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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 595 records · Page 33

Towards a Reference Architecture for Model-Based Engineering Environments

A key aspect of adopting model-based systems engineering as a practice in an organization is the design and development, and adoption of corresponding processes and tools that support the model-based paradigm. In an effort to enable the unified implementation of such processes and tools, this paper introduces a reference architecture model that serves as a specification for a model-based engineering environment. Current systems engineering practices, products, processes and technologies are used as input for continuously refining the architecture model. In the paper, we introduce and report on the current status of this reference architecture model, and present the methodology applied in developing the reference architecture. We conclude that while there are a very large number of domain- or application-specific processes requiring specialized behavior, these can be reduced through abstraction to a small set of core functions that need to be supported by a realization of a model-based engineering environment. Only very few organization-domain- or application-specific aspects require specialized consideration.

Herzig, Sebastian J. I.↗

Experiments to Challenge Jet Noise Prediction

Recent fundamental jet noise tests were conducted with the objective of providing data that challenges jet noise prediction methods. Three cases have been extracted to pose as challenges to the jet noise prediction community. Case 1 targets efforts in LES to appropriately mimic unresolveable turbulent boundary layers in nozzles, and to demonstrate where they are, and are not, important for noise. Case 2 targets acoustic analogy methods, providing cardinal data for the question of azimuthal localization and the broader issue of designing nozzles with favorable azimuthal directivity. Case 3 is an example where nozzle systems exhibit global resonances, which cannot be attacked by steady-state calculations. Given that it is very difficult to foresee such unsteady behavior (speaking from experience), it is crucial that low-cost methods be developed to catch these during the design process. Analysis and documentation of the test data is ongoing.

jet noise↗

Additive Manufacture of Refractory Alloy C103 for Propulsion Applications

C103 is niobium alloy used in high temperature operating environments. Traditional manufacture methods suffer from feedstock constraints, difficult to machine, high buy-to-fly ratios, and high costs resulting in a limited number of suppliers. Additive manufacture (AM) offers advantages in production of complex parts, improved properties, reproducibility, with significant material cost and schedule savings. The objectives of this project was to investigate the feasibility to AM C103, develop powder feedstock, optimize process parameters, establish design criteria, investigate post-process heat treatments, and determine material properties. AM C103 proved feasible, increased design flexibility, improved mechanical properties compared to wrought, and resulted in an order of magnitude cost reduction.

Omar R Mireles↗

Additive Manufacture of Refractory Alloy C103 for Propulsion Applications

C103 is niobium alloy used in high temperature operating environments. Traditional manufacture methods suffer from feedstock constraints, difficult to machine, high buy-to-fly ratios, and high costs resulting in a limited number of suppliers. Additive manufacture (AM) offers advantages in production of complex parts, improved properties, reproducibility, with significant material cost and schedule savings. The objectives of this project was to investigate the feasibility to AM C103, develop powder feedstock, optimize process parameters, establish design criteria, investigate post-process heat treatments, and determine material properties. AM C103 proved feasible, increased design flexibility, improved mechanical properties compared to wrought, and resulted in an order of magnitude cost reduction.

Omar Roberto Mireles↗

The development and potential uses of an Adsorption Water Collection System for the Trash Compaction Processing System designed for operation in the International Space Station Express Rack

The use of adsorption as an alternative to current state of the art water collection and phase separation methods for human space flight is being investigated at NASA Ames Research Center. A system called the Adsorption Water Recovery System was designed to work with the Trash Compaction Processing System. The system uses modular adsorption columns that can be combined both in parallel and series and allow for relatively easy system sizing. The system is intended to be a standalone system that may also be adapted for other applications that involve adsorption. This paper describes the design and potential operating parameters and configurations of the Adsorption Water Recovery System.

trash↗

Application of integrated structural analysis to the high speed civil transport

The Integrated Structural Analysis (ISA) system was developed in response to the need to define lightweight structures early in the design process for military aircraft. The objective of the ISA system is to permit rapid development of an optimized skin and big-bones structure that insures that the requirements of strength, dynamics, loads, and weight are met. While the system was originally developed for fighter aircraft, it is applicable to commercial transports or any other structures. The design requirements dictate the structural arrangement and sizing limitations to be imposed.

