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At least 343 records · Page 19

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NASA NTRS1996

Parameter Design and Optimal Control of an Open Core Flywheel Energy Storage System

In low earth orbit (LEO) satellite applications spacecraft power is provided by photovoltaic cells and batteries. To overcome battery shortcomings the University of Maryland, working in cooperation with NASA/GSFC and NASA/LeRC, has developed a magnetically suspended flywheel for energy storage applications. The system is referred to as an Open Core Composite Flywheel (OCCF) energy storage system. Successful application of flywheel energy storage requires integration of several technologies, viz. bearings, rotor design, motor/generator, power conditioning, and system control. In this paper we present a parameter design method which has been developed for analyzing the linear SISO model of the magnetic bearing controller for the OCCF. The objective of this continued research is to principally analyze the magnetic bearing system for nonlinear effects in order to increase the region of stability, as determined by high speed and large air gap control. This is achieved by four tasks: (1) physical modeling, design, prototyping, and testing of an improved magnetically suspended flywheel energy storage system, (2) identification of problems that limit performance and their corresponding solutions, (3) development of a design methodology for magnetic bearings, and (4) design of an optimal controller for future high speed applications. Both nonlinear SISO and MIMO models of the magnetic system were built to study limit cycle oscillations and power amplifier saturation phenomenon observed in experiments. The nonlinear models include the inductance of EM coils, the power amplifier saturation, and the physical limitation of the flywheel movement as discussed earlier. The control program EASY5 is used to study the nonlinear SISO and MIMO models. Our results have shown that the characteristics and frequency responses of the magnetic bearing system obtained from modeling are comparable to those obtained experimentally. Although magnetic saturation is shown in the bearings, there are good correlations between the theoretical model and experimental data. Both simulation and experiment confirm large variations of the magnetic bearing characteristics due to air gap growth. Therefore, the gap growth effect should be considered in the magnetic bearing system design. Additionally, the magnetic bearing control system will be compared to other design methods using not only parameter design but H-infinity optimal control and mu synthesis.

Pang, D.↗

NASA NTRS2007

A Method to have Multi-Layer Thermal Insulation Provide Damage Detection

Design and testing of a multi-layer thermal insulation system that also provides debris and micrometeorite damage detection is presented. One layer of the insulation is designed as an array of passive open-circuit electrically conductive spiral trace sensors. The sensors are a new class of sensors that are electrically open-circuits that have no electrical connections thereby eliminating one cause of failure to circuits. The sensors are powered using external oscillating magnetic fields. Once electrically active, they produce their own harmonic magnetic fields. The responding field frequency changes if any sensor is damaged. When the sensors are used together in close proximity, the inductive coupling between sensors provides a means of telemetry. The spiral trace design using reflective electrically conductive material provides sufficient area coverage for the sensor array to serves as a layer of thermal insulation. The other insulation layers are designed to allow the sensor s magnetic field to permeate the insulation layers while having total reflective surface area to reduce thermal energy transfer. Results of characterizing individual sensors and the sensor array s response to punctures are presented. Results of hypervelocity impact testing using projectiles of 1-3.6 millimeter diameter having speeds ranging from 6.7-7.1 kilometers per second are also presented.

Woodward, Stanley E.↗

NASA NTRS1972

High-frequency electromagnetic response of the moon.

It is shown that the contribution of higher harmonics to the lunar transfer functions for the tangential components of the surface magnetic field is significant at frequencies greater than 0.01 Hz. The inclusion of the higher harmonics shows that there are two distinct transfer functions corresponding to the components of the tangential surface magnetic field perpendicular and parallel to the direction of the wave vector of the external disturbance forcing the lunar induction. The dependences of these transfer functions on frequency and location are determined. The effects of the higher harmonics can (1) account for a hitherto unexplained feature in the Apollo 12 and Explorer 35 transfer functions, namely the rolloff at high frequencies, and (2) offer a possible explanation for the frequency dependence of the difference between the transfer functions for the two orthogonal components of the surface magnetic field.

Schubert, G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Axisymmetric electromagnetic field influence on the characteristic velocity of an arc-jet

Tests for determining the influence of an axisymmetric EM field on the characteristic velocity of an arc jet are presented. The experimental set up is briefly described. Tests were performed with rotation induced by the centrifugal and magnetic fields in the same sense. The fuels used were HE and N2 and the results are discussed. It is found that by variation of the induction, current, and arc jet strength, the behavior is determined essentially by the shape of the cathodic and anodic blobs on the electrodes together with their movement under the combined effect of the aerodynamic and magnetic fields. In view of the different characteristics of He and N2 in respect to the dissociation heat and ionization, it is expected that the regime of the arc jet when used with H2 fuel will be similar to that with He.

