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At least 55 records · Page 3

Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) Nuclear Ground Test Results and Lessons Learned

The Kilopower nuclear ground testing nicknamed KRUSTY (Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY) was completed at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS) on March 21, 2018. This full scale nuclear demonstration verified the Kilopower reactor neutronics during startup, steady state, and transient operations in a space simulated environment. This was the first space reactor test completed for fission power systems in over 50 years and marked a turning point in NASA's nuclear program. The completed reactor power system design incorporated flight prototypic materials and full scale components in an effort to study the reactor dynamics at full power and significantly reduce follow on risk of a future flight demonstration. This design provided a unique opportunity for the power system to simulate several expected and unexpected mission scenarios that allowed the designers to verify that the reactor dynamics could tolerate many worst case conditions regarding reactor stability and control. The dynamic changes imposed on the reactor validated the ability of the reactor to load follow the power conversion system and passively control the fuel temperature and overall system stability. With successful completion of the KRUSTY experiment, the NASA/DOE team will evaluate the lessons learned throughout the project and apply them towards a flight demonstration of a Kilopower reactor.

Gibson, Marc↗

Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) Nuclear Ground Test Results and Lessons Learned

The Kilopower nuclear ground testing nicknamed KRUSTY (Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY) was completed at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS) on March 21, 2018. This full scale nuclear demonstration verified the Kilopower reactor neutronics during startup, steady state, and transient operations in a space simulated environment. This was the first space reactor test completed for fission power systems in over 50 years and marked a turning point in NASA's nuclear program. The completed reactor power system design incorporated flight prototypic materials and full-scale components in an effort to study the reactor dynamics at full power and significantly reduce follow on risk of a future flight demonstration. This design provided a unique opportunity for the power system to simulate several nominal and off-nominal mission scenarios that allowed the designers to verify that the reactor dynamics could tolerate many worst case conditions regarding reactor stability and control. The dynamic changes imposed on the reactor validated the ability of the reactor to load follow the power conversion system and passively control the fuel temperature and overall system stability. With successful completion of the KRUSTY experiment, the NASA/DOE team will evaluate the lessons learned throughout the project and apply them towards a flight demonstration of a Kilopower reactor.

Gibson, Marc A.↗

STOL aircraft transient ground effects. Part 2: Experimental techniques feasibility study

Procedures for simulating transient effects associated with STOL aircraft landings and takeoffs were examined and a basis was developed for selection of an experimental approach based on consideration of simulation requirements, experimental techniques, facilities, and costs. The results are generally applicable to STOL aircraft employing any of the following powered lift systems: externally blown flap, upper surface blown flap, augmentor wing, or internally ducted jet flap. Scaling relationships were developed to apply the simulation requirements to model test situations. Procedures for the derivation of aerodynamic forces from the measured data were discussed. Various means of expressing the aerodynamic data in forms convenient for use in performance or stability and control applications were described. Five different experimental techniques were presented that depend on two different types of experimental facilities, wind tunnels and test tracks, and involving different types of model motion, and factors pertinent to selection were summarized.

Crowder, J. P.↗

HSCT inlet development issues

The purpose of this presentation is to highlight the issues affecting the development of engine air inlets for the HSCT. The Propulsion Airframe Integration Technology (PAIT) contract sponsored by NASA LeRC is an important element in the evolution of the propulsion system that will eventually power the HSCT. Most of the material presented here is based on work performed by The Boeing Company under Task 1 and 2 of PAIT. From the propulsion perspective, the premier technology issues associated with the HSCT are airport noise and high altitude emissions. The sources are the nozzle and combustor, respectively. For the inlet the most challenging issues are associated with integration. Among the issues are the following: integration with the main landing gear--protection from FOD and water and slush ingestion from the runway; integration with the engine--ensuring engine/inlet airflow matching, normal shock stability during engine airflow transients, and keeping total pressure distortion within acceptable limits; integration with the wing--minimizing nacelle/wing interference drag and inlet flowfield velocity distortion.

