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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 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Distributed computation of graphics primitives on a transputer network

A method is developed for distributing the computation of graphics primitives on a parallel processing network. Off-the-shelf transputer boards are used to perform the graphics transformations and scan-conversion tasks that would normally be assigned to a single transputer based display processor. Each node in the network performs a single graphics primitive computation. Frequently requested tasks can be duplicated on several nodes. The results indicate that the current distribution of commands on the graphics network shows a performance degradation when compared to the graphics display board alone. A change to more computation per node for every communication (perform more complex tasks on each node) may cause the desired increase in throughput.

Ellis, Graham K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Planetary engineering

Assuming commercial fusion power, heavy lift vehicles and major advances in genetic engineering, the authors survey possible late-21st century methods of working major transformations in planetary environments. Much more Earthlike climates may be produced on Mars by generating low freezing point greenhouse gases from indigenous materials; on Venus by biological conversion of CO2 to graphite, by canceling the greenhouse effect with high-altitude absorbing fine particles, or by a sunshield at the first Lagrangian point; and on Titan by greenhouses and/or fusion warming. However, in our present state of ignorance we cannot guarantee a stable endstate or exclude unanticipated climatic feedbacks or other unintended consequences. Moreover, as the authors illustrate by several examples, many conceivable modes of planetary engineering are so wasteful of scarce solar system resources and so destructive of important scientific information as to raise profound ethical issues, even if they were economically feasible, which they are not. Global warming on Earth may lead to calls for mitigation by planetary engineering, e.g., emplacement and replenishment of anti-greenhouse layers at high altitudes, or sunshields in space. But here especially we must be concerned about precision, stability, and inadvertent side-effects. The safest and most cost-effective means of countering global warming - beyond, e.g., improved energy efficiency, CFC bans and alternative energy sources - is the continuing reforestation of approximately 2 times 107 sq km of the Earth's surface. This can be accomplished with present technology and probably at the least cost.

Pollack, James B.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Field Effects of Buoyancy on Lean Premixed Turbulent Flames

The study of field effects of buoyancy on premixed turbulent flames is directed towards the advancement of turbulent combustion theory and the development of cleaner combustion technologies. Turbulent combustion is considered the most important unsolved problem in combustion science and laboratory studies of turbulence flame processes are vital to theoretical development. Although buoyancy is dominant in laboratory flames, most combustion models are not yet capable to consider buoyancy effects. This inconsistency has impeded the validation of theories and numerical simulations with experiments. Conversely, the understanding of buoyancy effects is far too limited to help develop buoyant flame models. Our research is also relevant to combustion technology because lean premixed combustion is a proven method to reduce the formation of oxides of nitrogen (NOx). In industrial lean premixed combustion systems, their operating conditions make them susceptible to buoyancy thus affecting heat distribution, emissions, stability, flashback and blowoff. But little knowledge is available to guide combustion engineers as to how to avoid or overcome these problems. Our hypothesis is that through its influence on the mean pressure field, buoyancy has direct and indirect effects on local flame/turbulence interactions. Although buoyancy acts on the hot products in the farfield the effect is also felt in the nearfield region upstream of the flame. These changes also influence the generation and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy inside the flame brush and throughout the flowfield. Moreover, the plume of an open flame is unstable and the periodic fluctuations make additional contributions to flame front dynamics in the farfield. Therefore, processes such as flame wrinkling, flow acceleration due to heat release and flame- generated vorticity are all affected. Other global flame properties (e.g. flame stabilization limits and flame speed) may all be coupled to buoyancy. This problem poses major challenges to combustion modeling due to its need for a computation domain extending into the farfield and full specifications of upstream, wall and downstream boundary conditions.

Cheng, R. K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Explore Moon to Mars

OSCAR Overview: What? Orbital Syngas Commodity Augmentation Reactor. Why? Current methods of space waste management are comprehensively unsustainable • Convert trash and human waste into useful gases, enabling long duration human exploration of deep space. Confirm the operability of a space waste conversion reactor in microgravity How? Incineration and steam reforming. Reactor heats (600 °C) the trash under pressure (40 psia) to incinerate it. Suborbital flight sequence trash conversion: 60-70%. Long duration trash conversion: up to 90%.

