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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

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NASA NTRS1991

A self-reconfigurable manipulator system with dextrous bracing structure

The authors present a dextrous bracing structure of a dual-arm system as a means of implementing a self-reconfigurable manipulator system. The dextrous bracing structure allows a dual-arm system to relocate the bracing point between two arms, select the type of contact as the bracing point, and lock or release the joints of individual arms. The self-reconfigurable dual-arm system is now capable of reconfiguring its topology through serial, parallel and bracing structures, supporting general types of contact, rigid or sliding, as well as locking or releasing some of its joints as needed. The focus is on an analysis of the effects of the dextrous bracing on the performance of a dual-arm system in terms of dual-arm manipulabilities and resistivities. The analysis shows that a self-reconfigurable dual-arm system with a dextrous bracing structure gives continuously varying performance characteristics ranging from serial to parallel structures.

Lee, Sukhan↗

NASA NTRS2004

GPC-Based Stable Reconfigurable Control

This paper presents development of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) Generalized Pre-dictive Control (GPC) law and its application to reconfigurable control design in the event of actuator saturation. A Controlled Auto-Regressive Integrating Moving Average (CARIMA) model is used to describe the plant dynamics. The control law is derived using input-output description of the system and is also related to the state-space form of the model. The stability of the GPC control law without reconfiguration is first established using Riccati-based approach and state-space formulation. A novel reconfiguration strategy is developed for the systems which have actuator redundancy and are faced with actuator saturation type failure. An elegant reconfigurable control design is presented with stability proof. Several numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the application of various results.

Soloway, Don↗

NASA NTRS2005

ALI (Autonomous Lunar Investigator): Revolutionary Approach to Exploring the Moon with Addressable Reconfigurable Technology

Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) based structures: Mission Concepts based on Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART), originally studied for future ANTS (Autonomous Nanotechnology Swarm) Space Architectures, are now being developed as rovers for nearer term use in lunar and planetary surface exploration. The architecture is based on the reconfigurable tetrahedron as a building block. Tetrahedra are combined to form space-filling networks, shaped for the required function. Basic structural components are highly modular, addressable arrays of robust nodes (tetrahedral apices) from which highly reconfigurable struts (tetrahedral edges), acting as supports or tethers, are efficiently reversibly deployed/stowed, transforming and reshaping the structures as required.

Clark, P. E.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Development of a Deployable Nonmetallic Boom for Reconfigurable Systems of Small Modular Spacecraft

Launch vehicle payload capacity and the launch environment represent two of the most operationally limiting constraints on space system mass, volume, and configuration. Large-scale space science and power platforms as well as transit vehicles have been proposed that greatly exceed single-launch capabilities. Reconfigurable systems launched as multiple small modular spacecraft with the ability to rendezvous, approach, mate, and conduct coordinated operations have the potential to make these designs feasible. A key characteristic of these proposed systems is their ability to assemble into desired geometric (spatial) configurations. While flexible and sparse formations may be realized by groups of spacecraft flying in close proximity, flyers physically connected by active structural elements could continuously exchange power, fluids, and heat (via fluids). Configurations of small modular spacecraft temporarily linked together could be sustained as long as needed with minimal propellant use and reconfigured as often as needed over extended missions with changing requirements. For example, these vehicles could operate in extremely compact configurations during boost phases of a mission and then redeploy to generate power or communicate while coasting and upon reaching orbit. In 2005, NASA funded Phase 1 of a program called Modular Reconfigurable High-Energy Technology Demonstrator Assembly Testbed (MRHE) to investigate reconfigurable systems of small spacecraft. The MRHE team was led by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and included Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto and its subcontractor, ATK. One of the goals of Phase 1 was to develop an MRHE concept demonstration in a relevant 1-g environment to highlight a number of requisite technologies. In Phase 1 of the MRHE program, Lockheed Martin devised and conducted an automated space system assembly demonstration featuring multipurpose free-floating robots representing Spacecraft in the newly built Controls and Automation Laboratory (CAL) at the ATC. The CAL lab features a 12' x 24' granite air-bearing table and an overhead simulated starfield. Among the technologies needed for the concept demo were mating interfaces allowing the spacecraft to dock and deployable structures allowing for adjustable separation between spacecraft after a rigid connection had been established. The decision to use a nonmetallic deployable boom for this purpose was driven by the MRHE concept demo requirements reproduced in Table 1.

