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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 NTRS2010

Phenylethynyl Terminated Imide (PETI) Composites Made by High Temperature Vartm

The use of composites as primary structures on aerospace vehicles has increased dramatically over the past decade. As these advanced structures increase in size and complexity, their production costs have grown significantly. A major contributor to these manufacturing costs is the requirement of elevated pressures, during high temperature processing, to create fully consolidated composite parts. Recently, NASA Langley has licensed a series of low viscosity Phenyl Ethynyl Terminated Imide, PETI, oligomers that possess a wide processing window to allow for Resin Transfer Molding, RTM, processing. These resins, PETI-8 and PETI-330, demonstrate void fractions of approx.1% under elevated pressure consolidation. However, when used with a standardized thermal curing cycle in a High Temperature Vacuum Assisted RTM (HT-VARTM) process, they display undesirable void contents in excess of 7%. It was determined previously that under the thermal cycles used for laminate fabrication, the phenylethynyl endcap underwent degradation leading to volatile evolution. Modifications to the processing cycle used in the laminate fabrication have reduced the void content significantly (typically less than 3%) for carbon fiber biaxially woven fabric. For carbon fiber uniaxial fabric, void contents of less than 2% have been obtained using both PETI-8 and PETI-330. The resins were infused into carbon fiber preforms at 260 C and cured between 316 C and 371 C. Photomicrographs of the panels were taken and void contents were determined by acid digestion. Mechanical properties of the panels were determined at both room and elevated temperatures. These include short beam shear and flexure tests. The results of this work are presented herein.

Ghose, Sayata↗
NASA NTRS2019

Impact of Facility Pressure on the Wear of the NASA HERMeS Hall Thruster

This work presents an overview and summary of the results acquired during the final segment of the TDU-3 Long Duration Wear Test, which was completed in October 2018. The overall goal of this segment was to quantify the impact of facility pressure on the wear of the Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding Technology Demonstration Unit Three (TDU-3) Hall thruster. This was accomplished by operating TDU-3 for approximately 270 hours at the nominal 600 V/12.5 kW operating condition while a bleed or auxiliary flow of xenon propellant was injected into the vacuum facility in order to raise the operating pressure to match that of another test facility in which previous wear segments had been performed. The performance, plume, stability, and wear results acquired at this elevated pressure (11.7 µTorr) are compared with equivalent data taken at the nominal operating pressure (4.2 µTorr) in the same facility as well at the elevated operating pressure in the other facility. Implications of these results for acquiring facility-independent service life estimates are discussed.

Frieman, Jason D.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Oxygen and nitrogen raman spectra

Engineering design computer program that calculates rotational Raman spectrum of either nitrogen or oxygen can be used to increase performance of gas-turbine engines by predicting extent of pressure broadening associated with temperature measurements at elevated pressure.

Fralick, G. C.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Generation of High Pressure Oxygen via Electrochemical Pumping in a Multi-stage Electrolysis Stack

An oxygen pump can produce high-purity high-pressure oxygen. Oxygen ions (O.sup.2-) are electrochemically pumped through a multi-stage electrolysis stack of cells. Each cell includes an oxygen-ion conducting solid-state electrolyte between cathode and anode sides. Oxygen dissociates into the ions at the cathode side. The ions migrate across the electrolyte and recombine at the anode side. An insulator is between adjacent cells to electrically isolate each individual cell. Each cell receives a similar volt potential. Recombined oxygen from a previous stage can diffuse through the insulator to reach the cathode side of the next stage. Each successive stage similarly incrementally pressurizes the oxygen to produce a final elevated pressure.

