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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 379 records · Page 21
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NASA NTRS1996

Spherical Joint Piston and Connecting Rod Developed

Under an interagency agreement with the Department of Energy, the NASA Lewis Research Center manages a Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Technology (HDET) research program. The overall program objectives are to reduce fuel consumption through increased engine efficiency, reduce engine exhaust emissions, and provide options for the use of alternative fuels. The program is administered with a balance of research contracts, university research grants, and focused in-house research. The Cummins Engine Company participates in the HDET program under a cost-sharing research contract. Cummins is researching and developing in-cylinder component technologies for heavy-duty diesel engines. An objective of the Cummins research is to develop technologies for a low-emissions, 55-percent thermal efficiency (LE-55) engine. The best current-production engines in this class achieve about 46-percent thermal efficiency. Federal emissions regulations are driving this technology. Regulations for heavy duty diesel engines were tightened in 1994, more demanding emissions regulations are scheduled for 1998, and another step is planned for 2002. The LE-55 engine emissions goal is set at half of the 1998 regulation level and is consistent with plans for 2002 emissions regulations. LE-55 engine design requirements to meet the efficiency target dictate a need to operate at higher peak cylinder pressures. A key technology being developed and evaluated under the Cummins Engine Company LE-55 engine concept is the spherical joint piston and connecting rod. Unlike conventional piston and connecting rod arrangements which are joined by a pin forming a hinged joint, the spherical joint piston and connecting rod use a ball-and-socket joint. The ball-and-socket arrangement enables the piston to have an axisymmetric design allowing rotation within the cylinder. The potential benefits of piston symmetry and rotation are reduced scuffing, improved piston ring sealing, improved lubrication, mechanical and thermal load symmetry, reduced bearing stresses, reduced running clearances, and reduced oil consumption. The spherical joint piston is a monolithic, squeeze-cast, fiber-reinforced aluminum piston. The connecting rod has a ball end that seats on a spherical saddle within the piston and is retained by a pair of aluminum bronze holder rings. The holder rings are secured by a threaded ring that mates with the piston. As part of the ongoing research and development activity, the Cummins Engine Company successfully completed a 100-hr test of the spherical joint piston and connecting rod at LE- 55 peak steady-state engine conditions. In addition, a 100-hr transient cycle test that varied engine conditions between LE-55 no-load and LE-55 full-load was successfully completed.

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NASA NTRS1996

Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Program

Industry/NASA Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Technology Program efforts are underway to design, test, and develop technologies and concepts for viable commercial launch systems that also satisfy national needs at acceptable recurring costs. Significant progress has been made in understanding the technical challenges of fully reusable launch systems and the accompanying management and operational approaches for achieving a low-cost program. This paper reviews the current status of the Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Program including the DC-XA, X-33 and X-34 flight systems and associated technology programs. It addresses the specific technologies being tested that address the technical and operability challenges of reusable launch systems including reusable cryogenic propellant tanks, composite structures, thermal protection systems, improved propulsion, and subsystem operability enhancements. The recently concluded DC-XA test program demonstrated some of these technologies in ground and flight tests. Contracts were awarded recently for both the X-33 and X-34 flight demonstrator systems. The Orbital Sciences Corporation X-34 flight test vehicle will demonstrate an air-launched reusable vehicle capable of flight to speeds of Mach 8. The Lockheed-Martin X-33 flight test vehicle will expand the test envelope for critical technologies to flight speeds of Mach 15. A propulsion program to test the X-33 linear aerospike rocket engine using a NASA SR-71 high speed aircraft as a test bed is also discussed. The paper also describes the management and operational approaches that address the challenge of new cost-effective, reusable launch vehicle systems.

Freeman, Delma C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Bibliography of Lewis Research Center Technical Publications announced in 1979

This compilation of over 1100 abstracts describes and indexes the technical reporting that resulted from the scientific and engineering work performed and managed by the Lewis Research Center in 1979. All the publications were announced in the 1979 issues of STAR (Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports) and/or IAA (International Aerospace Abstracts). Research reports, journal articles, conference presentations, patents and patent applications, and theses are included. Subject, author, corporate source, contract number, and report number indexes are provided.

