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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 NTRS1973

The load-carrying and thermal characteristics of flat conductor cable

The load-carrying and thermal characteristics of flat conductor cable and round wire cables have been investigated with all conductors in each cable under varying loads in air and vacuum environments. The test procedure is described and results are presented in graphic form. Derating factors for both round wire and flat conductor cable are established for operation in a vacuum environment. Rating factors are established for flat conductor cable for use with round wire loading tables. The results of these tests show that single layer flat conductor size, or that the voltage drop across flat conductor cable will be lower than that of round cable under the same load.

Adams, G. D.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Energy distribution in parallel plate plasma accelerators

A parallel plate accelerator operated in the quasi-steady regime of argon mass flow discharges permits, on account of its geometry, the appraisal of the initial ratio of energy disposition into the kinetic and thermal modes of the plasma while retaining the essential features of coaxial high power self-field MPD accelerators. The energy disposition ratio, calculated as the ratio of kinetic energy to enthalpy in the exhaust flow, shows reasonable agreement with the ratio of the induced emf in the accelerator to resistive voltage drop. Both these ratios indicate that the discharge imparts more energy to the flow by resistive heating than by direct body force acceleration. This is turn suggests that other acceleration mechanisms must be responsible for the high performance of conventional MPD arcs.

Dicapua, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Self-regulating proportionally controlled heating apparatus and technique

A self-regulating proportionally controlled heating apparatus and technique is provided wherein a single electrical resistance heating element having a temperature coefficient of resistance serves simultaneously as a heater and temperature sensor. The heating element is current-driven and the voltage drop across the heating element is monitored and a component extracted which is attributable to a change in actual temperature of the heating element from a desired reference temperature, so as to produce a resulting error signal. The error signal is utilized to control the level of the heater drive current and the actual heater temperature in a direction to reduce the noted temperature difference. The continuous nature of the process for deriving the error signal feedback information results in true proportional control of the heating element without the necessity for current-switching which may interfere with nearby sensitive circuits, and with no cyclical variation in the controlled temperature.

Strange, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Fluid flow electrophoresis in space

Four areas relating to free-flow electrophoresis in space were investigated. The first was the degree of improvement over earthbound operations that might be expected. The second area of investigation covered the problems in developing a flowing buffer electrophoresis apparatus. The third area of investigation was the problem of testing on the ground equipment designed for use in space. The fourth area of investigation was the improvement to be expected in space for purification of biologicals. The results of some ground-based experiments are described. Other studies included cooling requirements in space, fluid sealing techniques, and measurement of voltage drop across membranes.

Griffin, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Precise matching of diodes

Two circuit arrangements using ac and dc power source provide low-cost method for matching forward voltage drops of diodes and other semiconductors. Both circuits are simpler and less expensive than conventional, characteristic-curve tracers.

Mclyman, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Apparatus including a plurality of spaced transformers for locating short circuits in cables

A cable fault locator is described for sensing faults such as short circuits in power cables. The apparatus includes a plurality of current transformers strategically located along a cable. Trigger circuits are connected to each of the current transformers for placing a resistor in series with a resistive element responsive to an abnormally high current flowing through that portion of the cable. By measuring the voltage drop across the resistive element, the location of the fault can be determined.

Cason, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Preliminary results in the NASA Lewis H2-O2 combustion MHD experiment

MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) power generation experiments were carried out in the NASA Lewis Research Center cesium-seeded H2-O2 combustion facility. This facility uses a neon-cooled cryomagnet capable of producing magnetic fields in excess of 5 tesla. The effects of power takeoff location, generator loading, B-field strength, and electrode breakdown on generator performance are discussed. The experimental data is compared to a theory based on one-dimensional flow with heat transfer, friction, and voltage drops.

Smith, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

A review of Air Force high efficiency cascaded multiple bandgap solar cell research and development

At the time of their conception, the cell stack systems to be discussed represent the best semiconductor materials combinations to achieve Air Force program goals. These systems are investigated thoroughly and the most promising systems, from the standpoint of high efficiency, are taken for further development with large area emphasized (at least 4 sq cm). The emphasis in the Air Force cascaded cell program is placed on eventual nonconcentrator application. This use of the final cell design considerably relieves the low resistance requirements for the tunnel junction. In a high concentration application the voltage drop across the tunnel junction can be a very serious problem.

Rahilly, W. P.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Preliminary results in the NASA Lewis H2-O2 combustion MHD experiment

MHD power generation experiments have been carried out in the NASA Lewis Research Center cesium-seeded H2-O2 combustion facility. This facility uses a neon-cooled cryomagnet capable of producing magnetic fields in excess of 5 tesla. The effects of power takeoff location, generator loading, B-field strength, and electrode breakdown on generator performance are discussed. The experimental data is compared to a theory based on one-dimensional flow with heat transfer, friction, and voltage drops.

Smith, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1978

The effects of copper and titanium on silicon solar cells

Copper-doped N/P silicon solar cells fabricated from the Czochralski grown single-crystal wafers were found to have good electrical characteristics, but the titanium-doped N/P silicon solar cells has considerably lower conversion efficiency. However, in the copper/titanium-doped solar cells, copper seems to mitigate the unfavorable effects of titanium. To explain this behavior, microstructural tests were performed on silicon wafers and solar cells doped with copper, titanium and copper/titanium. Dark forward and reverse I-V measurements were performed on the solar cells to correlate the microstructural defects with the p-n junction properties. It was found that copper precipitates were formed in the copper-doped and copper/titanium-doped wafers and cells. There was a significant voltage drop in the dark reverse I-V measurements of the titanium solar cells. Also, there were some electronically active defects in the depletion region of some titanium-doped cells. Reasons that lead to the above results are given in detail.

