SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Processing changes improve performance of liquid-crystal light valve for displaying projection TV images. New approach monitors performance of finished light valves for given changes in CdS process and experimentally to optimize process for good sensitivity and low negative memory.
Proposed valve employs ferrofluid to make tight seal. Seal requires no precisely machined parts, and hand lapping of valve seats are unnecessary. Magnetic fluid fills gap between shaft and annular pole piece in chamber wall. Precise shaft fit is not necessary.
Flow-straightening sleeve contains vanes in modified honeycomb pattern. Each vane curved fluid-dynamic wing that helps straighten and smooth out flow of fluid passing over it. Sleeve performs more reliably and quietly, possibility of damage to internal valve parts greatly reduced, valve life expectancy increased and time between overhauls extended.
Remotely-controlled cryogenic valve operates over temperature range from room temperature to 2 K. Valve used in helium dilution refrigerators, cryostats and adiabatic-demagnetization refrigerators.
Simple device vents excess low-pressure gas. Inexpensive pressure relief valve built from polyvinylchloride pipe. Valve suitable for low pressure-- 25 to 50 cm of mercury-- and flow rates up to 14 m3/min.
Small subvalves opened and closed simultaneously. Precisely-machined mating rings act as valves. Rings seal against each other to stop fluid flow. Rings deformed or moved relative to each other to uncover holes and permit flow. Valve controls flow rate of fuel into burner.
Optical addition and storage units are described in this paper. These units are implemented using the Hughes Liquid Crystal Light Valve (LCLV) as a spatial light modulator using residue arithmetic for a numerical representation. The main hardware components of the design, besides the light valve, include an array of single-mode optical fibers that provide input information, a polarizing prism in combination with quarter-wave and half-wave retarders for residue arithmetic implementation in the adder, and a holographic array for spatial stability in the storage unit.
The linear motion valve is described. The valve spool employs magnetically permeable rings, spaced apart axially, which engage a sealing assembly having magnetically permeable pole pieces in magnetic relationship with a magnet. The gap between the ring and the pole pieces is sealed with a ferrofluid. Depletion of the ferrofluid is minimized.
An improved photosensor film and liquid crystal light valves embodying said film is provided. The photosensor film and liquid crystal light valve is characterized by a significant lower image retention time while maintaining acceptable photosensitivity. The photosensor film is produced by sputter depositing CdS onto an ITO substrate in an atmosphere of argon/H2S gas while maintaining the substrate at a temperature in the range of about 130 C to about 200 C and while introducing nitrogen gas into the system to the extent of not more than about 1% of plasma mixture. Following sputter deposition of the CdS, the film is annealed in an inert gas at temperatures ranging from about 300 C to about 425 C.
Double-ring seal avoids expense of remachining or redesigning valve parts. Mating fittings on valve sealed by pair of rings - one O-ring and backup ring. Backup ring fills relatively large gap between parts. Prevents softer O-ring from being pushed into and through gap.
Poppet and seat less likely to be damaged by faulty operation. Improvements in widely-used high-pressure valve increase accuracy of preloading of poppet. Redesigned valve prevents metal shavings and other debris from developing during operation, installation, or removal. New features include secondary seal in cap. Belleville washers create precise value of seating force. If installer attempts to exceed force, torque limiter gives tactile and aural warning and makes further force increases difficult.
Apparatus for growing protein and other crystals holds reactants in separate chambers, then allows them to combine at proper time. Openings in cylindrical rotary valve connect chambers to each other selectively through internal passages. O-ring and strip seals prevent leakage over valve surface. Caps on chambers seal them tightly but are removable for addition of reactants or withdrawal of reaction products. Made from various chemically inert materials, and chambers designed with capacities ranging from milliliters to liters. Easily automated.
Cooling effected by bidirectional, reciprocating flow of gas. Type of Joule-Thomson (J-T) expander for cryogenic cooling requires no check valves to prevent reverse flow of coolant. More reliable than conventional J-T expander, containing network of check valves, each potential source of failure. Gas flows alternately from left to right and right to left. Heat load cooled by evaporation of liquid from left or right compartment, whichever at lower pressure.
Joule-Thomson expansion valve designed so particles or condensed contaminants in vapor flowing through unlikely to clog orifice. In addition, new valve automatically adjusts flow of vapor. Allows high initial flow for rapid cooling, but gradually reduces flow as operating temperature reached. Flow adjusts manually when necessary. Developed for expansion of high-pressure vapors to condense them into low-pressure cryogenic liquids. Used to conserve helium coolant in superconducting system by condensing vapor boiling from liquid-helium bath.
Connection box and mating plugs constitute device to allow or block flow of fluid. Device acts as isolation valve in sense set in open or closed configuration. Not strictly valve in sense configuration cannot be changed during operation without spilling fluid. Intended for use where changes between open and closed configurations meant to be infrequent. Principle virtues of device are its light weight and compactness.
Valve containing simple in-line, adjustable, flow-control orifice made from ordinary plumbing fitting and two allen setscrews. Construction of valve requires only simple drilling, tapping, and grinding. Orifice installed in existing fitting, avoiding changes in rest of plumbing.
Conditions for operation of commercially available liquid-crystal light valve as binary spatial light modulator discovered. In mode, modulator turns on sharply and then saturates as intensity of writing beam increases. Valve comprises photoconductive layer and liquid-crystal layer separated by dielectric mirror and sandwiched between two transparent electrodes. Potential applications include enhancement of images, optical recording, and holography.
A numerical simulation of the actuation system for the propulsion control valve (PCV) of the NASA Langley Aircraft Landing Dynamics Facility was developed during the preliminary design of the PCV and used throughout the entire project. The simulation is based on a predictive model of the PCV which is used to evaluate and design the actuation system. The PCV controls a 1.7 million-pound thrust water jet used in propelling a 108,000-pound test carriage. The PCV can open and close in 0.300 second and deliver over 9,000 gallons of water per sec at pressures up to 3150 psi. The numerical simulation results are used to predict transient performance and valve opening characteristics, specify the hydraulic control system, define transient loadings on components, and evaluate failure modes. The mathematical model used for numerically simulating the mechanical fluid power system is described, and numerical results are demonstrated for a typical opening and closing cycle of the PCV. A summary is then given on how the model is used in the design process.