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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2007

Hazards, Safety and Design Considerations for Commercial Lithium-ion Cells and Batteries

This viewgraph presentation reviews the features of the Lithium-ion batteries, particularly in reference to the hazards and safety of the battery. Some of the characteristics of the Lithium-ion cell are: Highest Energy Density of Rechargeable Battery Chemistries, No metallic lithium, Leading edge technology, Contains flammable electrolyte, Charge cut-off voltage is critical (overcharge can result in fire), Open circuit voltage higher than metallic lithium anode types with similar organic electrolytes. Intercalation is a process that places small ions in crystal lattice. Small ions (such as lithium, sodium, and the other alkali metals) can fit in the interstitial spaces in a graphite lattice. These metallic ions can go farther and force the graphitic planes apart to fit two, three, or more layers of metallic ions between the carbon sheets. Other features of the battery/cell are: The graphite is conductive, Very high energy density compared to NiMH or NiCd, Corrosion of aluminum occurs very quickly in the presence of air and electrolyte due to the formation of HF from LiPF6 and HF is highly corrosive. Slides showing the Intercalation/Deintercalation and the chemical reactions are shown along with the typical charge/discharge for a cylindrical cell. There are several graphs that review the hazards of the cells.

Jeevarajan, Judith↗
NASA NTRS2017

The Effects of Vegetative Type, Edges, Fire History, Rainfall and Management in Fire-Maintained Ecosystems

The combined effects of repeated fires, climate, and landscape features (e.g., edges) need greater focus in fire ecology studies, which usually emphasize characteristics of the most recent fire and not fire history. Florida scrub-jays are an imperiled, territorial species that prefer medium (1.2-1.7 m) shrub heights. We measured short, medium, and tall habitat quality states annually within 10 ha grid cells that represented potential territories because frequent fires and vegetative recovery cause annual variation in habitat quality. We used multistate models and model selection to test competing hypotheses about how transition probabilities between states varied annually as functions of environmental covariates. Covariates included vegetative type, edges, precipitation, openings (gaps between shrubs), mechanical cutting, and fire characteristics. Fire characteristics not only included an annual presenceabsence of fire covariate, but also fire history covariates: time since the previous fire, the maximum fire-free interval, and the number of repeated fires. Statistical models with support included many covariates for each transition probability, often including fire history, interactions and nonlinear relationships. Tall territories resulted from 28 years of fire suppression and habitat fragmentation that reduced the spread of fires across landscapes. Despite 35 years of habitat restoration and prescribed fires, half the territories remained tall suggesting a regime shift to a less desirable habitat condition. Measuring territory quality states and environmental covariates each year combined with multistate modeling provided a useful empirical approach to quantify the effects of repeated fire in combinations with environmental variables on transition probabilities that drive management strategies and ecosystem change.

Breininger, David R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

ERTS-1 image contributes to understanding of geologic structures related to Managua earthquake, 1972

ERTS-1 imaged the western portion of Nicaragua on December 24, 1972, one day after the central part of the city of Managua was devastated by a major earthquake which measured 5.6 on the Richter scale. ERTS-1 images reveal sets of lineaments (which may reflect fault systems) along any one of which movement could have taken place. One set includes a line of active volcanoes that parallels the coast and constitutes the southwestern edge of the Nicaraguan Depression, a regional graben which cuts obliquely across the Central American isthmus. This trend is offset approximately 10km in a right lateral geometric sense just west of the city of Managua. A parallel lineament, north of Lake Managua, marks the northeast edge of the graben. A second set, extends northward to northwestward from the mouth of the Rio Grande (Viejo) north of Lake Managua and can be projected southward across the lake to Managua. It is this set along which geometric offset of the volcanic lineament appears to have taken place.

Carter, W. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Effects of blade-vane ratio and rotor-stator spacing of fan noise with forward velocity

A research fan stage was acoustically tested in an anechoic wind tunnel with a 41 m/sec tunnel flow. Two stator vane numbers giving cut-on and cut-off conditions were tested at three rotor-stator spacings ranging from about 0.5 to 2.0 rotor chords. These two stators were designed for similar aerodynamic performance. Hot film anemometer turbulence measurements were made at the leading edge of the stator for each spacing. The cut-off criterion strongly controlled the fundamental tone level at all spacings. The trends with spacing of the wake defect upwash component at the stator tip showed good agreement with the corresponding cut-on acoustic tone levels.

Woodward, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1966

Modified soldering iron speeds cutting of synthetic materials

Modified soldering iron cuts large lots of synthetic materials economically without leaving frayed or jagged edges. The soldering iron is modified by machining an axial slot in its heating element tip and mounting a cutting disk in it. An alternate design has an axially threaded bore in the tip to permit the use of various shapes of cutting blades.