Setlock, John A↗
NASA NTRS2017

Generation of High Pressure Oxygen via Electrochemical Pumping in a Multi-Stage Electrolysis Stack

An oxygen pump can produce high-purity high-pressure oxygen. Oxygen ions (O(2-)) are electrochemically pumped through a multi-stage electrolysis stack of cells. Each cell includes an oxygen-ion conducting solid-state electrolyte between cathode and anode sides. Oxygen dissociates into the ions at the cathode side. The ions migrate across the electrolyte and recombine at the anode side. An insulator is between adjacent cells to electrically isolate each individual cell. Each cell receives a similar volt potential. Recombined oxygen from a previous stage can diffuse through the insulator to reach the cathode side of the next stage. Each successive stage similarly incrementally pressurizes the oxygen to produce a final elevated pressure.

Setlock, John A↗
NASA NTRS1973

Investigations of lubricant rheology as applied to elastohydrodynamic lubrication

The pressure viscometer was modified to permit the measurement of viscosity at elevated pressures and shear stresses up to 5 x 10 to the 6th power N/sq m (720 psi). This shear stress is within a factor of three of the shear stress occurring in a sliding ehd point contact such as occurs in the ehd simulator. Viscosity data were taken on five lubricant samples, and it was found that viscous heating effects on the viscosity were predominant and not non-Newtonian behavior at the high shear stresses. The development of the infrared temperature measuring technique for the ehd simulator was completed, and temperature data for a set of operating conditions and one lubricant are reported. The numerical analysis of the behavior of nonlinear lubricants in the lubrication of rollers is reported.

Carlson, S.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of Extractive and Optical PM Measurements from the NASA SE-5 High Pressure Flame Diagnostics Laboratory

Soot emissions measurements of multiphase non-premixed flames are sparse in the literature due to the complexities of sampling in such environments. We present an overview from on-going work at the NASA SE-5 High Pressure Flame Diagnostics laboratory focusing on soot and gaseous emissions at elevated pressures. SE-5 is a gaseous and liquid fueled high pressure flame tube facility capable of operating at pressures up to 880 psia, cooling capacity of 4,000,000 BTU/hr, liquid fuel flow rates up to 2 GPH, and an equivalence ratio range of 0.2 (fuel lean) to 4 (fuel rich). SE-5 provides optical access via four UV-grade fused silica optical windows of the primary reaction zone enabling non-intrusive optical diagnostics of the flame.

Soot↗
NASA NTRS2004

Nonlinear Oscillations and Flow of Gas Within Closed and Open Conical Resonators

A dissonant acoustic resonator with a conical shaped cavity was tested in four configurations: (A) baseline resonator with closed ends and no blockage; (B) closed resonator with internal blockage; (C) ventilated resonator with no blockage; and (D) ventilated resonator with an applied pressure differential. These tests were conducted to investigate the effects of blockage and ventilation holes on dynamic pressurization. Additionally, the investigation was to determine the ability of acoustic pressurization to impede flow through the resonator. In each of the configurations studied, the entire resonator was oscillated at the gas resonant frequency while dynamic pressure, static pressure, and temperature of the fluid were measured. In the final configuration, flow through the resonator was recorded for three oscillation conditions. Ambient condition air was used as the working fluid. The baseline results showed a marked reduction in the amplitude of the dynamic pressure waveforms over previously published studies due to the use of air instead of refrigerant as the working fluid. A change in the resonant frequency was recorded when blockages of differing geometries were used in the closed resonator, while acoustic pressure amplitudes were reduced from baseline measurements. A sharp reduction in the amplitude of the acoustic pressure waves was expected and recorded when ventilation ports were added. With elevated pressure applied to one end of the resonator, flow was reduced by oscillating the cavity at the fluid fundamental resonant frequency compared to cases without oscillation and oscillation off-resonance.