Oggero, M.↗

NASA NTRS1977

A lunar metal core

Recent work generally supports the hypothesis of a centrally condensed lunar core. Data regarding the axial moment on the basis of laser tracking and satellite orbit analyses place an upper limit of about 500 km on an Fe core, or 700 km upon an Fe/FeS core, if differentiation in the lithosphere is ignored. Whether a metallized core exists in the moon has a profound bearing upon the question of the origin of the magnetic fields responsible for the present day magnetization on the lunar surface. Recent efforts to examine in detail signals arising from lunar induction at very low frequency are discussed. The discussion represents an extension of a study reported by Wiskerchen et al. (1976). The present data base consists of all Apollo 12 data which fulfill the requirement that the surface magnetometer be on the sunward side of the moon and at least 10 deg from the lunar optical terminator. It is found that only marginal evidence exists for a metallized core at a radius of 400 km in the moon.

Wiskerchen, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Electric vehicle motors and controllers

Improved and advanced components being developed include electronically commutated permanent magnet motors of both drum and disk configuration, an unconventional brush commutated motor, and ac induction motors and various controllers. Test results on developmental motors, controllers, and combinations thereof indicate that efficiencies of 90% and higher for individual components, and 80% to 90% for motor/controller combinations can be obtained at rated power. The simplicity of the developmental motors and the potential for ultimately low cost electronics indicate that one or more of these approaches to electric vehicle propulsion may eventually displace presently used controllers and brush commutated dc motors.

Secunde, R. R.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Modeling of the Near Field Coupling Between an External Loop and an Implantable Spiral Chip Antennas in Biosensor Systems

In this paper, the near field coupling between an external hand-held loop antenna and an implantable miniature (1x1 mm) printed square spiral chip antenna used in bio-MEMS sensors for contact-less powering and RF telemetry is investigated. The loop and the spiral are inductively coupled and effectively form a transformer. The numerical results include the quasi-stationary magnetic field pattern of the implanted antenna, near zone wave impedance as a function of the radial distance and the values of the lumped elements in the equivalent circuit model for the transformer.

Simons, Rainee N.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Current Sheet Formation in a Conical Theta Pinch Faraday Accelerator with Radio-frequency Assisted Discharge

Data from an inductive conical theta pinch accelerator are presented to gain insight into the process of inductive current sheet formation in the presence of a preionized background gas produced by a steady-state RF-discharge. The presence of a preionized plasma has been previously shown to allow for current sheet formation at lower discharge voltages and energies than those found in other pulsed inductive accelerator concepts, leading to greater accelerator efficiencies at lower power levels. Time-resolved magnetic probe measurements are obtained for different background pressures and pulse energies to characterize the effects of these parameters on current sheet formation. Indices are defined that describe time-resolved current sheet characteristics, such as the total current owing in the current sheet, the time-integrated total current ('strength'), and current sheet velocity. It is found that for a given electric field strength, maximums in total current, strength, and velocity occur for one particular background pressure. At other pressures, these current sheet indices are considerably smaller. The trends observed in these indices are explained in terms of the principles behind Townsend breakdown that lead to a dependence on the ratio of the electric field to the background pressure. Time-integrated photographic data are also obtained at the same experimental conditions, and qualitatively they compare quite favorably with the time-resolved magnetic field data.

Polzin, Kurt A.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Thrust Stand Measurements of a Conical Pulsed Inductive Plasma Thruster

Pulsed inductive plasma thrusters [1-3] are spacecraft propulsion devices in which electrical energy is capacitively stored and then discharged through an inductive coil. The thruster is electrodeless, with a time-varying current in the coil interacting with a plasma covering the face of the coil to induce a plasma current. Propellant is accelerated and expelled at a high exhaust velocity (O(10-100 km/s)) by the Lorentz body force arising from the interaction of the magnetic field and the induced plasma current. While this class of thruster mitigates the life-limiting issues associated with electrode erosion, pulsed inductive plasma thrusters can su er from both high pulse energy requirements imposed by the voltage demands of inductive propellant ionization, and low propellant utilization efficiencies. The Microwave Assisted Discharge Inductive Plasma Accelerator (MAD-IPA)[4], shown in Fig. 1 is a pulsed inductive plasma thruster that is able to operate at lower pulse energies by partially ionizing propellant with an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge inside a conical inductive coil whose geometry serves to potentially increase propellant and plasma plume containment relative to at coil geometries. The ECR plasma is created with the use of permanent mag- nets arranged to produce a thin resonance region along the inner surface of the coil, restricting plasma formation and, in turn, current sheet formation to areas of high magnetic coupling to the driving coil.

