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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

Ultrasonic Device for Assessing the Quality of a Wire Crimp

A system for determining the quality of an electrical wire crimp between a wire and ferrule includes an ultrasonically equipped crimp tool (UECT) configured to transmit an ultrasonic acoustic wave through a wire and ferrule, and a signal processor in communication with the UECT. The signal processor includes a signal transmitting module configured to transmit the ultrasonic acoustic wave via an ultrasonic transducer, signal receiving module configured to receive the ultrasonic acoustic wave after it passes through the wire and ferrule, and a signal analysis module configured to identify signal differences between the ultrasonic waves. The signal analysis module is then configured to compare the signal differences attributable to the wire crimp to a baseline, and to provide an output signal if the signal differences deviate from the baseline.

Yost, William T.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Indium Hybridization of Large Format TES Bolometer Arrays to Readout Multiplexers for Far-Infrared Astronomy

The advance of new detector technologies combined with enhanced fabrication methods has resulted in an increase in development of large format arrays. The next generation of scientific instruments will utilize detectors containing hundreds to thousands of elements providing a more efficient means to conduct large area sky surveys. Some notable detectors include a 32x32 x-ray microcalorimeter for Constellation-X, an infrared bolometer called SAFIRE to fly on the airborne observatory SOFIA, and the sub-millimeter bolometer SCUBA-2 to be deployed at the JCMT which will use more than 10,000 elements for two colors, each color using four 32x40 arrays. Of these detectors, SCUBA-2 is farthest along in development and uses indium hybridization to multiplexers for readout of the large number of elements, a technology that will be required to enable the next generation of large format arrays. Our current efforts in working toward large format arrays have produced GISMO, the Goddard IRAM Superconducting 2-Millimeter observer. GISMO is a far infrared instrument to be field tested later this year at the IRAM 30 meter telescope in Spain. GISMO utilizes transition edge sensor (TES) technology in an 8x16 filled array format that allows for typical fan-out wiring and wire-bonding to four 1x32 NIST multiplexers. GISMO'S electrical wiring is routed along the tops of 30 micron walls which also serve as the mechanical framework for the array. This architecture works well for the 128 element array, but is approaching the limit for routing the necessary wires along the surface while maintaining a high fill factor. Larger format arrays will benefit greatly from making electrical connections through the wafer to the backside, where they can be hybridized to a read-out substrate tailored to handling the wiring scheme. The next generation array we are developing is a 32x40 element array on a pitch of 1135 microns that conforms to the NIST multiplexer, already developed for the SCUBA-2 instrument This architecture will utilize electrical connections that route from the TES to the support frame and through the wafer. The detector chip will then be hybridized to the NIST multiplexer via indium bump bonding. In our development scheme we are using substrates that allow for diagnostic testing of electrical continuity across the entire array and we are testing our process to minimize or eliminate any contact resistance at metal interfaces. Our goal is hybridizing a fully functional 32x40 array of TES bolometers to a NIST multiplexer. The following work presents our current progress toward enabling this technology.

Miller, Timothy M.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Novel Processing, Testing and Characterization of Copper/Carbon Nanotube (Cu/CNT) Yarn Composite Conductor

Sustainable electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP) is likely to lead to an increase in the electrical wiring contained within a single aircraft. Since the electrical resistance and mass of copper (Cu) conductors are associated with power losses, it is desirable to design high-conductivity lightweight conductor materials, thus reducing the mass of components like motor windings, low-voltage signal cables, and transmission cables for data and power to improve the overall energy efficiency. This paper describes a unique framework for manufacturing metalized carbon nanotube (CNT) composite conductors, measuring their electrical conductivity and strength, and modeling the overall conductivity and current sharing within such composites. Tensile testing was conducted on the processed composite conductor cables with the use of acoustic emission and electrical resistivity to determine stress-dependent-failure mechanisms while monitoring the electrical conductivity. The average of measured electrical conductivities of annealed Cu/CNT samples from batch 5 was greater than theoretical predictions by 9.8 percent and was also greater than the conductivity of pure annealed Cu by 4.8 percent and had comparable ultimate tensile strengths. Additionally, those Cu/CNT samples provide a 13.5% weight saving over current state of the art copper wires. Theories explaining improved intrinsic conductivity are discussed.

Metalized CNT↗
NASA NTRS1967

Mechanical properties of wire insulation automatically determined

Three separate mechanisms test the insulation on electrical wire specimens for mechanical resistance to flexure, abrasion or wear, and vibration. The test mechanisms perform the evaluation tests on insulated wire specimens in a chamber which can be controlled to simulate space or spacecraft cabin environments.