Koncsek, Joseph L.↗

Heat engine requirements for advanced solar thermal power systems

Requirements and constraints are established for power conversion subsystems, including heat engine, alternator and auxiliaries, of dish concentrator solar thermal power systems. In order to be competitive with conventional power systems, it is argued that the heat engine should be of less than 40 kW rated output, in a subsystem with an efficiency of at least 40% at rated output and at least 37% at half power. An interval between major overhauls of 50,000 hours is also desirable, along with minor maintenance and lubrication not more than four times a year requiring no more than one man-hour each time, and optimal reliability. Also found to be important are the capability for hybrid operation using heat from a solar receiver, fuel-fired combustor or both simultaneously, operation at any attitude, stability to transients in input power and output loading, operation at ambient temperatures from -30 to 50 C, and compatibility with environmental and safety requirements. Cost targets include a price of $180/kWe, and operation, maintenance and replacement costs averaging $0.001/kWh for 30 years of operation.

Jaffe, L. D.↗

Compressor Stall Recovery Through Tip Injection Assessed

Aerodynamic stability is a fundamental limit in the compressor design process. The development of robust techniques for increasing stability has several benefits: enabling higher loading and fewer blades, increasing safety throughout a mission, increasing tolerance to stage mismatch during part-speed operation and speed transients, and providing an opportunity to match stages at the compressor maximum efficiency point, thus reducing fuel burn. Mass injection upstream of the tip of a high-speed axial compressor rotor is a stability enhancement approach known to be effective in suppressing stall in tip-critical rotors if the injection is activated before stall occurs. This approach to stall suppression requires that a reliable stall warning system be available. Tests have recently been performed to assess whether steady injection can also be used to recover from fully developed stall. If mass injection is effective in recovering from stall quickly enough to avoid structural damage or loss of engine power, then a stall warning system may not be required. The stall recovery tests were performed on a transonic compressor rotor at its design tip speed of 1475 ft/sec using four injectors evenly spaced around the compressor case upstream of the rotor. The injectors were connected to an external air source. In an actual engine application, the injected air would be supplied with compressor bleed air. The injectors were isolated from the air source by a fast-acting butterfly valve. With the injectors turned off, the compressor was throttled into stall. Air injection was then activated with no change in throttle setting by opening the butterfly valve. The compressor recovered from stall at a fixed throttle setting with the aid of tip injection. The unsteady operating characteristic of the rotor was measured during these tests using high-response pressure sensors located upstream and downstream of the rotor. The figure shows the results, where the unsteady pressure and mass flow are superimposed on the steady operating characteristic. The total injected mass flow was equal to 1.3 percent of the compressor flow. The solid line with no solid squares on it denotes the operating point during the beginning of throttle closure and the initial drop into stall. The gray traces denote the operating point during an additional throttle closure that occurred over the next 1200 rotor revolutions (4 sec). The dashed line denotes the recovery from stall that occurred during 90 rotor revolutions (0.3 sec) after the injectors were activated with no change in throttle setting. Tip injection not only recovers the compressor from stall, but also restores the compressor to its pre-stall level of pressure rise. In contrast, standard stall recovery schemes such as compressor bleed, stator vane actuation, or engine throttle modulation result in a loss of pressure rise across the compressor, which results in a loss of engine power.

Suder, Ken L.↗

Load converter interactions with the secondary system in the Space Station Freedom power management and distribution DC test bed

The NASA LeRC in Cleveland, Ohio, is responsible for the design, development, and assembly of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Electrical Power System (EPS). In order to identify and understand system level issues during the SSF Program design and development phases, a system Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) DC test bed was assembled. Some of the objectives of this test bed facility are the evaluation of, system efficiency, power quality, system stability, and system protection and reconfiguration schemes. In order to provide a realistic operating scenario, dc Load Converter Units are used in the PMAD dc test bed to characterize the user interface with the power system. These units are dc to dc converters that provide the final system regulation before power is delivered to the load. This final regulation is required on the actual space station because the majority of user loads will require voltage levels different from the secondary bus voltage. This paper describes the testing of load converters in an end to end system environment (from solar array to loads) where their interactions and compatibility with other system components are considered. Some of the system effects of interest that are presented include load converters transient behavior interactions with protective current limiting switchgear, load converters ripple effects, and the effects of load converter constant power behavior with protective features such as foldback.