Hallock, Ashley K.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Nongyrotropic Electrons in Guide Field Reconnection

We apply a scalar measure of nongyrotropy to the electron pressure tensor in a 2D particle-in-cell simulation of guide field reconnection and assess the corresponding electron distributions and the forces that account for the nongyrotropy. The scalar measure reveals that the nongyrotropy lies in bands that straddle the electron diffusion region and the separatrices, in the same regions where there are parallel electric fields. Analysis of electron distributions and fields shows that the nongyrotropy along the inflow and outflow separatrices emerges as a result of multiple populations of electrons influenced differently by large and small-scale parallel electric fields and by gradients in the electric field. The relevant parallel electric fields include large-scale potential ramps emanating from the x-line and sub-ion inertial scale bipolar electron holes. Gradients in the perpendicular electric field modify electrons differently depending on their phase, thus producing nongyrotropy. Magnetic flux violation occurs along portions of the separatrices that coincide with the parallel electric fields. An inductive electric field in the electron EB drift frame thus develops, which has the effect of enhancing nongyrotropies already produced by other mechanisms and under certain conditions producing their own nongyrotropy. Particle tracing of electrons from nongyrotropic populations along the inflows and outflows shows that the striated structure of nongyrotropy corresponds to electrons arriving from different source regions. We also show that the relevant parallel electric fields receive important contributions not only from the nongyrotropic portion of the electron pressure tensor but from electron spatial and temporal inertial terms as well.

Parallel Electric Fields↗

NASA NTRS2012

Thrust Stand Measurements of a Conical Inductive Pulsed Plasma Thruster

Inductive Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (iPPT) are spacecraft propulsion devices in which electrical energy is capacitively stored and then discharged through an inductive coil. The thruster is electrodeless, with a time-varying current in the coil interacting with a plasma covering the face of the coil to induce a plasma current. Propellant is accelerated and expelled at a high exhaust velocity (O(10 .. 100 km/s)) by the Lorentz body force arising from the interaction of the magnetic field and the induced plasma current. While this class of thruster mitigates the life-limiting issues associated with electrode erosion, inductive pulsed plasma thrusters can suffer from both high pulse energy requirements imposed by the voltage demands of inductive propellant ionization, and low propellant utilization efficiencies. A conical coil geometry may o er higher propellant utilization efficiency over that of a at inductive coil, however an increase in propellant utilization may be met with a decrease in axial electromagnetic acceleration, and in turn, a decrease in the total axially-directed kinetic energy imparted to the propellant.

Hallock, Ashley K.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Thrust Stand Measurements of a Conical Inductive Pulsed Plasma Thruster

Inductive Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (iPPT) spacecraft propulsion devices in which electrical energy is capacitively stored and then discharged through an inductive coil. The thruster is electrodeless, with a time-varying current in the coil interacting with a plasma covering the face of the coil to induce a plasma current Propellant is accelerated and expelled at a high exhaust velocity (O(10 -- 100 km/s)) by the Lorentz body force arising from the interaction of the magnetic field and the induced plasma current. While this class of thruster mitigates the life-limiting issues associated with electrode erosion, inductive pulsed plasma thrusters can suffer from both high pulse energy requirements imposed by the voltage demands of inductive propellant ionization, and low propellant utilization efficiencies. While this class of thruster mitigates the life-limiting issues associated with electrode erosion, inductive pulsed plasma thrusters can suffer from both high pulse energy requirements imposed by the voltage demands of inductive propellant ionization, and low propellant utilization efficiencies. A conical coil geometry may offer higher propellant utilization efficiency over that of a at inductive coil, however an increase in propellant utilization may be met with a decrease in axial electromagnetic acceleration, and in turn, a decrease in the total axially-directed kinetic energy imparted to the propellant.

