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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 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2012

Prototype Vent Gas Heat Exchanger for Exploration EVA - Performance and Manufacturing Characteristics

NASA is developing new portable life support system (PLSS) technologies, which it is demonstrating in an unmanned ground based prototype unit called PLSS 2.0. One set of technologies within the PLSS provides suitable ventilation to an astronaut while on an EVA. A new component within the ventilation gas loop is a liquid-to-gas heat exchanger to transfer excess heat from the gas to the thermal control system's liquid coolant loop. A unique bench top prototype heat exchanger was built and tested for use in PLSS 2.0. The heat exchanger was designed as a counter-flow, compact plate fin type using stainless steel. Its design was based on previous compact heat exchangers manufactured by United Technologies Aerospace Systems, but was half the size of any previous heat exchanger model and one third the size of previous liquid-to-gas heat exchangers. The prototype heat exchanger was less than 40 cubic inches and weighed 2.6 lb. The water side and gas side pressure drops were 0.8 psid and 0.5 inches of water, respectively. Performance of the heat exchanger at the nominal pressure of 4.1 psia was measured at 94%, while a gas inlet pressure of 25 psia resulted in an effectiveness of 84%. These results compared well with the model, which was scaled for the small size. Modeling of certain phenomena that affect performance, such as flow distribution in the headers was particularly difficult due to the small size of the heat exchanger. Data from the tests has confirmed the correction factors that were used in these parts of the model.

Jennings, Mallory↗
NASA NTRS2013

Prototype Vent Gas Heat Exchanger for Exploration EVA - Performance and Manufacturing Characteristics

NASA is developing new portable life support system (PLSS) technologies, which it is demonstrating in an unmanned ground based prototype unit called PLSS 2.0. One set of technologies within the PLSS provides suitable ventilation to an astronaut while on an EVA. A new component within the ventilation gas loop is a liquid-to-gas heat exchanger to transfer excess heat from the gas to the thermal control system s liquid coolant loop. A unique bench top prototype heat exchanger was built and tested for use in PLSS 2.0. The heat exchanger was designed as a counter-flow, compact plate fin type using stainless steel. Its design was based on previous compact heat exchangers manufactured by United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS), but was half the size of any previous heat exchanger model and one third the size of previous liquid-to-gas heat exchangers. The prototype heat exchanger was less than 40 cubic inches and weighed 2.57 lb. Performance of the heat exchanger met the requirements and the model predictions. The water side and gas side pressure drops were less 0.8 psid and 0.5 inches of water, respectively, and an effectiveness of 94% was measured at the nominal air side pressure of 4.1 psia.

Quinn, Gregory J.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Thin-Film Solar Arrays for Small Spacecraft

The use of thin-film based solar arrays for space applications has long been recognized as an advantageous power generation option. Thinner materials yield a mass savings, equating to lighter launch loads, larger arrays, and/or more payload allocation. Further, their mechanical flexibility lends itself well to stowage and deployment schemes, allowing for a vast improvement to both specific power (W/kg - watts per kilogram) as well as stowed power density (W/m3 - watts per cubic meter). A key application of thin-film space solar arrays is in the small satellite community; where spacecraft are largely power-starved. Their need for higher power generation coupled with the extreme mass and volume restrictions of the small spacecraft bus is driving the requirement for advanced solar arrays. And, when coupled with the relatively short operational requirements (e.g. less than 2 years) of small spacecraft, yields the perfect application for these thin-film arrays. In this presentation, NASA’s recent work on developing the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna (LISA-T - also known as Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and Transceiver)), a thin-film solar array for small spacecraft, will be discussed. The array configuration will be shown alongside bench top deployment videos, a summary of environmental testing to date, and forward plans to a flight test. Advanced, robotic additive manufacturing of the thin-film web will also be discussed.