Dawn, F. S.↗
NASA NTRS1969

An improved method for electrical cable terminations

Method utilizes a standard terminal lug, a braided wire passed through the barrel and overlapping the top of the lug, and a ferrule to clamp the end of the wire. Electrical connectors can be sterilized and visibly inspected for reliability.

Baker, C. D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Electrifying Aircraft Propulsion: Thermal Issues of Megawatt Scale Power Dense Electric Machines and Material Solutions

Aircraft are the last major mode of transportation to undergo electrification for many reasons, where the underlying reason is the sensitivity of aircraft performance to mass. This sensitivity demands that efficient, megawatt (MW)-scale high specific power density powertrains be developed to impact regional, single aisle and larger aircraft that account for the majority of fuel burn in commercial aviation. Developing MW-scale high specific power electric powertrains (machines, cables/busbars and power electronics) remains a significant challenge. While advanced power semiconductors have enabled higher voltages, densities, and operational frequencies this also leads to passing high current through smaller volumes when considering electric machines and power electronics. This poses significant thermal challenges. This is particularly true for electric machines that strive to surpass 13 kW/kg, which studies have shown to be desirable for electric aircraft propulsion. The necessity of handling high current densities to achieve MW power levels dictates that greater than 10kW of waste heat will be generated. Moreover, most of the heat is generated in the stator winding which is a mixture of electrical conductor (copper or aluminum), potting material, magnet wire (electrical) insulation and high voltage electrical insulation. Although the electrical conductor is a fantastic thermal conductor, it is also the source of the heat (carrying the electrical current) and is thermally isolated by the other materials. Simply letting the machine run at increased temperatures is an attractive idea, however the reality is that most of the suitable electric insulations and potting material candidates are not likely to satisfactorily operate at higher temperatures with reasonable life expectancies. The likelihood of developing new polymers that can satisfy the necessary functions (mechanical and electrical), operate at higher temperatures with acceptable lifetime in the near term is small. This has led the researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center to examine electrically insulative materials in high power destiny electric machines, their thermal environment, and what solutions are realistic from a materials point of view. This presentation will touch on both the thermal challenges of electric machines and NASA Glenn’s research into material solutions.

Electric Aircraft Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1979

Spring control of wire harness loops

Negator spring control guides wire harness between movable and fixed structure. It prevents electrical wire harness loop from jamming or being severed as wire moves in response to changes in position of aircraft rudder. Spring-loaded coiled cable controls wire loop regardless of rudder movement.

Curcio, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Foil Gas Thrust Bearings for High-Speed Turbomachinery

A methodology has been developed for the design and construction of simple foil thrust bearings intended for parametric performance testing and low marginal costs, supporting continued development of oil-free turbomachinery. A bearing backing plate is first machined and surface-ground to produce flat and parallel faces. Partial-arc slots needed to retain the foil components are then machined into the plate by wire electrical discharge machining. Slot thicknesses achievable by a single wire pass are appropriate to accommodate the practical range of foil thicknesses, leaving a small clearance in this hinged joint to permit limited motion. The backing plate is constructed from a nickel-based superalloy (Inconel 718) to allow heat treatment of the entire assembled bearing, as well as to permit hightemperature operation. However, other dimensionally stable materials, such as precipitation-hardened stainless steel, can also be used for this component depending on application. The top and bump foil blanks are cut from stacks of annealed Inconel X-750 foil by the same EDM process. The bump foil has several azimuthal slits separating it into five individual bump strips. This configuration allows for variable bump spacing, which helps to accommodate the effects of the varying surface velocity, thermal crowning, centrifugal dishing, and misalignment. Rectangular tabs on the foil blanks fit into the backing plate slots. For this application, a rather traditional set of conventionally machined dies is selected, and bump foil blanks are pressed into the dies for forming. This arrangement produces a set of bump foil dies for foil thrust bearings that provide for relatively inexpensive fabrication of various bump configurations, and employing methods and features from the public domain.