Morgan A Benson↗
NASA NTRS2020

Generation and Calibration of Linear Models of Aircraft with Highly Coupled Aeroelastic and Flight Dynamics

The lightweight structures and unconventional configurations being considered for the next generation of aircraft mean that any effort to predict or control the flight dynamics is impacted by the structural dynamics. One of the most severe forms of coupling between aeroelasticity and flight dynamics is an instability called body freedom flutter. The existing tools often assume a relatively weak effect of structural dynamics on the flight dynamics, and are therefore incapable of modeling strong interactions like body freedom flutter. A method of combining different sources of data traditionally used for aeroelasticity and flight dynamics is described by reconciling many of the differences between these models. By building upon past modeling efforts, a level of familiarity in the approach is achieved. Generally the differences from the traditional approaches are subtle but significant. The traditional frequency domain flutter model in a modal coordinate system is converted to a form consistent with a time domain flight dynamics model. The time domain rational function approximation about a non-inertial coordinate system and the unique constraints for the conversion between the inertial and non-inertial coordinate systems are discussed. A consistent transformation of the states of aeroelastic models to flight dynamics models is derived, which enables the integration of data from higher fidelity computational fluid dynamics models or wind-tunnel testing. The present method of integrating multidisciplinary data was used to create models that compare well with X-56A flight-test data, including conditions past the flutter speed.

Ouellette, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2002

Efficient Design in a DC to DC Converter Unit

Space Flight hardware requires high power conversion efficiencies due to limited power availability and weight penalties of cooling systems. The International Space Station (ISS) Electric Power System (EPS) DC-DC Converter Unit (DDCU) power converter is no exception. This paper explores the design methods and tradeoffs that were utilized to accomplish high efficiency in the DDCU. An isolating DC to DC converter was selected for the ISS power system because of requirements for separate primary and secondary grounds and for a well-regulated secondary output voltage derived from a widely varying input voltage. A flyback-current-fed push-pull topology or improved Weinberg circuit was chosen for this converter because of its potential for high efficiency and reliability. To enhance efficiency, a non-dissipative snubber circuit for the very-low-Rds-on Field Effect Transistors (FETs) was utilized, redistributing the energy that could be wasted during the switching cycle of the power FETs. A unique, low-impedance connection system was utilized to improve contact resistance over a bolted connection. For improved consistency in performance and to lower internal wiring inductance and losses a planar bus system is employed. All of these choices contributed to the design of a 6.25 KW regulated dc to dc converter that is 95 percent efficient. The methodology used in the design of this DC to DC Converter Unit may be directly applicable to other systems that require a conservative approach to efficient power conversion and distribution.

Bruemmer, Joel E.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Triaxial digital fluxgate magnetometer for NASA applications explorer mission: Results of tests of critical elements

Tests performed to prove the critical elements of the triaxial digital fluxgate magnetometer design were described. A method for improving the linearity of the analog to digital converter portion of the instrument was studied in detail. A sawtooth waveform was added to the signal being measured before the A/D conversion, and averaging the digital readings over one cycle of the sawtooth. It was intended to reduce bit error nonlinearities present in the A/D converter which could be expected to be as much as 16 gamma if not reduced. No such nonlinearities were detected in the output of the instrument which included the feature designed to reduce these nonlinearities. However, a small scale nonlinearity of plus or minus 2 gamma with a 64 gamma repetition rate was observed in the unit tested. A design improvement intended to eliminate this small scale nonlinearity was examined.

Mcleod, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

An approach to space power

Fusion offers the potential for a very high specific power, providing a large specific impulse that can be traded-off with thrust for mission optimization. Thus fusion is a leading candidate for missions beyond the moon. A new approach is discussed for space fusion power, namely Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC). This method offers a high power density in a relatively small, simple device. It appears capable of burning aneutronic fuels which are most desirable for space applications and is well suited for direct conversion. An experimental device to test the concept is described.

Miley, G. H.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Image sensor with high dynamic range linear output

Designs and operational methods to increase the dynamic range of image sensors and APS devices in particular by achieving more than one integration times for each pixel thereof. An APS system with more than one column-parallel signal chains for readout are described for maintaining a high frame rate in readout. Each active pixel is sampled for multiple times during a single frame readout, thus resulting in multiple integration times. The operation methods can also be used to obtain multiple integration times for each pixel with an APS design having a single column-parallel signal chain for readout. Furthermore, analog-to-digital conversion of high speed and high resolution can be implemented.

