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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 505 records · Page 28

Developing Nontraditional Partnerships to Disseminate the Space Science Story

NASA Space Science Days (NSSD) was established in 2004 to bring the story of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) to a community far removed from areas NASA traditionally serves. The original NSSD invited 400 5th and 8th graders from the Texas Rio Grande Valley area to the University of Texas Brownsville campus to participate in a one day Saturday event filled with information about MER with related hands on activities. Currently the program has grown to over 700 5th and 8th grade participants who are mentored by trained university students from several Texas universities and community colleges and growing to include universities from throughout the U.S. A collaboration between three major institutions: The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate (ARES), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers/Advancing Hispanic Excellence in Technology Engineering, Math, and Science, (SHPE/AHETEMS), and the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) has been established to enable the dissemination of Solar System related educational materials throughout the U.S. Already in its 8th year, UTB has developed and tested a NSSD model that has successfully disseminated space science materials to students throughout South Texas Rio Grande Valley. With this newly formed collaboration this model s expansion will allow trained SHPE students and professionals to conduct events throughout its established nation-wide delivery systems. Each year a new NSSD site will be established through an application process solicited from SHPE student and professional chapters. Once a chapter is awarded, upper-level high school and university students will travel to NASA- JSC for a two day workshop where students learn about the current year s theme and are trained to present hands-on activities related to the theme. Additional training by ARES and UTB occurs one month before the new event in their own communities. Both local middle school teachers and mentors are trained locally. This allows the teachers time to prepare their students with the background material for NSSD and give the mentors time to decide which activity they feel comfortable with to lead. Several events using this process have already been successful and an increase in interest from SHPE chapters wanting to establish their NSSD event is growing.

Galindo, Charles↗

Wavelet Techniques Applied to Modeling Transitional/Turbulent Flows in Turbomachinery

Computer simulation is an essential part of the design and development of jet engines for the aeropropulsion industry. Engineers concerned with calculating the flow in jet engine components, such as compressors and turbines, need simple engineering models that accurately describe the complex flow of air and gases and that allow them to quickly estimate loads, losses, temperatures, and other design parameters. In this ongoing collaborative project, advanced wavelet analysis techniques are being used to gain insight into the complex flow phenomena. These insights, which cannot be achieved by commonly used methods, are being used to develop innovative new flow models and to improve existing ones. Wavelet techniques are very suitable for analyzing the complex turbulent and transitional flows pervasive in jet engines. These flows are characterized by intermittency and a multitude of scales. Wavelet analysis results in information about these scales and their locations. The distribution of scales is equivalent to the frequency spectrum provided by commonly used Fourier analysis techniques; however, no localization information is provided by Fourier analysis. In addition, wavelet techniques allow conditional sampling analyses of the individual scales, which is not possible by Fourier methods.

Source record↗

2020 I.F._Wickizer_New CE Tool for MDC_Final Report

Our team surveyed available products and found no readily-available/U.S. commercial or Agency products which supported our envisioned workflow for the Mission Design Center and the concurrent engineering (CE) process we use. Therefore, we sought to create our own CE tool. Changes in agency policy during the performance period allowed us to shift direction and instead adapt our previous legacy tool (Atlas) to include the collaboration features we sorely needed. Atlas relied upon databases for its back-end data management. Poseidon, the work proposed under this effort, was also intended to leverage from that previous back end (in part). However, in May 2021, EUSO announced that “SBU/CUI Information Can Now Be Shared/Stored Within O365 Without Encryption.” Consequently, we made the decision to use O365 in place of our back end. This change provides for version history, collaborative simultaneous editing, and other collaboration tools agency-wide that were previously unavailable with the old database architecture. The new Atlas O365 has more flexibility and capability for users. It’s now easier for users to switch between using the tool for concurrent engineering and individual subsystem engineering. A version was delivered for concurrent engineering of small satellite missions; so far, it has been used successfully on the Aeolus MDC study. Atlas O365 will facilitate the design and assessment of Small Satellite Missions at low Concept Maturity Level at Ames. Feasibility assessments on mission concepts still at a low CML permit strategic planning and decision-making efforts at the center level about which concepts should be pursued and proposed.

concurrent engineering↗

Aircraft Engine Particle Emissions during the 2023 NASA-Boeing ecoDemonstrator Field Measurements

