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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 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1983

An application of gap regenerator/expander precooled by two stage G-M refrigerator

The degradation of regenerator effectiveness below 10K is due to the imbalance of the heat capacity of the regenerator material and helium gas as a working fluid. One of the attractive methods to increase this efficiency could be realized by a gap regenerator system regarding helium gas property. This paper describes an experiment using pressurized helium gas as a regenerator material. A two stage G-M cycle refrigerator has been used for precooling the gap regenerator system. With this method, minimum temperature below 5K has been obtained when the precooling temperature maintained at 10K.

Matsubara, Y.↗
NASA NTRS1983

A magnetically suspended linearly driven cryogenic refrigerator

This paper described a novel Stirling cycle cryogenic refrigerator which was designed, fabricated and successfully tested at Philips Laboratories. The prominent features of the machine are an electro-magnetic bearing system, a pair of moving magnet linear motors, and clearance seals with a 25 mu m radial gap. The all-metal and ceramic construction eliminates long-term organic contamination of the helium working fluid. The axial positions of the piston and displacer are electronically controlled, permitting independent adjustment of the amplitude of each and their relative phase relationship during operation. A simple passive counterbalance reduces axial vibrations. The design of the refrigerator system components is discussed and a comparison is made between performance estimates and measured results.

Stolfi, F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Advanced Solar Power Systems

The Advanced Solar Power System (ASPS) concentrator uses a technically sophisticated design and extensive tooling to produce very efficient (80 to 90%) and versatile energy supply equipment which is inexpensive to manufacture and requires little maintenance. The advanced optical design has two 10th order, generalized aspheric surfaces in a Cassegrainian configuration which gives outstanding performance and is relatively insensitive to temperature changes and wind loading. Manufacturing tolerances also have been achieved. The key to the ASPS is the direct absorption of concentrated sunlight in the working fluid by radiative transfers in a black body cavity. The basic ASPS design concepts, efficiency, optical system, and tracking and focusing controls are described.

Atkinson, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The annular flow electrothermal ramjet

The annular flow, electrothermal, plug ramjet is examined as a possible means of achieving rapid projectile acceleration to velocities for such applications as direct launch of spacebound payloads. The performance of this ramjet operating with hydrogen propellant is examined for cases where this working fluid is treated: (1) as a perfect gas, and (2) as a gas that is allowed to dissociate and ionize and then recombine with finite reaction rates in the nozzle. Performance results for these cases are compared to the performance of a conventional ramjet operating with perfect gas hydrogen propellant. The performance of the conventional ramjet is superior to that of the annular flow, electrothermal ramjet. However, it is argued that the mechanical complexities associated with conventional ramjet operation are difficult to attain, and for this reason the annular flow, electrothermal ramjet is more desirable as a launch system. Models are presented which describe both electrothermal plug ramjet and conventional ramjet operation, and it is shown that for a given flight velocity there is a rate of heat addition per unit propellant mass for which ramjet operation is optimized.

Shaw, B. D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

An RC-1 organic Rankine bottoming cycle for an adiabatic diesel engine

A system analysis and preliminary design were conducted for an organic Rankine-cycle system to bottom the high-temperature waste heat of an adiabatic diesel engine. The bottoming cycle is a compact package that includes a cylindrical air cooled condenser regenerator module and other unique features. The bottoming cycle output is 56 horsepower at design point conditions when compounding the reference 317 horsepower turbocharged diesel engine with a resulting brake specific fuel consumption of 0.268 lb/hp-hr for the compound engine. The bottoming cycle when applied to a turbocompound diesel delivers a compound engine brake specific fuel consumption of 0.258 lb/hp-hr. This system for heavy duty transport applications uses the organic working fluid RC-1, which is a mixture of 60 mole percent pentafluorobenzene and 40 mole percent hexafluorobenzene. The thermal stability of the RC-1 organic fluid was tested in a dynamic fluid test loop that simulates the operation of Rankine-cycle. More than 1600 hours of operation were completed with results showing that the RC-1 is thermally stable up to 900 F.