Rehnmark, Fredrik↗

NASA NTRS1989

Multinode reconfigurable pipeline computer

A multinode parallel-processing computer is made up of a plurality of innerconnected, large capacity nodes each including a reconfigurable pipeline of functional units such as Integer Arithmetic Logic Processors, Floating Point Arithmetic Processors, Special Purpose Processors, etc. The reconfigurable pipeline of each node is connected to a multiplane memory by a Memory-ALU switch NETwork (MASNET). The reconfigurable pipeline includes three (3) basic substructures formed from functional units which have been found to be sufficient to perform the bulk of all calculations. The MASNET controls the flow of signals from the memory planes to the reconfigurable pipeline and vice versa. the nodes are connectable together by an internode data router (hyperspace router) so as to form a hypercube configuration. The capability of the nodes to conditionally configure the pipeline at each tick of the clock, without requiring a pipeline flush, permits many powerful algorithms to be implemented directly.

Nosenchuck, Daniel M.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Reconfiguration control system for an aircraft wing

Independently deflectable control surfaces are located on the trailing edge of the wing of a blended wing-body aircraft. The reconfiguration control system of the present invention controls the deflection of each control surface to optimize the spanwise lift distribution across the wing for each of several flight conditions, e.g., cruise, pitch maneuver, and high lift at low speed. The control surfaces are deflected and reconfigured to their predetermined optimal positions when the aircraft is in each of the aforementioned flight conditions. With respect to cruise, the reconfiguration control system will maximize the lift to drag ratio and keep the aircraft trimmed at a stable angle of attack. In a pitch maneuver, the control surfaces are deflected to pitch the aircraft and increase lift. Moreover, this increased lift has its spanwise center of pressure shifted inboard relative to its location for cruise. This inboard shifting reduces the increased bending moment about the aircraft's x-axis occasioned by the increased pitch force acting normal to the wing. To optimize high lift at low speed, during take-off and landing for example, the control surfaces are reconfigured to increase the local maximum coefficient of lift at stall-critical spanwise locations while providing pitch trim with control surfaces that are not stall critical.

Wakayama, Sean R.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Methods and systems for providing reconfigurable and recoverable computing resources

A method for optimizing the use of digital computing resources to achieve reliability and availability of the computing resources is disclosed. The method comprises providing one or more processors with a recovery mechanism, the one or more processors executing one or more applications. A determination is made whether the one or more processors needs to be reconfigured. A rapid recovery is employed to reconfigure the one or more processors when needed. A computing system that provides reconfigurable and recoverable computing resources is also disclosed. The system comprises one or more processors with a recovery mechanism, with the one or more processors configured to execute a first application, and an additional processor configured to execute a second application different than the first application. The additional processor is reconfigurable with rapid recovery such that the additional processor can execute the first application when one of the one more processors fails.

Stange, Kent↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Autonomous In-space Construction, Maintenance, and Reconfiguration Using Programmable Meta-Material

NASA ARC's Coded Structures Laboratory (CSL) is developing autonomous construction, maintenance, and reconfiguration technologies to meet long-duration and deep space infrastructure needs, in accordance with long-term NASA goals of "in-space reliance" and "mass-less exploration." We seek to achieve these capabilities by utilizing a "programmable meta-material" approach that integrates emerging advances in materials (mechanical meta-materials), manufacturing (cooperative mobile robotics), and autonomy (multi-agent planning algorithms). Through the ARMADAS project, we have shown assembly of high-performance engineered cellular materials using multiple cooperating mobile robotic assemblers. In this paper, we describe how such a programmable meta-material architecture may shift the paradigm of how we design, build, manufacture, and operate future space infrastructure and assets. The core of a programmable meta-material architecture consists of 3 main technology sub-areas: the structure, the assembly agents, and the assembly algorithms. We co-design these systems to ensure an adaptable system that can create and reconfigure structures from a base set of building block components. From this core technology, we can branch out and expand the capability of the system through additional secondary component types and robotic agents to perform activities such as inspections, maintenance, repair, payload installation, or perform power and communications interconnect. As these technologies mature, future designers will be able to utilize the system to rapidly integrate and operate assets in space or on planetary surfaces from a set of well-tested part library, or create their own modules to integrate into the system. A core trait to the development of this system is the automation approach. Because of the modular and functional discrete (pixel-like) nature of the structural system, a diverse set of powerful algorithms for analysis, planning, and simulation can be adapted and leveraged to optimize construction, maintenance, and dynamic reorganization (as hardware with programmable form and function). With an ability to free the design space from launch vehicle constraints and fundamentally shift how a mission is designed and conducted, we discuss the influence of a programmable meta-material architecture on mission design, build, and operations. For the "design phase", we discuss project lifecycle effects, costs, time, and performance. For the "build phase", we discuss reusability, ISRU, manufacturing, material logistics, and scalability. And for "operations", we discuss autonomy, maintenance and upgrades, reliability, and reconfiguration. Autonomy and modularity are the primary enabling traits of this system. Engineering systems that utilize a modular and reconfiguration building block approach such as digital communication and computation systems, currently lead all other areas of technology in size and complexity scalability. NASA is extending the benefits and flexibility of digital systems to hardware systems, to optimize materials lifecycle management and expand our space exploration mission capabilities.