Aerosol aircraft emissions are responsible for the formation of contrail cirrus clouds which can alter Earth’s radiation and water budgets exerting substantial effects on climate. However, at present, the impact of aviation on climate forcing remaining uncertain. Recently, NASA has collaborated with Boeing ecoDemonstrator program to improve the understanding of air traffic emissions and the impact of different jet fuel compositions on contrail microphysics. As part of the program, in October 2023 the NASA DC-8 aircraft was used to sample engine exhausts emitted by a Boeing ecoDemonstrator Explorer 737-10 burning sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and conventional jet fuel over the north western US. In this study, we present unique observations of aerosols properties relevant for contrail-cirrus cloud formation collected during the 2023 ecoDemonstrator research flights and we will discuss the variations of key microphysical contrail parameters in function of different jet fuel compositions and engine conditions.

Francesca Gallo↗

NASA's new university engineering space research programs

The objective of a newly emerging element of NASA's university engineering programs is to provide a more autonomous element that will enhance and broaden the capabilities in academia, enabling them to participate more effectively in the U.S. civil space program. The programs utilize technical monitors at NASA centers to foster collaborative arrangements, exchange of personnel, and the sharing of facilities between NASA and the universities. The elements include: the university advanced space design program, which funds advanced systems study courses at the senior and graduate levels; the university space engineering research program that supports cross-disciplinary research centers; the outreach flight experiments program that offers engineering research opportunities to universities; and the planned university investigator's research program to provide grants to individuals with outstanding credentials.

Sadin, Stanley R.↗

Thinking Inside the Box: A Hands-On Student Activity for Building a Contamination Containment Glovebox to Encourage Problem Solving in a Collaborative Environment

Contamination containment gloveboxes are sealed containers where operators outside the glovebox can safely manipulate hazardous or contamination-sensitive materials inside the glovebox through glove ports on the container. Containment gloveboxes are used in the space industry to study sample materials returned from space such as lunar, asteroid, and comet materials, to manufacture sensitive instruments and space ight hardware, and to perform contamination-sensitive experiments. A hands-on activity has been developed by contamination control engineer and STEM education experts as part of the Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) summer academy program to teach high school students about gloveboxes and about problem solving in a collaborative environment. In this activity, student teams are given a list of common household materials (e.g. plastic bags, plastic straws, aluminum foil, tape, disposable gloves, etc.) for building their own glovebox. Students work together to sketch and design their glovebox before being provided a kit of materials, which they must purchase along with any extra materials with a mock team budget. They are given 30 minutes to build their glovebox, however, they do not know what will be placed inside the glovebox or what operations they will need to perform within the glovebox. At the end of the build time, teams are given a small, sealed paper envelope which they place in the glovebox. Each team selects a team member to be designated as the operator, and the operator places their hands in the gloves of the glovebox. The operator uses their gloves to open the envelope in the glovebox, and they discover they have 20 minutes to assemble a jigsaw puzzle. However, the puzzle is \contaminated" with talcum powder. After the 20 minute time period, teams are judged on how well they completed and cleaned the contaminated puzzle. In a post-activity debrief, teams discuss lessons learned such as how the actual built box di ered from the sketched design, the challenge of managing a budget for materials, how the team dealt with surprises, and if their glovebox allowed enough room for the operator to perform the task. This activity has been part of the VESSS summer academy since 2016, and teaches students teamwork, creativity, hands-on experimentation, communication, and reasoning skills. In a demonstration at IAC, a volunteer from the audience will be chosen to assemble a glovebox during the presentation using the same kit of materials and will demonstrate handling puzzle pieces in the completed glovebox.

Elaine Seasly↗

Merging Intelligent Systems Technologies with CFD Analysis Strategies: Prototype Development at NASA Ames

A collaborative team of researchers from fields of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), fluid physics, computer architectures, and computer science and knowledge engineering have begun work on a prototype system that addresses several of industry's concerns in using NASA-developed CFD codes as part of the design cycle. A major problem exists in the application of CFD technologies within the aeronautics design cycle due primarily to misunderstandings in the ranges of applicability of the various solver codes or turbulence models. Features that arise during the CFD solution process need to be discriminated and recognized as actual flow features with physical support in the geometry and flow conditions of the problem being solved, or as numerical or non-physical errors arising from mis-application of solver code and its parameters, gridding strategies, or discretization. interpolations. The fundamental concept is to develop an intelligent computational system that can accept the engineer's definition of the problem and construct an optimal CFD solution. To do this requires capturing both the knowledge of how to apply the various CFD tools and how to adapt the application of those tools to flow structures as they evolve during the flow simulation. Embedded within this adaptive system approach is the additional desire to automatically identify and quantify the quality of resolution of the pertinent flow structures, be they genuine or error-induced, and then to adjust the solution strategy accordingly. This paper discusses the status of that prototyping effort.