Yadid-Pecht, Orly↗
NASA NTRS2011

Standards and Specifications for Ground Processing of Space Vehicles: From an Aviation-Based Shuttle Project to Global Application

Proprietary or unique designs and operations are expected early in any industry's development, and often provide a competitive early market advantage. However, there comes a time when a product or industry requires standardization for the whole industry to advance...or survive. For the space industry, that time has come. Here, we will focus on standardization of ground processing for space vehicles and their ground systems. With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, and emergence of a new global space race, affordability and sustainability are more important now than ever. The growing commercialization of the space industry and current global economic environment are driving greater need for efficiencies to save time and money. More RLV's (Reusable Launch Vehicles) are being developed for the gains of reusability not achievable with traditional ELV's (Expendable Launch Vehicles). More crew/passenger vehicles are also being developed. All of this calls for more attention needed for ground processing-repeatedly before launch and after landing/recovery. RLV's should provide more efficiencies than ELV's, as long as MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) is well-planned-even for the unplanned problems. NASA's Space Shuttle is a primary example of an RLV which was supposed to thrive on reusability savings with efficient ground operations, but lessons learned show that costs were (and still are) much greater than expected. International standards and specifications can provide the commonality needed to simplify design and manufacturing as well as to improve safety, quality, maintenance, and operability. There are standards organizations engaged in the space industry, but ground processing is one of the areas least addressed. Challenges are encountered due to various factors often not considered during development. Multiple vehicle elements, sites, customers, and contractors pose various functional and integration difficulties. Resulting technical publication structures and methods are incongruent. Some processing products are still done on paper, some electronic, and many being converted in between. Business systems then are not fully compatible, and paper as well as electronic conversions are time-consuming and costly. NASA and its Shuttle contractors setup rules and systems to handle what has produced over 130 RLV launches, but they have had many challenges. Attempts have been made to apply aviation industry specifications to make the Shuttle more efficient with its ground processing. One efficiency project example was to make a Shuttle Maintenance Manual (SMM) based on the commercial ATA (Air Transport Association of America) Spec 100 for technical publications. This industry standard, along with others, has been a foundation for efficient global MRO of commercial airlines for years. A modified version was also made for some military aircraft. The SMM project found many similarities in Spec 100 which apply to the Shuttle, and room for expansion for space systems/structures not in aircraft. The SMM project team met with the ATA and representatives from NASA's X-33 and X-34 programs to discuss collaboration on a national space standard based on Spec 100. A pilot project was enabled for a subset of Shuttle systems. Full implementation was not yet achieved, X-33 and X-34 were cancelled, and the Shuttles were then designated for retirement. Nonetheless, we can learn from this project how to expand this concept to all space vehicle products. Since then, ATA has joined with ASD (AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe) and AIA (Aerospace Industries Association) to form a much-enhanced and expanded international specification: Sl000D, International Specification for Technical Publications. It includes air, land, and sea vehicles, missiles, support equipment, ordnance, and communications. It is used by a growing number of countries for commercial and government products. Its modular design is supported by a Common Source Dabase (CSDB), and COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) software is available for production of IETP's (Interactive Electronic Technical Publications). A few space industry products in Europe have begun to apply Sl000D already. Also, there are other related standards/specifications which have global implications. We have an opportunity to adapt Sl000D and possibly other standards for use with space vehicles and ground systems. Sl000D has plenty of flexibility to apply to any product needed. To successfully grow the viability of the space industry, all members, commercial and government, will need to engage cooperatively in developing and applying standards to move toward interoperability. If we leverage and combine the best existing space standards and specifications, develop new ones to address known gaps, and adapt the best applicable features from other industries, we can establish an infrastructure to not only accelerate current development, but also build longevity for a more cohesive international space community.

Ingalls, John↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Handling Singularities in Meteoroid Environment Modeling

A meteoroid environment model must describe, at a bare minimum, the local density or flux of meteoroids. To accomplish this, many models make use of analytic equations to convert orbital distributions to number density, or to compute the effects of a planet's gravity on flux and speed. However, these equations often contain singularities that are unrealistic. For instance, the orbit-to-density conversion used by Jones (2006) is unbound at peri- and aphelion, and the gravitational focusing algorithms presented by Staubach et al. (1997) are unbound along the anti-radiant line. We present methods for removing these singularities that result in more realistic descriptions of the meteoroid environment.

