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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 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

Fuel efficiency through new airframe technology

In its Aircraft Energy Efficiency Program, NASA has expended approximately 200 million dollars toward development and application of advanced airframe technologies to United States's commercial transports. United States manufacturers have already been given a significant boost toward early application of advanced composite materials to control surface and empennage structures and toward selected applications of active controls and advanced aerodynamic concepts. In addition, significant progress in definition and development of innovative, but realistic systems for laminar flow control over the wings of future transports has already been made.

Leonard, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Aircraft surface coatings

A series of studies in which films and liquid spray-on materials were evaluated in the laboratory for transport aircraft external surface coatings are summarized. Elastomeric polyurethanes were found to best meet requirements. Two commercially available products, CAAPCO B-274 and Chemglaze M313, were subjected to further laboratory testing, airline service evaluations, and drag-measurement flight tests. It was found that these coatings were compatible with the severe operating environment of airlines and that coatings reduced airplane drag. An economic analysis indicated significant dollar benefits to airlines from application of the coatings.

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NASA NTRS1984

Mission science value-cost savings from the Advanced Imaging Communication System (AICS)

An Advanced Imaging Communication System (AICS) was proposed in the mid-1970s as an alternative to the Voyager data/communication system architecture. The AICS achieved virtually error free communication with little loss in the downlink data rate by concatenating a powerful Reed-Solomon block code with the Voyager convolutionally coded, Viterbi decoded downlink channel. The clean channel allowed AICS sophisticated adaptive data compression techniques. Both Voyager and the Galileo mission have implemented AICS components, and the concatenated channel itself is heading for international standardization. An analysis that assigns a dollar value/cost savings to AICS mission performance gains is presented. A conservative value or savings of $3 million for Voyager, $4.5 million for Galileo, and as much as $7 to 9.5 million per mission for future projects such as the proposed Mariner Mar 2 series is shown.

Rice, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Historical Cost Curves for Hydrogen Masers and Cesium Beam Frequency and Timing Standards

Historical cost curves were developed for hydrogen masers and cesium beam standards used for frequency and timing calibration in the Deep Space Network. These curves may be used to calculate the cost of future hydrogen masers or cesium beam standards in either future or current dollars. The cesium beam standards are decreasing in cost by about 2.3% per year since 1966, and hydrogen masers are decreasing by about 0.8% per year since 1978 relative to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration inflation index.

Remer, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Jet fuel property changes and their effect on producibility and cost in the U.S., Canada, and Europe

The effects of changes in properties and blending stocks on the refinery output and cost of jet fuel in the U.S., Canada, and Europe were determined. Computerized refinery models that minimize production costs and incorporated a 1981 cost structure and supply/demand projections to the year 2010 were used. Except in the West U.S., no changes in jet fuel properties were required to meet all projected demands, even allowing for deteriorating crude qualities and changes in competing product demand. In the West U.S., property changes or the use of cracked blendstocks were projected to be required after 1990 to meet expected demand. Generally, relaxation of aromatics and freezing point, or the use of cracked stocks produced similar results, i.e., jet fuel output could be increased by up to a factor of three or its production cost lowered by up to $10/cu m. High quality hydrocracked stocks are now used on a limited basis to produce jet fuel. The conversion of U.S. and NATO military forces from wide-cut to kerosene-based jet fuel is addressed. This conversion resulted in increased costs of several hundred million dollars annually. These costs can be reduced by relaxing kerosene jet fuel properties, using cracked stocks and/or considering the greater volumetric energy content of kerosene jet fuel.

Varga, G. M., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Investigation of test methods, material properties, and processes for solar cell encapsulants

Photovoltaic (PV) modules consist of a string of electrically interconnected silicon solar cells capable of producing practical quantities of electrical power when exposed to sunlight. To insure high reliability and long term performance, the functional components of the solar cell module must be adequately protected from the environment by some encapsulation technique. The encapsulation system must provide mechanical support for the cells and corrosion protection for the electrical components. The goal of the program is to identify and develop encapsulation systems consistent with the PV module operating requirements of 30 year life and a target cost of $0.70 per peak watt ($70 per square meter) (1980 dollars). Assuming a module efficiency of ten percent, which is equivalent to a power output of 100 watts per square meter in midday sunlight, the capital cost of the modules may be calculated to be $70.00 per square meter. Out of this cost goal, only 20 percent is available for encapsulation due to the high cost of the cells, interconnects, and other related components. The encapsulation cost allocation may then be stated as $14.00 per square meter, included all coatings, pottant and mechanical supports for the cells.