Thompson, David E.↗

NASA's Participation in the National Computational Grid

Over the last several years it has become evident that the character of NASA's supercomputing needs has changed. One of the major missions of the agency is to support the design and manufacture of aero- and space-vehicles with technologies that will significantly reduce their cost. It is becoming clear that improvements in the process of aerospace design and manufacturing will require a high performance information infrastructure that allows geographically dispersed teams to draw upon resources that are broader than traditional supercomputing. A computational grid draws together our information resources into one system. We can foresee the time when a Grid will allow engineers and scientists to use the tools of supercomputers, databases and on line experimental devices in a virtual environment to collaborate with distant colleagues. The concept of a computational grid has been spoken of for many years, but several events in recent times are conspiring to allow us to actually build one. In late 1997 the National Science Foundation initiated the Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (PACI) which is built around the idea of distributed high performance computing. The Alliance lead, by the National Computational Science Alliance (NCSA), and the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI), lead by the San Diego Supercomputing Center, have been instrumental in drawing together the "Grid Community" to identify the technology bottlenecks and propose a research agenda to address them. During the same period NASA has begun to reformulate parts of two major high performance computing research programs to concentrate on distributed high performance computing and has banded together with the PACI centers to address the research agenda in common.

Feiereisen, William J.↗

NASA-OAI Collaborative Aerospace Research and Fellowship Program

During the summer of 2003, a IO-week activity for university faculty entitled the NASA-OAI Collaborative Aerospace Research and Fellowship Program (CFP) was conducted at the NASA Glenn Research Center in collaboration with the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI). The objectives of CFP are: (1) to further the professional knowledge of qualified engineering and science faculty, (2) to stimulate an exchange of ideas between teaching participants and employees of NASA, (3) to enrich and refresh the research and teaching activities of participants' institutions, and (4) to contribute to the research objectives of Glenn. This report is intended primarily to summarize the research activities comprising the 2003 CFP Program at Glenn.

Heyward, Ann O.↗

TIGER Burned Brightly in JAMIC

The Transition From Ignition to Flame Growth Under External Radiation in 3D (TIGER- 3D) experiment, which is slated to fly aboard the International Space Station, conducted a series of highly successful tests in collaboration with the University of Hokkaido using Japan's 10-sec JAMIC drop tower. The tests were conducted to test engineering versions of advanced flight diagnostics such as an infrared camera for detailed surface temperature measurements and an infrared spectroscopic array for gas-phase species concentrations and temperatures based on detailed spectral emissions in the near infrared. Shown in the top figure is a visible light image and in the bottom figure is an infrared image at 3.8 mm obtained during the microgravity tests. The images show flames burning across cellulose samples against a slow wind of a few centimeters per second (wind is from right to left). These flow velocities are typical of spacecraft ventilation systems that provide fresh air for the astronauts. The samples are ignited across the center with a hot wire, and the flame is allowed to spread upwind and/or downwind. As these images show, the flames prefer to spread upwind, into the fresh air, which is the exact opposite of flames on Earth, which spread much faster downwind, or with the airflow, as in forest fires.

Olson, Sandra L.↗

Voluntary Consensus Organization Standards for Nondestructive Evaluation of Thin-Walled Metallic Liners and Composite Overwraps in Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels

