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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

Video Guidance, Landing, and Imaging system (VGLIS) for space missions

The feasibility of an autonomous video guidance system that is capable of observing a planetary surface during terminal descent and selecting the most acceptable landing site was demonstrated. The system was breadboarded and "flown" on a physical simulator consisting of a control panel and monitor, a dynamic simulator, and a PDP-9 computer. The breadboard VGLIS consisted of an image dissector camera and the appropriate processing logic. Results are reported.

Schappell, R. T.↗

Aseptic fluid-transfer system

Inexpensive storage and transfer system allows blood and other fluids to be added or removed without contamination. Device heat-sterilizes external surfaces of terminals and forms sterile passageway between terminals.

Arnett, J. C.↗

Video guidance, landing, and imaging systems

The adaptive potential of video guidance technology for earth orbital and interplanetary missions was explored. The application of video acquisition, pointing, tracking, and navigation technology was considered to three primary missions: planetary landing, earth resources satellite, and spacecraft rendezvous and docking. It was found that an imaging system can be mechanized to provide a spacecraft or satellite with a considerable amount of adaptability with respect to its environment. It also provides a level of autonomy essential to many future missions and enhances their data gathering ability. The feasibility of an autonomous video guidance system capable of observing a planetary surface during terminal descent and selecting the most acceptable landing site was successfully demonstrated in the laboratory. The techniques developed for acquisition, pointing, and tracking show promise for recognizing and tracking coastlines, rivers, and other constituents of interest. Routines were written and checked for rendezvous, docking, and station-keeping functions.

Schappell, R. T.↗

The 1990 direct support infrastructure

The airport and cargo terminal were individually analyzed in depth as the principal direct infrastructure components having cross impacts with aircraft carrying cargo. Containerization was also addressed in depth as an infrastructure component since it categorically is linked with and cross impacted by the aircraft, the cargo terminal, the surface transport system, the shipper and consignee, and the actual cargo being moved.

Source record↗

Free convection about a rectangular prismatic crystal growing from a solution

Sodium chlorate crystals growing from unstirred aqueous solutions were observed by Schlieren techniques. Growth rate data were best correlated by a Sherwood number with finite interface kinetics and a characteristic length equal to the crystal height plus the inverse reciprocal sum of the horizontal dimensions. The growth rate was slightly higher when the plume was laminar than when it was irregular. The horizontal growth rate was greater than the vertical growth rate, with the ratio tending to decrease with increasing plume instability. The threshold Grashof number for plume instability was greatly decreased with decreasing height for crystals with the same horizontal dimensions. The velocity of the eddies approached a constant value with increasing distance above the crystal surface, the terminal value being roughly proportional to the ratio of the square root of the Rayleigh number to the crystal characteristic length.

Chen, P.-S.↗

Nucleus morphology of Comet Halley

Images obtained by the Halley multicolor camera were used to determine the projected size and shape of the nucleus. The location of the terminator and numerous surface features were determined. There is good correlation between the brightest surface features and the dust jets; however, many bright features are seen which are not associated with jets. Most of the observed features are circular and appear to be related to surface elevation. The angularity of the terminator gives an indication of the three-dimensional structure of the face which was observed.

Reitsema, H. J.↗

Hydrogen-terminated silicon substrates for low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy

The preparation of hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces for use as starting substrates for low-temperature MBE growth is examined in detail. The procedure involves the ex situ removal under nitrogen of residual oxide from a silicon substrate using a spin-clean with HF in ethanol, followed by the in situ low-temperature desorption (150 C) of physisorbed etch residues. The critical steps and the chemical basis for these steps are examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Impurity residues at the epilayer-substrate interface following subsequent homoepitaxial growth are studied using AES, SIMS and TEM. Finally, scanning tunneling microscopy is used to examine the effect of cleaning methods on substrate morphology.

Grunthaner, P. J.↗

Negative Electron Affinity Effect on the Surface of Chemical Vapor Deposited Diamond Polycrystalline Films

Strong negative electron affinity effects have been observed on the surface of as-grown chemical vapor deposited diamond using Secondary Electron Emission. The test samples were randomly oriented and the surface was terminated with hydrogen. The effect appears as an intensive peak in the low energy part of the spectrum of the electron energy distribution and may be described in the model of effective negative electron affinity.

