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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 613 records · Page 34

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1998

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 68: Who is Managing Knowledge? The Implications for Knowledge Production and Management of Global Strategic Alliances in Knowledge Dependent Industries

Knowledge is the foundation upon which researchers build as they innovate. Innovation lies at the core of a state's or a firm's ability to survive in a competitive world. Indeed, some economic historians ever that technological innovation, not trade, is the engine to economic growth. Despite the centrality of knowledge to corporate success, analysts have only recently shown an interest in the "knowledge capital" or "intellectual capital" of the firm, often literally trying to assign a value to this resource.

Golich, Vicki L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The development of a post-test diagnostic system for rocket engines

An effort was undertaken by NASA to develop an automated post-test, post-flight diagnostic system for rocket engines. The automated system is designed to be generic and to automate the rocket engine data review process. A modular, distributed architecture with a generic software core was chosen to meet the design requirements. The diagnostic system is initially being applied to the Space Shuttle Main Engine data review process. The system modules currently under development are the session/message manager, and portions of the applications section, the component analysis section, and the intelligent knowledge server. An overview is presented of a rocket engine data review process, the design requirements and guidelines, the architecture and modules, and the projected benefits of the automated diagnostic system.

Zakrajsek, June F.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The development of a post-test diagnostic system for rocket engines

Zakrajsek, June F.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Capturing flight system test engineering expertise: Lessons learned

Within a few years, JPL will be challenged by the most active mission set in history. Concurrently, flight systems are increasingly more complex. Presently, the knowledge to conduct integration and test of spacecraft and large instruments is held by a few key people, each with many years of experience. JPL is in danger of losing a significant amount of this critical expertise, through retirement, during a period when demand for this expertise is rapidly increasing. The most critical issue at hand is to collect and retain this expertise and develop tools that would ensure the ability to successfully perform the integration and test of future spacecraft and large instruments. The proposed solution was to capture and codity a subset of existing knowledge, and to utilize this captured expertise in knowledge-based systems. First year results and activities planned for the second year of this on-going effort are described. Topics discussed include lessons learned in knowledge acquisition and elicitation techniques, life-cycle paradigms, and rapid prototyping of a knowledge-based advisor (Spacecraft Test Assistant) and a hypermedia browser (Test Engineering Browser). The prototype Spacecraft Test Assistant supports a subset of integration and test activities for flight systems. Browser is a hypermedia tool that allows users easy perusal of spacecraft test topics. A knowledge acquisition tool called ConceptFinder which was developed to search through large volumes of data for related concepts is also described and is modified to semi-automate the process of creating hypertext links.

Woerner, Irene Wong↗

NASA NTRS2002

Smart Aerospace eCommerce: Using Intelligent Agents in a NASA Mission Services Ordering Application

This paper describes how intelligent agent technology was successfully prototyped and then deployed in a smart eCommerce application for NASA. An intelligent software agent called the Intelligent Service Validation Agent (ISVA) was added to an existing web-based ordering application to validate complex orders for spacecraft mission services. This integration of intelligent agent technology with conventional web technology satisfies an immediate NASA need to reduce manual order processing costs. The ISVA agent checks orders for completeness, consistency, and correctness, and notifies users of detected problems. ISVA uses NASA business rules and a knowledge base of NASA services, and is implemented using the Java Expert System Shell (Jess), a fast rule-based inference engine. The paper discusses the design of the agent and knowledge base, and the prototyping and deployment approach. It also discusses future directions and other applications, and discusses lessons-learned that may help other projects make their aerospace eCommerce applications smarter.

Moleski, Walt↗

DOE OSTI2024

Model-Based Approaches to Generate Knowledge from Data in a Plant Reliability Context

One challenge that nuclear power plant system engineers are facing is continuous generation of an extremely large amount of equipment reliability (ER) data. These data elements come in textual (e.g., condition reports) and numeric (e.g., generated by monitoring systems) forms. They provide system engineers with valuable insights and information by discovering anomalous behaviors or degradation trends, identifying possible causes behind such behaviors and trends, and predicting their direct consequences. This paper directly targets the knowledge generation from ER data by putting “data into context.” We employ model-based system engineering (MBSE) of systems and assets to represent and capture their architecture and functional (i.e., cause-effect) relations. ER data elements are processed by first identifying which of the developed MBSE elements they are referring to. This task is harder for textual data since the information contained in issue or maintenance reports needs to be “understood” by a computational tool. We called this process “knowledge extraction” since our methods extract knowledge from textual data. Last, once numeric and textual ER data elements have been processed and “understood,” we discover possible cause-effect relations among them. This is performed by observing whether a logical connection through the MBSE models exists, and if there is a temporal relationship among them. The logic and temporal are the two main ingredients to perform “machine reasoning” from ER data.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS2015