Edmonds, Brian↗
NASA NTRS2019

Applications of Atomic Layer Deposition in the Modification of Carbon Nanotubes

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a cost-effective nanoadditive-manufacturing technique that allows for conformal coating of substrates with atomic control in a benign temperature and pressure environment. Using paired precursor gases, thin films can be deposited on flat or textured surfaces ranging from glass, polymers, aerogels, and metals. Through atomic layer control, where single layers of atoms are deposited, fabrication of metal transparent films, nano-laminates, and coatings of nano-channels and pores is achievable. Reaction mechanisms in ALD are normally self-limiting, allowing for atomically accurate control of nanometer (nm) thicknesses. Therefore, high uniformity and precise thickness control make ALD an attractive process for the creation of novel nano-scale devices. Decreases in resistivity and density of electrical wire are needed to improve the function of electronics, electric motors and cables. Such improvements may be accomplished by adding ballistically conducting, metallic carbon nanotubes (CNT) to Cu. ALD was used to coat multiple substrates including CNT with Cu in an effort to make CNT-Cu composites which is more conductive and less dense than Cu. In addition, ALD can be used to as a method to deposit the catalyst layer seed layer for CNT growth using Ni. The ALD of copper metallic films can follow multiple reaction pathways depending on the ALD precursors used. For this work the reaction pathway was deposition of copper oxide and then post process annealing in a hydrogen environment. Copper(II) diacetylacetonate (Cu(acac)2) and ozone are used as precursors for copper oxide. As-deposited copper oxide films prepared at 180°C resulted in a growth per cycle of 1.0 A/cycle with low film resistivity.

Dwivedi, Vivek H.↗
DOE OSTI2024

On-PIC Light Source Integration & Micro-dispensing of Solder Paste for Flip Chip Application

To reach the next level benefits of photonic integrated circuits (PICs), the Integrated Photonic Systems Roadmap-International describes the necessity of either heterogeneous or hybrid integration of light sources [1]. A new approach for hybrid integration is Photonic Wire Bonding where 3D nanolithography is used to pattern a polymer waveguide that connects light sources to PIC waveguides. The waveguides resemble electrical wire bonds and essentially do the same as their electrical counterpart for packaging photonic chips together. In order to reap the full benefits of a photonic wire bonds, the light source must be carefully packaged. In this work I seek to expand RIT’s photonic packaging capability by establishing a packaging process to integrate light sources, specifically an Indium Phosphide distributed feedback lasers and a reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers, directly onto a photonic integrated circuits. Another necessary requirement for PIC packaging is densely integrated electrical connectivity. In this thesis I developed a fine pitch flip chip interconnect technique demonstrated using gold stud bumps in conjunction with micro-dispensed solder paste. This work opens the door to high density photonic flip chip applications. The micro-dispensed solder paste dots having diameters 50-125 µm are currently being tested at a pitch of 150 µm . The gold stud bumps are formed with 1mil gold wire creating bumps with a diameter of 40-60 µm depending on specific parameter values. These capabilities will allow RIT to assemble and test novel photonic integrated devices, cutting down on the time and cost associated with third party assembly and tests facilities. Thereby keeping RIT at the forefront of photonic research.

Wongk, Nicole↗
NASA NTRS1949

An Electric Thrust Meter Suitable for Flight Investigation of Propellers

A lightweight instrument that utilizes resistance-wire electric strain gases to measure propeller-shaft thrust has been developed. A wind-tunnel investigation on a propeller installed, on a single-engine pursuit airplane showed that the instrument gave a reliable indication of propeller-shaft thrust to an accuracy of +/-2 percent within its calibrated range. No attempt was made to determine the relation of indicated shaft thrust to net propeller thrust.

Perkins, Porter J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Wire Stripper Holds Insulation Debris

Attachment to standard wire-stripping tool catches bits of insulation as they are removed from electrical wire and retains them for proper disposal. Prevents insulation particles from falling at random, contaminating electronic equipment and soiling workspace. Commercial tool modified by attaching small collection box to one of the jaws.

Cook, Allen D.↗
NASA NTRS2010

A Model-Based Probabilistic Inversion Framework for Wire Fault Detection Using TDR

Time-domain reflectometry (TDR) is one of the standard methods for diagnosing faults in electrical wiring and interconnect systems, with a long-standing history focused mainly on hardware development of both high-fidelity systems for laboratory use and portable hand-held devices for field deployment. While these devices can easily assess distance to hard faults such as sustained opens or shorts, their ability to assess subtle but important degradation such as chafing remains an open question. This paper presents a unified framework for TDR-based chafing fault detection in lossy coaxial cables by combining an S-parameter based forward modeling approach with a probabilistic (Bayesian) inference algorithm. Results are presented for the estimation of nominal and faulty cable parameters from laboratory data.

