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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 433 records · Page 24

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NASA NTRS1972

A thermal scale modeling study for Apollo and Apollo applications, volume 1

The program is reported for developing and demonstrating the capabilities of thermal scale modeling as a thermal design and verification tool for Apollo and Apollo Applications Projects. The work performed for thermal scale modeling of STB; cabin atmosphere/spacecraft cabin wall thermal interface; closed loop heat rejection radiator; and docked module/spacecraft thermal interface are discussed along with the test facility requirements for thermal scale model testing of AAP spacecraft. It is concluded that thermal scale modeling can be used as an effective thermal design and verification tool to provide data early in a spacecraft development program.

Shannon, R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Development of a Prototype Simulation Executive with Zooming in the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation

A major difficulty in designing aeropropulsion systems is that of identifying and understanding the interactions between the separate engine components and disciplines (e.g., fluid mechanics, structural mechanics, heat transfer, material properties, etc.). The traditional analysis approach is to decompose the system into separate components with the interaction between components being evaluated by the application of each of the single disciplines in a sequential manner. Here, one discipline uses information from the calculation of another discipline to determine the effects of component coupling. This approach, however, may not properly identify the consequences of these effects during the design phase, leaving the interactions to be discovered and evaluated during engine testing. This contributes to the time and cost of developing new propulsion systems as, typically, several design-build-test cycles are needed to fully identify multidisciplinary effects and reach the desired system performance. The alternative to sequential isolated component analysis is to use multidisciplinary coupling at a more fundamental level. This approach has been made more plausible due to recent advancements in computation simulation along with application of concurrent engineering concepts. Computer simulation systems designed to provide an environment which is capable of integrating the various disciplines into a single simulation system have been proposed and are currently being developed. One such system is being developed by the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) project. The NPSS project, being developed at the Interdisciplinary Technology Office at the NASA Lewis Research Center is a 'numerical test cell' designed to provide for comprehensive computational design and analysis of aerospace propulsion systems. It will provide multi-disciplinary analyses on a variety of computational platforms, and a user-interface consisting of expert systems, data base management and visualization tools, to allow the designer to investigate the complex interactions inherent in these systems. An interactive programming software system, known as the Application Visualization System (AVS), was utilized for the development of the propulsion system simulation. The modularity of this system provides the ability to couple propulsion system components, as well as disciplines, and provides for the ability to integrate existing, well established analysis codes into the overall system simulation. This feature allows the user to customize the simulation model by inserting desired analysis codes. The prototypical simulation environment for multidisciplinary analysis, called Turbofan Engine System Simulation (TESS), which incorporates many of the characteristics of the simulation environment proposed herein, is detailed.

Reed, John A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A simple modern correctness condition for a space-based high-performance multiprocessor

A number of U.S. national programs, including space-based detection of ballistic missile launches, envisage putting significant computing power into space. Given sufficient progress in low-power VLSI, multichip-module packaging and liquid-cooling technologies, we will see design of high-performance multiprocessors for individual satellites. In very high speed implementations, performance depends critically on tolerating large latencies in interprocessor communication; without latency tolerance, performance is limited by the vastly differing time scales in processor and data-memory modules, including interconnect times. The modern approach to tolerating remote-communication cost in scalable, shared-memory multiprocessors is to use a multithreaded architecture, and alter the semantics of shared memory slightly, at the price of forcing the programmer either to reason about program correctness in a relaxed consistency model or to agree to program in a constrained style. The literature on multiprocessor correctness conditions has become increasingly complex, and sometimes confusing, which may hinder its practical application. We propose a simple modern correctness condition for a high-performance, shared-memory multiprocessor; the correctness condition is based on a simple interface between the multiprocessor architecture and a high-performance, shared-memory multiprocessor; the correctness condition is based on a simple interface between the multiprocessor architecture and the parallel programming system.

Probst, David K.↗

NASA NTRS1975

The control data "GIRAFFE" system for interactive graphic finite element analysis

The Graphical Interface for Finite Elements (GIRAFFE) general purpose interactive graphics application package was described. This system may be used as a pre/post processor for structural analysis computer programs. It facilitates the operations of creating, editing, or reviewing all the structural input/output data on a graphics terminal in a time-sharing mode of operation. An application program for a simple three-dimensional plate problem was illustrated.

