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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 451 records · Page 25

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1988

Hitchhiker capabilities

A carrier system has been developed for economical and quick response flight of small attached payloads on the space shuttle. Hitchhiker can accommodate up to 750 lb of customer payloads in canisters or mounted to an exposed side-mount plate, or up to 1200 lb mounted on a cross-bay structure. The carrier connects to the orbiter's electrical systems and provides up to six customers with standard electrical services including power, real time telemetry and commands. A transparent data and command system concept is employed to allow the customer to easily use his own ground support equipment and personnel to control his payload during integration and flight operations. A general description of the Hitchhiker program and the Shuttle Payload of Opportunity Carrier (SPOC) is given and future enhancements are outlined.

Goldsmith, Theodore C.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Bonding Diamond To Metal In Electronic Circuits

Improved technique for bonding diamond to metal evolved from older technique of soldering or brazing and more suitable for fabrication of delicate electronic circuits. Involves diffusion bonding, developed to take advantage of electrically insulating, heat-conducting properties of diamond, using small diamond bars as supports for slow-wave transmission-line structures in traveling-wave-tube microwave amplifiers. No fillets or side coats formed because metal bonding strips not melted. Technique also used to mount such devices as transistors and diodes electrically insulated from, but thermally connected to, heat sinks.

Jacquez, Andrew E.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Investigation Flow Uniformity in a Supersonic Duct with High Enthalpy Flows

Flow uniformity in a high enthalpy facility is investigated. The scramjet research facility is composed of a rectangular combustor duct connected to a 100 MW electric arc air heater. The Mach 3.3 flow is accelerated through a two-dimensional contoured nozzle. Instream measurements were made with water-cooled Pitot probes and stagnation point heat flux gages at stream enthalpy levels ranging from 4 to 7 Mj/kg. Flow surveys were made on the flow centerline and off centerline in order to measure the three dimensional uniformity of the flow in the rectangular duct. Measurements indicated that although the flow in the aspect ratio 6:1 duct was relatively uniform on the centerline, three dimensional viscous effects were apparent near the corners. Flow through the nozzle and constant area duct was modeled computationally using a two dimensional, Navier-Stokes, reacting gas code. The computations predict that the flow in the test section is in vibrational equilibrium. The computed and measured Pitot pressure and heat flux profiles are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.

Balboni, John↗

NASA NTRS1987

Tangleproof Coupling

Along with Marshall Space Flight Center, Phase 2 Automation developed a unique rotary coupling capable of connecting a large number of electrical cables to a turntable without stressing the cables or tangling them. Device accommodates 246 cables and allows the turntable to rotate through an arc of 320 degrees. At extremes of rotation the cables remain loose enough so that they are not pulled taut and overstressed; a halfway rotation, the cables are not so loose that they tangle. The rotary connector was developed to carry electrical signals to and from a telescope platform on the satellite without employing a complex set of slip rings which are electrically noisy and could have caused signal interference.

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NASA NTRS2003

A Brighter Choice for Safety

Emergency exit signs can be lifesavers, but only if they remain visible when people need them. All too often, power losses or poor visibility can render the signs ineffective. Luna Technologies International, Inc., of Kent, Washington, is shining new light on this safety issue. The company s LUNAplast(trademark) product line illuminates without the need for electricity, maintenance, or a power connection. LUNAplast, which benefited from tests conducted at Johnson Space Center, is so successful that NASA engineers selected it for the emergency exit pathway indicators on the International Space Station (ISS).

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NASA NTRS1980

Lead screw linear actuator

A linear actuator which can apply high forces is described, which includes a reciprocating rod having a threaded portion engaged by a nut that is directly coupled to the rotor of an electric motor. The nut is connected to the rotor in a manner that minimizes loading on the rotor, by the use of a coupling that transmits torque to the nut but permits it to shift axially and radially with respect to the rotor. The nut has a threaded hydrostatic bearing for engaging the threaded rod portion, with an oilcarrying groove in the nut being interrupted.