Schafer, W. G., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Magnetic record in chondrite meteorites

What we know about the magnetic record in chondrite meteorites based on new data and previously published results is summarized. Strips from thin slabs of chondrite meteorites were cut into near cubical subsamples (several mm on edge) numbering approximately 60 to approximately 120 per meteorite. A common orientation was assigned to each subsample from a given meteorite in order to ensure that we could discover the vector makeup of the bulk meteorite. The new data set includes: Shaw (L7), Roy (L5/6), Claytonville (L5), Plainview (H5), Etter (H5), Leoville (C3V), and Allende (C3V). In addition to these new results, literature data of sufficient detail, e.g. Bjurbole (L4), ALH769 (L6), Abee (E4), Allende (C3V), and Olivenza (L5), is considered.

Wasilewski, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Ground-Based VIS/NIR Reflectance Spectra of 25143 Itokawa: What Hayabusa will See and How Ground-Based Data can Augment Analyses

Planning for the arrival of the Hayabusa spacecraft at asteroid 25143 Itokawa includes consideration of the expected spectral information to be obtained using the AMICA and NIRS instruments. The rotationally-resolved spatial coverage the asteroid we have obtained with ground-based telescopic spectrophotometry in the visible and near-infrared can be utilized here to address expected spacecraft data. We use spectrophotometry to simulate the types of data that Hayabusa will receive with the NIRS and AMICA instruments, and will demonstrate them here. The NIRS will cover a wavelength range from 0.85 m, and have a dispersion per element of 250 Angstroms. Thus, we are limited in coverage of the 1.0 micrometer and 2.0 micrometer mafic silicate absorption features. The ground-based reflectance spectra of Itokawa show a large component of olivine in its surface material, and the 2.0 micrometer feature is shallow. Determining the olivine to pyroxene abundance ratio is critically dependent on the attributes of the 1.0- and 2.0 micrometer features. With a cut-off near 2,1 micrometer the longer edge of the 2.0- feature will not be obtained by NIRS. Reflectance spectra obtained using ground-based telescopes can be used to determine the regional composition around space-based spectral observations, and possibly augment the longer wavelength spectral attributes. Similarly, the shorter wavelength end of the 1.0 micrometer absorption feature will be partially lost to the NIRS. The AMICA filters mimic the ECAS filters, and have wavelength coverage overlapping with the NIRS spectral range. We demonstrate how merging photometry from AMICA will extend the spectral coverage of the NIRS. Lessons learned from earlier spacecraft to asteroids should be considered.

Vilas, Faith↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Effects of Vegetative Type, Edges, Fire History, Rainfall and Management in Fire-Maintained Habitat

The combined effects of fire history, climate, and landscape features (e.g., edges) on habitat specialists need greater focus in fire ecology studies, which usually only emphasize characteristics of the most recent fire. Florida scrub-jays are an imperiled, territorial species that prefer medium (1.2-1.7 m) shrub heights, which are dynamic because of frequent fires. We measured short, medium, and tall habitat quality states annually within 10 ha grid cells (that represented potential territories) because fires and vegetative recovery cause annual variation in habitat quality. We used multistate models and model selection to test competing hypotheses about how transition probabilities vary between states as functions of environmental covariates. Covariates included vegetative type, edges (e.g., roads, forests), precipitation, openings (gaps between shrubs), mechanical cutting, and fire characteristics. Fire characteristics not only included an annual presence/absence of fire covariate, but also fire history covariates: time since the previous fire, the longest fire-free interval, and the number of repeated fires. Statistical models with support included many covariates for each transition probability, often including fire history, interactions and nonlinear relationships. Tall territories resulted from 28 years of fire suppression and habitat fragmentation that reduced the spread of fires across landscapes. Despite 35 years of habitat restoration and prescribed fires, half the territories remained tall suggesting a regime shift to a less desirable habitat condition. Edges reduced the effectiveness of fires in setting degraded scrub and flatwoods into earlier successional states making mechanical cutting an important tool to compliment frequent prescribed fires.

Breininger, David R.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Saturn's Rings, the Yarkovsky Effects, and the Ring of Fire

Saturn's icy ring particles, with their low thermal conductivity, are almost ideal for the operation of the Yarkovsky effects. The dimensions of Saturn's A and B rings may be determined by a near balancing of the seasonal Yarkovsky effect with the Yarkovsky- Schach effect. The two effects, which are photon thrust due to temperature gradients, may confine the A and B rings to within their observed dimensions. The C ring may be sparsely populated with icy particles because Yarkovsky drag has pulled them into Saturn, leaving the more slowly orbitally decaying rocky particles. Icy ring particles ejected from the B ring and passing through the C ring, as well as some of the slower rocky particles, should fall on Saturn's equator, where they may create a luminous "Ring of Fire" around Saturn's equator. This predicted Ring of Fire may be visible to Cassini's camera. Curiously, the speed of outwards Yarkovsky orbital evolution appears to peak near the Cassini Division. The connection between the two is not clear. D. Nesvorny has speculated that the resonance at the outer edge of the B ring may impede particles from evolving via Yarkovsky across the Division. If supply from the B ring is largely cut off, then Yarkovsky may push icy particles outward, away from the inner edge of the A ring, leaving only the rocky ones in the Division. The above scenarios depend delicately on the properties of the icy particles.