Carr, John A.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Small-scale validation tests for MFIX-Exa CFD-DEM

This report describes several bench-scale fluidization experiments that can be used to validate the CFD-DEM method as encapsulated in the MFIX-Exa code. The five cases considered are the cold-flow fluidized beds of Müller et al., Link et al. (spout-fluid), and Goldschmidt et al. (bi-disperse), the hot fluidized bed of Patil et al., and the adsorbing fluidized bed of Li et al. and Janssen. In most cases, MFIX-Exa with “standard” or “typical” CFD-DEM settings, the Gidaspow drag model, and the Gunn heat transfer provide a relatively good prediction of the quantities considered: mean void fraction profiles, mean velocity profiles, fluctuating velocity profiles, mean particle temperature and segregation index. These results, with other verification and validation tests reported elsewhere, contribute to a body of work providing confidence and credibility in CFD predictions from the MFIX-Exa code.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Baseband Digital Network Analyzer Upgrade for LLRF Controllers

Digital Network Analyzers (DNA) have been implemented in many Low-Level Radio Frequency (LLRF) systems, notably NSLS-II and CERN, to help tune feedback loops. DNA characterizes feedback loops by measuring the frequency-dependent magnitude and phase transfer functions. It enables the measurement of open loop gains, gain/phase margins, and loop delays to help fine-tune feedback loops. An FPGA-based DNA has been developed and integrated into the current Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) LLRF infrastructure. Its performance has been tested with an implementation of one-turn delay feedback (OTFB) on the bench to maximize gain and stability. The DNA has been used to characterize a RHIC 28 MHz cavity in a RHIC Accelerator Physics Experiment (APEX) to test transient beam loading compensation strategies.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Bench-scale Development of a Transformational Graphene Oxide-based Membrane Process for Post-combustion CO 2 Capture

Graphene-based materials, such as graphene and graphene oxide (GO), have been considered as next-generation membrane materials. GTI Energy and The State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) have been developing a transformational GO-based membrane process (designated as GO2) that integrates a high CO 2 /N 2 selectivity membrane (GO-1) and a high CO 2 flux membrane (GO-2) for post-combustion CO 2 capture. An innovative membrane structure, consisting of GO nanochannels intercalated by single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), was developed. The membrane prepared on hollow fiber substrate showed CO 2 permeance as high as 1,300 GPU with CO 2 /N 2 selectivity >200. The membranes were successfully scaled up to effective area of 50-100 cm 2 . The 50-100 cm 2 membranes showed CO 2 /N 2 selectivity ≥200 and CO 2 permeance ≥1,000 GPU for the GO-1 type, and CO 2 /N 2 selectivity ≥20 and CO 2 permeance ≥2,500 GPU for the GO-2 type. The CO 2 capture performance of the GO-based membranes was tested using a simulated flue gas. The testing results indicate that the GO-based membranes are stable in the presence of flue gas contaminants. The GO-based membranes were then further scaled up to a surface area of 1,000 cm 2 . Good stability was achieved during an integrated testing with GO-1 and GO-2 membranes using simulated flue gas. A bench-scale system was designed, constructed, and tested at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC). Good stability was achieved during testing of a single-stage process with >10 shutdowns/startups at NCCC. During the integrated testing, the membranes showed good stability at 50°C and 57°C. 70-90% CO 2 removal efficiencies and ≥95% CO 2 purity were validated during the steady state operation at NCCC. Techno-economic analysis indicates the GO2 membrane-based process technology provides a reduction in both the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and cost of capture when compared to the reference B12B case presented in the Cost and Performance Baseline for Fossil Energy Plants Volume 1: Bituminous Coal and Natural Gas to Electricity study prepared by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), before considering any system optimization or improvement opportunities. The benefits are primarily driven by a reduction in the equipment costs of the CO 2 capture process vs. the solvent-based reference process in NETL Case B12B as well as a decrease in the base plant size.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

An Open-Source Framework for Rapid Validation of Scientific ASICs

Spacely is an open-source framework for the post-silicon validation of analog, digital, and mixed-signal ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) which maximizes the reuse of hardware and software, reducing the time taken to achieve meaningful test results. Spacely specifically addresses the needs of small, flexible ASIC design teams commonly found in academia or research institutions which benefit most from sharing the overhead of test stand creation between many unique ASIC designs. Spacely is a set of software, firmware, and design practices. It targets two primary hardware platforms (NI-PXI and Caribou) as well as offering extensible support for bench instruments. Spacely provides a high-level Python interface to all test hardware for accessibility, while also giving more sophisticated teams the opportunity to integrate custom test firmware. The design principles of Spacely are presented in brief. Current documentation is available at https://github.com/SpacelyProject/spacely-docs.