Perkins, Gerald S.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Laser prospects for SPS and restoration of the ozone layer

Large-scale applications of high-power lasers are considered (special experiments are described to confirm the feasibility of these applications) to achieve also large-scale environmental advantages. The possibility of producing electric energy by Laser-Solar Power Satellites in the near future is discussed. A full-scale experimental L-SPS satellite is suggested as a module of a global space energy network. Electric power of about 10 MW at the surface of the Earth is achievable as a result of energy conversion of laser radiation. L-SPS is based on the greatest advantages of present optics and laser techniques. Specialized-scale experiments are carried out and described. L-SPS project could provide real electricity for consumers not later than by highly developed fusion techniques, and the environmental aftereffects are quite favorable. A new method of power supply for satellites is suggested, based on the connection of an on-board electric circuit directly with the ground-based power grid by means of laser beams.

Kruzhilin, Yuri↗

NASA NTRS1994

Low-Heat-Leak Electrical Leads For Cryogenic Systems

Electrical leads offering high electrical conductivity and low thermal conductivity developed for use in connecting electronic devices inside cryogenic systems to power supplies, signal-processing circuits, and other circuitry located in nearby warmer surroundings. Strip of superconductive leads on ceramic substrate, similar to ribbon cable, connects infrared detectors at temperature of liquid helium with warmer circuitry. Electrical leads bridging thermal gradient at boundary of cryogenic system designed both to minimize conduction of heat from surroundings through leads into system and to minimize resistive heating caused by electrical currents flowing in leads.

Wise, Stephanie A.↗

NASA NTRS1975

The source of the electric field in the nightside magnetosphere

In the open magnetosphere model magnetic field lines from the polar caps connect to the interplanetary magnetic field and conduct an electric field from interplanetary space to the polar ionosphere. By examining the magnetic flux involved it is concluded that only slightly more than half of the magnetic flux in the polar caps belongs to open field lines and that such field lines enter or leave the magnetosphere through narrow elongated windows stretching the tail. These window regions are identified with the tail's boundary region and shift their position with changes in the interplanetary magnetic field, in particular when a change of interplanetary magnetic sector occurs. The circuit providing electric current in the magnetopause and the plasma sheet is extended across those windows; thus energy is drained from the interplanetary electric field and an electric potential drop is produced across the plasma sheet. The polar cap receives its electric field from interplanetary space on the day side from open magnetic field lines and on the night side from closed field lines leading to the plasma sheet. The theory described provides improved understanding of magnetic flux bookkeeping, of the origin of Birkeland currents, and of the boundary layer of the geomagnetic tail.

Stern, D. P.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Heterogeneous Superconducting Low-Noise Sensing Coils

A heterogeneous material construction has been devised for sensing coils of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers that are subject to a combination of requirements peculiar to some advanced applications, notably including low-field magnetic resonance imaging for medical diagnosis. The requirements in question are the following: The sensing coils must be large enough (in some cases having dimensions of as much as tens of centimeters) to afford adequate sensitivity; The sensing coils must be made electrically superconductive to eliminate Johnson noise (thermally induced noise proportional to electrical resistance); and Although the sensing coils must be cooled to below their superconducting- transition temperatures with sufficient cooling power to overcome moderate ambient radiative heat leakage, they must not be immersed in cryogenic liquid baths. For a given superconducting sensing coil, this combination of requirements can be satisfied by providing a sufficiently thermally conductive link between the coil and a cold source. However, the superconducting coil material is not suitable as such a link because electrically superconductive materials are typically poor thermal conductors. The heterogeneous material construction makes it possible to solve both the electrical- and thermal-conductivity problems. The basic idea is to construct the coil as a skeleton made of a highly thermally conductive material (typically, annealed copper), then coat the skeleton with an electrically superconductive alloy (typically, a lead-tin solder) [see figure]. In operation, the copper skeleton provides the required thermally conductive connection to the cold source, while the electrically superconductive coating material shields against Johnson noise that originates in the copper skeleton.

Hahn, Inseob↗

NASA NTRS1975

Gas ion laser construction for electrically isolating the pressure gauge thereof

The valve and the pressure gauge of a gas ion laser were electrically insulated from the laser discharge path by connecting them in series with the cathode of the laser. The laser cathode can be grounded and preferably is a cold cathode although a hot cathode may be used instead. The cold cathode was provided with a central aperture to which was connected both the pressure gauge and the gas pressure reservoir through the valve. This will effectively prevent electric discharges from passing either to the pressure gauge or the valve which would otherwise destroy the pressure gauge.