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NASA NTRS1982

One third of the world - A review of Pacific islands telecommunications requirements

This paper describes the Pacific Basin Communications Study, an assessment of Pacific islands telecommunications requirements, recently completed by the Public Service Satellite Consortium under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The study describes extant and planned telecommunications systems in the region, examines user needs in terms of the development of governmental, social and commercial activities, and proposes and describes alternative technological solutions to communications problems. Questions of financing, implementation, management, costs and benefits of a regional telecommunications system are discussed. This paper describes user requirements based on six months of field investigation and technological options for improving telecommunications in the Pacific islands.

Hurd, J. N.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Non-Toxic Reaction Control System for the Reusable First Stage Vehicle

This paper presents the Boeing Reusable Space Systems vision of a Reaction Control System (RCS) for the Reusable First Stage (RFS) being considered as a replacement for the Solid Rocket Booster for the Space Shuttle. The requirement is to,achieve reliable vehicle control during the upper atmospheric portion of the RFS trajectory while enabling more efficient ground operations, unhindered by constraints caused by operating with highly toxic RCS propellants. Boeing's objective for this effort is to develop a safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly RCS design approach that is suitable for the RFS concept of operations, including a low cost, efficient turnaround cycle. The Boeing RCS concept utilizes ethanol and liquid oxygen in place of the highly toxic, suspected carcinogen, ozone- depleting mono-methyl-hydrazine and highly toxic nitrogen tetroxide. The Space Shuttle Upgrade program, under the leadership of the NASA Johnson Space Flight Center, is currently developing liquid oxygen and ethanol (ethyl alcohol) technology for use as non-toxic orbital maneuvering system (OMS) and RCS. The development of this liquid oxygen and ethanol technology for the Space Shuffle offers a significant leverage to select much of the same technology for the RFS program. There are significant design and development issues involved with bringing this liquid oxygen and ethanol technology to a state of maturity suitable for an operational RCS, The risks associated with a new LOX and Ethanol RCS are mitigated by maintaining kerosene and hydrogen peroxide RCS technology as an alternative. These issues, presented within this paper, include managing the oxygen supply and achieving reliable ignition in the short pulse mode of engine operation. Performance, reliability and operations requirements are presented along with a specific RCS design concept to satisfying these requirements. The work reported in this paper was performed under NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Contract to define Reusable First Stage design concepts for the Space Shuttle.

Keith, E. L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Non-Toxic Reaction Control System for the Reusable First Stage Vehicle

This paper presents the Boeing Reusable Space Systems vision of a Reaction Control System (RCS) for the Reusable First Stage (RFS) being considered as a replacement for the Solid Rocket Booster for the Space Shuttle. The requirement is to achieve reliable vehicle control during the upper atmospheric portion of the RFS trajectory while enabling more efficient ground operations, unhindered by constraints caused by operating with highly toxic RCS propellants. Boeing's objective for this effort is to develop a safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly RCS design approach that is suitable for the RFS concept of operations, including a low cost, efficient turnaround cycle. The Boeing RCS concept utilizes ethanol and liquid oxygen in place of the highly toxic, suspected carcinogen, ozone-depleting mono-methyl-hydrazine and highly toxic nitrogen tetroxide. The Space Shuttle Upgrade program, under the leadership of the NASA Johnson Space Flight Center, is currently developing liquid oxygen and ethanol (ethyl alcohol) technology for use as non-toxic orbital maneuvering system (OMS) and RCS. The development of this liquid oxygen and ethanol technology for the Space Shuttle offers a significant leverage to select much of the same technology for the RFS program. There are significant design and development issues involved with bringing this liquid oxygen and ethanol technology to a state of maturity suitable for an operational RCS. The risks associated with a new LOX and Ethanol RCS are mitigated by maintaining kerosene and hydrogen peroxide RCS technology as an alternative. These issues, presented within this paper, include managing the oxygen supply and achieving reliable ignition in the short pulse mode of engine operation. Performance, reliability and operations requirements are presented along with a specific RCS design concept to satisfying these requirements. The work reported in this paper was performed under NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Contract Number NAS8-97272 to define Reusable First Stage design concepts for the Space Shuttle.