Quinn, Adam [Fermilab]↗
NASA NTRS1998

Conversions to the Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) Instrument for Nadir and Zenith Measurements

LASE now has the advantage of being economically upgraded and customized with COTS hardware and software while using "C" software language. These changes are made so as not to destroy the form, fit and functional characteristics required for flights aboard the ER-2 aircraft. The LASE Instrument can now be quickly adapted to fly onboard ER-2, P-3, C-130 and DC-8 aircraft. The adaptability of the CDS upgraded electronics compliments other modular subsystems like the laser optical bench in that it was designed to be a test bed for new technology lasers.

Moore, Alvah S., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Passive Thermal Compensation of the Optical Bench of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer

The Galaxy Evolution Explorer is an orbiting space telescope that will collect information on star formation by observing galaxies and stars in ultraviolet wavelengths. The optical bench supporting detectors and related optical components used an interesting and unusual passive thermal compensation technique to accommodate thermally-induced focal length changes in the optical system. The proposed paper will describe the optical bench thermal compensation design including concept, analysis, assembly and testing results.

optomechanical design↗
NASA NTRS2015

A Comparative Study of Simulated and Measured Gear-Flap Flow Interaction

The ability of two CFD solvers to accurately characterize the transient, complex, interacting flowfield asso-ciated with a realistic gear-flap configuration is assessed via comparison of simulated flow with experimental measurements. The simulated results, obtained with NASA's FUN3D and Exa's PowerFLOW® for a high-fidelity, 18% scale semi-span model of a Gulfstream aircraft in landing configuration (39 deg flap deflection, main landing gear on and off) are compared to two-dimensional and stereo particle image velocimetry measurements taken within the gear-flap flow interaction region during wind tunnel tests of the model. As part of the bench-marking process, direct comparisons of the mean and fluctuating velocity fields are presented in the form of planar contour plots and extracted line profiles at measurement planes in various orientations stationed in the main gear wake. The measurement planes in the vicinity of the flap side edge and downstream of the flap trailing edge are used to highlight the effects of gear presence on tip vortex development and the ability of the computational tools to accurately capture such effects. The present study indicates that both computed datasets contain enough detail to construct a relatively accurate depiction of gear-flap flow interaction. Such a finding increases confidence in using the simulated volumetric flow solutions to examine the behavior of pertinent aer-odynamic mechanisms within the gear-flap interaction zone.

Khorrami, Mehdi R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

An Open-Source Framework for Rapid Validation of Scientific ASICs

Spacely is an open-source framework for the post-silicon validation of analog, digital, and mixed-signal ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) which maximizes the reuse of hardware and software, reducing the time taken to achieve meaningful test results. Spacely specifically addresses the needs of small, flexible ASIC design teams commonly found in academia or research institutions which benefit most from sharing the overhead of test stand creation between many unique ASIC designs. Spacely is a set of software, firmware, and design practices. It targets two primary hardware platforms (NI-PXI and Caribou) as well as offering extensible support for bench instruments. Spacely provides a high-level Python interface to all test hardware for accessibility, while also giving more sophisticated teams the opportunity to integrate custom test firmware. The design principles of Spacely are presented, along with a demonstrative example of using Spacely to test a pixel detector readout ASIC.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1991