Rubincam, David↗
NASA NTRS2018

Interferometric Characterization of Keck Segment Edge Errors

The Keck telescope segments were manufactured by stressed mirror polishing of large circular pieces of Zerodur that were then cut into hexagons and finished by Ion Beam Figuring (IBF). It has long been believed that this process results in segments with little or no edge effects. As a result, this same general approach is planned for segment manufacturing for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). However, recent measurements at the Keck telescope suggest that at least some of the Keck segments have significant aberrations within 60 mm of the edge. These aberrations impact the telescope phasing and the overall telescope image quality. We present interferometric measurements of multiple Keck segments, characterizing the surface errors near the edges over spatial periods from 5 cm down to 1 mm. We show that the largest phasing and image quality effects are due to plateaus of unremoved material, left behind after IBF as a result of obscuration by the IBF supports. Apart from these plateaus, the edge quality is relatively good, though not as good as in the segment interiors. Some residual phasing and image quality effects remain, and these are not currently understood.

Martinek, Stephen J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Acoustic liner optimum impedance for spinning modes with mode cut-off ratio as the design criterion

The theoretical optimum acoustic impedance for higher order spinning modes was studied in cylindrical ducts with a boundary layer at the outer edge of a uniform flow. All of the propagating modes were considered from highly propagating to nearly cut-off. It was observed that the mode cut-off ratio uniquely determined the optimum wall impedance and maximum possible attenuation for a given boundary layer thickness, Mach number and frequency. The implications of this phenomenon are quite important in noise suppressor design. Instead of the acoustic power distribution among all of the propagating modes, only the power distribution as a function of cut-off ratio needs to be known. Also, the far field radiation pattern is a function of modal cut-off ratio, and much needed information for liner design can be obtained from these more easily obtained data.

Rice, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Device prepares aluminum surfaces for welding

Dry machining technique removes original surfaces to obtain contamination free welding surface. Device straddles edge being prepared and aligns with existing edges and adjacent surfaces of workpiece while sensing device regulates cut depth. Description of prototype is given.

Faulkner, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Innovative design of composite structures: Design, manufacturing, and testing of plates utilizing curvilinear fiber trajectories

As a means of improving structural design, the concept of fabricating flat plates containing holes by incorporating curvilinear fiber trajectories to transmit loads around the hole is studied. In the present discussion this concept is viewed from a structural level, where access holes, windows, doors, and other openings are of significant size. This is opposed to holes sized for mechanical fasteners. Instead of cutting the important load-bearing fibers at the hole edge, as a conventional straightline design does, the curvilinear design preserves the load-bearing fibers by orienting them in smooth trajectories around the holes, their loading not ending abruptly at the hole edge. Though the concept of curvilinear fiber trajectories has been studied before, attempts to manufacture and test such plates have been limited. This report describes a cooperative effort between Cincinnati Milacron Inc., NASA Langley Research Center, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to design, manufacture, and test plates using the curvilinear fiber trajectory concept. The paper discusses details of the plate design, details of the manufacturing, and a summary of results from testing the plates with inplane compressive buckling loads and tensile loads. Comparisons between the curvilinear and conventional straightline fiber designs based on measurements and observation are made. Failure modes, failure loads, strains, deflections, and other key responses are compared.

Hyer, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Image analysis used to count and measure etched tracks from ionizing radiation