NASA fracture control requirements outlined in NASA-STD-5009 and NASA-STD-5014 are predicated on the availability and use of sensitive nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods that can detect and monitor defects, thereby providing data that can be used to predict failure or reduce the risk of failure in fracture critical components. However, in the case of composite materials and components, including composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), the effect of defects is poorly understood, the NDE methods used to evaluate locate and size defects are typically at lower technical readiness level than analogous NDE methods used for metals, and demonstration studies to verify the probability of detection (POD) are generally lacking or unavailable. These factors together make failure prediction of fracture critical composite materials and components based on size, quantity, or orientation of defects nearly impossible. Also, when inspecting metal liners in as-manufactured COPVs, sensitivity is lost and only the inner surface of the liner is accessible. Also, NDE of COPVs as applied during manufacturing varies significantly from manufacturer to manufacturer and has not yet been standardized. Although requirements exist to perform NDE immediately after manufacturing to establish initial integrity of the parts, procedural detail for NDE of composites is still nonexistent or under development. For example, in practice, only a visual inspection of COPVs is performed during manufacturing and service, leaving in question whether defects of concern, for example, bridging, overwrap winding anomalies, impact damage below visible threshold, out-of-family strain growth, and liner buckling have been adequately detected and monitored. To address these shortcomings, in 2005 the NASA Nondestructive Evaluation Working Group (NNWG) began funding work to develop and adopt standards for nondestructive evaluation of aerospace composites in collaboration with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee E07 on Nondestructive Testing. Similarly, in 2006 the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) recommended that nondestructive evaluation methods that can predict composite failure in COPVs should be developed and verified, and integrated into the damage control plan for these vessels

Waller, Jess↗

An Overview of 2014 SBIR Phase I and Phase II Materials Structures for Extreme Environments

NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focuses on technological innovation by investing in development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA mission directorates address critical research needs for Agency programs. This report highlights nine of the innovative SBIR 2014 Phase I and Phase II projects that emphasize one of NASA Glenn Research Center's six core competencies-Materials and Structures for Extreme Environments. The technologies cover a wide spectrum of applications such as high temperature environmental barrier coating systems, deployable space structures, solid oxide fuel cells, and self-lubricating hard coatings for extreme temperatures. Each featured technology describes an innovation, technical objective, and highlights NASA commercial and industrial applications. This report provides an opportunity for NASA engineers, researchers, and program managers to learn how NASA SBIR technologies could help their programs and projects, and lead to collaborations and partnerships between the small SBIR companies and NASA that would benefit both.

barrier coating system; deployable space structure↗

An Overview of 2014 SBIR Phase 1 and Phase 2 Air-Breathing Propulsion

NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focuses on technological innovation by investing in development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA mission directorates address critical research needs for Agency programs. This report highlights nine of the innovative SBIR 2014 Phase I and Phase II projects that emphasize one of NASA Glenn Research Center's six core competencies-Air-Breathing Propulsion. The technologies cover a wide spectrum of applications such as development of X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging method for the measurement of complex 3D ice shapes, phased array techniques for low signal-to-noise ratio wind tunnels, compact kinetic mechanisms for petroleum-derived and alternative aviation fuels, and hybrid electric propulsion systems for a multirotor aircraft. Each featured technology describes an innovation, technical objective, and highlights NASA commercial and industrial applications. This report provides as an opportunity for NASA engineers, researchers, and program managers to learn how NASA SBIR technologies could help their programs and projects, and lead to collaborations and partnerships between the small SBIR companies and NASA that would benefit both.

phased array technique for wind tunnels↗

An Overview of 2014 SBIR Phase 1 and Phase 2 Communications Technology and Development

NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focuses on technological innovation by investing in development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA mission directorates address critical research needs for Agency programs. This report highlights eight of the innovative SBIR 2014 Phase I and Phase II projects that emphasize one of NASA Glenn Research Center's six core competencies-Communication Technology and Development. The technologies cover a wide spectrum of applications such as X-ray navigation, microsensor instrument for unmanned aerial vehicle airborne atmospheric measurements, 16-element graphene-based phased array antenna system, interferometric star tracker, ultralow power fast-response sensor, and integrated spacecraft navigation and communication. Each featured technology describes an innovation, technical objective, and highlights NASA commercial and industrial applications. This report provides an opportunity for NASA engineers, researchers, and program managers to learn how NASA SBIR technologies could help their programs and projects, and lead to collaborations and partnerships between the small SBIR companies and NASA that would benefit both.

ultralow power fast-response sensor↗

An Overview of Power, Energy Storage, and Conversion Efforts for 2014 SBIR Phases I and II

