence, the weight of spacecraft. Using the spherically symmetric diffusion theory of the solar modulation of GCR, it was possible to use data on the differential energy spectra of hydrogen, helium, oxygen, and iron from 1954 to 1989 to show that the flux at 1 A.U. is determined by the diffusion parameter, K, which is a function of the time in the solar cycle. This analysis also showed that the solar minimum of 1976 to 1977 was the deepest minimum in the last 37 years. Using this theory, we have obtained the GCR spectra for all the nuclei and calculated the depth-dose as a function of aluminum shield thickness. Using the ICRP-26 definition of the quality factor, it is shown that the shielding required to stay below the LEO recommended annual limit of 50 cSv is 17.5 (+8, -3), g/sq cm of aluminum; if the limit is raised to 60 cSv, the required shielding is 9 (5, -1.5) g/sq cm. We also discuss the issues and shielding needs for protection against solar particle events.

Badwar, Gautam D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

H2S data reduction

Calculating microwave opacity from a weakly absorbing gas mixture using a resonator requires measuring the quality factor of that resonator which necessitates accurately determining the center frequency (f(sub O)) and the half power bandwidth (Delta-f) of a noisy resonant line. The center frequency can be determined very accurately and varies very little over many measurements (a few kHz at GHz frequencies or a few hundredths of a percent). The greater source of error in estimating the Q of a resonator come from the bandwidth measurements. The half power bandwidth is determined essentially by eye-fitting a curve over a noisy resonant line and measuring with a spectrum analyzer.

Deboer, David↗
NASA NTRS1993

Microwave properties and characterization of co-evaporated BSCCO thin films

An extensive characterization of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O (BSCCO) thin films deposited by co-evaporation on LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 substrates was performed. The films had a T(sub c) (R = O) of approximately 78 K, and were predominantly c-axis oriented, with critical current densities (J(sub c)) at 4.5 K of 1.6 x 10(exp 6) and 1.1 x 10(exp 6) A cm(sup -2), for the samples on SrTiO3 and LaAlO3, respectively. The microwave properties of the films were examined by three techniques. The complex conductivity sigma(sub *) = sigma(sub 1) - j(sigma(sub 2)) and the magnetic penetration depth (A) were measured by power transmission at 30.6 GHz; the surface resistance (R(sub s)) was measured using a cavity resonator at 58.9 GHz, and the transmission line losses were determined by measuring the quality factor (Q) of a linear microstrip resonator at 10.4 and 20.2 GHz. The complex conductivity for the film on LaAlO3 was determined to be (2.0-j10) x 10(exp 5) S/m at 77 K. It was observed that in the superconducting state sigma(sub 1) deviates from both the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory and the two-fluid model. Values of lambda were found to be approximately 2.0 and 1.1 microns at 77 K and 20 K respectively, and were obtained for the film on LaAlO3. The value of lambda at 20 K was approximately three times larger than that of BSCCO single crystals. R(sub s) values of 865 and 1391 mOmega were obtained for the films on SrTiO3 and LaAlO3, respectively, at 77 K and 58.9 GHz. Unloaded Q factors at 20 K of approximately 1100 and 800 at 10.4 and 20.2 GHz respectively, were measured for the BSCCO resonator. Unloaded Q values of 290 and 405 at 20 K were obtained at 10.4 GHz and 20.2 GHz respectively, for an all gold (Au) resonator.

Miranda, F. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Effective conductivity of wire mesh reflectors for space deployable antenna systems

This report summarizes efforts to characterize the measurement of conductive mesh and smooth surfaces using proximity measurements for a dielectric resonator. The resonator operates in the HEM11 mode and is shown to have an evanescent field behavior in the vicinity of the sample surface, raising some question to the validity of measurements requiring near normal incidence on the material. In addition, the slow radial field decay outside of the dielectric resonator validates the sensitivity to the planar supporting structure and potential radiation effects. Though these concerns become apparent along with the sensitivity to the gap between the dielectric and the material surface, the basic concept of the material measurement using dielectric resonators has been verified for useful comparison of material surface properties. The properties, particularly loss, may be obtained by monitoring the resonant frequency along with the resonator quality factor (Q), 3 dB bandwidth, or the midband transmission amplitude. Comparison must be made to known materials to extract the desired data.

Davis, William A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Hydrogen maser clocks in space for solid-Earth research and time-transfer applications: Experiment overview and evaluation of Russian miniature sapphire loaded cavity

The Observatoire Cantonal de Neuchatel (ON) is developing for ESTEC a compact H-maser for space use based upon a miniature sapphire loaded microwave cavity, a technique pioneered at VNIIFTRI. Various contacts between West-European parties, headed by ESA, and the Russian parties, headed by ESA, led to the proposal for flying two H-masers on Meteor 3M, a Russian meteorology satellite in low polar orbit. The experiment will include two masers, one provided by ON and the other by VNIIFTRI. T/F transfer and precise positioning will be performed by both a microwave link, using PRARE equipment, and an optical link, using LASSO-like equipment. The main objectives of the experiment are precise orbit determination and point positioning for geodetic/geophysical research, ultra-accurate time comparison and dissemination as well as in-orbit demonstration of operation and performance of H-masers. Within the scope of a preliminary space H-maser development phase performed for ESTEC at ON in preparation to the joint experiment, a Russian miniature sapphire loaded microwave cavity, on loan from VNIIFTRI, was evaluated in a full-size EFOS hydrogen maser built by ON. The experimental evaluation confirmed the theoretical expectation that with a hydrogen storage volume of only 0.65 liter an atomic quality factor of 1.5 x 10(exp 9) can be obtained for a -105 dBm output power. This represents a theoretical Allan deviation of 1.7 x 10(exp -15) averaged on a 1000 s time interval. From a full-size design to a compact one, therefore, the sacrifice in performance due to the reduction of the storage volume is very small.

Busca, G.↗