in space assembly↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS): Robotically Assembled Sustainable Lunar Infrastructure

Introduction: The Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) project at NASA Ames Research Center is developing autonomous infrastructure, instrumentation, and spacecraft assembly and manufacturing capabilities for next generation exploration and science missions, with a goal to change the cost scaling of these missions relative to mission size and duration. Using a building-block approach with a 'kit of parts' composed of ultra-light, high-performance mechanical metamaterials, simplified robots leverage the period environment to achieve high levels of autonomy and reliability for in-space and surface assembly of large-scale apertures, solar-arrays, towers, habitats, and other infrastructure. Robots and structure break down into a compact form factor for launch. By leveraging economies of scale and achieving high-packing ratios, ARMADAS technology can revolutionize possible space missions by breaking the tyranny of the launch shroud, decreasing development times, decreasing mission costs for transformative science capability, and providing a scalable and versatile space infrastructure strategy. Capabilities: To date, the ARMADAS project has demonstrated autonomous assembly of large numbers of structural modules into a meters-scale structure in an earth gravity environment. The mechanical performance is on par with conventional space structures, at a fraction of the cost. By using highly repeatable manufacturing processes (injection molding carbon fiber reinforced space-rated polymers), the structures are both cost effective and highly precise. The ARAMADAS system carefully designs parts for high-precision assembly–the simple and cost-effective robots build structures much larger and more precise than themselves. While maintaining structural efficiency, the ARMADAS system encompasses many functional module types, including for solar power, comm/power routing, etc., that will enable entire infrastructure systems to be engineered and autonomously assembled with modular parts. With well-defined interfaces, custom instrumentation modules can easily be added to fit many mission objectives. Lunar Infrastructure Vision: At the LSIC spring meeting, ARMADAS will present a vision for a general-purpose lunar construction kit capable of meeting a wide variety of lunar surface infrastructure needs (Figure 1). Investing in an ecosystem of reconfigurable, discretely repairable parts and robots enables systems than can expand their capability, reconfigure to meet emergency or unforeseen needs, self-repair and reduce spare-part needs. With a small set of parts (module types), a wide variety of infrastructure needs can be met. Footing modules will allow infrastructure construction at locations with no surface preparation. Footer, primary structure, and rail modules can create reconfigurable rail systems. These rail systems can be used to reduce cost-of-transport between frequently accessed sites, provide dust mitigation, and convey power and communications. High-performance structure modules combined with power-routing and solar modules can create tall towers for power and communication. Concepts for habitats and garages encompass a structure to support regolith cover for a pre-integrated module to an entirely ARMADAS system-based structure. This system can be leveraged by many in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies to simplify processes and augment capabilities.

C. E. Gregg↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Reconfigurable Metasurface Optics at NASA LaRC Towards Space Image Sensing

Reconfigurable optical metasurfaces are rapidly emerging as a major frontier in photonics research, development, and applications. They promise compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient reconfigurable optical systems with unprecedented performance and functions that can be dynamically defined on-demand. Space applications represent an emerging area in which these characteristics are highly prized. The ability to dynamically tune optical functions through selective modulation of electromagnetic waves is crucial to the advancement of a variety of sensing applications, from imaging spectrometers to light detection and ranging (LiDAR). This presentation introduces a reconfigurable metasurface optic project led by a research team at NASA Langley Research Center (NASA LaRC) since 2019. It covers advances in phase change material-based reconfigurable optics, performance data on reliability enhancement of photonic devices, image sensing system architectures, and mission concepts enabled through these advances.