We have developed techniques to use digitized scanning electron micrographs and computer image analysis programs to measure track densities in lunar soil grains and plastic dosimeters. Tracks in lunar samples are formed by highly ionizing solar energetic particles and cosmic rays during near surface exposure on the Moon. The track densities are related to the exposure conditions (depth and time). Distributions of the number of grains as a function of their track densities can reveal the modality of soil maturation. We worked on two samples identified for a consortium study of lunar weathering effects, 61221 and 67701. They were prepared by the lunar curator's staff as polished grain mounts that were etched in boiling 1 N NaOH for 6 h to reveal tracks. We determined that backscattered electron images taken at 10 percent contrast and approximately 50 percent brightness produced suitable high contrast images for analysis. We used the NIH Image program to cut out areas that were unsuitable for measurement such as edges, cracks, etc. We ascertained a gray-scale threshold of 25 to separate tracks from background. We used the computer to count everything that was two pixels or greater in size and to measure the area to obtain track densities. We found an excellent correlation with manual measurements for track densities below 1 x 10(exp 8) cm(exp -2). For track densities between 1 x 10(exp 8) cm(exp -2) to 1 x 10(exp 9) cm(exp -2) we found that a regression formula using the percentage area covered by tracks gave good agreement with manual measurements. We determined the track density distributions for 61221 and 67701. Sample 61221 is an immature sample, but not pristine. Sample 67701 is a submature sample that is very close to being fully mature. Because only 10 percent of the grains have track densities less than 10(exp 9) cm(exp -2), it is difficulty to determine whether the sample matured in situ or is a mixture of a mature and a submature soil. Although our analysis of plastic dosimeters is at an early stage of development, results are encouraging. The dosimeter was etched in 6.25 N NaOH at 70 deg C for 16 h. We took 200x secondary electron images of the sample and used the NIH Image software to count and measure major and minor diameters of the etched tracks. We calculated the relative track etch rate from a formula that relates it to the major and minor diameters. We made a histogram of the number of tracks versus their relative etch rate. The relative track etching rate is proportional to the linear energy transfer of the particle. With appropriate calibration experiments, the histogram could be used to calculate the radiation dose.

Blanford, George E.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Response of Composite Fuselage Sandwich Side Panels Subjected to Internal Pressure and Axial Tension

The results from an experimental and analytical study of two composite sandwich fuselage side panels for a transport aircraft are presented. Each panel has two window cutouts and three frames and utilizes a distinctly different structural concept. These panels have been evaluated with internal pressure loads that generate biaxial tension loading conditions. Design limit load and design ultimate load tests have been performed on both panels. One of the sandwich panels was tested with the middle frame removed to demonstrate the suitability of this two-frame design for supporting the prescribed biaxial loading conditions with twice the initial frame spacing of 20 inches. A damage tolerance study was conducted on the two-frame panel by cutting a notch in the panel that originates at the edge of a cutout and extends in the panel hoop direction through the window-belt area. This panel with a notch was tested in a combined-load condition to demonstrate the structural damage tolerance at the design limit load condition. Both the sandwich panel designs successfully satisfied all desired load requirements in the experimental part of the study, and experimental results from the two-frame panel with and without damage are fully explained by the analytical results. The results of this study suggest that there is potential for using sandwich structural concepts with greater than the usual 20-in. wide frame spacing to further reduce aircraft fuselage structural weight.

Rouse, Marshall↗
NASA NTRS2004

Efficient Fluid Dynamic Design Optimization Using Cartesian Grids

This report is subdivided in three parts. The first one reviews a new approach to the computation of inviscid flows using Cartesian grid methods. The crux of the method is the curvature-corrected symmetry technique (CCST) developed by the present authors for body-fitted grids. The method introduces ghost cells near the boundaries whose values are developed from an assumed flow-field model in vicinity of the wall consisting of a vortex flow, which satisfies the normal momentum equation and the non-penetration condition. The CCST boundary condition was shown to be substantially more accurate than traditional boundary condition approaches. This improved boundary condition is adapted to a Cartesian mesh formulation, which we call the Ghost Body-Cell Method (GBCM). In this approach, all cell centers exterior to the body are computed with fluxes at the four surrounding cell edges. There is no need for special treatment corresponding to cut cells which complicate other Cartesian mesh methods.

Dadone, A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Automation of Overset Structured Mesh Generation onBoundary Representation Geometries

A scheme is presented for the automatic generation of structured overset meshes ongeometries that are defined by Boundary Representation (BRep) solids. The surface meshsystem consists of face, edge and node meshes corresponding to the three respective basicBRep entity types. A cut-cell method is introduced to improve robustness of the on-geometrydetermination test for a face mesh grid point. A geometric component tagging scheme is utilizedto enhance local grid point distribution on a configuration with a large range of geometricscales. A cap grid topology is automatically utilized around the trailing edge of wing and tailtips to enhance mesh quality and to enable more effective surface coverage. Robustness of thehyperbolic surface marching method is improved by replacing the point projection scheme witha walking scheme. Relaxation of surface grid spacing at concave corners enables automatedhigh quality hyperbolic volume mesh creation. Domain connectivity is automatically performedon the surface mesh system. A variety of test cases are presented including a re-entry capsule,two models of the Juncture Flow Experiment wing-body, five rotorcraft concept vehicles, andvarious components of the High-Lift Common Research Model from the High-Lift PredictionWorkshop 4.

TTT↗
NASA NTRS1966

Versatile machine mills, saws light materials

Versatile milling/sawing machine performs angle cuts, flat and profile milling, machining of grooves and slots, and edge trimming of phenolic panels. The machine is mounted on rails above a table equipped with vacuum capability for holding workpieces.

Rauschl, J. A.↗