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NASA NTRS1985

Streamlining: Reducing costs and increasing STS operations effectiveness

The development of streamlining as a concept, its inclusion in the space transportation system engineering and operations support (STSEOS) contract, and how it serves as an incentive to management and technical support personnel is discussed. The mechanics of encouraging and processing streamlining suggestions, reviews, feedback to submitters, recognition, and how individual employee performance evaluations are used to motivation are discussed. Several items that were implemented are mentioned. Information reported and the methodology of determining estimated dollar savings are outlined. The overall effect of this activity on the ability of the McDonnell Douglas flight preparation and mission operations team to support a rapidly increasing flight rate without a proportional increase in cost is illustrated.

Petersburg, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Future heavy duty trucking engine requirements

Developers of advanced heavy duty diesel engines are engaged in probing the opportunities presented by new materials and techniques. This process is technology driven, but there is neither assurance that the eventual users of the engines so developed will be comfortable with them nor, indeed, that those consumers will continue to exist in either the same form, or numbers as they do today. To ensure maximum payoff of research dollars, the equipment development process must consider user needs. This study defines motor carrier concerns, cost tolerances, and the engine parameters which match the future projected industry needs. The approach taken to do that is to be explained and the results presented. The material to be given comes basically from a survey of motor carrier fleets. It provides indications of the role of heavy duty vehicles in the 1998 period and their desired maintenance and engine performance parameters.

Strawhorn, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A comet nucleus sample return mission

A comet nucleus sample return mission has been proposed for implementation near the end of this century. The objective of the mission is to collect a sample of undisturbed material from beneath the surface of an active comet and return it to earth in a minimally altered state. Potential targets include the short-period comets Encke, Tempel 2 and Wild 2. This paper defines such a mission and describes its requirements with regard to science, sampling, thermal protection and performance. It has been determined that with present launch capabilities, Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) is an enabling technology for this mission and total program costs would be in the 700 million to 1 billion (FY '84) dollar range.

Feingold, H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Synthesis of ceramic powders and surface films from laser heated gases

Two new processes have been developed that are based on laser-heated gases. Both permit unusually precise levels of process control and, thereby, materials having superior properties. The power process yields Si, Si3N4 and SiC powders that are uniform in size, nonagglomerated, small diameter, spherically shaped and high purity. Manufacturing cost analyses show that submicron powders can be made with an energy cost of approximately 2 kWhr/kg and a dollar cost of 2-3.30 $/kg, exclusive of the costs of feed materials. The laser-induced chemical vapor deposition process (LICVD) causes reactant gases to be heated by absorbing IR light from a laser beam that passes parallel to the substrate surface. Laser heating permits independent control of gas and substrate temperatures while operating in a conventional, thermally activated chemical vapor deposition mode. Spin density, hydrogen content, electrical conductivity and mobility gap properties show the LICVD process capable of producing very high quality films.

Haggerty, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Budget availability

A forecast of the total NASA budget required to achieve a manned mission to Mars at around the end of this century is described. A methodology is presented for projecting the major components of the NASA budget, including the NASA base, space flight, space station, Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicle, and the Manned Mars Mission. The NASA base, including administrative expenses, construction of facilities and research and development other than manned flight, is assumed to level off at the present (1985) level and remain constant at approximately $3.5 billion (constant fiscal year 1985 dollars). The budget for space flight, which consists of Shuttle research and development, operations, and tracking and data acquisition costs, is projected to decrease from approximately $4 billion in 1985 to just under $2.5 billion by 1989 and then level off. Planning profiles for three major programs are constructed: a permanently manned space station; a Shuttle Derived Vehicle; and a Manned Mars Mission. It is concluded that all of the programs can be conducted by the year 2002 with a 3 percent real growth rate in the NASA budget.

Cyr, Kelley J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Manned Mars mission cost estimate

The potential costs of several options of a manned Mars mission are examined. A cost estimating methodology based primarily on existing Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) parametric cost models is summarized. These models include the MSFC Space Station Cost Model and the MSFC Launch Vehicle Cost Model as well as other modes and techniques. The ground rules and assumptions of the cost estimating methodology are discussed and cost estimates presented for six potential mission options which were studied. The estimated manned Mars mission costs are compared to the cost of the somewhat analogous Apollo Program cost after normalizing the Apollo cost to the environment and ground rules of the manned Mars missions. It is concluded that a manned Mars mission, as currently defined, could be accomplished for under $30 billion in 1985 dollars excluding launch vehicle development and mission operations.