Daniels, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS1997

Response of High Subsonic Jet to Nonaxisymmetric Disturbances

A model of sound generated in a high subsonic (Mach 0.9) circular jet is solved numerically in cylindrical coordinates for nonaxisymmetric disturbances. The jet is excited by transient mass injection by a finite duration pulse via a modulated ring source. The nonaxisymmetric solution is computed for long times after the initial disturbance has exited the computational domain. The long time behavior of the jet is dominated by vorticity and pressure disturbances generated at the nozzle lip and growing as they convect down-stream in the jet. These disturbances generate sound as they propagate. The primary non-axisymmetric effect that we simulate is that of a flapping mode where regions of high and low pressure alternate on opposite sides of the jet. The predominant feature of this mode is the appearance of relatively large deviations of the pressure from the ambient pressure on opposite sides of the jet and the convection of these regions downstream. We illustrate flow field, near field and far field data. Important nonaxisymmetric characteristics of the near and flow field disturbances include roughly periodic pressure elevations and depressions at opposite values of the azimuthal angle psi. These correspond to pressure disturbances propagating in the axial direction. The azimuthal velocity exhibits a sinusoidal dependence on psi with similar roughly periodic disturbances. For every azimuthal angle psi, the jet radiation peaks about 30 deg. from the jet axis, however there is now a pronounced dependence of the far field radiation pattern on psi.

Bayliss, A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Pressure Effects on Combustion of Methanol and Methanol-Docecanol Droplets

The objective of this research is to improve understanding of the combustion of binary fuel mixtures in the vicinity of the critical point. Fiber-supported single droplets and two-droplet arrays of methanol and of mixtures of methanol and 1-dodecanol, initially 0.9 mm in diameter, were burned in room-temperature air at pressures from 0.1 MPa to 9.0 MPa in the NASA Lewis 2.2-second drop tower. The work is a continuation of a collaborative Japan-US research effort designed to increase knowledge of high-pressure combustion of fuel sprays, relevant to application in propulsive and power-production devices such as Diesel engines. Some previous publications from this cooperative program may be cited. All of the previous experiments concerned alkanes and alkane mixtures. The new research reported here addresses alcohols and alcohol mixtures, to ascertain the degree to which previous results for alkanes extend to alcohols. There have been many previous experimental studies of methanol droplet combustion and a few of alcohol mixtures, but not at the high pressures of interest here. There is some experimental information on methanol droplet combustion at elevated pressure but none on the alcohol mixtures extending to critical pressures, as in the present study.

Okai, K.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Chemical Vapor Deposition at High Pressure in a Microgravity Environment

In this paper we present an evaluation of critical requirements of organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD) at elevated pressure for a channel flow reactor in a microgravity environment. The objective of using high pressure is to maintain single-phase surface composition for materials that have high thermal decomposition pressure at their optimum growth temperature. Access to microgravity is needed to maintain conditions of laminar flow, which is essential for process analysis. Based on ground based observations we present an optimized reactor design for OMCVD at high pressure and reduced gravity. Also, we discuss non-intrusive real-time optical monitoring of flow dynamics coupled to homogeneous gas phase reactions, transport and surface processes. While suborbital flights may suffice for studies of initial stages of heteroepitaxy experiments in space are essential for a complete evaluation of steady-state growth.

McCall, Sonya↗
NASA NTRS1991

The magnesium sulfate-water system at pressures to 4 kilobars

Hydrated magnesium sulfate constitutes up to 1/6 of the mass of carbonaceous chondrites, and probably is important in many icy asteroids and satellites. It occurs naturally in meteorites mostly as epsomite. MgSO4, considered anhydrously, comprises nearly 3/4 of the highly soluble fraction of C1 chondrites. Thus, MgSO4 is probably an important solute in cryovolcanic brines erupted on certain icy objects in the outer solar system. While the physiochemical properties of the water-magnesium sulfate system are well known at low pressures, planetological applications of these data are hindered by a dearth of useful published data at elevated pressures. Accordingly, solid-liquid phase equilibria was recently explored in this chemical system at pressures extending to about 4 kilobars. The water magnesium sulfate system in the region of the eutectic exhibits qualitatively constant behavior between pressures of 1 atm and 2 kbar. The eutectic melting curve closely follows that for water ice, with a freezing point depression of about 4 K at 1 atm decreasing to around 3.3 K at 2 kbars. The eutectic shifts from 17 pct. MgSO4 at 1 atm to about 15.3 pct at 2 kbars. Above 2 kbars, the eutectic melting curve again tends to follow ice.