Lebron, Ramon C.↗

Load converter interactions with the secondary system in the Space Station Freedom power management and distribution dc test bed

The NASA LeRC in Cleveland, Ohio, is responsible for the design, development, and assembly of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Electrical Power System (EPS). In order to identify and understand system level issues during the SSF program design and development phases, a system Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) dc test bed was assembled. Some of the objectives of this test bed facility are the evaluation of, system efficiency, power quality, system stability, and system protection and reconfiguration schemes. In order to provide a realistic operating scenario, dc Load Converter Units are used in the PMAD dc test bed to characterize the user interface with the power system. These units are dc to dc converters that provide the final system regulation before power is delivered to the load. This final regulation is required on the actual space station because the majority of user loads will require voltage levels different from the secondary bus voltage. This paper describes the testing of load converters in an end to end system environment (from solar array to loads) where their interactions and compatibility with other system components are considered. Some of the system effects of interest that are presented include load converters transient behavior interactions with protective current limiting switchgear, load converters ripple effects, and the effects of load converter constant power behavior with protective features such as foldback.

Lebron, Ramon C.↗

Preliminary flight test results of the F100 EMD engine in an F-15 airplane

A flight evaluation of the F100 Engine Model Derivative (EMD) is conducted. The F100 EMD is an advanced version of the F100 engine that powers the F15 and F16 airplanes. The F100 EMD features a bigger fan, higher temperature turbine, a Digital Electronic Engine Control system (DEEC), and a newly designed 16 segment afterburner, all of which results in a 15 to 20 percent increase in sea level thrust. The flight evaluations consist of investigation of performance (thrust, fuel flow, and airflow) and operability (transient response and airstart) in the F-15 airplane. The performance of the F100 EMD is excellent. Aircraft acceleration time to Mach 2.0 is reduced by 23 percent with two F100 EMD engines. Several anomalies are discovered in the operability evaluations. A software change to the DEEC improved the throttle, and subsequent Cooper Harper ratings of 3 to 4 are obtained. In the extreme upper left hand corner of the flight enveloped, compressor stalls occurr when the throttle is retarded to idle power. These stalls are not predicted by altitude facility tests or stability for the compressor.

Myers, L. P.↗

An Experimental Study of the Operating Temperature in a Loop Heat Pipe with Two Evaporators and Two Condensers

This paper presents a comprehensive experimental study of the loop operating temperature in a loop heat pipe (LHP) which has two parallel evaporators and two parallel condensers. In a single evaporator LHP, it is well known that the loop operating temperature is a function of the heat load, the sink temperature and the ambient temperature. The objective of the present study emphasizes on the stability of the loop operating temperature and parameters that affects the loop operation. Tests results show that the loop operating temperature is a function of the total system heat load, sink temperature, ambient temperature, and beat load distribution between the two evaporators. Under most conditions, only one compensation chamber (CC) contains two-phase fluid and controls the loop operating temperature, and the other CC is completely filled with liquid. Moreover, as the test condition changes, control of the loop operating temperature often shifted from one CC to another. In spite of complex interactions between various components, the test loop has demonstrated very robust operation even during fast transients.

Ku, Jentung↗

Thermal Design and Analysis of the Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test Vehicle for the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Project