Technological innovation is the overall focus of NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The program invests in the development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA's mission directorates address critical research and development needs for agency projects. NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focuses on technological innovation by investing in development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA mission directorates address critical research needs for Agency programs. This report highlights 15 of the innovative SBIR 2014 Phase I and II projects that focus on one of NASA Glenn Research Center's six core competencies-Power, Energy Storage and Conversion. The technologies cover a wide spectrum of applications such as high-radiation-tolerant ceramic voltage isolators, development of hermetic sealing glasses for solid oxide fuel cells, rechargeable lithium metal cells, high-efficiency direct methane solid oxide fuel cell systems, Li metal protection for high-energy space batteries, isolated bidirectional direct current converters for distributed battery energy applications, and high-efficiency rad-hard ultrathin Si photovoltaic cell technology for space. Each article describes an innovation and technical objective and highlights NASA commercial and industrial applications. This report provides an opportunity for NASA engineers, researchers, and program managers to learn how NASA SBIR technologies could help their programs and projects, and lead to collaborations and partnerships between the small SBIR companies and NASA that would benefit both.

flywheels↗

An Overview of Air-Breathing Propulsion Efforts for 2015 SBIR Phase I

NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program focuses on technological innovation by investing in development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA mission directorates address critical research needs for Agency programs. This report highlights 24 of the innovative SBIR 2015 Phase I projects that emphasize one of NASA Glenn Research Center's six core competencies-Air-Breathing Propulsion. The technologies cover a wide spectrum of applications such as hybrid nanocomposites for efficient aerospace structures; plasma flow control for drag reduction; physics-based aeroanalysis methods for open rotor conceptual designs; vertical lift by series hybrid power; fast pressure-sensitive paint systems for production wind tunnel testing; rugged, compact, and inexpensive airborne fiber sensor interrogators based on monolithic tunable lasers; and high sensitivity semiconductor sensor skins for multi-axis surface pressure characterization. Each featured technology describes an innovation and technical objective and highlights NASA commercial and industrial applications. This report provides an opportunity for NASA engineers, researchers, and program managers to learn how NASA SBIR technologies could help their programs and projects, and lead to collaborations and partnerships between the small SBIR companies and NASA that would benefit both.

aerospace structures↗

An Overview of Materials Structures for Extreme Environments Efforts for 2015 SBIR Phases I and II

Technological innovation is the overall focus of NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The program invests in the development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA's mission directorates address critical research and development needs for Agency projects. This report highlights innovative SBIR 2015 Phase I and II projects that specifically address areas in Materials and Structures for Extreme Environments, one of six core competencies at NASA Glenn Research Center. Each article describes an innovation, defines its technical objective, and highlights NASA applications as well as commercial and industrial applications. Ten technologies are featured: metamaterials-inspired aerospace structures, metallic joining to advanced ceramic composites, multifunctional polyolefin matrix composite structures, integrated reacting fluid dynamics and predictive materials degradation models for propulsion system conditions, lightweight inflatable structural airlock (LISA), copolymer materials for fused deposition modeling 3-D printing of nonstandard plastics, Type II strained layer superlattice materials development for space-based focal plane array applications, hydrogenous polymer-regolith composites for radiation-shielding materials, a ceramic matrix composite environmental barrier coating durability model, and advanced composite truss printing for large solar array structures. This report serves as an opportunity for NASA engineers, researchers, program managers, and other personnel to learn about innovations in this technology area as well as possibilities for collaboration with innovative small businesses that could benefit NASA programs and projects.

integrated reacting fluid dynamics and predictive ↗

Ice Crystal Icing Physics Study using a NACA 0012 Airfoil at the National Research Council of Canada's Research Altitude Test Facility

This paper presents results from a study of the fundamental physics of ice-crystal ice accretion using a NACA 0012 airfoil at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Research Altitude Test Facility in August 2017. These tests were a continuation of work which began in 2010 as part of a joint collaboration between NASA and NRC. The research seeks to generate icing conditions representative of those that occur inside a jet engine when ingesting ice crystals. In this test, an airfoil was exposed to mixed-phase icing conditions and the resulting ice accretions were recorded and analyzed. This paper details the specific objectives, procedures, and measurements which included the aero-thermal and cloud measurements. The objectives were built upon observations and hypothesis generated from several previous test campaigns regarding mixed-phase ice-crystal icing. The specific objectives included (A) ice accretions under different wet-bulb temperatures, (B) investigations of steady-state ice shapes previously reported in the literature, (C) total water content variations in search of a threshold for accretion, and (D) probe characterization related to measuring melt fraction which is important to characterize the mixed-phase condition. The resulting ice accretions and conditions leading to such accretions are intended to help extend NASA’s predictive ice-accretion codes to include conditions occurring in engine ice-crystal icing.

Icing↗