Statistical Engineering in Air Traffic Management Research

NASA is working to develop an integrated set of advanced technologies to enable efficient arrival operations in high-density terminal airspace for the Next Generation Air Transportation System. This integrated arrival solution is being validated and verified in laboratories and transitioned to a field prototype for an operational demonstration at a major U.S. airport. Within NASA, this is a collaborative effort between Ames and Langley Research Centers involving a multi-year iterative experimentation process. Designing and analyzing a series of sequential batch computer simulations and human-in-the-loop experiments across multiple facilities and simulation environments involves a number of statistical challenges. Experiments conducted in separate laboratories typically have different limitations and constraints, and can take different approaches with respect to the fundamental principles of statistical design of experiments. This often makes it difficult to compare results from multiple experiments and incorporate findings into the next experiment in the series. A statistical engineering approach is being employed within this project to support risk-informed decision making and maximize the knowledge gained within the available resources. This presentation describes a statistical engineering case study from NASA, highlights statistical challenges, and discusses areas where existing statistical methodology is adapted and extended.

Wilson, Sara R.↗

NASA NTRS2017

JANNAF "Test and Evaluation Guidelines for Liquid Rocket Engines": Status and Application

For many decades, the U.S. rocket propulsion industrial base has performed remarkably in developing complex liquid rocket engines that can propel critical payloads into service for the nation, as well as transport people and hardware for missions that open the frontiers of space exploration for humanity. This has been possible only at considerable expense given the lack of detailed guidance that captures the essence of successful practices and knowledge accumulated over five decades of liquid rocket engine development. In an effort to provide benchmarks and guidance for the next generation of rocket engineers, the Joint Army Navy NASA Air Force (JANNAF) Interagency Propulsion Committee published a liquid rocket engine (LRE) test and evaluation (T&E) guideline document in 2012 focusing on the development challenges and test verification considerations for liquid rocket engine systems. This document has been well received and applied by many current LRE developers as a benchmark and guidance tool, both for government-driven applications as well as for fully commercial ventures. The USAF Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has taken an additional near-term step and is directing activity to adapt and augment the content from the JANNAF LRE T&E guideline into a standard for potential application to future USAF requests for proposals for LRE development initiatives and launch vehicles for national security missions. A draft of this standard was already sent out for review and comment, and is intended to be formally approved and released towards the end of 2017. The acceptance and use of the LRE T&E guideline is possible through broad government and industry participation in the JANNAF liquid propulsion committee and associated panels. The sponsoring JANNAF community is expanding upon this initial baseline version and delving into further critical development aspects of liquid rocket propulsion testing at the integrated stage level as well as engine component level, in order to advance the state of the practice. The full participation of the entire U.S. rocket propulsion industrial base is invited and expected at this opportune moment in the continuing advancement of spaceflight technology.

Parkinson, Douglas↗

DOE OSTI2024

A Decision Support System to Compile Environmental Mitigations from Hydropower Licensing Documents

The process of deciphering, extracting, and compiling information from texts dense with domain-specific terminology and technical jargon is a challenging endeavor. It demands considerable expertise and deep knowledge in the respective field, resulting in a labor-intensive process when executed by humans. Furthermore, the task of identifying multiple class labels in extensive texts presents a challenge due to intra- and inter-reader variability, making the process time-consuming and costly.We’re introducing a user-friendly graphical interface, fortified with a BERT model-powered decision support system. This advanced system aims to augment efficiency, curtail data collection time, and sustain high precision in data acquisition. It is instrumental in deciphering and synthesizing intricate texts teeming with a spectrum of expressions, even within similar mitigation categories. Such tasks traditionally demand substantial human effort and specialized knowledge in the domain.Our system is specifically engineered for the task of extracting environmental mitigation information to promote sustainable hydropower development from licenses issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). These license documents are comprehensive, each containing over 15,000 words and requiring the identification of 135 different class labels. We anticipate that our system will boost reading speed, improve the consistency of classification outputs among readers, and contribute to the development of a robust scientific database of environmental mitigations associated with the 2,000+ non-federal hydropower facilities licensed by FERC in the United States.

Yoon, Hong-Jun [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000254505878)↗

DOE OSTI2025

COG Software Architecture Design Description Document

This COG Software Architecture Design Description Document describes the organization and functionality of the COG Multiparticle Monte Carlo Transport Code for radiation shielding and criticality calculations, at a level of detail suitable for guiding a new code developer in the maintenance and enhancement of COG. The intended audience also includes managers and scientists and engineers who wish to have a general knowledge of how the code works. This Document is not intended for end-users.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

DOE OSTI2026

A Coupled Theoretical and Experimental Approach to Elucidating the Mechanisms of Methyl Esters