The thermal design and analysis of the experimental Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test (SFDT) vehicle is presented. The SFDT vehicle is currently being designed as a platform to help demonstrate key technologies for NASA's Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project. The LDSD project is charged by NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT) with the task of advancing the state of the art in Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems by developing and testing three new technologies required for landing heavier payloads on Mars. The enabling technologies under development consist of a large 33.5 meter diameter Supersonic Ringsail (SSRS) parachute and two different types of Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD) devices - a robotic class, SIAD-R, that inflates to a 6 meter diameter torus, and an exploration class, SIAD-E, that inflates to an 8 meter diameter isotensoid. As part of the technology development effort, the various elements of the new supersonic decelerator system must be tested in a Mars-like environment. This is currently planned to be accomplished by sending a series of SFDT vehicles into Earth's stratosphere. Each SFDT vehicle will be lifted to a stable float altitude by a large helium carrier balloon. Once at altitude, the SFDT vehicles will be released from their carrier balloon and spun up via spin motors to provide trajectory stability. An onboard third stage solid rocket motor will propel each test vehicle to supersonic flight in the upper atmosphere. After main engine burnout, each vehicle will be despun and testing of the deceleration system will begin: first an inflatable decelerator will be deployed around the aeroshell to increase the drag surface area, and then the large parachute will be deployed to continue the deceleration and return the vehicle back to the Earth's surface. The SFDT vehicle thermal system must passively protect the vehicle structure and its components from cold temperatures experienced during the ascent phase of the mission as well as from the extreme heat fluxes produced during the supersonic test phase by the main motor plume and aeroheating. The passive thermal design approach for the SFDT vehicle relies upon careful and complex bounding analysis of all three modes of heat transfer - conduction, convection, and radiation - coupled with a tightly managed transient power dissipation timeline for onboard electronics components throughout all mission phases.

thermal desktop↗

NASA Tech Briefs, June 2005

Topics covered include: Apparatus Characterizes Transient Voltages in Real Time; Measuring Humidity in Sealed Glass Encasements; Adaptable System for Vehicle Health and Usage Monitoring; Miniature Focusing Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer; Cryogenic High-Sensitivity Magnetometer; Wheel Electrometer System; Carbon-Nanotube Conductive Layers for Thin-Film Solar Cells; Patch Antenna Fed via Unequal-Crossed-Arm Aperture; LC Circuits for Diagnosing Embedded Piezoelectric Devices; Nanowire Thermoelectric Devices; Code for Analyzing and Designing Spacecraft Power System Radiators; Decision Support for Emergency Operations Centers; NASA Records Database; Real-Time Principal- Component Analysis; Fuzzy/Neural Software Estimates Costs of Rocket- Engine Tests; Multicomponent, Rare-Earth-Doped Thermal-Barrier Coatings; Reactive Additives for Phenylethynyl-Containing Resins; Improved Gear Shapes for Face Worm Gear Drives; Alternative Way of Shifting Mass to Move a Spherical Robot; Parylene C as a Sacrificial Material for Microfabrication; In Situ Electrochemical Deposition of Microscopic Wires; Improved Method of Manufacturing SiC Devices; Microwave Treatment of Prostate Cancer and Hyperplasia; Ferroelectric Devices Emit Charged Particles and Radiation; Dusty-Plasma Particle Accelerator; Frozen-Plug Technique for Liquid-Oxygen Plumbing; Shock Waves in a Bose-Einstein Condensate; Progress on a Multichannel, Dual-Mixer Stability Analyzer; Development of Carbon- Nanotube/Polymer Composites; Thermal Imaging of Earth for Accurate Pointing of Deep-Space Antennas; Modifications of a Composite-Material Combustion Chamber; Modeling and Diagnostic Software for Liquefying- Fuel Rockets; and Spacecraft Antenna Clusters for High EIRP.

Source record↗

Investigation of Thermal High Cycle and Low Cycle Fatigue Mechanisms of Thick Thermal Barrier Coatings

Ceramic thermal barrier coatings have attracted increased attention for diesel engine applications. The advantages of using the ceramic coatings include a potential increase in efficiency and power density and a decrease in maintenance cost. Zirconia-based ceramics are the most important coating materials for such applications because of their low thermal conductivity, relatively high thermal expansivity and excellent mechanical properties. However, durability of thick thermal barrier coatings (TBCS) under severe temperature cycling encountered in engine conditions, remains a major question. The thermal transients associated with the start/stop and no-load/full-load engine cycle, and with the in-cylinder combustion process, generate thermal low cycle fatigue (LCF) and thermal high cycle fatigue (HCF) in the coating system. Therefore, the failure mechanisms of thick TBCs are expected to be quite different from those of thin TBCs under these temperature transients. The coating failure is related not only to thermal expansion mismatch and oxidation of the bond coats and substrates, but also to the steep thermal stress gradients induced in the coating systems. Although it has been reported that stresses generated by thermal transients can initiate surface and interface cracks in a coating system, the mechanisms of the crack propagation and of coating failure under the complex LCF and HCF conditions are still not understood. In this paper, the thermal fatigue behavior of an yttria partially stabilized zirconia coating system under simulated LCF and HCF engine conditions is investigated. The effects of LCF and HCF on surface crack initiation and propagation are also discussed.