Krainsky, I. L.↗

A Kalman Approach to Lunar Surface Navigation using Radiometric and Inertial Measurements

Future lunar missions supporting the NASA Vision for Space Exploration will rely on a surface navigation system to determine astronaut position, guide exploration, and return safely to the lunar habitat. In this report, we investigate one potential architecture for surface navigation, using an extended Kalman filter to integrate radiometric and inertial measurements. We present a possible infrastructure to support this technique, and we examine an approach to simulating navigational accuracy based on several different system configurations. The results show that position error can be reduced to 1 m after 5 min of processing, given two satellites, one surface communication terminal, and knowledge of the starting position to within 100 m.

Chelmins, David T.↗

Delta-Doping at Wafer Level for High Throughput, High Yield Fabrication of Silicon Imaging Arrays

Systems and methods for producing high quantum efficiency silicon devices. A silicon MBE has a preparation chamber that provides for cleaning silicon surfaces using an oxygen plasma to remove impurities and a gaseous (dry) NH3 + NF3 room temperature oxide removal process that leaves the silicon surface hydrogen terminated. Silicon wafers up to 8 inches in diameter have devices that can be fabricated using the cleaning procedures and MBE processing, including delta doping.

Hoenk, Michael E.↗

Resource Prospector Propulsion System Cold Flow Testing

Resource Prospector (RP) is a NASA mission being led by NASA Ames Research Center with current plans to deliver a scientific payload package aboard a rover to the lunar surface. As part of an early risk reduction activity, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Johnson Space Flight Center (JSC) have jointly developed a government-version concept of a lunar lander for the mission. The spacecraft consists of two parts, the lander and the rover which carries the scientific instruments. The lander holds the rover during launch, cruise, and landing on the surface. Following terminal descent and landing the lander portion of the spacecraft become dormant after the rover embarks on the science mission. The lander will be equipped with a propulsion system for lunar descent and landing, as well as trajectory correction and attitude control maneuvers during transit to the moon. Hypergolic propellants monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide will be used to fuel sixteen 70-lbf descent thrusters and twelve 5-lbf attitude control thrusters. A total of four metal-diaphragm tanks, two per propellant, will be used along with a high-pressure composite-overwrapped pressure vessel for the helium pressurant gas. Many of the major propulsion system components are heritage missile hardware obtained by NASA from the Air Force. In parallel with the flight system design activities, a simulated propulsion system based on flight drawings was built for conducting a series of water flow tests to characterize the transient fluid flow of the propulsion system feed lines and to verify the critical operation modes such as system priming, waterhammer, and crucial mission duty cycles. The primary objective of the cold flow testing was to simulate the RP propulsion system fluid flow operation through water flow testing and to obtain data for anchoring analytical models. The models will be used to predict the transient and steady state flow behaviors in the actual flight operations. All design and build efforts, including the analytical modeling, have been performed. The cold flow testing of the propulsion system was set up and conducted at a NASA MSFC test facility. All testing was completed in the summer of 2014, and this paper documents the results of that testing and the associated fluid system modeling efforts.

Williams, Hunter↗

LADEE Science Results and Implications for Exploration

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, LADEE, concluded a fully successful investigation of the Moon's tenuous gas and dust atmosphere on April 18, 2014. LADEE hosted three science instruments to address atmospheric and dust objectives, and a technology demonstration of deep-space optical communication. The three science instruments were an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer (UVS), a neutral mass spectrometer (NMS), and a lunar dust experiment (LDEX). All data acquired by these instruments have been submitted to the Planetary Data System. A mission overview and science instrument descriptions are readily available. LADEE inserted into a low-altitude, retrograde lunar orbit optimized for observations at the sunrise terminator, where surface temperatures rise abruptly. LADEE also carried out observations over a wide range of local times and altitudes. Here we describe some of the initial results.

LADEE↗

Split heating and cooling systems

The present disclosure relates to air conditioning systems and methods. An aspect of the present disclosure is a device that includes a housing having an external surface and defining an interior volume, a heat exchanger positioned within the interior volume, a fluid line partially positioned within the interior volume, a sleeve extending from the external surface and terminating at a distal end of the sleeve, and a fluid connector. The sleeve has an outside wall spanning a length of the sleeve and defining an internal cavity, the fluid connector is positioned at or near the distal end, a portion of the fluid line is positioned within the internal cavity, and the fluid line provides a fluid connection between the heat exchanger and the fluid connector.