Dinanno, L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Evaluation of candidate Stirling engine heater tube alloys after 3500 hours exposure to high pressure doped hydrogen or helium

The heater head tubes of current prototype automotive Stirling engines are fabricated from alloy N-155, an alloy which contains 20 percent cobalt. Because the United States imports over 90 percent of the cobalt used in this country and resource supplies could not meet the demand imposed by automotive applications of cobalt in the heater head (tubes plus cylinders and regenerator housings), it is imperative that substitute alloys free of cobalt be identified. The research described herein focused on the heater head tubes. Sixteen alloys (15 potential substitutes plus the 20 percent Co N-155 alloy) were evaluated in the form of thin wall tubing in the NASA Lewis Research Center Stirling simulator materials diesel fuel fired test rigs. Tubes filled with either hydrogen doped with 1 percent CO2 or with helium at a gas pressure of 15 MPa and a temperature of 820 C were cyclic endurance tested for times up to 3500 hr. Results showed that two iron-nickel base superalloys, CG-27 and Pyromet 901 survived the 3500 hr endurance test. The remaining alloys failed by creep-rupture at times less than 3000 hr, however, several other alloys had superior lives to N-155. Results further showed that doping the hydrogen working fluid with 1 vol % CO2 is an effective means of reducing hydrogen permeability through all the alloy tubes investigated.

Misencik, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Concept evaluation of four thermal utility systems for low orbit spacecraft

Attention is given to the design features and comparative performance of four two-phase heat transport systems under consideration by NASA as long term space mission devices for the collection, transportation and rejection of waste heat from spacecraft components over the zero-100 C temperature range. The system types are: a mechanically pumped two-phase loop, a capillary pumped loop, an osmotic pumped loop, and a loop employing a biomorph pump. The principal advantage of a capillary pumped loop is that it is a passive system with few moving parts that inherently possesses high reliability. The working fluid recommended for use in such a thermal utility is NH3, which has the requisite combination of high latent heat of vaporization and high surface tension.

Peterson, G. P.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Two-phase turbine staging

Two-phase turbines would be useful in Rankine cycles using low-quality or saturated-liquid working fluids. The chief problem is low efficiency due to slip losses in nozzles and due to liquid impact and friction losses in rotors. To raise efficiency, a staging method was tested in which the first stage operated at high speed with low relative liquid velocity, and the second stage recovered the first-stage exit energy. The theoretical efficiency for an experimental turbine operating with Refrigerant-22 was raised from 55 percent to 66 percent, and the measured efficiency was raised from 52 percent to 57 percent.

Elliott, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Space power system utilizing Fresnel lenses for solar power and also thermal energy storage

A solar power plant suitable for earth orbits passing through Van Allen radiation belts is described. The solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency is estimated to be around 9 percent, and the expected power-to-weight ratio is competitive with photovoltaic arrays. The system is designed to be self-contained, to be indifferent to radiation belt exposures, store energy for periods when the orbiting system is in earth shadow (so that power generation is contant), have no moving parts and no working fluids, and be robust against micrometeorite attack. No electrical batteries are required.

Turner, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Thrust for interorbital propulsion - A question of lifetime

The most promising operational window for the use of magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters is identified to be at megawatt power levels for orbital maneuvering. For such applications, the operation of a steady-state MPD thruster system imposes stringent requirements on the lifetime of thruster surfaces which will erode due to interactions with the plasma working fluid. Basic erosion mechanisms are presented and the problems associated with measuring the erosion rates are discussed. An experimental approach that would allow the development of a phenomenological model for erosion is proposed.

Gabriel, S. B.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Effect of location in an array on heat transfer to a short cylinder in crossflow

An experiment was conducted to measure the heat transfer from a heated cylinder in crossflow in an array of circular cylinders. All cylinders had a length-to-diameter ratio of 3.0. Both in-line and staggered array patterns were studied. The cylinders were spaced 2.67 diameters apart center-to-center in both the axial and transverse directions to the flow. The row containing the heated cylinder remained in a fixed position in the channel and the relative location of this row within the array was changed by adding up to five upstream rows. The working fluid was nitrogen gas at pressures from 100 to 600 kPa. The Reynolds number range based on cylinder diameter and average unobstructed channel velocity was from 5,000 to 125,000. Turbulence intensity profiles were measured for each case at a point one half space upstream of the row containing the heated cylinder. The basis of comparison for all the heat transfer data was the single row with the heated cylinder. For the in-line cases the addition of a single row of cylinders upstream of the row containing the heated cylinder increased the heat transfer by an average of 50 percent above the base case. Adding up to five more rows caused no increase or decrease in heat transfer. Adding rows in the staggered array cases resulted in average increases in heat transfer of 21, 64, 58, 46, and 46 percent for one to five upstream rows, respectively. Previously announced in STAR as N82-19493