Park, S.↗

NASA NTRS1986

The personal computer and GP-B management

The Gravity Probe-B (GP-B) experiment is one of the most sophisticated and challenging developments to be undertaken by NASA. Its objective is to measure the relativistic drift of gyroscopes in orbit about the earth. In this paper, the experiment is described, and the strategy of phased procurements for accomplishing the engineering development of the hardware is discussed. The microcomputer is a very convenient and powerful tool in the management of GP-B. It is used in creating and monitoring such project data as schedules, budgets, hardware procurements and technical and interface requirements. Commercially available software in word processing, database management, communications, spreadsheet, graphics and program management are used. Examples are described of the efficacy of the application of the computer by the management team.

Neighbors, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Portable computer system architecture for the Space Station Freedom program

This paper outlines various mission requirements and technical approaches that support the potential use of portable computers in several defined activities within the Space Station Freedom (SSF) program. Specifically, the use of portable computers as consoles for both spacecraft control and payload applications is presented. Various issues and proposed solutions regarding the incorporation of portable computers within the program are presented. The primary issues presented regard architecture (standard interface for expansion, advanced processors and displays), integration (methods of high-speed data communication, peripheral interfaces, and interconnectivity within various support networks), and evolution (wireless communications and multimedia data interface methods).

Alena, Richard↗

NASA NTRS1992

Space Communication Artificial Intelligence for Link Evaluation Terminal (SCAILET)

A software application to assist end-users of the high burst rate (HBR) link evaluation terminal (LET) for satellite communications is being developed. The HBR LET system developed at NASA Lewis Research Center is an element of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) Project. The HBR LET is divided into seven major subsystems, each with its own expert. Programming scripts, test procedures defined by design engineers, set up the HBR LET system. These programming scripts are cryptic, hard to maintain and require a steep learning curve. These scripts were developed by the system engineers who will not be available for the end-users of the system. To increase end-user productivity a friendly interface needs to be added to the system. One possible solution is to provide the user with adequate documentation to perform the needed tasks. With the complexity of this system the vast amount of documentation needed would be overwhelming and the information would be hard to retrieve. With limited resources, maintenance is another reason for not using this form of documentation. An advanced form of interaction is being explored using current computer techniques. This application, which incorporates a combination of multimedia and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to provided end-users with an intelligent interface to the HBR LET system, is comprised of an intelligent assistant, intelligent tutoring, and hypermedia documentation. The intelligent assistant and tutoring systems address the critical programming needs of the end-user.

Shahidi, Anoosh K.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Verifying Diagnostic Software

Livingstone PathFinder (LPF) is a simulation-based computer program for verifying autonomous diagnostic software. LPF is designed especially to be applied to NASA s Livingstone computer program, which implements a qualitative-model-based algorithm that diagnoses faults in a complex automated system (e.g., an exploratory robot, spacecraft, or aircraft). LPF forms a software test bed containing a Livingstone diagnosis engine, embedded in a simulated operating environment consisting of a simulator of the system to be diagnosed by Livingstone and a driver program that issues commands and faults according to a nondeterministic scenario provided by the user. LPF runs the test bed through all executions allowed by the scenario, checking for various selectable error conditions after each step. All components of the test bed are instrumented, so that execution can be single-stepped both backward and forward. The architecture of LPF is modular and includes generic interfaces to facilitate substitution of alternative versions of its different parts. Altogether, LPF provides a flexible, extensible framework for simulation-based analysis of diagnostic software; these characteristics also render it amenable to application to diagnostic programs other than Livingstone.

Lindsey, Tony↗

NASA NTRS1974

Electric propulsion system design and development for primary propulsion applications

An electric thrust subsystem technology development program to demonstrate the readiness of primary electric propulsion for flight applications is described. The development program is based on a subsystem design sufficiently flexible to be applicable to a broad range of mission requirements with minimum impact on the subsystem elements or interface designs. The effort includes development and qualification testing of new subsystem elements, the assembly and test of subsystem models to verify the physical and functional interfaces of the subsystem with other spacecraft subsystems, and the investigation of the effects of thrust subsystem operation on all aspects of spacecraft performance. The present status of this effort and some of the results so far obtained are presented.