Saff, C. R.↗

Reducing Design Cycle Time and Cost Through Process Resequencing

In today's competitive environment, companies are under enormous pressure to reduce the time and cost of their design cycle. One method for reducing both time and cost is to develop an understanding of the flow of the design processes and the effects of the iterative subcycles that are found in complex design projects. Once these aspects are understood, the design manager can make decisions that take advantage of decomposition, concurrent engineering, and parallel processing techniques to reduce the total time and the total cost of the design cycle. One software tool that can aid in this decision-making process is the Design Manager's Aid for Intelligent Decomposition (DeMAID). The DeMAID software minimizes the feedback couplings that create iterative subcycles, groups processes into iterative subcycles, and decomposes the subcycles into a hierarchical structure. The real benefits of producing the best design in the least time and at a minimum cost are obtained from sequencing the processes in the subcycles.

Rogers, James L.↗

Coupled Thermo-Mechanical Micromechanics Modeling of the Influence of Thermally Grown Oxide Layer in an Environmental Barrier Coating System

Environmental Barrier Coatings (EBCs) have emerged as a promising means of protecting silicon based ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components for high temperature applications (e.g., aircraft engines). EBCs are often used to protect an underlying material (substrate) such as silicon carbide from extreme thermal/chemical environments. In a typical CMC/EBC system, an EBC may or may not be adhered to an underlying substrate with a bond coat (e.g., silicon). Irrespective, systems that utilize EBCs are susceptible to a number of failure modes including oxidation/delamination, recession, chemical attack and dissolution, thermomechanical degradation, erosion, and foreign object damage. Current work at NASA Glenn Research Center is aimed at addressing these failure modes in EBC systems and developing robust analysis tools to aid in the design process. The Higher-Order Theory for Functionally Graded Materials (HOTFGM), a precursor to the High-Fidelity Generalized Method of Cells micromechanics approach, was developed to investigate the coupled thermo-mechanical behavior of functionally graded composites and will be used herein to assess the development and growth of a low-stiffness thermally grown oxide (TGO) layer in EBC/CMC systems without a silicon bond coat. To accomplish this a sensitivity study is conducted to examine the influence of uniformly and nonuniformly grown oxide layer on the associated driving forces leading to mechanical failure (spallation) of EBC layer when subjected to isothermal loading.

thermally grown oxide↗

Capabilities of the Materials Contamination Team at Marshall Space Flight Center

The Materials Contamination Team at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been recognized for its contributions supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spacecraft development programs. These programs include the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM), Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the International Space Station (ISS). The Environmental Effects Group, with the Materials Contamination Team and the Space Environmental Effects Team has been an integral part of NASA's success by the testing, evaluation, and qualification of materials, hardware, and processes. This paper focuses on the capabilities of the Materials Contamination Team. The Materials Contamination Team's realm of responsibility includes establishing contamination control during all phases of hardware development, including design, manufacturing, assembly, test, transportation, launch site processing, on-orbit exposure, return, and refurbishment. The team continues its mission of reducing the risk of equipment failure due to molecular or particulate contamination. Contamination is a concern in the Space Shuttle with sensitive bond-lines and reactive fluid (liquid oxygen) compatibility as well as for spacecraft with sensitive optics, such as Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. The Materials Contamination Team has a variety of facilities and instrumentation capable of contaminant detection, identification, and monitoring. The team addresses material applications dealing with environments, including production facilities, clean rooms, and on-orbit exposure. The optically stimulated electron emission (OSEE) system, the Ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence (UVF) surface contamination detection, and the Surface Optics Corporation 400 (SOC 400) portable hand-held Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer are state-of-the-art tools for in-process molecular contamination detection. The team of engineers and technicians also develop contamination calibration standards and evaluate new surface cleanliness inspection technologies. The team utilizes facilities for on-orbit simulation testing of materials for outgassing and molecular film deposition characteristics in the presence of space environmental effects, such as Atomic Oxygen (AO) and UV radiation exposure. The Materials Contamination Team maintains databases for process materials as well as outgassing and optical compatibility test results for specific environments.