Wood, C. E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Magnetospheric electric fields and currents

The progress made in the years 1983-1986 in understanding the character and operation of magnetospheric electric fields and electric currents is discussed, with emphasis placed on the connection with the interior regions. Special attention is given to determinations of global electric-field configurations, measurements of the response of magnetospheric particle populations to the electric-field configurations, and observations of the magnetospheric currents at high altitude and during northward IMF. Global simulations of current distributions are discussed, and the sources of global electric fields and currents are examined. The topics discussed in the area of impulsive and small-scale phenomena include substorm current systems, impulsive electric fields and associated currents, and field-aligned electrodynamics. A key finding of these studies is that the electric fields and currents are interrelated and cannot be viewed as separate entities.

Mauk, B. H.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Eroding Potentiometers

Eroding potentiometers have been devised for measuring the time-dependent positions of char fronts advancing through layers of insulating material subject to intense heating from one side. In the original application, the material layers of interest are thermal insulators in rocket motors and the heat comes from firing of the motors, but the principle of operation is equally applicable to other insulating materials subject to intense heating (e.g., ablative fire-retardant materials). Measuring the thickness decrement of propellant (in hybrid motors in particular) is another possible application of this transducer. Telemetry informs mission control of the propellant left after each burn. An eroding potentiometer could be characterized, more precisely, as an eroding two-wire resistor. It includes a twisted pair of thin, insulated wires oriented along the thickness of, and embedded in, the layer of thermal-insulation material to be tested (see figure). The electrical insulation material on the wires should be one for which the charring temperature is about the same as (or perhaps slightly less than) that of the thermal- insulation material to be tested. In the original rocket-motor application, the wires have a diameter of 0.003 in. (.0.08 mm), are made of manganin, and are coated with polyimide for electrical insulation. Outside the thermal insulation on the cold side, the wire leads are connected to a Wheatstone bridge circuit for measurement of electrical resistance change.

Eggett, Mark↗

NASA NTRS1989

Rotor instability due to a gear coupling connected to a bearingless sun wheel of a planetary gear

A 21 MW electric power generating unit comprises a gas turbine, a planetary gear, and a generator connected together by gear couplings. For simplicity of the design and high performance the pinion of the gear has no bearing. It is centered by the planet wheels only. The original design showed a strong instability and a natural frequency increasing with the load between 2 and 6.5 MW. In this operating range the natural frequency was below the operating speed of the gas turbine, n sub PT = 7729 RPM. By shortening the pinion shaft and reduction of its moment of inertia the unstable natural frequency was shifted well above the operating speed. With that measure the unit now operates with stability in the entire load range.

Buehlmann, E. T.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Active vibration control of structures undergoing bending vibrations

An active vibration control subassembly for a structure (such as a jet engine duct or a washing machine panel) undergoing bending vibrations caused by a source (such as the clothes agitator of the washing machine) independent of the subassembly. A piezoceramic actuator plate is vibratable by an applied electric AC signal. The plate is connected to the structure such that vibrations in the plate induced by the AC signal cause canceling bending vibrations in the structure and such that the plate is compressively pre-stressed along the structure when the structure is free of any bending vibrations. The compressive prestressing increases the amplitude of the canceling bending vibrations before the critical tensile stress level of the plate is reached. Preferably, a positive electric DC bias is also applied to the plate in its poling direction.

Pla, Frederic G.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Methods of Using a Magnetic Field Response Sensor Within Closed, Electrically Conductive Containers