The goal of this project was to probe fundamental kinetics questions regarding the gas phase reactive behavior of oxygenates. In order to succeed, our program necessitated both the development of new experimental tools and the development of theory based kinetic models to explain the chemistry of oxygenate fuels. By using advanced hybrid additive manufacturing/ traditional manufacturing techniques to create specialized ceramic micro-reactors, the team was able to simulate extreme high-temperature environments with much greater precision and durability than was previously possible. These tiny, high-tech tubes allow researchers to capture and identify "fleeting" chemical species—molecules that exist for only a fraction of a millisecond—using sophisticated light sources and mass spectrometry. Additionally, the team supported the development of a tabletop VUV laser system for isomer detection without a synchrotron. Through this work, we have successfully mapped out the specific chemical pathways of various oxygen-rich fuels, solving long-standing mysteries about how these substances break down kinetically. Ultimately, this research provides the fundamental knowledge needed to design next-generation engines and fuels that are better for the environment.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Final Technical Report

The overall objective of the project was to perform the preliminary development work for an integrated CO2 capture project at the Polk Power Station. During the project, the team applied its extensive knowledge base, built from previous Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies and recent power generation major construction projects, to complete the conceptual design of a carbon capture system capable of capturing a minimum of 95% of the CO2 emissions.

Dilport, Nathan↗

NASA NTRS1971

Performance and Dynamics of Aerospace Vehicles

This publication consists of a series of lectures prepared by personnel of the NASA Langley Research Center. Collectively, they were presented as a graduate seminar at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, under the auspices of Professor Robert E. Duffy. The lectures summarize theoretical and experimental work in a number of areas of current interest in the design of aeronautical and space vehicles and were intended as an extension of general academic studies toward applications to solutions of practical problems. The material presented is not intended to be a comprehensive survey of the state of the art but rather a series of resumes of work in several areas, some of which represent fairly recent developments and others in which the significant contributions are distributed in various publications. The material covered reflects the specialties and viewpoints of the individual lecturers and little effort has been made to provide continuity between the different papers. The topics are, nevertheless, grouped under three general headings, as follows: 1. Aerodynamics of vehicles in various speed ranges 2. Problems involving aeroelasticity and unsteady aerodynamics 3. Methods and application of analytical techniques in dynamic stability problems The material is considered suitable for providing aeronautical engineering students with background information and working knowledge in a number of specialized fields which are usually omitted or discussed only briefly in an undergraduate curriculum.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1973

Superconducting resonators and devices.

The high-frequency properties of superconductors are reviewed, including the London, Pippard, and Mattis-Bardeen surface impedance, and techniques for measuring and separating losses are discussed. Residual resistance mechanisms are described and evaluated, including high field effects. The state of knowledge is shown to be adequate for engineering design. Applications of superconducting resonators and lines to filters, tuners, oscillators, amplifiers and mixers, transmission lines, antennas, optical and radiation detection, and materials research are discussed.

Hartwig, W. H.↗

NASA NTRS1981

A review and evaluation of the Langley Research Center's Scientific and Technical Information Program. Results of phase 4: Knowledge and attitudes survey, academic and industrial personnel

Feedback from engineers and scientists in the academic and industrial community provided an assessment of the usage and perceived quality of NASA Langley generated STI and the familiarity and usage of selected NASA publications and services and identified ways to increase the accessibility of Langley STI. The questionnaire utilized both open and closed ended questions and was pretested for finalization. The questions were organized around the seven objectives for Phase IV. From a contact list of nearly 1,200 active industrial and academic researchers, approximately 600 addresses were verified. The 497 persons who agreed to participate were mailed questionnaires. The 381 completed questionnaires received by the cutoff date were analyzed. Based on the survey findings, recommendations were made for increasing the familiarity with and use of NASA and Langley STI and selected NASA publications and services. In addition, recommendations were made for increasing the accessibility of Langley STI.

Pinelli, T. E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Expert System for Automated Design Synthesis

Expert-system computer program EXADS developed to aid users of Automated Design Synthesis (ADS) general-purpose optimization program. EXADS aids engineer in determining best combination based on knowledge of specific problem and expert knowledge stored in knowledge base. Available in two interactive machine versions. IBM PC version (LAR-13687) written in IQ-LISP. DEC VAX version (LAR-13688) written in Franz-LISP.

Rogers, James L., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Methodology requirements for intelligent systems architecture

The methodology required for the development of the 'intelligent system architecture' of distributed computer systems which integrate standard data processing capabilities with symbolic processing to provide powerful and highly autonomous adaptive processing capabilities must encompass three elements: (1) a design knowledge capture system, (2) computer-aided engineering, and (3) verification and validation metrics and tests. Emphasis must be put on the earliest possible definition of system requirements and the realistic definition of allowable system uncertainties. Methodologies must also address human factor issues.

Grant, Terry↗

NASA NTRS1989

An architecture for automated fault diagnosis

A description is given of the SSM/PMAD power system automation testbed, which was developed using a systems engineering approach. The architecture includes a knowledge-based system and has been successfully used in power system management and fault diagnosis. Architectural issues which effect overall system activities and performance are examined. The knowledge-based system is discussed along with its associated automation implications, and interfaces throughout the system are presented.

Ashworth, Barry R.↗