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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

Energy efficient transport technology: Program summary and bibliography

The Energy Efficient Transport (EET) Program began in 1976 as an element of the NASA Aircraft Energy Efficiency (ACEE) Program. The EET Program and the results of various applications of advanced aerodynamics and active controls technology (ACT) as applicable to future subsonic transport aircraft are discussed. Advanced aerodynamics research areas included high aspect ratio supercritical wings, winglets, advanced high lift devices, natural laminar flow airfoils, hybrid laminar flow control, nacelle aerodynamic and inertial loads, propulsion/airframe integration (e.g., long duct nacelles) and wing and empennage surface coatings. In depth analytical/trade studies, numerous wind tunnel tests, and several flight tests were conducted. Improved computational methodology was also developed. The active control functions considered were maneuver load control, gust load alleviation, flutter mode control, angle of attack limiting, and pitch augmented stability. Current and advanced active control laws were synthesized and alternative control system architectures were developed and analyzed. Integrated application and fly by wire implementation of the active control functions were design requirements in one major subprogram. Additional EET research included interdisciplinary technology applications, integrated energy management, handling qualities investigations, reliability calculations, and economic evaluations related to fuel savings and cost of ownership of the selected improvements.

Middleton, D. B.↗

Space station power management and distribution

The power system architecture is presented by a series of schematics which illustrate the power management and distribution (PMAD) system at the component level, including converters, controllers, switchgear, rotary power transfer devices, power and data cables, remote power controllers, and load converters. Power distribution options, reference power management, and control strategy are also outlined. A summary of advanced development status and plans and an overview of system test plans are presented.

Teren, F.↗

Hierarchical Control of Distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems in a DC Microgrid

Contents - NASA Future Power Systems - DC Microgrid with Distributed Battery Energy Storage - A simplified gateway power system - Droop Control (Primary Control) - Distributed battery units, droop control, and load sharing characteristics - Simulation results - Three-Level Hierarchical Control of Distributed Battery Units During Eclipse - Secondary Control - Objective and definition of unit control error - Implementation of secondary control - Simulation results - Tertiary Control - Schedule BU current sharing with the objective of equal SoC - Simulation results•Conclusions

Jing Zhang↗

Development of a compact, light weight magnetic bearing

A compact, lightweight radial-load bearing has been devised with permanent magnet bias and actively controlled radial loading. The novel design uses permanent magnets to generate a coaxial magnetic field that energizes two radial air gaps. Two electromechanical stators modulate the airgap field in order to impart stability and control. Attention is given to the implementation of this design in an application involving operation at ambient and cryogenic temperatures at loads of up to 500 lbs. Stiffnesses of up to 17,500 N/mm have been obtained.

Meeks, Crawford↗

A piloted simulator investigation of stability and control, display and crew-loading requirements for helicopter instrument approach. Part 1: Technical discussion and results

A ground-simulation experiment was conducted to investigate the influence and interaction of flight-control system, fight-director display, and crew-loading situation on helicopter flying qualities during terminal area operations in instrument conditions. The experiment was conducted on the Flight Simulator for Advanced Aircraft at Ames Research Center. Six levels of control complexity, ranging from angular rate damping to velocity augmented longitudinal and vertical axes, were implemented on a representative helicopter model. The six levels of augmentation were examined with display variations consisting of raw elevation and azimuth data only, and of raw data plus one-, two-, and three-cue flight directors. Crew-loading situations simulated for the control-display combinations were dual-pilot operation (representative auxiliary tasks of navigation, communications, and decision-making). Four pilots performed a total of 150 evaluations of combinations of these parameters for a representative microwave landing system (MLS) approach task.

Lebacqz, J. V.↗

Mode-Based Sensing and Actuation Techniques for Multi-Objective Flexible Aircraft Control

Intelligent sensing and actuation designs are explored as a means to improve performance of a gust load alleviation control design for a flexible wing aircraft equipped with wing-shaping control surfaces. The proposed techniques rely on identification of the dominant structural modes during specified flight conditions and uses them as a basis for sensor placement and actuator utilization. Specifically, a strategy for sensor placement is discussed that uses target mode shape capture as a mean to improve state estimation quality. A second strategy that reduces the number of wing-shaping control inputs using mode and objective-based shape functions as virtual input channels is also presented. Both techniques are demonstrated in simulation of a flexible wing transport aircraft utilizing a multi-objective control system designed to suppress flexible motion, minimize gust and maneuver load, and reduce drag.