Zhu, Dong-Ming↗

A transient FETI methodology for large-scale parallel implicit computations in structural mechanics

Explicit codes are often used to simulate the nonlinear dynamics of large-scale structural systems, even for low frequency response, because the storage and CPU requirements entailed by the repeated factorizations traditionally found in implicit codes rapidly overwhelm the available computing resources. With the advent of parallel processing, this trend is accelerating because explicit schemes are also easier to parallelize than implicit ones. However, the time step restriction imposed by the Courant stability condition on all explicit schemes cannot yet -- and perhaps will never -- be offset by the speed of parallel hardware. Therefore, it is essential to develop efficient and robust alternatives to direct methods that are also amenable to massively parallel processing because implicit codes using unconditionally stable time-integration algorithms are computationally more efficient when simulating low-frequency dynamics. Here we present a domain decomposition method for implicit schemes that requires significantly less storage than factorization algorithms, that is several times faster than other popular direct and iterative methods, that can be easily implemented on both shared and local memory parallel processors, and that is both computationally and communication-wise efficient. The proposed transient domain decomposition method is an extension of the method of Finite Element Tearing and Interconnecting (FETI) developed by Farhat and Roux for the solution of static problems. Serial and parallel performance results on the CRAY Y-MP/8 and the iPSC-860/128 systems are reported and analyzed for realistic structural dynamics problems. These results establish the superiority of the FETI method over both the serial/parallel conjugate gradient algorithm with diagonal scaling and the serial/parallel direct method, and contrast the computational power of the iPSC-860/128 parallel processor with that of the CRAY Y-MP/8 system.

Farhat, Charbel↗

Transient Response to Rapid Cooling of a Stainless Steel Sodium Heat Pipe

Compact fission power systems are under consideration for use in long duration space exploration missions. Power demands on the order of 500 W, to 5 kW, will be required for up to 15 years of continuous service. One such small reactor design consists of a fast spectrum reactor cooled with an array of in-core alkali metal heat pipes coupled to thermoelectric or Stirling power conversion systems. Heat pipes advantageous attributes include a simplistic design, lack of moving parts, and well understood behavior. Concerns over reactor transients induced by heat pipe instability as a function of extreme thermal transients require experimental investigations. One particular concern is rapid cooling of the heat pipe condenser that would propagate to cool the evaporator. Rapid cooling of the reactor core beyond acceptable design limits could possibly induce unintended reactor control issues. This paper discusses a series of experimental demonstrations where a heat pipe operating at near prototypic conditions experienced rapid cooling of the condenser. The condenser section of a stainless steel sodium heat pipe was enclosed within a heat exchanger. The heat pipe - heat exchanger assembly was housed within a vacuum chamber held at a pressure of 50 Torr of helium. The heat pipe was brought to steady state operating conditions using graphite resistance heaters then cooled by a high flow of gaseous nitrogen through the heat exchanger. Subsequent thermal transient behavior was characterized by performing an energy balance using temperature, pressure and flow rate data obtained throughout the tests. Results indicate the degree of temperature change that results from a rapid cooling scenario will not significantly influence thermal stability of an operating heat pipe, even under extreme condenser cooling conditions.