Schuet, Stefan R.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Laser scattering by submicron droplets formed during the electrical explosion of thin metal wires

Abstract This paper presents the results of studying dispersed media formation during the electrical explosion of thin metal wires in vacuum by using low-current generators (~1–10 kA). Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the composition and structure of the corresponding explosion products as well as to the problem of their visualization using simultaneous laser interferometry and shadow imaging at two wavelengths (1.064 µ m and 0.532 µ m). Our findings indicate the important role in the visualization of the explosion products that belongs to multiple scattering by submicron droplets of dense condensed matter, which are mixed with metal vapor. The hypothesis on the existence of submicron droplets in the products of exploding metal wires correlates with the results obtained by soft x-ray radiography combined with a laser probing technique. Taking into account the multiple scattering by submicron droplets, it is possible to significantly clarify the parameters of the explosion products visualized via laser probing techniques as well as to gain a deeper insight into the physics behind the electrical wire explosion.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Total Recycling of Copper Cable Scrap and Production of Carbon Using Fast Microwave Technology

The recycling of cable scrap, particularly from discarded electrical wiring, is gaining significant attention due to the rising demand for copper and the need for sustainable management of electronic waste. Traditionally, mechanical and thermal processings have been used to recover copper and plastic from cables. However, these approaches are often energy-intensive, time-consuming, and costly in terms of equipment and labor. In this study, we present a simple and effective method for recovering materials from cable scrap using a domestic microwave oven. Cable pieces (2–2.5 cm long) were exposed to 700 W of microwave irradiation under rotation for 30 s, enabling the rapid and efficient separation of high-quality copper metal from the core wire, and activated carbon from the carbonized plastic sheath. Microwaves facilitate this process through Ohmic heating, which induces electrical resistance in the metal, generating heat that mechanically loosens the metal and carbonized plastic components. The process demonstrates high efficiency, achieving an 80% reduction in energy consumption compared to conventional processings. This fast and energy-efficient method shows strong potential for scaling up to industrial recycling, offering a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to recover high-quality materials for further use or repurposing.

Bourlinos, Athanasios B. (ORCID:0000000256165993)↗
NASA NTRS2004

Main Power Distribution Unit for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO)

Around the year 2011, the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) will be launched and on its way to orbit three of Jupiter s planet-sized moons. The mission goals for the JIMO project revolve heavily around gathering scientific data concerning ingredients we, as humans, consider essential: water, energy and necessary chemical elements. The JIM0 is an ambitious mission which will implore propulsion from an ION thruster powered by a nuclear fission reactor. Glenn Research Center is responsible for the development of the dynamic power conversion, power management and distribution, heat rejection and ION thrusters. The first test phase for the JIM0 program concerns the High Power AC Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) Test Bed. The goal of this testing is to support electrical performance verification of the power systems. The test bed will incorporate a 2kW Brayton Rotating Unit (BRU) to simulate the nuclear reactor as well as two ION thrusters. The first module of the PMAD Test Bed to be designed is the Main Power Distribution Unit (MPDU) which relays the power input to the various propulsion systems and scientific instruments. The MPDU involves circuitry design as well as mechanical design to determine the placement of the components. The MPDU consists of fourteen relays of four different variations used to convert the input power into the appropriate power output. The three phase system uses 400 Vo1ts(sub L-L) rms at 1000 Hertz. The power is relayed through the circuit and distributed to the scientific instruments, the ION thrusters and other controlled systems. The mechanical design requires the components to be positioned for easy electrical wiring as well as allowing adequate room for the main buss bars, individual circuit boards connected to each component and power supplies. To accomplish creating a suitable design, AutoCAD was used as a drafting tool. By showing a visual layout of the components, it is easy to see where there is extra room or where the components may interfere with one another. By working with the electrical engineer who is designing the circuit, the specific design requirements for the MPDU were determined and used as guidelines. Space is limited due to the size of the mounting plate therefore each component must be strategically placed. Since the MPDU is being designed to fit into a simulated model of the spacecraft systems on the JIMO, components must be positioned where they are easily accessible to be wired to the other onboard systems. Mechanical and electrical requirements provided equally important limits which are combined to produce the best possible design of the MPDU.

Papa, Melissa R.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Voltages and currents induced by lightning

Indirect effects of lightning, the damage to or malfunction of electrical equipment that results from lightning flashes, were considered. These effects range from tripped circuit breakers to computer upset, to physical damage to input or output circuits of electronic equipment. Voltages and currents induced by lightning on the electrical wiring of the aircraft were emphasized regardless of whether or not such voltages and currents cause damage or upset of electrical equipment.

Franklin A Fisher↗