Kerrisk, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1989

THREAD: A programming environment for interactive planning-level robotics applications

THREAD programming language, which was developed to meet the needs of researchers in developing robotics applications that perform such tasks as grasp, trajectory design, sensor data analysis, and interfacing with external subsystems in order to perform servo-level control of manipulators and real time sensing is discussed. The philosophy behind THREAD, the issues which entered into its design, and the features of the language are discussed from the viewpoint of researchers who want to develop algorithms in a simulation environment, and from those who want to implement physical robotics systems. The detailed functions of the many complex robotics algorithms and tools which are part of the language are not explained, but an overall impression of their capability is given.

Beahan, John J., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2006

X-Windows Socket Widget Class

The X-Windows Socket Widget Class ("Class" is used here in the object-oriented-programming sense of the word) was devised to simplify the task of implementing network connections for graphical-user-interface (GUI) computer programs. UNIX Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) socket programming libraries require many method calls to configure, operate, and destroy sockets. Most X Windows GUI programs use widget sets or toolkits to facilitate management of complex objects. The widget standards facilitate construction of toolkits and application programs. The X-Windows Socket Widget Class encapsulates UNIX TCP/IP socket-management tasks within the framework of an X Windows widget. Using the widget framework, X Windows GUI programs can treat one or more network socket instances in the same manner as that of other graphical widgets, making it easier to program sockets. Wrapping ISP socket programming libraries inside a widget framework enables a programmer to treat a network interface as though it were a GUI.

Barry, Matthew R.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Program Simulates Spacecraft Communication Scenarios

Dynamic Environment Communications Alalysis Testbed (DECAT) computer program is modular simulation program. Computes effects of motion, antenna radiation patterns, noise, interference, and other phenomena. Flexibility enables users to analyze many communications scenarios quickly and easily, eliminating need for users to create specific computer programs. Users create simulations involving any number of vehicles, receivers, transmitters, and antennas via graphical user interface (GUI). DECAT GUI implemented by use of software tool called "Transportable Applications Environment Plus" (TAE Plus). Written in C language. Graphical user interface requires TAE Plus, Version 5.1 package available from COSMIC (GSC-13463).

Land, Kenneth P.↗

NASA NTRS1994

NASA's Man-Systems Integration Standards: A Human Factors Engineering Standard for Everyone in the Nineties

During the second half of the 1980s, a document was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to aid in the application of good human factors engineering and human interface practices to the design and development of hardware and systems for use in all United States manned space flight programs. This comprehensive document, known as NASA-STD-3000, the Man-Systems Integration Standards (MSIS), attempts to address, from a human factors engineering/human interface standpoint, all of the various types of equipment with which manned space flight crew members must deal. Basically, all of the human interface situations addressed in the MSIS are present in terrestrially based systems also. The premise of this paper is that, starting with this already created standard, comprehensive documents addressing human factors engineering and human interface concerns could be developed to aid in the design of almost any type of equipment or system which humans interface with in any terrestrial environment. Utilizing the systems and processes currently in place in the MSIS Development Facility at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, any number of MSIS volumes addressing the human factors / human interface needs of any terrestrially based (or, for that matter, airborne) system could be created.

Cletis R. Booher↗

NASA NTRS1991

A PC-based bus monitor program for use with the transport systems research vehicle RS-232 communication interfaces

Experiment critical use of RS-232 data busses in the Transport Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV) operated by the Advanced Transport Operating Systems Program Office at the NASA Langley Research Center has recently increased. Each application utilizes a number of nonidentical computer and peripheral configurations and requires task specific software development. To aid these development tasks, an IBM PC-based RS-232 bus monitoring system was produced. It can simultaneously monitor two communication ports of a PC or clone, including the nonstandard bus expansion of the TSRV Grid laptop computers. Display occurs in a separate window for each port's input with binary display being selectable. A number of other features including binary log files, screen capture to files, and a full range of communication parameters are provided.

Easley, Wesley C.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Thermal Storage Applications Workshop. Volume 2: Contributed Papers

The solar thermal and the thermal and thermochemical energy storage programs are described as well as the technology requirements for both external (electrical) and internal (thermal, chemical) modes for energy storage in solar power plants. Specific technical issues addressed include thermal storage criteria for solar power plants interfacing with utility systems; optimal dispatch of storage for solar plants in a conventional electric grid; thermal storage/temperature tradeoffs for solar total energy systems; the value of energy storage for direct-replacement solar thermal power plants; systems analysis of storage in specific solar thermal power applications; the value of seasonal storage of solar energy; criteria for selection of the thermal storage system for a 10 MW(2) solar power plant; and the need for specific requirements by storage system development teams.

