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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Reliability Test of the Actively Tunable Filter

The middle-wavelength infrared (MWIR) waveband is considered the “spectral fingerprint”for many chemical species. MWIR: 3 –10 μm wavelength range. MWIR imaging devices are important for multispectral imaging, thermography, chemical spectroscopy, surveillance, automotive safety, and astronomy. Tunable optical properties are desired to increase the amount of information that is detectable. Ge2Sb2Te5(GST) is a chalcogenide phase change material (PCM) that has the potential to be used as a compact, solid-state, fast-switching tunable optical filter.

Tunable filter↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Reliability Growth Modeling and Testing

Reliability growth has been modelled as an exponential decline in the cumulative failure rate that continues indefinitely as long as testing continues. Contrary to this, most reliability growth data show a brief high initial failure rate due to infant mortality followed by a long period of constant low failure rate. A two part failure rate model with an initial exponential decline followed by a constant failure rate usually fits the data and provides a more realistic description of reliability growth. The reliability growth process consists of testing, experiencing failures, finding the failure causes, and redesigning the system to remove them. The cost of reliability growth increases with the number of inherent failure modes and the time needed for them to occur and be removed. The failure modes with the lower failure rates will tend to occur later, as their Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) is the inverse of the failure rate. Reliability growth testing has diminishing returns, since it takes longer to find and remove the less probable failures.This paper first discusses the reliability bathtub curve and then explains that reliability growth is produced by testing, identifying failure causes, and designing to remove them. A simple model of reliability growth is introduced, with a brief group of early failures followed by a constant failure rate. The cumulative failure rate n(t)/t can decline as rapidly as1/t or t-1butdeclines more slowly if additiona lfailures occur. The 56-failure Crow data seti s used to demonstrate the two-phase model of reliability growth followed by a constant failure rate. 13 additional data sets are modeled, with 9 of the 14 data sets showing reliability growth approximately as n(t)/t =1/t or t-1and substantial final failure rates. The model fits most of the data sets, but 4of the 14 show no reliability growth. The reliability growth period typically includes six failures and extends one-quarter or half the total test time. As reliability growth testing continues, the cumulative failure rate should be tracked to estimate the reliability growth exponent and the final failure rate.

reliability growth modeling↗
NASA NTRS2015

Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) Technology Maturation

The Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) development effort was initiated by NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) with contractor Sunpower Inc. to develop high efficiency thermal-to-electric power conversion technology for NASA Radioisotope Power Systems. Early successful performance demonstrations led to the expansion of the project as well as adoption of the technology by the Department of Energy (DOE) and system integration contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company as part of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) flight project. The ASRG integrates a pair of ASCs to convert the heat from a pair of General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules into electrical power. The expanded NASA ASC effort included development of several generations of ASC prototypes or Engineering Units to help prepare the ASC technology and Sunpower for flight implementation. Sunpower later had two parallel contracts allowing the last of the NASA Engineering Units called ASC-E3 to serve as pathfinders for the ASC-F flight convertors being built for DOE. The ASC-E3 convertors utilized the ASC-F flight specifications and were built using the ASC-F design and process documentation. Shortly after the first ASC-F Pair achieved initial operation, due to budget constraints, the DOE ASRG flight development contract was terminated. NASA continues to invest in the development of Stirling RPS technology including continued production of the ASC-E3 convertors, seven of which have been delivered with one additional unit in production. Starting in FY2015, Stirling Convertor Technology Maturation has been reorganized as an element of the RPS Stirling Cycle Technology Development (SCTD) Project and long-term plans for continued Stirling technology advancement are in reformulation. This paper provides a status on the ASC project, an overview of advancements made in the design and production of the ASC at Sunpower, and a summary of acceptance tests, reliability tests, and tactical tests at NASA GRC that demonstrate the capabilities of the ASC.

radioisotope↗
NASA NTRS2016

Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) Technology Maturation

The Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) development effort was initiated by NASA Glenn Research Center with contractor Sunpower, Inc., to develop high-efficiency thermal-to-electric power conversion technology for NASA Radioisotope Power Systems (RPSs). Early successful performance demonstrations led to the expansion of the project as well as adoption of the technology by the Department of Energy (DOE) and system integration contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company as part of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) flight project. The ASRG integrates a pair of ASCs to convert the heat from a pair of General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) modules into electrical power. The expanded NASA ASC effort included development of several generations of ASC prototypes or engineering units to help prepare the ASC technology and Sunpower for flight implementation. Sunpower later had two parallel contracts allowing the last of the NASA engineering units called ASC-E3 to serve as pathfinders for the ASC-F flight convertors being built for DOE. The ASC-E3 convertors utilized the ASC-F flight specifications and were built using the ASC-F design and process documentation. Shortly after the first ASC-F pair achieved initial operation, due to budget constraints, the DOE ASRG flight development contract was terminated. NASA continues to invest in the development of Stirling RPS technology including continued production of the ASC-E3 convertors, seven of which have been delivered with one additional unit in production. Starting in fiscal year 2015, Stirling Convertor Technology Maturation has been reorganized as an element of the RPS Stirling Cycle Technology Development (SCTD) Project and long-term plans for continued Stirling technology advancement are in reformulation. This paper provides a status on the ASC project, an overview of advancements made in the design and production of the ASC at Sunpower, and a summary of acceptance tests, reliability tests, and tactical tests at NASA Glenn that demonstrate the capabilities of the ASC.