Simoneau, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Titanium Heat-Pipe Wicks

Sintered titanium offers several advantages over sintered aluminum as material for heat-pipe wicks. Titanium both strong and light. Thermal conductivity only one-seventh of aluminum, and therefore used when high thermal resistance is needed to prevent boiling of working fluid.

Shaubach, R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Heat Rejection Working Group Synopsis

Heat rejection system requirements of specific mission types (space station, planetary exploration, commercial, very high power, and military missions) are discussed. Heat pipe radiators, weight and volume reduction, stable coatings, and working fluids are addressed.

Parish, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Monogroove heat pipe design: Insulated liquid channel with bridging wick

A screen mesh artery supported concentrically within the evaporator section of a heat pipe liquid channel retains liquid in the channel. Continued and uniform liquid feed to the heat pipe evaporation section (20) during periods of excessive heat transfer is assured. The overall design provides high evaporation and condensation film coefficients for the working fluid by means of the circumferential grooves in the walls of the vapor channel, while not interfering with the overall heat transport capability of the axial groove. The design has particular utility in zero-g environments.

Alario, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Comparative evaluation of three alternative power cycles for waste heat recovery from the exhaust of adiabatic diesel engines

Three alternative power cycles were compared in application as an exhaust-gas heat-recovery system for use with advanced adiabatic diesel engines. The power cycle alternatives considered were steam Rankine, organic Rankine with RC-1 as the working fluid, and variations of an air Brayton cycle. The comparison was made in terms of fuel economy and economic payback potential for heavy-duty trucks operating in line-haul service. The results indicate that, in terms of engine rated specific fuel consumption, a diesel/alternative-power-cycle engine offers a significant improvement over the turbocompound diesel used as the baseline for comparison. The maximum imporvement resulted from the use of a Rankine cycle heat-recovery system in series with turbocompounding. The air Brayton cycle alternatives studied, which included both simple-cycle and compression-intercooled configurations, were less effective and provided about half the fuel consumption improvement of the Rankine cycle alternatives under the same conditions. Capital and maintenance cost estimates were also developed for each of the heat-recovery power cycle systems. These costs were integrated with the fuel savings to identify the time required for net annual savings to pay back the initial capital investment. The sensitivity of capital payback time to arbitrary increases in fuel price, not accompanied by corresponding hardware cost inflation, was also examined. The results indicate that a fuel price increase is required for the alternative power cycles to pay back capital within an acceptable time period.

Bailey, M. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Heat pipe modeling and simulation

Presented herein is a parametric study of the defining equations which govern the steady state operational characteristics of the Grumman Monogroove Dual Passage Heat Pipe. These defining equations are combined to develop a mathematical model which describes and predicts the operational and performance capabilities of a specific heat pipe, given the necessary physical characteristics and working fluid. Included is a brief review of the current literature, a discussion of the governing equations, and a description of both the mathematical and computer model. Final results of preliminary test runs of the model are presented and compared with experimental tests performed by Grumman on actual prototypes.

Peterson, G. P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Honeycomb panel heat pipe development for space radiators

An assessment of the honeycomb panel heat pipe concept as a moderate temperature range, low-mass, highly efficient radiator fin for the NASA Space Station is presented, based on test results for a thin-wall (0.46 mm) all-welded stainless steel sample with core depth of 63.5 mm and a hexagonal-cell size of 127.7 mm. The 0.61 x 3.05 m test segment, operating with methanol as a working fluid, exhibited a maximum heat transfer rate of 600 W at 50 C and was isothermal to within + or - 2 C almost entirely throughout the surface. Tilt testing, which comprised relocation of the heater along one edge of the panel, resulted in maximum power levels of 70 and 50 W at panel elevations of 12.7 and 25.4 mm, respectively. As-designed panel performance is predicted to be from 500 to 1000 W over the range of operating temperatures; better performance is predicted for an open-channel design.

Tanzer, H. J.↗