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NASA NTRS2011

Intelligent Wireless Sensor Networks for System Health Monitoring

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) based on the IEEE 802.15.4 Personal Area Network (PAN) standard are finding increasing use in the home automation and emerging smart energy markets. The network and application layers, based on the ZigBee 2007 Standard, provide a convenient framework for component-based software that supports customer solutions from multiple vendors. WSNs provide the inherent fault tolerance required for aerospace applications. The Discovery and Systems Health Group at NASA Ames Research Center has been developing WSN technology for use aboard aircraft and spacecraft for System Health Monitoring of structures and life support systems using funding from the NASA Engineering and Safety Center and Exploration Technology Development and Demonstration Program. This technology provides key advantages for low-power, low-cost ancillary sensing systems particularly across pressure interfaces and in areas where it is difficult to run wires. Intelligence for sensor networks could be defined as the capability of forming dynamic sensor networks, allowing high-level application software to identify and address any sensor that joined the network without the use of any centralized database defining the sensors characteristics. The IEEE 1451 Standard defines methods for the management of intelligent sensor systems and the IEEE 1451.4 section defines Transducer Electronic Datasheets (TEDS), which contain key information regarding the sensor characteristics such as name, description, serial number, calibration information and user information such as location within a vehicle. By locating the TEDS information on the wireless sensor itself and enabling access to this information base from the application software, the application can identify the sensor unambiguously and interpret and present the sensor data stream without reference to any other information. The application software is able to read the status of each sensor module, responding in real-time to changes of PAN configuration, providing the appropriate response for maintaining overall sensor system function, even when sensor modules fail or the WSN is reconfigured. The session will present the architecture and technical feasibility of creating fault-tolerant WSNs for aerospace applications based on our application of the technology to a Structural Health Monitoring testbed. The interim results of WSN development and testing including our software architecture for intelligent sensor management will be discussed in the context of the specific tradeoffs required for effective use. Initial certification measurement techniques and test results gauging WSN susceptibility to Radio Frequency interference are introduced as key challenges for technology adoption. A candidate Developmental and Flight Instrumentation implementation using intelligent sensor networks for wind tunnel and flight tests is developed as a guide to understanding key aspects of the aerospace vehicle design, test and operations life cycle.

networks↗

NASA NTRS2016

TAT-C: A Trade-Space Analysis Tool for Constellations

Under a changing technological and economic environment, there is growing interest in implementing future NASA Earth Science missions as Distributed Spacecraft Missions (DSM). The objective of our project is to provide a framework that facilitates DSM Pre-Phase A investigations and optimizes DSM designs with respect to a-priori Science goals. In this first version of our Trade-space Analysis Tool for Constellations (TAT-C), we are investigating questions such as: Which type of constellations should be chosen? How many spacecraft should be included in the constellation? Which design has the best costrisk value? This paper describes the overall architecture of TAT-C including: a User Interface (UI) interacting with multiple users - scientists, missions designers or program managers; an Executive Driver gathering requirements from UI and formulating Trade-space Search Requests for the Trade-space Search Iterator, which in collaboration with the Orbit Coverage, Reduction Metrics, and Cost Risk modules generates multiple potential architectures and their associated characteristics. UI will include Graphical, Command Line and Application Programmer Interfaces to respond to the demands of various levels of users expertise. Science inputs are grouped into various mission concepts, satellite specifications, and payload specifications, while science outputs are grouped into several types of metrics - spatial, temporal, angular and radiometric. Orbit Coverage leverages the use of the Goddard Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) to compute coverage and ancillary data that are passed to Reduction Metrics. Then, for each architecture design, Cost Risk will provide estimates of the cost and life cycle cost as well as technical and cost risk of the proposed mission. Additionally, the Knowledge Base module is a centralized store of structured data readable by humans and machines. It will support both TAT-C analysis when composing new mission concepts from existing model inputs, and TAT-C exploration when discovering new mission concepts by querying previous results.

Science Data Processing↗

NASA NTRS1972

Design guide for low cost standardized payloads, volume 1

Concept point designs of low cost and refurbishable spacecraft, subsystems, and modules revealed payload program savings up to 50 percent. The general relationship of payload approaches to program costs; cost reductions from low cost standardized payloads; cost effective application of payload reliability, MMD, repair, and refurbishment; and implementation of standardization for future spacecraft are discussed. Shuttle interfaces and support equipment for future payloads are also considered

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