Burns, Howard↗

The Development of Lightweight Electronics Enclosures for Space Applications

This paper outlines the end to end effort to produce lightweight electronics enclosures for NASA GSFC electronics applications with the end goal of presenting an array of lightweight box options for a flight opportunity. Topics including the development of requirements, design of three different boxes, utilization of advanced materials and processes, and analysis and test will be discussed. Three different boxes were developed independently and in parallel. A lightweight machined Aluminum box, a cast Aluminum box and a composite box were designed, fabricated, and tested both mechanically and thermally. There were many challenges encountered in meeting the requirements with a non-metallic enclosure and the development of the composite box employed several innovative techniques.

Fenske, Matthew T.↗

The Development of Lightweight Electronics Enclosures for Space Applications

This paper outlines the end to end effort to produce lightweight electronics enclosures for NASA GSFC electronics applications with the end goal of presenting an array of lightweight box options for a flight opportunity. Topics including the development of requirements, design of three different boxes, utilization of advanced materials and processes, and analysis and test will be discussed. Three different boxes were developed independently and in parallel. A lightweight machined Aluminum box, a cast Aluminum box and a composite box were designed, fabricated, and tested both mechanically and thermally. There were many challenges encountered in meeting the requirements with a non-metallic enclosure and the development of the composite box employed several innovative techniques.

Fenske, Matthew T.↗

Robust Low-Cost Cathode for Commercial Applications

Under funding from the NASA Commercial Technology Office, a cathode assembly was designed, developed, fabricated, and tested for use in plasma sources for ground-based materials processing applications. The cathode development activity relied on the large prior NASA investment and successful development of high-current, high-efficiency, long-life hollow cathodes for use on the International Space Station Plasma Contactor System. The hollow cathode was designed and fabricated based on known engineering criteria and manufacturing processes for compatibility with the requirements of the plasma source. The transfer of NASA GRC-developed hollow cathode technology for use as an electron emitter in the commercial plasma source is anticipated to yield a significant increase in process control, while eliminating the present issues of electron emitter lifetime and contamination.

Patterson, Michael J.↗

Development of Subsonic Single Aft Engine (SUSAN) Attritable Research Vehicle (SARV) Wing Structure

This paper introduces a high-level overview of the design and development of the SUbsonic Single Aft eNgine (SUSAN) Attritable Research Vehicle (SARV) wing structure. Unique design considerations were made for the structural layout of the wing to include storage for batteries, distributed electric engines, and the requirement for the wing to be shippable in a cargo box. The wing structure development process will be discussed including the wing internal structure design evolution, the fabrication of the manufacturing demonstration vehicle, wing outer mold line design, integration of wing internal structure and wing skins, and finally integration of the wing with the fuselage structure. Additionally, the development of the wing skin design will be discussed while highlighting the wing skin manufacturing demonstration panels as well as composite testing for material characterization purposes.

wing structure↗

Reusable Solid Rocket Motor - Accomplishments, Lessons, and a Culture of Success

The Reusable Solid Rocket Motor represents the largest solid rocket motor ever flown and the only human rated solid motor. Each Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) provides approximately 3-million lb of thrust to lift the integrated Space Shuttle vehicle from the launch pad. The motors burn out approximately 2 minutes later, separate from the vehicle and are recovered and refurbished. The size of the motor and the need for high reliability were challenges. Thrust shaping, via shaping of the propellant grain, was needed to limit structural loads during ascent. The motor design evolved through several block upgrades to increase performance and to increase safety and reliability. A major redesign occurred after STS-51L with the Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor. Significant improvements in the joint sealing systems were added. Design improvements continued throughout the Program via block changes with a number of innovations including development of low temperature o-ring materials and incorporation of a unique carbon fiber rope thermal barrier material. Recovery of the motors and post flight inspection improved understanding of hardware performance, and led to key design improvements. Because of the multidecade program duration material obsolescence was addressed, and requalification of materials and vendors was sometimes needed. Thermal protection systems and ablatives were used to protect the motor cases and nozzle structures. Significant understanding of design and manufacturing features of the ablatives was developed during the program resulting in optimization of design features and processing parameters. The project advanced technology in eliminating ozone-depleting materials in manufacturing processes and the development of an asbestos-free case insulation. Manufacturing processes for the large motor components were unique and safety in the manufacturing environment was a special concern. Transportation and handling approaches were also needed for the large hardware segments. The reusable solid rocket motor achieved significant reliability via process control, ground test programs, and postflight assessment. Process control is mandatory for a solid rocket motor as an acceptance test of the delivered product is not feasible. Process control included process failure modes and effects analysis, statistical process control, witness panels, and process product integrity audits. Material controls and inspections were maintained throughout the sub tier vendors. Material fingerprinting was employed to assess any drift in delivered material properties. The RSRM maintained both full scale and sub-scale test articles. These enabled continuous improvement of design and evaluation of process control and material behavior. Additionally RSRM reliability was achieved through attention to detail in post flight assessment to observe any shift in performance. The postflight analysis and inspections provided invaluable reliability data as it enables observation of actual flight performance, most of which would not be available if the motors were not recovered. These unique challenges, features of the reusable solid rocket motor, materials and manufacturing issues, and design improvements will be discussed in the paper.