Booten, Charles William↗

Split heating and cooling systems

The present disclosure relates to air conditioning systems and methods. An aspect of the present disclosure is a device that includes a housing having an external surface and defining an interior volume, a heat exchanger positioned within the interior volume, a fluid line partially positioned within the interior volume, a sleeve extending from the external surface and terminating at a distal end of the sleeve, and a fluid connector. The sleeve has an outside wall spanning a length of the sleeve and defining an internal cavity, the fluid connector is positioned at or near the distal end, a portion of the fluid line is positioned within the internal cavity, and the fluid line provides a fluid connection between the heat exchanger and the fluid connector.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Computational Study of Low Interlayer Friction in Ti n +1 C n ( n = 1, 2, and 3) MXene

The friction of adjacent Ti n +1 C n ( n = 1, 2, and 3) MXene layers is investigated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and classical molecular dynamics simulations with ReaxFF potentials. The calculations reveal the sliding pathways in all three MXene systems with low energy barriers. The friction coefficients for interlayer sliding are evaluated using static calculations. Both DFT and ReaxFF methods predict friction coefficients between 0.24 and 0.27 for normal loads less than 1.2 GPa. The effect of titanium (Ti) vacancies in sublayers and terminal oxygen (O) vacancies at surfaces on the interlayer friction is further investigated using the ReaxFF potential. These defects are found to increase the friction coefficients by increasing surface roughness and creating additional attractive forces between adjacent layers. However, these defective MXenes still maintain friction coefficients below 0.31. Finally, we also consider functionalized Ti 3 C 2 MXene terminated with -OH and -OCH 3 and find that compared to the -O-terminated surface both groups further reduce the interlayer friction coefficient to 0.10–0.14.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Methanol adsorption and dissociation on LaMnO 3 and Sr doped LaMnO 3 (001) surfaces

Using density functional theory, we investigate in this paper methanol adsorption and dissociation on the MnO 2 - and LaO-terminated LaMnO 3 (001) surface as a function of Sr dopant enrichment in and near the surface. In response to bulk cleavage, we find electron depletion of the negatively charged MnO 2 surface layer that is enhanced by Sr doping in the subsurface. In contrast, we observe electron accumulation in the positively charged LaO surface layer that is reduced by Sr doping in the surface layer. Methanol adsorbs dissociatively on the LaO termination of the LaMnO 3 (001) surface. Methanol adsorption on the LaO termination is strongly preferred over adsorption on the MnO 2 termination. While moderate doping has a small influence on methanol adsorption and dissociation, when 100% of La is replaced by Sr in the surface or subsurface, the adsorption preference of methanol is reversed. Finally, if the surface is highly dopant enriched, methanol favours dissociative adsorption on the MnO 2 -terminated surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Essential Role of Spinel ZnFe 2 O 4 Surfaces during Lithiation

Spinel zinc ferrite (ZnFe 2 O 4 ) is a well-known anode material in lithium ion batteries (LIBs) due to its large theoretical capacity. However, the high potentials observed at the initial stage of lithiation observed cannot be captured using a model of Li + intercalation into the stoichiometric ZnFe 2 O 4 bulk. Here, using density functional theory (DFT) we report for the first time that theZnFe 2 O 4 surfaces are responsible for the measured initial potentials. Among the three identified stable surfaces, ZnFeO 2 -terminated ZnFe 2 O 4 (1 1 0), O-terminated ZnFe 2 O 4 (1 1 1) and Zn-terminated ZnFe 2 O 4 (1 1 1), both (1 1 1) surfaces display higher lithiation potentials than the (1 1 0) surface, and the estimated potentials based on Zn-terminated (1 1 1) fit well with the experimental observations, while using the models based on ZnFe 2 O 4 (1 1 0) and previously ZnFe 2 O 4 bulk, the estimated potentials are much lower. In terms of Li + diffusion, the Zn-terminated ZnFe 2 O 4 (1 1 1) surface is the most active, where the energetically favorable saturation of Li + on the surface is able to facilitate the process. Our results provide a new strategy for the design of LIB materials, via controlling the particle shape and the associated surface characteristics thus enhancing the discharging performance.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