Althea Valkyrie Moorhead↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Computationally Guided Development of Components for High Energy Density Solid-State Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

All electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL) for urban air mobility (UAM) concepts face numerous challenging technical barriers before their introduction into the consumer marketplace. The most challenging of these technical barriers to overcome is developing an energy storage system capable of meeting the rigorous aerospace safety and performance criteria1. The performance metrics for eVTOL craft, such as specific energy, specific power, and safety, exceed those of electric automobiles by a factor of two to four. Current state-of-the-art (SOA) lithium-ion batteries are incapable of meeting the key performance criteria of energy and safety for eVTOL. Therefore, next generation advanced chemistries and designs must be developed to meet required performance metrics for electric aviation2. Beyond lithium-ion chemistries, such as lithium-sulfur, show promise in their high energy, while limitations exist in their power and cyclability due to low electrical conductivity and high intermediate solubility in organic liquid electrolytes. Several strategies to overcome the low electrical conductivity involve the use of selenium as a dopant in the active sulfur material, along with the incorporation of 2-dimensional electron-conducting holey-graphene to improve the composite cathodes electronic conductivity. Furthermore, combining this chemistry with a solid-electrolyte avoids the components’ dissolution issues3. However, the development of composite solid-state cathodes is non-trivial as several components must be intimately mixed so that the active component has sufficient access to both electrons and lithium ions to undergo full electrochemical conversion. Mathematical modeling of battery components can assist experimental design through a robust and rigorous combination of computational modeling techniques covering multiple length scales. The objective is to leverage modern computational materials methods combined with battery multiphysics tools to develop radically advanced compatible cathode and electrolyte materials, build and test solid state lithium-sulfur cells and packs. A NASA-based cross-organizational team of high-powered experts combined integrated computational predictive modeling, fundamental chemistry analysis, advanced material science, and battery cell development to tackle this very challenging, multidisciplinary problem. This presentation will show a multiscale computational modeling approach that has produced a novel particle dynamics method called Solid Electrolyte Sphere Approximation Model (SESAM). SESAM modeling targets the 1-10 µm scale structures and provides electromechanical and grain interactions for predictive design guidelines for the manufacturing of solid-state components. Parameters such as particle size and volume fraction of the constituent materials were modeled and experimentally fabricated to optimize electrochemical performance through improved microstructure design. Experimental feedback was provided through ionic and electronic conductivity assessment and structural analysis of developed materials and cell components.

battery↗
NASA NTRS2017

Strategic Employee Development (SED) Program

As with many other U.S. agencies, succession planning is becoming a critical need for NASA. The primary drivers include (a) NASAs higher-than-average aged workforce with approximately 50 of employees eligible for retirement within 5 years; and (b) employees who need better developmental conversations to increase morale and retention. This problem is particularly concerning for Safety Mission Assurance (SMA) organizations since they traditionally rely on more experienced engineers and specialists to perform their organizations functions.In response to this challenge, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) SMA organization created the Strategic Employee Development (SED) program. The SED programs goal is to provide a proactive method to counter the primary drivers by creating a deeper bench strength and providing a more comprehensive developmental feedback experience for the employee. The SED is a new succession planning framework that enables customization to any organization, and in this case, specifically for an SMA organization. This is accomplished via the identification of key positions, the corresponding critical competencies, and a process to help managers have relevant and meaningful development conversations with the workforce. As a result of the SED, several tools and products were created that allows management to make better strategic workforce decisions. Although there are opportunities for improvement for the SED program, the most important impact has been on the quality of developmental discussions for employees.