Hogenboom, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Valsalva maneuver: Insights into baroreflex modulation of human sympathetic activity

Valsalva's maneuver, voluntary forced expiration against a closed glottis, is a well-characterized research tool, used to assess the integrity of human autonomic cardiovascular control. Valsalva straining provokes a stereotyped succession of alternating positive and negative arterial pressure and heart rate changes mediated in part by arterial baroreceptors. Arterial pressure changes result primarily from fluctuating levels of venous return to the heart and changes of sympathetic nerve activity. Muscle sympathetic activity was measured directly in nine volunteers to explore quantitatively the relation between arterial pressure and human sympathetic outflow during pressure transients provoked by controlled graded Valsalva maneuvers. Our results underscore several properties of sympathetic regulation during Valsalva straining. First, muscle sympathetic nerve activity changes as a mirror image of changes in arterial pressure. Second, the magnitude of sympathetic augmentation during Valsalva straining predicts phase 4 arterial pressure elevations. Third, post-Valsalva sympathetic inhibition persists beyond the return of arterial and right atrial pressures to baseline levels which reflects an alteration of the normal relation between arterial pressure and muscle sympathetic activity. Therefore, Valsalva straining may have some utility for investigating changes of reflex control of sympathetic activity after space flight; however, measurement of beat-to-beat arterial pressure is essential for this use. The utility of this technique in microgravity can not be determined from these data. Further investigations are necessary to determine whether these relations are affected by the expansion of intrathoracic blood volume associated with microgravity.

Smith, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Smoldering, Transition and Flaming in Microgravity

A research project is underway to study smolder and the transition to flaming in microgravity. The Microgravity Smoldering Combustion (MSC) flight project is an ongoing research project to provide a better understanding of the controlling mechanisms of smoldering combustion. The Smoldering Transition and Flaming (STAF) project is a recently established research program that will utilize the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) of the ISS to examine the transition from smolder to flaming in microgravity. In forced flow smolder experiments ambient pressure in the MSC chamber rises, thus motivating the need to understand the effects of pressure on smoldering combustion. Further, the STAF experiment has constraints on experimental scale and testing at elevated pressure may be a mechanism to reduce the sample size by enhancing the smolder reaction. In the work we are reporting here, a series of ground-based tests determine the effects of pressure on smoldering combustion. These tests are compared with data obtained from experiments conducted aboard the Space Shuttle in flights STS-69 and STS-77. Measurements of one-dimensional smolder propagation velocity are made by thermocouple probing and a non-intrusive Ultrasound Imaging System (UIS)]. Thermocouples are also used to obtain reaction temperatures and the UIS is used to determine permeabilities of the fuel in real-time.

Fernandez-Pello, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS2006

A Computational and Experimental Investigation of Shear Coaxial Jet Atomization

The instability and subsequent atomization of a viscous liquid jet emanated into a high-pressure gaseous surrounding is studied both computationally and experimentally. Liquid water issued into nitrogen gas at elevated pressures is used to simulate the flow conditions in a coaxial shear injector element relevant to liquid propellant rocket engines. The theoretical analysis is based on a simplified mathematical formulation of the continuity and momentum equations in their conservative form. Numerical solutions of the governing equations subject to appropriate initial and boundary conditions are obtained via a robust finite difference scheme. The computations yield real-time evolution and subsequent breakup characteristics of the liquid jet. The experimental investigation utilizes a digital imaging technique to measure resultant drop sizes. Data were collected for liquid Reynolds number between 2,500 and 25,000, aerodynamic Weber number range of 50-500 and ambient gas pressures from 150 to 1200 psia. Comparison of the model predictions and experimental data for drop sizes at gas pressures of 150 and 300 psia reveal satisfactory agreement particularly for lower values of investigated Weber number. The present model is intended as a component of a practical tool to facilitate design and optimization of coaxial shear atomizers.

Ibrahim, Essam A.↗