Keith, E. L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Satellite-Terrestrial Network Interoperability

The developing national and global information infrastructures (NII/GII) are being built upon the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) telecommunications protocol and associated protocol standards. These protocols are themselves under development through the telecommunications standards process defined by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which as a body is sanctioned by the United Nations. All telecommunications manufacturers use these standards to create products that can interoperate. The ITU has recognized the ATM Forum as the instrument for the development of ATM protocols. This forum is a consortium of industry, academia, and government entities formed to quickly develop standards for the ATM infrastructure. However, because the participants represent a predominately terrestrial network viewpoint, the use of satellites in the national and global information infrastructures could be severely compromised. Consequently, through an ongoing task order, the NASA Lewis Research Center asked Sterling Software, Inc., to communicate with the ATM Forum in support of the interoperability of satellite-terrestrial networks. This year, Dr. Raj Jain of the Ohio State University, under contract to Sterling, authored or coauthored 32 explanatory documents delivered to the ATM Forum in the areas of Guaranteed Frame Rate for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Available Bit Rate, performance testing, Variable Bit Rate voice over ATM, TCP over Unspecified Bit Rate+, Virtual Source/Virtual Destination, and network management. These contributions have had a significant impact on the content of the standards that the ATM Forum is developing. Some of the more significant accomplishments have been: (1) The adoption by the ATM Forum of a new definition for Message-In, Message-Out latency; and (2) Improved text (clearer wording and newly defined terms) for measurement procedures, foreground and background traffic, and scalable configuration in the latency and throughput sections of the Performance Testing Baseline Text.

vonDeak, Thomas C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Blockchain Application Within a Multi-Sensor Satellite Architecture

With the thrust towards multi-sensor satellite architectures for earth and space exploration, such as constellations and swarms, new technologies are required to enable the transition to this future capability. One of the areas of interest is establishing secure, efficient and prioritized data and command communication pathways among ground and space-based sources for such systems. This paper presents early research results on the potential role, capabilities and value of blockchain usage within constellation and swarm satellite architectures. It demonstrates the use of blockchain's smart contract and distributed ledger capabilities for secure and prioritized multi-sensor satellite collaborative data exchanges, as well as the logging and tracking of command and control events. Adapting and utilizing this emerging technology will aid in addressing technology gaps expected from future constellation flight architectures, such as managing collective computational operations (correlation), dynamic and autonomous observation planning, time-critical events, and provenance tied to ground and space-based autonomous operations and control recordkeeping. In this scenario blockchain is applied in encrypted command transmittal to multiple, yet specific, entities enabling acknowledgement transmittals, performance scalability, and automatic event-based triggering.

Mital, Rohit↗
NASA NTRS2021

Decentralized Control Synthesis for Air Traffic Management in Urban Air Mobility

Urban air mobility (UAM) refers to air transportation services within an urban area, often in an on-demand fashion. We study air traffic management (ATM) for vehicles in a UAM fleet, while guaranteeing system safety requirements such as traffic separation. Existing ATM methods for unmanned aerial systems, such as UAS traffic management, utilize alternative approaches which do not provide strict safety guarantees. No established infrastructure exists for providing ATM at scale for UAM. We provide a decentralized, hierarchical approach for UAM ATM that allows for scalability to high traffic densities as well as providing theoretical guarantees of correctness with respect to user-provided safety specifications. Our main contributions are two-fold. First, we propose a novel UAM ATM architecture that divides the control authority between vertihubs that are each in charge of all UAM vehicles in their local airspace. Each vertihub also contains a number of vertiports that are in charge of UAM vehicle takeoffs and landings. The resulting architecture is decentralized and hierarchical, which not only enables scalability, but also robustness in the event of any individual vertihub or vertiport no longer being operational. Second, we provide a contract-based correct-by-construction reactive synthesis approach that provably guarantees safety properties with respect to user-provided specifications in linear temporal logic. We demonstrate the approach on large-volume UAM air traffic data.