Mireles, Omar R.↗

A transient FETI methodology for large-scale parallel implicit computations in structural mechanics, part 2

Explicit codes are often used to simulate the nonlinear dynamics of large-scale structural systems, even for low frequency response, because the storage and CPU requirements entailed by the repeated factorizations traditionally found in implicit codes rapidly overwhelm the available computing resources. With the advent of parallel processing, this trend is accelerating because explicit schemes are also easier to parallellize than implicit ones. However, the time step restriction imposed by the Courant stability condition on all explicit schemes cannot yet and perhaps will never be offset by the speed of parallel hardware. Therefore, it is essential to develop efficient and robust alternatives to direct methods that are also amenable to massively parallel processing because implicit codes using unconditionally stable time-integration algorithms are computationally more efficient than explicit codes when simulating low-frequency dynamics. Here we present a domain decomposition method for implicit schemes that requires significantly less storage than factorization algorithms, that is several times faster than other popular direct and iterative methods, that can be easily implemented on both shared and local memory parallel processors, and that is both computationally and communication-wise efficient. The proposed transient domain decomposition method is an extension of the method of Finite Element Tearing and Interconnecting (FETI) developed by Farhat and Roux for the solution of static problems. Serial and parallel performance results on the CRAY Y-MP/8 and the iPSC-860/128 systems are reported and analyzed for realistic structural dynamics problems. These results establish the superiority of the FETI method over both the serial/parallel conjugate gradient algorithm with diagonal scaling and the serial/parallel direct method, and contrast the computational power of the iPSC-860/128 parallel processor with that of the CRAY Y-MP/8 system.

Farhat, Charbel↗

Analog-computer investigation of effects of friction and preload on the dynamic longitudinal characteristics of a pilot-airplane combination

With an electric analog computer, an investigation has been made of the effects of control frictions and preloads on the transient longitudinal response of a fighter airplane during abrupt small attitude corrections. The simulation included the airplane dynamics, powered control system, feel system, and a simple linearized pseudopilot. Control frictions at the stick pivot and at the servo valve as well as preloads of the stick and valve were considered individually and in combinations. It is believed that the results which are presented in the form of time histories and vector diagrams present a more detailed illustration of the effects of stray forces and compensating forces in the longitudinal control system than has previously been available. Consistent with the results of previous studies, the present results show that any of thesefour friction and preload forces caused some deterioration of the response. However, even a small amount of valve friction caused an oscillatory pitching response during which the phasing of the valve friction was such that it caused energy to be fed into the pitching oscillation of the airplane. Of the other friction and preload forces which were considered, it was found that stick preload was close to 180 degrees out of phase with valve friction and thus could compensate in large measure for valve friction as long as the cycling of the stick encompassed the trim point. Either stick friction or valve preload provided a smaller stabilizing effect primarily through a reduction in the amplitude of the resultant force vector acting on the control system. Some data were obtained on the effects of friction when the damping or inertia of the control system or the pilot lag was varied.

Crane, Harold L↗

Analog-Computer Investigation of Effects of Friction and Preload on the Dynamic Longitudinal Characteristics of a Pilot-Airplane Combination

With an electric analog computer, an investigation has been made of the effects of control frictions and preloads on the transient longitudinal response of a fighter airplane during abrupt small attitude corrections. The simulation included the airplane dynamics, powered control system, feel system, and a simple linearized pseudopilot. Control frictions at the stick pivot and at the servo valve as well as preloads of the stick and valve were considered individually and in combinations. It is believed that the results which are presented in the form of time histories and vector diagrams present a more detailed illustration of the effects of stray forces and compensating forces in the longitudinal control system than has previously been available. Consistent with the results of previous studies, the present results show that any of these four friction and preload forces caused some deterioration of the response. However, even a small amount of valve friction caused an oscillatory pitching response during which the phasing of the valve friction was such that it caused energy to be fed into the pitching oscillation of the air-plane. Of the other friction and preload forces which were considered, it was found that stick preload was close to 180 deg. out of phase with valve friction and thus could compensate in large measure for valve friction as long as the cycling of the stick encompassed the trim point. Either stick friction or valve preload provided a smaller stabilizing effect primarily through a reduction in the amplitude of the resultant force vector acting on the control system. Some data were obtained on the effects of friction when the damping or inertia of the control system or the pilot lag was varied.

Crane, Harold L.↗