Stirling cycle↗
DOE OSTI2025

Test–retest reliability for a social discounting of personal information task

Increasing cybercrime rates means identifying potential victims is critically important. Social discounting tasks show that individuals share less personally identifying information as social distance increases. However, the test–retest reliability and uniqueness of this measure is unclear. The current study assessed social discounting for personally identifying information (SDPII), delay discounting, risk taking, and personality at two measurement waves 30 days apart for 64 undergraduate students. Test–retest reliability was statistically significant for the SDPII and all other measures, replicating previous studies. SDPII rates were not significantly correlated with other measures during both measurement waves, showing discriminant validity. SDPII rates were lower than those reported in a previous study but were still well described by a hyperbolic discounting function, suggesting replicability across studies. Furthermore, the high test–retest reliability, uniqueness, and replicability of the SDPII suggests that it may quantitatively identify cybercrime victimization. Future research should test which measure or combination of measures can accurately predict scam and cybercrime victimization to inform data-based interventions.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
NASA NTRS1987

Reliability of provocative tests of motion sickness susceptibility

Test-retest reliability values were derived from motion sickness susceptibility scores obtained from two successive exposures to each of three tests: (1) Coriolis sickness sensitivity test; (2) staircase velocity movement test; and (3) parabolic flight static chair test. The reliability of the three tests ranged from 0.70 to 0.88. Normalizing values from predictors with skewed distributions improved the reliability.

Calkins, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Isokinetic Strength and Endurance Tests used Pre- and Post-Spaceflight: Test-Retest Reliability

To assess changes in muscular strength and endurance after microgravity exposure, NASA measures isokinetic strength and endurance across multiple sessions before and after long-duration space flight. Accurate interpretation of pre- and post-flight measures depends upon the reliability of each measure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the NASA International Space Station (ISS) isokinetic protocol. Twenty-four healthy subjects (12 M/12 F, 32.0 +/- 5.6 years) volunteered to participate. Isokinetic knee, ankle, and trunk flexion and extension strength as well as endurance of the knee flexors and extensors were measured using a Cybex NORM isokinetic dynamometer. The first weekly session was considered a familiarization session. Data were collected and analyzed for weeks 2-4. Repeated measures analysis of variance (alpha=0.05) was used to identify weekly differences in isokinetic measures. Test-retest reliability was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) (3,1). No significant differences were found between weeks in any of the strength measures and the reliability of the strength measures were all considered excellent (ICC greater than 0.9), except for concentric ankle dorsi-flexion (ICC=0.67). Although a significant difference was noted in weekly endurance measures of knee extension (p less than 0.01), the reliability of endurance measure by week were considered excellent for knee flexion (ICC=0.97) and knee extension (ICC=0.96). Except for concentric ankle dorsi-flexion, the isokinetic strength and endurance measures are highly reliable when following the NASA ISS protocol. This protocol should allow accurate interpretation isokinetic data even with a small number of crew members.

Laughlin, Mitzi S.↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA-DoD Lower Process Temperature Lead-Free Solder Project Overview

This project is a follow-on effort to the Joint Council on Aging AircraftJoint Group on Pollution Prevention (JCAAJG-PP) Pb-free Solder Project and NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project which were the first projects to test the reliability of Pb-free solder joints against the requirements of the aerospace and military community. This effort would continue to build on the results from the JCAAJG-PP Lead-Free Solder Project and NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project while focusing on a particular failure mechanism currently plaguing Pb-free assemblies, pad cratering.The NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project confirmed that pad cratering is one of the dominant failure modes that occur in various board level reliability tests, especially under dynamic loading. Pad Cratering is a latent defect that may occur during assembly, rework, and post assembly handling and testing.

electronics↗
NASA NTRS2021

Acceleration Factors for Reliability Assessment of Polymer Tantalum Capacitors

Using polymer tantalum capacitors in Hi-Rel systems requires an assessment of the reliability characteristics of the parts. For this assessment, tantalum capacitors are typically subjected to reliability testing at temperatures and voltages exceeding their specified values, and the failure rate (FR) — or the probability of failure during use conditions — is calculated based on voltage and temperature acceleration factors. In this work, various types and lots of polymer tantalum capacitors have been tested at highly accelerated life test (HALT) conditions and the acceleration factors have been determined using different techniques. It has been shown that the behavior of capacitors under HALT conditions can be described based on the time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) model, which explains the presence of infant mortality (IM) and wear-out failures using the same failure mechanisms and allows for an assessment of the acceleration factors. The difference in acceleration factors obtained using exponential and power models is discussed. Analysis shows that with proper derating, screening, and qualification testing, the reliability of frameless Hi-Rel COTS polymer tantalum capacitors is adequate for space missions.