Moore, Dennis R.↗

Towards Requirements in Systems Engineering for Aerospace IVHM Design

Health management (HM) technologies have been employed for safety critical system for decades, but a coherent systematic process to integrate HM into the system design is not yet clear. Consequently, in most cases, health management resorts to be an after-thought or 'band-aid' solution. Moreover, limited guidance exists for carrying out systems engineering (SE) on the subject of writing requirements for designs with integrated vehicle health management (IVHM). It is well accepted that requirements are key to developing a successful IVHM system right from the concept stage to development, verification, utilization, and support. However, writing requirements for systems with IVHM capability have unique challenges that require the designers to look beyond their own domains and consider the constraints and specifications of other interlinked systems. In this paper we look at various stages in the SE process and identify activities specific to IVHM design and development. More importantly, several relevant questions are posed that system engineers must address at various design and development stages. Addressing these questions should provide some guidance to systems engineers towards writing IVHM related requirements to ensure that appropriate IVHM functions are built into the system design.

Requirements↗

Baseband pulse shaping techniques for nonlinearly amplified pi/4-QPSK and QAM systems

A new generation of multi-stage pi/4-shifted QPSK and of superposed quadrature-amplitude-modulated (SQAM) modulators-coherent demodulators (modems) and of continuous phase modulated (CPM)-gaussian premodulation filtered minimum-shift-keying (MGMSK) systems is proposed and studied. These modems will lead to bandwidth and power efficient satellite communications systems designs. As an illustrative application, a baseband processing technique pi/4-controlled transition PSK (pi/4-CTPSK) is described. To develop a cost and power efficient design strategy, we assume that nonlinear, fully saturated high power amplifiers (HPA) are utilized in the satellite earth station transmitter and in the satellite transponder. Modem structures which could lead to application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) satellite on-board processing universal modem applications are also considered. Multistate GMSK (i.e., MGMSK) signal generation methods by means of two or more RF combined nonlinearly amplified SQAM modems and by one multistate (in-phase and quadrature-baseband premodulation filtered-superposed) SQAM architecture and one RF nonlinear amplifier are studied. During the SQAM modem development phase we investigate the potential system advantages of the pi/4-shifted logic. The bandwidth efficiency of the proposed multistate GMSK and baseband filtered PAM-FM modulator (a new class in the CPM family) will be significantly higher than that of conventional G-MSK systems. To optimize the practical P(sub e) = f((E sub b)/(N sub o)) performance we consider improved coherent demodulation MGMSK structures such as deviated-frequency locking coherent demodulators. For relative low bit rate SATCOM applications, e.g., bit rates less than 300 kb/s, phase noise tracking cancellation (for fixed site earth station) and phase noise cancellation as well as Doppler compensation (for satellite to mobile earth station) applications may be required. We study digital channel sounding methods which could cancel the phase noise-caused degradations of CPM and GMSK modems.

Feher, Kamilo↗

The Development of a User Inclusion Strategy for CLCS Display Design

This report summarizes a ten week effort to evaluate the software development process in the Checkout and Launch Control System (CLCS) for the presence of user inclusion in the design operation. A background is presented that highlights the value of achieving usability through user inclusion, progress-to-date is described, and future work is suggested so that a user inclusive design environment can be accomplished.

Jacko, Julie A.↗

The development of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is a joint-program between the U.S. and Japan. The objective of this international cooperative program is to carry out the systematic study of tropical rainfall required for major strides in weather and climate research. In this paper, launch operation, mission operation and data processing as well as the system design and development status of the TRMM satellite are presented.

Kozu, Toshiaki↗