Urban Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRS2012

Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer Technology Demonstration: Prephase A Government Point-of-Departure Concept Study

The primary purpose of this study was to define a point-of-departure prephase A mission concept for the cryogenic propellant storage and transfer technology demonstration mission to be conducted by the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT). The mission concept includes identification of the cryogenic propellant management technologies to be demonstrated, definition of a representative mission timeline, and definition of a viable flight system design concept. The resulting mission concept will serve as a point of departure for evaluating alternative mission concepts and synthesizing the results of industry- defined mission concepts developed under the OCT contracted studies

Mulqueen, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

SUMC fault tolerant computer system

The results of the trade studies are presented. These trades cover: establishing the basic configuration, establishing the CPU/memory configuration, establishing an approach to crosstrapping interfaces, defining the requirements of the redundancy management unit (RMU), establishing a spare plane switching strategy for the fault-tolerant memory (FTM), and identifying the most cost effective way of extending the memory addressing capability beyond the 64 K-bytes (K=1024) of SUMC-II B. The results of the design are compiled in Contract End Item (CEI) Specification for the NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer II (NSSC-II), IBM 7934507. The implementation of the FTM and memory address expansion.

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NASA NTRS1986

Advanced Gas Turbine (AGT) Technology Development Project annual report

This report is the tenth in a series of Technical Summary reports for the Advanced Gas Turbine (AGT) Technology Development Project, authorized under NASA Contract DEN3-167, and sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE). This report was prepared by Garrett Turbine Engine Company, A Division of the Garrett Corporation, and includes information provided by Ford Motor Company, the Carborundum Company, and AiResearch Casting Company. The Project is administered by Mr. Thomas N. Strom, Project Manager, NASA-Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. This report covers plans and progress for the period July 1, 1984 through June 30, 1985.

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NASA NTRS1991

Ka-band MMIC microstrip array for high rate communications

In a recent technology assessment of alternative communication systems for the space exploration initiative (SEI), Ka-band (18 to 40 GHz) communication technology was identified to meet the mission requirements of telecommunication, navigation, and information management. Compared to the lower frequency bands, Ka-band antennas offer higher gain and broader bandwidths; thus, they are more suitable for high data rate communications. Over the years, NASA has played an important role in monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) phased array technology development, and currently, has an ongoing contract with Texas Instrument (TI) to develop a modular Ka-band MMIC microstrip subarray (NAS3-25718). The TI contract emphasizes MMIC integration technology development and stipulates using existing MMIC devices to minimize the array development cost. The objective of this paper is to present array component technologies and integration techniques used to construct the subarray modules.

Lee, R. Q.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Ka-band MMIC microstrip array for high rate communications

In a recent technology assessment of alternative communication systems for the space exploration initiative (SEI), Ka-band (18 to 40 GHz) communication technology was identified to meet the mission requirements of telecommunication, navigation, and information management. Compared to the lower frequency bands, Ka-band antennas offer higher gain and broader bandwidths; thus, they are more suitable for high data rate communications. Over the years, NASA has played an important role in monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) phased array technology development, and currently, has an ongoing contract with Texas Instrument (TI) to develop a modular Ka-band MMIC microstrip subarray (NAS3-25718). The TI contract emphasizes MMIC integration technology development and stipulates using existing MMIC devices to minimize the array development cost. The objective of this paper is to present array component technologies and integration techniques used to construct the subarray modules.