Magnetic field response sensors are a class of sensors that are powered via oscillating magnetic fields, and when electrically active, respond with their own magnetic fields with attributes dependent upon the magnitude of the physical quantity being measured. A magnetic field response recorder powers and interrogates the magnetic sensors [see Magnetic-Field-Response Measurement- Acquisition System, NASA Tech Briefs Vol. 30, No, 6 (June 2006, page 28)]. Electrically conductive containers have low transmissivity for radio frequency (RF) energy and thus present problems for magnetic field response sensors. It is necessary in some applications to have a magnetic field response sensor s capacitor placed in these containers. Proximity to conductive surfaces alters the inductance and capacitance of the sensors. As the sensor gets closer to a conductive surface, the electric field and magnetic field energy of the sensor is reduced due to eddy currents being induced in the conductive surface. Therefore, the capacitors and inductors cannot be affixed to a conductive surface or embedded in a conductive material. It is necessary to have a fixed separation away from the conductive material. The minimum distance for separation is determined by the desired sensor response signal to noise ratio. Although the inductance is less than what it would be if it were not in proximity to the conductive surface, the inductance is fixed. As long as the inductance is fixed, all variations of the magnetic field response are due to capacitance changes. Numerous variations of inductor mounting can be utilized, such as providing a housing that provides separation from the conductive material as well as protection from impact damage. The sensor can be on the same flexible substrate with a narrow throat portion of the sensor between the inductor and the capacitor, Figure 1. The throat is of sufficient length to allow the capacitor to be appropriately placed within the container and the inductor placed outside the container. The throat is fed through the orifice in the container wall (e.g., fuel tank opening) and connects to the inductor and capacitor via electrical leads to form a closed circuit, Figure 2. Another embodiment is to have the inductor and capacitor fabricated as separate units. In this embodiment, the inductor is mounted external to the container, and the capacitor is mounted internal to the container, Figure 1. Electrical leads are fed through the orifice to connect the inductor and capacitor, Figure 2. When a container holding multiple sensors is made of a conductive material, an antenna can be placed internal to the container. An internal antenna allows all components of the sensors to reside inside the container. The antenna must be separated from the container wall s conductive surface. Additionally, the inductors must be maintained in a fixed position relative to and separated from the container

Woodward, Stanley E.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Four-Channel PC/104 MIL-STD-1553 Circuit Board

The mini bus interface card (miniBIC) is the first four-channel electronic circuit board that conforms to MIL-STD-1553 and to the electrical-footprint portion of PC/104. [MIL-STD-1553 is a military standard that encompasses a method of communication and electrical- interface requirements for digital electronic subsystems connected to a data bus. PC/104 is an industry standard for compact, stackable modules that are fully compatible (in architecture, hardware, and software) with personal-computer data- and power-bus circuitry.] Prior to the development of the miniBIC, only one- and two-channel PC/104 MIL-STD-1553 boards were available. To obtain four channels, it was necessary to include at least two boards in a PC/104 stack. In comparison with such a two-board stack, the miniBIC takes up less space, consumes less power, and is more reliable. In addition, the miniBIC includes 32 digital input/output channels. The miniBIC (see figure) contains four MIL-STD-1553B hybrid integrated circuits (ICs), four transformers, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) interface. Each hybrid IC includes a MILSTD-1553 dual transceiver, memory-management circuitry, processor interface logic circuitry, and 64Kx16 bits of shared static random access memory. The memory is used to configure message and data blocks. In addition, 23 16-bit registers are available for (1) configuring the hybrid IC for, and starting it in, various modes of operation; (2) reading the status of the functionality of the hybrid IC; and (3) resetting the hybrid IC to a known state. The miniBIC can operate as a remote terminal, bus controller, or bus monitor. The FPGA provides the chip-select and data-strobe signals needed for operation of the hybrid ICs. The FPGA also receives interruption signals and forwards them to the ISA bus. The ISA interface connects the address, data, and control interfaces of the hybrid ICs to the ISA backplane. Each channel is, in effect, a MIL-STD-1553 interface that can operate either independently of the others or else as a redundant version of one of the others. The transformer in each channel provides electrical isolation between the rest of the miniBIC circuitry and the bus to which that channel is connected.

Cox, Gary L.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Overvoltage protection network

Electrical equipment to be protected from overvoltage is connected with a possible source of overvoltage via an input conductor. A fuse is connected in series with the input conductor. A spark gap is connected between the input conductor and ground for conducting the overvoltage current to ground and for blowing the fuse to open the circuit to the electrical equipment. A pulse attenuator network is provided between the spark gap and the electrical equipment to be protected for attenuating the pulse of energy passing through the fuse and spark gap prior to blowing of the fuse. The pulse attenuator network includes additional shunt spark gaps, series inductance, and a series connection of a twisted shielded pair of conductors having low-voltage insulation.

Cambra, J. M.↗