Hallock, Ashley K.↗

NASA NTRS1976

FORTRAN program for induction motor analysis

A FORTRAN program for induction motor analysis is described. The analysis includes calculations of torque-speed characteristics, efficiency, losses, magnetic flux densities, weights, and various electrical parameters. The program is limited to three-phase Y-connected, squirrel-cage motors. Detailed instructions for using the program are given. The analysis equations are documented, and the sources of the equations are referenced. The appendixes include a FORTRAN symbol list, a complete explanation of input requirements, and a list of error messages.

Bollenbacher, G.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Towards a 1000 tracks digital tape recorder

As the demand for high data rate (up to 1 Gb/s), high density (down to 1 sq micron/bit) tape recorder increases, the main investigation trend is an improvement of the well known helical scan concept. The drawbacks of this technology are also well known; sophisticated mechanics, head to tape contact, and wear problems. In our fixed head approach, the recorder mechanics is made much more simple, but the complexity is turned towards the integrated magnetic components, which have to record and reproduce hundreds of tracks in parallel. Our multiplexed write inductive head and magneto-optical readout head will be described, and the global system performances evaluated.

Coutellier, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Electromagnetic Propulsion

The design and development of an Electromagnetic Propulsion is discussed. Specific Electromagnetic Propulsion Topics discussed include: (1) Technology for Pulse Inductive Thruster (PIT), to design, develop, and test of a multirepetition rate pulsed inductive thruster, Solid-State Switch Technology, and Pulse Driver Network and Architecture; (2) Flight Weight Magnet Survey, to determine/develop light weight high performance magnetic materials for potential application Advanced Space Flight Systems as these systems develop; and (3) Magnetic Flux Compression, to enable rapid/robust/reliable omni-planetary space transportation within realistic development and operational costs constraints.

Schafer, Charles↗

NASA NTRS1989

Magneto-inductive skin sensor for robot collision avoidance: A new development

Safety is a primary concern for robots operating in space. The tri-mode sensor addresses that concern by employing a collision avoidance/management skin around the robot arms. This rf-based skin sensor is at present a dual mode (proximity and tactile). The third mode, pyroelectric, will complement the other two. The proximity mode permits the robot to sense an intruding object, to range the object, and to detect the edges of the object. The tactile mode permits the robot to sense when it has contacted an object, where on the arm it has made contact, and provides a three-dimensional image of the shape of the contact impression. The pyroelectric mode will be added to permit the robot arm to detect the proximity of a hot object and to add sensing redundancy to the two other modes. The rf-modes of the sensing skin are presented. These modes employ a highly efficient magnetic material (amorphous metal) in a sensing technique. This results in a flexible sensor array which uses a primarily inductive configuration to permit both capacitive and magnetoinductive sensing of object; thus optimizing performance in both proximity and tactile modes with the same sensing skin. The fundamental operating principles, design particulars, and theoretical models are provided to aid in the description and understanding of this sensor. Test results are also given.

Chauhan, D. S.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Observations of Mercury's magnetic field

Magnetic-field observations made during the third encounter of Mariner 10 with Mercury are discussed along with implications of an intrinsic field for the planetary interior. The data obtained confirm the presence of characteristic bow-shock, magnetosheath, and magnetosphere regions surrounding the planet and also indicate that Mercury occupies a much larger portion of its magnetosphere than does earth. Combined plasma, charged-particle, and magnetic-field data establish that the origin of the field is intrinsic to the planet rather than associated with an induction process due to solar-wind flow. Spherical harmonic analysis of the field data shows that the internal field of the planet is well described by a centered dipole with a moment of 5.0 by 10 to the 22nd power gauss-cu cm and oriented within 12 deg of the normal to the orbital plane in the same sense as earth. Surface intensities are deduced to be between about 300 and 800 gammas. It is concluded that an active dynamo is a more likely candidate than fossil magnetization for the origin of the field.

Ness, N. F.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Wirelessly Interrogated Position or Displacement Sensors

Two simple position or displacement sensors based on inductance-capacitance resonant circuits have been conceived. These sensors are both powered and interrogated without use of wires and without making contact with other objects. Instead, excitation and interrogation are accomplished by means of a magnetic-field-response recorder. Both of the present position or displacement sensors consist essentially of variable rectangular parallel-plate capacitors electrically connected in series with fixed inductors. Simple inductance-capacitance circuits of the type used in these sensors are inherently robust; their basic mode of operation does not depend on maintenance of specific environmental conditions. Hence, these sensors can be used under such harsh conditions as cryogenic temperatures, high pressures, and radioactivity.

Woodard, Stanley E.↗