Nguyen, Johnny↗
NASA NTRS2011

Markov Chain Monte Carlo Bayesian Learning for Neural Networks

Conventional training methods for neural networks involve starting al a random location in the solution space of the network weights, navigating an error hyper surface to reach a minimum, and sometime stochastic based techniques (e.g., genetic algorithms) to avoid entrapment in a local minimum. It is further typically necessary to preprocess the data (e.g., normalization) to keep the training algorithm on course. Conversely, Bayesian based learning is an epistemological approach concerned with formally updating the plausibility of competing candidate hypotheses thereby obtaining a posterior distribution for the network weights conditioned on the available data and a prior distribution. In this paper, we developed a powerful methodology for estimating the full residual uncertainty in network weights and therefore network predictions by using a modified Jeffery's prior combined with a Metropolis Markov Chain Monte Carlo method.

Goodrich, Michael S.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Instantaneous relationship between solar inertial and local vertical local horizontal attitudes

The instantaneous relationship between the Solar Inertial (SI) and Local Vertical Local Horizontal (LVLH) coordinate systems is derived. A method is presented for computation of the LVLH to SI rotational transformation matrix as a function of an input LVLH attitude and the corresponding look angles to the sun. Logic is provided for conversion between LVLH and SI attitudes expressed in terms of a pitch, yaw, roll Euler sequence. Documentation is included for a program which implements the logic on the Hewlett-Packard 97 programmable calculator.

Vickery, S. A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

VSLAM and Coplanar POSIT for Advanced Air Mobility Approach and Landing

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft have many challenges for landing accurately and safely in urban, suburban, and rural environments. Localization in large and open rural environments could utilize GPS, but AAM aircraft in urban environments will encounter GPS degradation. Another challenge involves flight operation time, i.e., flying during the day or at night. There are different types of guidelines and landmarks at runways, heliports, and vertiports for daytime and nighttime applications. Tailoring feature detection methods for AAM approach and landing during the day and night pose different issues and challenges. It is easier to detect edges, lines, and other runway markers during the day than at night. Conversely, it is easier to detect landing light configurations and patterns at nighttime than daytime. Consequently, utilizing the same feature detector for daytime and nighttime operations may not be feasible. This paper focuses on vision-based precision approach and landing (PAL) and builds on previous work by comparing ORB SLAM, custom VSLAM, and coplanar pose from orthography and scaling with iterations (POSIT) for daytime and nighttime operations. Implementing high fidelity simulations with computer graphics and extracting video frames from flight test data provide promising results for AAM PAL applications.

Evan Kawamura↗
NASA NTRS2017

Strategic Employee Development in The Government Sector

As with many other U.S. agencies, succession planning is becoming a critical need for NASA. The primary drivers include (a) NASA's higher-than-average aged workforce with approximately 50% of employees eligible for retirement within 5 years; and (b) employees who need better developmental conversations to increase morale and retention. This problem is particularly concerning for Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) organizations since they traditionally rely on more experienced engineers and specialists to perform their organizations' functions. In response to this challenge, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) S&MA organization created the Strategic Employee Development (SED) program. The SED program's goal is to provide a proactive method to counter the primary drivers by creating a deeper "bench strength" and providing a more comprehensive developmental feedback experience for the employee. The SED is a new succession planning framework that enables customization to any organization, and in this case, specifically for an S&MA organization. This is accomplished via the identification of key positions, the corresponding critical competencies, and a process to help managers have relevant and meaningful development conversations with the workforce. As a result of the SED, several tools and products were created that allows management to make better strategic workforce decisions. Although there are opportunities for improvement for the SED program, the most important impact has been on the quality of developmental discussions for employees.

Nguyen, Johnny↗
NASA NTRS1978

Evaluation of selected chemical processes for production of low-cost silicon, phases 1 and 2

A miniplant, consisting of a 5 cm-diameter fluidized-bed reactor and associated equipment was used to study the deposition parameters, temperature, reactant composition, seed particle size, bed depth, reactant throughput, and methods of reactant introduction. It was confirmed that the permissible range of fluidized-bed temperature was limited at the lower end by zinc condensation (918 C) and at higher temperatures by rapidly decreasing conversion efficiency. Use of a graded bed temperature was shown to increase the conversion efficiency over that obtained in an isothermal bed. Other aspects of the process such as the condensation and fused-salt electrolysis of the ZnCl2 by-product for recycle of zinc and chlorine were studied to provide information required for design of a 50 MT/year experimental facility. In view of the favorable technical and economic indications obtained, it was recommended that construction and operation of the 50 MT/year experimental facility be implemented.

Blocher, J. M.↗