Alex Eidelman↗
NASA NTRS2021

Acceleration Factors for Reliability Assessment of Polymer Tantalum Capacitors

Using polymer tantalum capacitors in Hi-Rel systems requires an assessment of the reliability characteristics of the parts. For this assessment, tantalum capacitors are typically subjected to reliability testing at temperatures and voltages exceeding their specified values, and the failure rate (FR) — or the probability of failure during use conditions — is calculated based on voltage and temperature acceleration factors. In this work, various types and lots of polymer tantalum capacitors have been tested at highly accelerated life test (HALT) conditions and the acceleration factors have been determined using different techniques. It has been shown that the behavior of capacitors under HALT conditions can be described based on the time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) model, which explains the presence of infant mortality (IM) and wear-out failures using the same failure mechanisms and allows for an assessment of the acceleration factors. The difference in acceleration factors obtained using exponential and power models is discussed. Analysis shows that with proper derating, screening, and qualification testing, the reliability of frameless Hi-Rel COTS polymer tantalum capacitors is adequate for space missions.

Alex Eidelman↗
NASA NTRS2022

Development of LISA Laser System at NASA

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is developing a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) laser transmitter for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. The laser transmitter is one of the potential contributions to the LISA mission from NASA. Our development effort has included a master oscillator (MO), a power amplifier (PA), a frequency reference system (FRS), a power monitor detector (PMON), and laser electronics module (LEM). We are working on their design, performance evaluation, environmental testing, and reliability testing for space flight. We have built TRL 4 laser optical modules based on the MO and PA, which meets most performance requirements. One of the TRL 4 laser optical modules has been delivered to ESA for independent evaluation. TRL 6 versions of MO and PA are being built and evaluated at GSFC. TRL 5 and 6 versions of laser electronics are under development. In this paper, we will describe our progress to date and plans to demonstrate and deliver a TRL 6 laser demonstrator system to ESA by 2024.

LISA, Space Lasers↗
NASA NTRS2000

Test-retest reliability of cognitive EEG

OBJECTIVE: Task-related EEG is sensitive to changes in cognitive state produced by increased task difficulty and by transient impairment. If task-related EEG has high test-retest reliability, it could be used as part of a clinical test to assess changes in cognitive function. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of the EEG recorded during the performance of a working memory (WM) task and a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). METHODS: EEG was recorded while subjects rested quietly and while they performed the tasks. Within session (test-retest interval of approximately 1 h) and between session (test-retest interval of approximately 7 days) reliability was calculated for four EEG components: frontal midline theta at Fz, posterior theta at Pz, and slow and fast alpha at Pz. RESULTS: Task-related EEG was highly reliable within and between sessions (r0.9 for all components in WM task, and r0.8 for all components in the PVT). Resting EEG also showed high reliability, although the magnitude of the correlation was somewhat smaller than that of the task-related EEG (r0.7 for all 4 components). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that under appropriate conditions, task-related EEG has sufficient retest reliability for use in assessing clinical changes in cognitive status.

Non-NASA Center↗
DOE OSTI2026

Secure Time Synchronization in Power Grids and Network HIL Synchrophasor Testing

Reliable and secure time synchronization underpins the monitoring and control functions of modern power grids. As GPS-based timing infrastructures grow more susceptible to spoofing and jamming, their vulnerabilities pose escalating risks to grid stability. This work investigates a secure, resilient timing framework that can serve as an alternative or redundant source for power grids, with a particular focus on synchrophasorbased applications. A candidate timing system architecture is evaluated to guarantee trustworthy time dissemination, even in degraded conditions. A network hardware-in-the-loop testing of two synchrophasors validates the concepts, demonstrating enhanced timing integrity, improved detection of timing anomalies, and sustained observability during adverse timing events.

Wu, Ori [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000326723410)↗
NASA NTRS1987

Statistical Tests of Reliability of NDE

Capabilities of advanced material-testing techniques analyzed. Collection of four reports illustrates statistical method for characterizing flaw-detecting capabilities of sophisticated nondestructive evaluation (NDE). Method used to determine reliability of several state-of-the-art NDE techniques for detecting failure-causing flaws in advanced ceramic materials considered for use in automobiles, airplanes, and space vehicles.

Baaklini, George Y.↗