Optical studies in the holographic ground station

The Holographic Group System (HGS) Facility in rooms 22 & 123, Building 4708 has been developed to provide for ground based research in determining pre-flight parameters and analyzing the results from space experiments. The University of Alabama, Huntsville (UAH) has researched the analysis aspects of the HGS and reports their findings here. Some of the results presented here also occur in the Facility Operating Procedure (FOP), which contains instructions for power up, operation, and powerdown of the Fluid Experiment System (FES) Holographic Ground System (HGS) Test Facility for the purpose of optically recording fluid and/or crystal behavior in a test article during ground based testing through the construction of holograms and recording of videotape. The alignment of the optical bench components, holographic reconstruction and and microscopy alignment sections were also included in the document for continuity even though they are not used until after optical recording of the test article) setup of support subsystems and the Automated Holography System (AHS) computer. The HGS provides optical recording and monitoring during GCEL runs or development testing of potential FES flight hardware or software. This recording/monitoring can be via 70mm holographic film, standard videotape, or digitized images on computer disk. All optical bench functions necessary to construct holograms will be under the control of the AHS personal computer (PC). These include type of exposure, time intervals between exposures, exposure length, film frame identification, film advancement, film platen evacuation and repressurization, light source diffuser introduction, and control of realtime video monitoring. The completed sequence of hologram types (single exposure, diffuse double exposure, etc.) and their time of occurrence can be displayed, printed, or stored on floppy disk posttest for the user.

Workman, Gary L.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Electrochemically Regenerated Solvent for Direct Air Capture with Co-generation of Hydrogen at Bench-scale

The goal of this final project report is to summarize the work conducted on project DE-FE0032125. In accordance with the Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO), the University of Kentucky Institute for Decarbonization and Energy Advancement (UK IDEA) (Recipient) developed an intensified process to capture CO 2 from ambient conditions (415 ppm CO 2 ). The process combines low-temperature solvent-aided membrane capture with electrochemically-mediated solvent regeneration to simultaneously capture ambient CO 2 while regenerating the solvent. The technology employs only two primary units, a regenerator and an absorber/contactor, while generating high purity hydrogen as a co-product that can be sold, used for energy storage, or cost-saving depolarization of the direct air capture (DAC) system during the grid peak demand, allowing for flexible operation. Since the technology is powered directly by DC electricity, it can seamlessly tie in with power sources like solar cells without the need for AC/DC converters, therefore allowing for a remote operation to further mitigate greenhouse gas generation toward deploying a negative carbon emissions technology that is completely decoupled from the carbon emissions from the power source for the DAC unit. The completion of the project results in significant progress toward the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) goal of advancing lab and bench-scale DAC systems to a sufficient maturity level that can justify their continued scale-up through the verification testing of the electrochemically regenerated solvent system for DAC with co-generation of hydrogen at bench-scale. The technology addressed the complexities of incumbent DAC systems by demonstrating at ambient conditions (1) low gas-side pressure-drop facile CO 2 capture via an intensified membrane absorber with in-situ regenerated hydroxide as capture solvent, (2) multi-functional electrochemical regenerator for hydroxide regeneration, CO 2 concentration and hydrogen production at less than 3 V, and (3) stable DAC performance including >90% capture with air influent at the CFM scale. The data from this project enables the completion of Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). TEA and LCA demonstrate the potential of the proposed electrochemical solvent-based process to be a viable DAC option. The analysis did not identify any obvious concern for the bench-scale operation and no apparent barriers to implementing UK IDEA carbon capture and solvent regeneration system at a larger scale.

08 HYDROGEN↗
NASA NTRS1992

TDS and BMT for CASES ADF (ADF RAMS), acceptance test

The Controls, Astrophysics, and Structures Experiment (CASES) is a proposed experiment to collect x ray images of the galactic center and solar disk with unprecedented resolution. This requires precision pointing and suppression of vibrations in the long, flexible structure that comprises the 32-m x ray telescope optical bench. Two separate electro-optical sensors systems are provided for the ground test facility (GTF). The Boom Motion Tracker (BMT) measures eigenvector data for post-mission use in system identification. The Tip Displacement Sensor (TDS) measures boom tip position and is used as feedback for the closed-loop control system that stabilizes the boom. The deployment and testing of the BMT and TDS systems is summarized.