Hashemi, Kelley E.↗

Categorizing Plug Load Solutions by Ease of Implementation

Plug loads account for a growing share of U.S. commercial building electricity use, projected to rise from 16% today to 21% by 2050. Managing these loads presents a substantial opportunity for reducing energy costs while providing additional operational benefits, such as improved asset management and occupant comfort. Despite their potential, plug loads are numerous, diverse, and highly occupant-dependent, making control challenging. This publication organizes plug load control strategies by level of effort, offering building owners and operators a staged approach to implement interventions ranging from smart outlets and automatic receptacle controls to behavioral strategies. By following these actionable steps, building stakeholders can reduce energy consumption, lower utility bills, and realize broader operational advantages.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Androgynous, Reconfigurable Closed Loop Feedback Controlled Low Impact Docking System With Load Sensing Electromagnetic Capture Ring

The present invention relates to a fully androgynous, reconfigurable closed loop feedback controlled low impact docking system with load sensing electromagnetic capture ring. The docking system of the present invention preferably comprises two Docking- assemblies, each docking assembly comprising a load sensing ring having an outer face, one of more electromagnets, one or more load cells coupled to said load sensing ring. The docking assembly further comprises a plurality of actuator arms coupled to said load sensing ring and capable of dynamically adjusting the orientation of said load sensing ring and a reconfigurable closed loop control system capable of analyzing signals originating from said plurality of load cells and of outputting real time control for each of the actuators. The docking assembly of the present invention incorporates an active load sensing system to automatically dynamically adjust the load sensing ring during capture instead of requiring significant force to push and realign the ring.

Lewis, James L.↗

Analysis of rotor vibratory loads using higher harmonic pitch control

Experimental studies of isolated rotors in forward flight have indicated that higher harmonic pitch control can reduce rotor noise. These tests also show that such pitch inputs can generate substantial vibratory loads. The modification is summarized of the RotorCRAFT (Computation of Rotor Aerodynamics in Forward flighT) analysis of isolated rotors to study the vibratory loading generated by high frequency pitch inputs. The original RotorCRAFT code was developed for use in the computation of such loading, and uses a highly refined rotor wake model to facilitate this task. The extended version of RotorCRAFT incorporates a variety of new features including: arbitrary periodic root pitch control; computation of blade stresses and hub loads; improved modeling of near wake unsteady effects; and preliminary implementation of a coupled prediction of rotor airloads and noise. Correlation studies are carried out with existing blade stress and vibratory hub load data to assess the performance of the extended code.

Quackenbush, Todd R.↗

Frictional Heating Measurements in PBX 9501

Heating due to frictional processes is one of many proposed mechanisms for hot spot ignition in explosives during sub-shock, mechanical loading. Novel experiments were conducted to isolate this mechanism and measure the temperature rise due to frictional heating in PBX 9501. A rheometer was used to apply mechanical sliding loads at the interface between two explosive pellets with a controlled axial load, and the resulting coefficient of friction of the material sliding against itself and te

Brown, Judith Alice↗

Orbiter active thermal control system description

A brief description of the Orbiter Active Thermal Control System (ATCS) including (1) major functional requirements of heat load, temperature control and heat sink utilization, (2) the overall system arrangement, and (3) detailed description of the elements of the ATCS.

Laubach, G. E.↗

Save power in AC induction motors

Relatively simple and inexpensive circuitry improves power factor and reduces power dissipation in induction motors operating below full load. Electronic control loop conserves energy by reducing voltage applied to lightly loaded motor. Circuit forces motor to run at constant predetermined optimum power factor, regardless of load or line voltage variations. Solid-state switch varies voltage.

Nola, F. J.↗

Planetary reorientation by surface loads

Non-hydrostatic concentrations of mass at the surface of the planet have been suggested as mechanisms of permanent reorientation for all of the terrestrial planets and for the Moon. In order for such a load to control planetary orientation, three conditions must be satisfied. The surface load must be non-hydrostatically supported; the surface load must be large compared to internal departures from a hydrostatic mass distribution; and the load must be large compared to hydrostatic departures of the planetary figure from a sphere. The third condition comes from the consideration that if the load is non-hydrostatically supported, then the same processes which support the load will also the hydrostatic figure.