metasurface↗

DOE OSTI2021

A Fabrication Strategy for Reconfigurable Millimeter–Scale Metamaterials

Rather than depending on material composition to primarily dictate performance metrics, metamaterials can leverage geometry to achieve specific properties of interest. For example, reconfigurable metamaterials have enabled programmable shape transformations, tunable mechanical properties, and energy absorption. While several methods exist to fabricate such structures, they often place severe restrictions on manufacturing materials, or require significant manual assembly. Moreover, these arrays are typically composed of unit cells that are either macro–scale or micro–scale in dimension. Here, the fabrication gap is bridged, and laminate manufacturing is used to develop a method for designing reconfigurable metamaterials at the millimeter–scale, that is compatible with a wide range of materials, and that requires minimal manual assembly. In addition to showing the versatility of this fabrication method, how the use of laminate manufacturing affects the behavior of these multi–component arrays is also characterized. To this end, a numerical model that captures the deformations exhibited by the structures is developed, and an analytic model that predicts the strain of the structure under compressive stress is built. Overall, this approach can be leveraged to develop millimeter–scale metamaterials for applications that require reconfigurable materials, such as in the design of tunable acoustics, photonic waveguides, and electromagnetic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Repairable and Reconfigurable Structured Liquid Circuits

The advance of printed electronics is significantly bolstered by the development of liquid-state electronics that overcome the inherent limitations in flexibility and reconfigurability of solid-state electronics. By integrating the biocompatibility and conductivity of sulfonated polyaniline (S-PANI) and phytic acid (PA) with the reconfigurability of structured liquids, highly conductive all-liquid threads are developed. The dense packing and overlap of PA/S-PANI complexes at an oil/water interface promotes in-plane electron transport, and standard four-point probe measurements of PA/S-PANI interfacial assemblies demonstrate enhanced electrical properties. Notably, the rapid jetting of the ink phase into the matrix phase allows for liquid threads to be printed, enabling the fabrication of large-scale, conductive pathways between two electrodes and liquid circuits. Upon mechanical cleavage of the liquid wires, circuits can be broken, but will easily self-repair using an electric field, making this motif useful in the design of switches as well as restoring conductive pathways in series or in parallel. In conclusion, the demonstrated flexibility and reconfigurability these PA/S-PANI wires possess hold significant promise for their practical use in the design of flexible and adaptive bioelectronics that can be repaired on demand, signifying a transformative step in the evolution of liquid electronic materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Reconfiguration of Amorphous Complex Oxides: A Route to a Broad Range of Assembly Phenomena, Hybrid Materials, and Novel Functionalities

This work demonstrate that reconfiguration of amorphous oxide layers drives the assembly of oxide-based and freestanding nanomembranes into 3D structures with a radius of a few hundred nanometers. Reconfiguration-driven assembly is a versatile approach to impart large strains and strain gradients in a broad palette of complex oxides. This capability allows for manipulating and enhancing ferroelectricity, flexoelectricity, piezoelectricity, superconductivity, and ferromagnetism in complex oxides. Moreover, by the approach presented in this work, strain-engineered oxides are obtained in the form of 3D structures that can be fabricated in parallel on any substrate, including large-area and single crystalline semiconductor substrates. This approach will create a vast expanse of possibilities to investigate and leverage strain-tunable effects in amorphous, poly-crystalline, and single-crystalline complex oxides. Reconfiguration-driven assembly of NMs also allows combining different materials in a radial geometry and through scalable processes. For example, radial superlattices of Si (or GaAs) and various complex oxides or alternating layers of different complex oxides (e.g., SrTiO 3 and LaAlO 3 ) could be fabricated by release and heating of bilayer NMs. Here, a broad palette of electronic band structures and spin–orbit interactions could then be obtained by tailoring the curvature of the self-assembled NMs and the materials that the heterostructure comprises.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Seasonal Reconfiguration of Electrical Distribution Systems to Mitigate the Impact of Electric Vehicle Charging