Hamaker, Joseph↗
NASA NTRS1985

Flat-plate solar array project of the US Department of Energy's National Photovoltaics Program: Ten years of progress

The Flat-Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project, a Government-sponsored photovoltaics project, was initiated in January 1975 (previously named the Low-Cost Silicon Solar Array Project) to stimulate the development of PV systems for widespread use. Its goal then was to develop PV modules with 10% efficiency, a 20-year lifetime, and a selling price of $0.50 per peak watt of generating capacity (1975 dollars). It was recognized that cost reduction of PV solar-cell and module manufacturing was the key achievement needed if PV power systems were to be economically competitive for large-scale terrestrial use.

Christensen, Elmer↗
NASA NTRS1986

Flat-plate solar array project. Volume 1: Executive summary

In 1975, the U.S. Government contracted the Jet Propulsion Lab. to develop, by 1985, in conjunction with industry, the photovoltaics (PV) module and array technology required for widespread use of photovoltaics as a significant terrestrial energy source. As a result, a project that eventually became known as the Flat Plate Solar Array (FSA) Project was formed to manage an industry, university, and Government team to perform the necessary research and development. The original goals were to achieve widespread commercial use of PV modules and arrays through the development of technology that would allow them to be profitably sold for $1.07/peak watts (1985 dollars). A 10% module conversion efficiency and a 20 year lifetime were also goals. It is intended that the executive summary provide the means by which one can gain a perspective on 11 years of terrestrial photovoltaic research and development conducted by the FSA Project.

Callaghan, W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The Air Force concentrating photovoltaic array program

A summary is given of Air Force solar concentrator projects beginning with the Rockwell International study program in 1977. The Satellite Materials Hardening Programs (SMATH) explored and developed techniques for hardening planar solar cell array power systems to the combined nuclear and laser radiation threat environments. A portion of program dollars was devoted to developing a preliminary design for a hardened solar concentrator. The results of the Survivable Concentrating Photovoltaic Array (SCOPA) program, and the design, fabrication and flight qualification of a hardened concentrator panel are discussed.

Geis, Jack W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Analysis of 7- X 10-foot high speed wind tunnel shaft loads in support of fan blade failure investigation

This is a report of the investigation of the High-Speed 7- X 10-Foot Wind Tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center, which experienced a catastrophic failure of all 18 Sitka spruce fan blades during operation at 0.8 Mach number on 2 July 1985. The High-Speed Tunnel, a closed-circuit/single-return atmospheric wind tunnel, had been operated since 1945 to support a wide range of subsonic aerodynamic tests and studies. The failed blade set had been in use since 1975. In addition to blade loss, the most significant damage was a bent main drive shaft for a total estimated damage loss of 1.7 million dollars. An analysis of the natural frequency characteristics as well as loads, reactions, stresses, and deflections of the fan drive system resulting from steady-state and dynamic loads due to unbalance was performed. Transient load cases were simulated by step input and ramp input loading functions intended to simulate the loss of one to nine blades (maximum unbalance forces).

Faison, Richard W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Riblets for aircraft skin-friction reduction

Energy conservation and aerodynamic efficiency are the driving forces behind research into methods to reduce turbulent skin friction drag on aircraft fuselages. Fuselage skin friction reductions as small as 10 percent provide the potential for a 250 million dollar per year fuel savings for the commercial airline fleet. One passive drag reduction concept which is relatively simple to implement and retrofit is that of longitudinally grooved surfaces aligned with the stream velocity. These grooves (riblets) have heights and spacings on the order of the turbulent wall streak and burst dimensions. The riblet performance (8 percent net drag reduction thus far), sensitivity to operational/application considerations such as yaw and Reynolds number variation, an alternative fabrication technique, results of extensive parametric experiments for geometrical optimization, and flight test applications are summarized.

Walsh, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Report of the Committee on the Space Station of the National Research Council

The Space Station Program will be the most ambitious space project the nation has ever undertaken; will require tens of billions of dollars; and will entwine for many years the space program with those of international partners. It must have enduring stable support across administrations, and the support must be generous. The current Space Shuttle is barely adequate for the limited purpose of deploying the Space Station, and it is inadequate to meet broader national needs in space. The Committee recommends in the strongest terms that the Shuttle be upgraded with new improved solid rocket motors, that it be supplemented with expendable launch vehicles, and that a heavy lift launch vehicle be developed for use in the latter half of the 1990s. The Committee strongly recommends that NASA prepare a new Space Station Program cost estimate in conjunction with the Program Requirements Review scheduled for early next year by NASA. The exercise should address the full range of uncertainties in the current Program, some of which are discussed in the report.

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