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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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30 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Aerothermodynamic environments for Mars entry, Mars return, and lunar return aerobraking missions

The aeroheating environments to vehicles undergoing Mars aerocapture, earth aerocapture from Mars, and earth aerocapture from the moon are presented. An engineering approach for the analysis of various types of vehicles and trajectories was taken, rather than performing a benchmark computation for a specific point at a selected time point in a trajectory. The radiation into Mars using the Mars Rover Sample Return (MRSR) 2-ft nose radius bionic remains a small contributor of heating for 6 to 10 km/sec; however, at 12 km/sec it becomes comparable with the convection. For earth aerocapture, returning from Mars, peak radiation for the MRSR SRC is only 25 percent of the peak convection for the 12-km/sec trajectory. However, when large vehicles are considered with this trajectory, peak radiation can become 2 to 4 times higher than the peak convection. For both Mars entry and return, a partially ablative Thermal Protection System (TPS) would be required, but for Lunar Transfer Vehicle return an all-reusable TPS can be used.

Rochelle, W. C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Advanced interdisciplinary technologies

The following topics are presented in view graph form: (1) breakthrough trust (space research and technology assessment); (2) bionics (technology derivatives from biological systems); (3) biodynamics (modeling of human biomechanical performance based on anatomical data); and (4) tethered atmospheric research probes.

Anderson, John L.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Circuit For Control Of Electromechanical Prosthetic Hand

Proposed circuit for control of electromechanical prosthetic hand derives electrical control signals from shoulder movements. Updated, electronic version of prosthesis, that includes two hooklike fingers actuated via cables from shoulder harness. Circuit built around favored shoulder harness, provides more dexterous movement, without incurring complexity of computer-controlled "bionic" or hydraulically actuated devices. Additional harness and potentiometer connected to similar control circuit mounted on other shoulder. Used to control stepping motor rotating hand about prosthetic wrist to one of number of angles consistent with number of digital outputs. Finger-control signals developed by circuit connected to first shoulder harness transmitted to prosthetic hand via sliprings at prosthetic wrist joint.

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2002

The nature of the autonomic dysfunction in multiple system atrophy

The concept that multiple system atrophy (MSA, Shy-Drager syndrome) is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system is several decades old. While there has been renewed interest in the movement disorder associated with MSA, two recent consensus statements confirm the centrality of the autonomic disorder to the diagnosis. Here, we reexamine the autonomic pathophysiology in MSA. Whereas MSA is often thought of as "autonomic failure", new evidence indicates substantial persistence of functioning sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves even in clinically advanced disease. These findings help explain some of the previously poorly understood features of MSA. Recognition that MSA entails persistent, constitutive autonomic tone requires a significant revision of our concepts of its diagnosis and therapy. We will review recent evidence bearing on autonomic tone in MSA and discuss their therapeutic implications, particularly in terms of the possible development of a bionic baroreflex for better control of blood pressure.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS2018

Biocene 2018 - Welcome to the Period of New Life

Biocene is the period of new life. When our descendants look back at this period in time, they will see evidence, in the geologic and electronic record, of anthropic climate change, growing population, and scarcity of resources. But they will also see the rebirth of human ingenuity as we overcame the challenges that faced us through nature-inspired exploration. The Periodic Table of Life (PeTaL) is a proposed tool and open source framework that uses artificial intelligence to aid in the systematic inquiry of biology for its application to human systems. This presentation defines the PeTaL concept and workflow. Biomimicry, biophysics, biomimetics, bionics and numerous other terms refer to the use of biology and biological principles to inform practices in other disciplines. For the most part, the domain of inquiry in these fields have been confined to extant biological models with the proponents of biomimicry often citing the evolutionary success of extant organisms relative to extinct ones. The primary objective of this paper is to expand the domain of inquiry for human processes that seek to model those that are, were or could be found in nature with examples that relate to the field of aerospace and to spur development of tools that can work together to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in problem solving. Specifically specialized fields such as paleomimesis, anthropomimesis and physioteleology are proposed in conjunction with artificial evolution. Blockchain technology may be vital in allowing open source design tools such as PeTaL to democratize design and yet protect intellectual property. The overarching philosophy outlined here can be thought of as physiomimetics, a holistic and systematic way of learning from natural history. The backbone of PeTaL integrates an unstructured database with an ontological model consisting of function, morphology, environment, state of matter and ecosystem. Tools include text classification, thesaurus, data visualization, and analysis. Applications of PeTaL include guiding human space exploration, understanding human and geological history, and discovering new or extinct life.

Biocene↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ionic liquid-water mixtures enhance pretreatment and anaerobic digestion of agave bagasse

Agave bagasse (AB), a byproduct of tequila production, is a waste generated in large quantities and an emerging alternative for biofuels production. Nevertheless, the use of lignocellulosic biomass for this purpose requires a pretreatment that maximizes its degradation and utilization. Although there are several pretreatment types, using ionic liquids (IL) has become attractive due to its ability to dissolve the lignocellulosic biomass under mild conditions of time and temperature. As a drawback are the high cost of IL's and their high viscosity; thus mixing them with water is a way to overcome these hindrances. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of pretreatment with three diluted ILs on the A. tequilana bagasse structure and sugars production, as well as the potential of the enzymatic hydrolysate to produce methane in batch mode. The evaluated ILs were: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate [Emim][OAc], choline lysinate [Ch][Lys] and ethanolamine acetate [EOA][OAc]. The results showed that the IL with the best performance was [Ch][Lys], which not only offered the highest yields of sugar production (0.57 ± 0.03 g total sugars / g bagasse) but also, it is possible to use it at 30 % in a mix with water obtaining similar yields as with pure IL. Enzymatic hydrolysis of IL pretreated AB achieved 50.7 kg sugars and 49.3 kg of sugars for 90 %-[Ch][Lys] and 30 %-[Ch][Lys], respectively per 100 kg of untreated biomass. The enzymatic hydrolysate from the 30 %-[Ch][Lys] pretreated AB was able to achieve 0.28 L CH4/g CODfed, demonstrating that both sugar and methane yields are maintained when pure or 30 %-[Ch][Lys] are used for pretreatment, representing a step forward towards process feasibility.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