Salama, A. M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Solar cell angular position transducer

An angular position transducer utilizing photocells and a light source is disclosed. The device uses a fully rotatable baffle which is connected via an actuator shaft to the body whose rotational displacement is to be measured. The baffle blocks the light path between the light source and the photocells so that a constant semicircular beam of light reaches the photocells. The current produced by the photocells is fed through a resistor, a differential amplifier measures the voltage drop across the resistor which indicates the angular position of the actuator shaft and hence of the object.

Sandford, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Lithium battery discharge tests

The long term discharge of a variety of lithium cells was characterized and the susceptibility of the cells to chemical variation during the slow discharge was tested. A shunt resistor was set across the terminals to monitor the voltage as a function of time. Failures were identified by premature voltage drops.

Johnson, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Optimization of multi-layer front-contact grid patterns for solar cells

In a front-contact grid pattern for a solar cell there is a trade-off necessary between shadowing loss and excessive power loss due to voltage drop in the metalization itself. If the metalization is too little there may be excessive contact resistance to the underlying semiconductor and insufficient coverage to control losses in the thin front-surface layer of the solar cell. Optimization of grid pattern area and geometry is considered analytically to minimize total losses. Worthwhile performance advantages are shown to be possible, particularly in concentrator systems, if multi-layer grid patterns are used. The current carrying fingers should be approximately square in metal cross section and the main current feedout bars should not only be wider but also thicker than the primary collecting fingers. This is termed multi-level metalization. Effective use of multi-level grid metalization allows much greater concentration-to-loss ratio for a cell of large area and permits good performance from cells of high front-layer sheet resistance.

Flat, A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Off-design performance analysis of MHD generator channels

A computer code for performing parametric design point calculations, and evaluating the off-design performance of MHD generators has been developed. The program is capable of analyzing Faraday, Hall, and DCW channels, including the effect of electrical shorting in the gas boundary layers and coal slag layers. Direct integration of the electrode voltage drops is included. The program can be run in either the design or off-design mode. Details of the computer code, together with results of a study of the design and off-design performance of the proposed ETF MHD generator are presented. Design point variations of pre-heat and stoichiometry were analyzed. The off-design study included variations in mass flow rate and oxygen enrichment.

Wilson, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Theoretical performance of multi-layer grid patterns for solar cells

Multilayer grid patterns consist of fine closely spaced grid lines overlaid by coarser patterns of wider and thicker grid lines to collect the current from the finer grids with low series voltage drop and low active-layer sheet losses. An analytical approach leads to closed form solutions with simple relationships between the power losses in the active layer, in the grid and shadowing losses for optimum design proportions. The results show that multilayer grids, with line thickness equal to line width, greatly reduce losses in cell efficiency under concentration conditions of high current collection. (AlGa)As-pn GaAs cells of areas 1-25 sq cm and sheet resistance 40 ohms/square are considered. Also the performance of a n/p GaAs cell of dimensions 10 x 10 cm is studied. With optimized grid patterns high efficiencies are predicted for large area cells.

Flat, A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Analytical investigation of critical phenomena in MHD power generators

Critical phenomena in the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) High Performance Demonstration Experiment (HPDE) and the U.S. U-25 Experiment, are analyzed. The performance of a NASA specified 500 MW(th) flow train is analyzed. Critical phenomena analyzed include: Hall voltage overshoots; optimal load schedules; parametric dependence of the electrode voltage drops; boundary layer behavior; near electrode phenomena with finite electrode segmentation; current distribution in the end regions; scale up rules; optimum Mach number distribution; and the effects of alternative cross sectional shapes.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1981

Performance of high resistivity n+pp+ silicon solar cells under 1 MeV electron irradiation

High resistivity (1250 and 84 ohm-cm) n(+)pp(+) silicon solar cells were irradiated and their performance evaluated as a function of fluence. The greatest degradation in power occurred for the higher resistivity cell. The data were analyzed under open circuit conditions, and the components of V sub oc determined as a function of fluence. It was found that the voltage contributions from the front and back junctions decreased while the base component (V sub B) increased with fluence. The anomalous behavior of V sub B was attributed to an increase in the base minority carrier gradient with fluence. An argument that the increased power degradation in the 1250 ohm-cm cells was attributable to an increased voltage drop in the base is presented. Diffusion lengths calculated under high injection conditions were significantly greater than those determined under low injection. This was attributed to a saturation of recombination centers under high injection conditions.

Weinberg, I.↗
NASA NTRS1982

DSCS 3 life test progress report

Life test considerations for a spacecraft power supply system, a battery system, designed for synchronous communication satellites for the Defense Satellite Communication System are described. The following equipment specifications considered in the life tests were: the nickel cadmium cells; bus conductors; diodes; battery casings; electric discharges; voltage drops; pressure, and temperature measurements. Battery performance data collected during eclipse periods is presented in tabular form.

Thierfelder, H. E.↗