Willemann, R. J.↗

Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology (HiMAT) flight-flutter test program

The highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT) vehicle was evaluated in a joint NASA and Air Force flight test program. The HiMAT vehicle is a remotely piloted research vehicle. Its design incorporates the use of advanced composite materials in the wings, and canards for aeroelastic tailoring. A flight-flutter test program was conducted to clear a sufficient flight envelope to allow for performance, stability and control, and loads testing. Testing was accomplished with and without flight control-surface dampers. Flutter clearance of the vehicle indicated satisfactory damping and damping trends for the structural modes of the HiMAT vehicle. The data presented include frequency and damping plotted as a function of Mach number.

Kehoe, M. W.↗

Strain-Gage Loads Calibration Parametric Study

This paper documents a parametric study of various aircraft wing-load test features that affect the quality of the resultant derived shear, bending-moment, and torque strain-gage load equations. The effect of the following on derived strain-gage equation accuracy are compared: single-point loading compared with distributed loading, variation in applied test load magnitude, number of applied load cases, and wing-box-only compared with control-surface loading. The subject of this study is an extensive wing-load calibration test of the Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 airplane. Selected subsets of the available test data were used to derive load equations using the linear regression method. Results show the benefit of distributed loading and the diminishing-return benefits of test load magnitudes and number of load cases. The use of independent check cases as a quality metric for the derived load equations is shown to overcome blind extrapolating beyond the load data used to derive the load equations.

Lokos, William A.↗

Ares I-X Flight Test Vehicle Modal Test

The first test flight of NASA's Ares I crew launch vehicle, called Ares I-X, was launched on October 28, 2009. Ares I-X used a 4-segment reusable solid rocket booster from the Space Shuttle heritage with mass simulators for the 5th segment, upper stage, crew module and launch abort system. Flight test data will provide important information on ascent loads, vehicle control, separation, and first stage reentry dynamics. As part of hardware verification, a series of modal tests were designed to verify the dynamic finite element model (FEM) used in loads assessments and flight control evaluations. Based on flight control system studies, the critical modes were the first three free-free bending mode pairs. Since a test of the free-free vehicle was not practical within project constraints, modal tests for several configurations during vehicle stacking were defined to calibrate the FEM. Test configurations included two partial stacks and the full Ares I-X flight test vehicle on the Mobile Launcher Platform. This report describes the test requirements, constraints, pre-test analysis, test execution and results for the Ares I-X flight test vehicle modal test on the Mobile Launcher Platform. Initial comparisons between pre-test predictions and test data are also presented.

Buehrle, Ralph D.↗

Ares I-X Launch Vehicle Modal Test Overview

The first test flight of NASA's Ares I crew launch vehicle, called Ares I-X, is scheduled for launch in 2009. Ares IX will use a 4-segment reusable solid rocket booster from the Space Shuttle heritage with mass simulators for the 5th segment, upper stage, crew module and launch abort system. Flight test data will provide important information on ascent loads, vehicle control, separation, and first stage reentry dynamics. As part of hardware verification, a series of modal tests were designed to verify the dynamic finite element model (FEM) used in loads assessments and flight control evaluations. Based on flight control system studies, the critical modes were the first three free-free bending mode pairs. Since a test of the free-free vehicle is not practical within project constraints, modal tests for several configurations in the nominal integration flow were defined to calibrate the FEM. A traceability study by Aerospace Corporation was used to identify the critical modes for the tested configurations. Test configurations included two partial stacks and the full Ares I-X launch vehicle on the Mobile Launcher Platform. This paper provides an overview for companion papers in the Ares I-X Modal Test Session. The requirements flow down, pre-test analysis, constraints and overall test planning are described.

Buehrle, Ralph D.↗

Prediction of unsteady aerodynamic loadings caused by trailing edge control surface motions in subsonic compressible flow: Computer program description

A digital computer program has been developed to calculate unsteady loadings caused by motions of lifting surfaces with trailing edge control based on the subsonic kernal function approach. The pressure singularities at hinge line and side edges have been extracted analytically as a preliminary step to solving the integral by collocation. The program calculates generalized aerodynamic forces for user supplied deflection modes. Optional intermediate output includes pressure at an array of points, and sectional generalized forces. From one to four controls on the half span can be accommodated.

Redman, M. C.↗