Davis, Hugh W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Test of the Hipparcos payload in the Liege vacuum facility focal

The Liege thermal vacuum optical bench (FOCAL) was used to control the mechanical stability of the structure of the European Space Agency's HIPPARCOS astrometry payload. The payload is designed to measure angles of .001 arcsec between stars during 2.5 years and this accuracy can only be reached with the extreme stability of the device. The structure of the payload is made of carbon fiber; it is thermally stabilized with an accuracy of .01 degrees C. During the test, the payload is enclosed in a shell made of shrouds having a geometry close to the shading structure of the spacecraft. The shroud temperatures are defined by the conditions in orbit, e.g., the spacecraft is spinning in front of the Sun with a period of two hours and the temperature of the shrouds is cycled around the payload with a 2 hour period. In order to avoid disturbances by vibrations, the payload is put on an adapter interfaced with the optical bench and the seismic block; the shrouds are supported by a carrier with no direct interface with the table. This method avoids perturbances brought about by the cooling fluid of the shrouds.

Jamar, C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Test of charge injection device, phase 1

A computer-controlled automatic facility containing two interactive microprocessors, peripherals, and an optical bench was used to obtain device characteristics for use in evaluating CID's as the sensor element in a prospective star tracker application. Each of the ST-256 chips tested contains a 256 x 256 pixel element array with 65536 picture elements. Two ST-256 devices were tested at 20 C under light levels of 10%, 0.1%, and 0.01% saturation, and in darkness. The saturation level was established at 0.95 microwatts sq cm as measured by the radiometeric sensor. Two test runs under each condition were performed for each chip. Two complete sets of data for each of the devices were thus obtained. A separate data field was used to store the results of each test condition. Repetitive runs of a test condition were stored sequentially in the same file. Examination of the data using print-outs is shown in examples.

Gradinger, A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Method for characterizing the upset response of CMOS circuits using alpha-particle sensitive test circuits

A method for predicting the SEU susceptibility of a standard-cell D-latch using an alpha-particle sensitive SRAM, SPICE critical charge simulation results, and alpha-particle interaction physics. A technique utilizing test structures to quickly and inexpensively characterize the SEU sensitivity of standard cell latches intended for use in a space environment. This bench-level approach utilizes alpha particles to induce upsets in a low LET sensitive 4-k bit test SRAM. This SRAM consists of cells that employ an offset voltage to adjust their upset sensitivity and an enlarged sensitive drain junction to enhance the cell's upset rate.

Buehler, Martin G.↗
NASA NTRS2026

Performance Optimization for Lunar Extravehicular Activity Readiness (POLAR) Study: Methods Paper

To better understand which aspects of physical fitness may be most related to performance during Lunar surface operations and thereby help to inform the current NASA fitness standards, much can be learned from fields encompassing the “tactical athlete.” Other physically demanding professions such as law enforcement, military, or rescue professionals often require candidates to meet occupationally-relevant fitness standards. The determination of such standards is a multistep process, including both objective and subjective measures, to determine tasks essential to occupational performance and identify the minimal fitness profile needed to meet physical demands of the job. Notably, fitness is only one component which may contribute to the demands of astronaut selection, flight assignment, and occupational performance. Utilizing a framework to systematically determine which domains of fitness most contribute to relevant job tasks can aid in the refinement of current NASA-STD-3001 fitness standards. Therefore, NASA’s Exercise Physiology & Countermeasures Laboratory conducted the Performance Optimization for Lunar Extravehicular Activity Readiness (POLAR) study to identify and examine a comprehensive list of fitness tests (including NASA-STD-3001 assessments: 1-Repetition Maximum [1-RM] bench press and deadlift) and determine preliminary relationships between identified fitness parameters and novel Artemis-relevant tasks to help inform future investigations for the continued development of aerobic and muscular fitness standards for surface EVAs. This was accomplished through 1) a review of the literature relating fitness assessments to simulated or real EVA performance to identify fitness tests that are most correlated with simulated EVA task performance; 2) a task analysis following a modified framework for physical employment standards development to down select mission critical tasks; and 3) development and pilot testing of a novel, portable Artemis-relevant EVA task circuit to relate to a battery of fitness assessments. The current report describes the methodology used to complete the task analysis, EVA task circuit development, and the pilot study.

Nicole C Strock↗