Power grids face challenges in their infrastructure related to the integration of electric vehicles (EV). In particular, EV charging stations may induce instability in key system parameters such as substantial voltage drops, active power losses, and transformer overload due to high demand during charging periods. This article presents a seasonal reconfiguration strategy based on the differential evolution (DE) algorithm, aimed at enhancing system performance under highly variable and stochastic load profiles, particularly those driven by EV charging. The DEA algorithm is hybridized with the find-union (FU) algorithm to efficiently ensure network radiality throughout the optimization process. The proposed methodology is validated on a hybrid distribution system composed of the IEEE 33-bus network, a modified IEEE 13-bus system, and a specific 13-bus microgrid. Results have demonstrated that seasonal reconfiguration significantly reduces active power losses and mitigates transformer loading during critical demand hours, thereby quantifiably increasing the system’s performance. As an integral component of the proposed approach, an analysis of CO2 emissions associated with energy losses is included, allowing a contextualized assessment of the environmental benefits of seasonal reconfiguration in various geographical areas.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2018

Load Forecasting Based Distribution System Network Reconfiguration -- A Distributed Data-Driven Approach

In this paper, a short-term load forecasting approach based network reconfiguration is proposed in a parallel manner. Specifically, a support vector regression (SVR) based short-term load forecasting approach is designed to provide an accurate load prediction and benefit the network reconfiguration. Because of the nonconvexity of the three-phase balanced optimal power flow, a second-order cone program (SOCP) based approach is used to relax the optimal power flow problem. Then, the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is used to compute the optimal power flow in distributed manner. Considering the limited number of the switches and the increasing computation capability, the proposed network reconfiguration is solved in a parallel way. The numerical results demonstrate the feasible and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Physics-Informed Graph Neural Networks for Collaborative Dynamic Reconfiguration and Voltage Regulation in Unbalanced Distribution Systems

Network reconfiguration has long been employed as a strategic approach to minimize power distribution system losses and effectively regulate voltage levels. Tap-changing voltage regulators are also critical for controlling bus voltages, especially in accommodating the increasing integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) with intermittent outputs. This paper introduces novel methodologies to address the challenges of dynamic reconfiguration and optimal tap setting in unbalanced three-phase distribution systems. We propose an approximated mixed-integer quadratically constrained program (MIQCP) to model dynamic reconfiguration, along with a pioneering formulation for voltage regulator (VR) tap-setting based on Special Ordered Set type 1 (SOS1). To mitigate computational complexity, we propose a physics-informed spatial-temporal graph convolutional network (STGCN) with an integrated link classifier. The proposed approach enables efficient solution generation by fixing specific variables in the MIQCP instance and solving the simplified sub-MIP using an MIP solver. Numerical studies demonstrate the superior prediction accuracy of our STGCN model compared to baseline neural network models, resulting in reduced DER curtailment and voltage deviation with shorter computation time.

dynamic reconfiguration↗

DOE OSTI2023

Exploring the Performance Boundaries of a Small Reconfigurable Multi-Mission UAV through Multidisciplinary Analysis

The performance of a small reconfigurable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is evaluated, combining a multidisciplinary approach in the computational analysis of additive manufactured structures, fluid dynamics, and experiments. Reconfigurable UAVs promise cost savings and efficiency, without sacrificing performance, while demonstrating versatility to fulfill different mission profiles. The use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in UAV design produces higher accuracy aerodynamic data, which is particularly important for complex aircraft concepts such as blended wing bodies. To address challenges relating to anisotropic materials, the Tsai–Wu failure criterion is applied to the structural analysis, using CFD solutions as load inputs. Aerodynamic performance results show the low-speed variant attains an endurance of 1 h, 48 min, whereas its high-speed counterpart is 29 min at a 66.7% higher cruise speed. Each variant serves different aspects of small UAS deployment, with low speed envisioned for high-endurance surveying, and high speed for long-range or time-critical missions such as delivery. The experimental and simulation results suggest room for design iteration, in wing area and geometry adjustments. Structural simulations demonstrated the need for airframe improvements to the low-speed configuration. This paper highlights the potential of reconfigurable UAVs to be useful across multiple industries, advocating for further research and design improvements.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS2004

Mission operation for reconfigurable spacecraft

This paper will examine the issues and solutions to these challenges. First, a brief survey of the current FPGA technology and the process to reconfigure these devices will be provided. Second, the avionics architectural support to facilitate the inflight reconfiguration will be discussed. Third, the mission operation procedures and uplink/downlink process to reconfigure the spacecraft in-orbit will be described.

reconfigurable spacecraft↗