Lee, R. Q.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Interim Measures Report for the Headquarters Building Area Location of Concern (LOC) 2E East SWMU 104 John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida

The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendment portion of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Permit issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), requires identification and evaluation of all known Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and Locations of Concern (LOCs) located on Kennedy Space Center (KSC) property. The KSC Headquarters Building Area (KHQA) has been identified as SWMU 104 under KSC's RCRA Program. This report summarizes the Interim Measure (IM) conducted by Geosyntec Consultants (Geosyntec) for NASA under Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contract NNK12CA13B at the KHQA to mitigate potential exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-affected media at the eastern side of LOC 2E. The IM activities were conducted in June and July 2015 to remediate PCBs above the FDEP Residential Direct-Exposure (R-) Soil Cleanup Target Level (SCTL) of 0.5 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg) established by Chapter 62-777, Florida Administrative Code. The IM was performed in accordance with the IM Work Plan (IMWP) approved by the FDEP, dated August 2012. IM activities were conducted in accordance with the KSC Generic PCB Work Plan (NASA 2007).

Sager, Eric D.↗
NASA NTRS2017

MSRR Rack Materials Science Research Rack

The Materials Science Research Rack (MSRR) is a research facility developed under a cooperative research agreement between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) for materials science investigations on the International Space Station (ISS). The MSRR is managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, AL. The MSRR facility subsystems were manufactured by Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE) and integrated with the ESA/EADS-Astrium developed Materials Science Laboratory (MSL) at the MSFC Space Station Integration and Test Facility (SSITF) as part of the Systems Development Operations Support (SDOS) contract. MSRR was launched on STS-128 in August 2009, and is currently installed in the U. S. Destiny Laboratory Module on the ISS. Materials science is an integral part of developing new, safer, stronger, more durable materials for use throughout everyday life. The goal of studying materials processing in space is to develop a better understanding of the chemical and physical mechanisms involved, and how they differ in the microgravity environment of space. To that end, the MSRR accommodates advanced investigations in the microgravity environment of the ISS for basic materials science research in areas such as solidification of metals and alloys. MSRR allows for the study of a variety of materials including metals, ceramics, semiconductor crystals, and glasses. Materials science research benefits from the microgravity environment of space, where the researcher can better isolate chemical and thermal properties of materials from the effects of gravity. With this knowledge, reliable predictions can be made about the conditions required on Earth to achieve improved materials. MSRR is a highly automated facility with a modular design capable of supporting multiple types of investigations. Currently the NASA-provided Rack Support Subsystem provides services (power, thermal control, vacuum access, and command and data handling) to the ESA developed Materials Science Laboratory (MSL) which accommodates interchangeable Furnace Inserts (FI). Two ESA-developed FIs are presently available on the ISS: the Low Gradient Furnace (LGF) and the Solidification and Quenching Furnace (SQF). Sample-Cartridge Assemblies (SCAs), each containing one or more material samples, are installed in the FI by the crew and can be processed at temperatures up to 1400 C. Once an SCA is installed, the experiment can be run by automatic command or science conducted via telemetry commands from the ground. This facility is available to support materials science investigations through programs such as the US National Laboratory, Technology Development, NASA Research Announcements, and others. TBE and MSFC are currently developing NASA Sample Cartridge Assemblies (SCA's) with a planned availability for launch in 2017.

Reagan, Shawn↗
NASA NTRS1986

Flat-plate solar array project. Volume 1: Executive summary

In 1975, the U.S. Government contracted the Jet Propulsion Lab. to develop, by 1985, in conjunction with industry, the photovoltaics (PV) module and array technology required for widespread use of photovoltaics as a significant terrestrial energy source. As a result, a project that eventually became known as the Flat Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project was formed to manage an industry, university, and Government team to perform the necessary research and development. The original goals were to achieve widespread commercial use of PV modules and arrays through the development of technology that would allow them to be profitably sold for $1.07/peak watts (1985 dollars). A 10% module conversion efficiency and a 20 year lifetime were also goals. It is intended that the executive summary provide the means by which one can gain a perspective on 11 years of terrestrial photovoltaic research and development conducted by the FSA Project.

Callaghan, W.↗