Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Fire Simulation”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Experimental study and demonstration of pilot-scale, dry feed, oxy-coal combustion under pressure

In this paper, we discuss how pressurized oxy-combustion is a promising technology for low-carbon, fossil fuel utilization. It has the potential of improved efficiency and economics compared with conventional atmospheric pressure oxy-combustion. Washington University in St. Louis has proposed a new pressurized oxy-combustion process, namely Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion, which has the potential to improve further the plant efficiency, operational flexibility, and economics. This process burns pulverized coal in a pressurized, oxy-combustion environment, which has not been demonstrated in a pilot-scale system before. To address this gap, a 100 kWth pressurized oxy-combustion facility was designed and constructed. This facility has a unique burner and furnace design featuring a co-axial, low-mixing flow field, which is drastically different from conventional coal-fired boiler designs where strong mixing is sought by introducing swirl or recirculating flows. This work aims to present the first pilot-scale experimental results of a dry-feed, pressurized oxy-combustion system. The tests focused on exploring flame stability and shape, char burnout, and fine particulate matter formation. Testing results suggest that the burner has excellent flame stability. The flame shape is consistent with the design philosophy and agrees with large eddy simulations. Importantly, complete char combustion can be achieved with an oxygen mole fraction in the flue gas of only 0.8%, as opposed to a required value of ~3% for conventional atmospheric pressure air-fired or oxyfuel combustion, which reduces the costs of both oxygen generation upstream and oxygen removal downstream. The testing results show promise for dry-feed, pressurized oxy-combustion, and the new burner and furnace design.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
NASA NTRS1972

Radiative heating to the Apollo command module: Engineering prediction and flight measurement

The theory and engineering techniques used for the prediction of the Apollo entry thermal-radiation environment are presented. The radiation predictions are shown to be in satisfactory agreement with the Apollo 4, FIRE 1, and FIRE 2 flight radiometer data. The characteristics and performance of the Apollo flight radiometer and ablator-mounted configuration were determined through arc jet simulation tests.

Ried, R. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Skylab Medical Experiments Altitude Test /SMEAT/ facility design and operation.

This paper presents the design approaches and test facility operation methods used to successfully accomplish a 56-day test for Skylab to permit evaluation of selected Skylab medical experiments in a ground test simulation of the Skylab environment with an astronaut crew. The systems designed for this test include the two-gas environmental control system, the fire suppression and detection system, equipment transfer lock, ground support equipment, safety systems, potable water system, waste management system, lighting and power system, television monitoring, communications and recreation systems, and food freezer.

Hinners, A. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Thermal cyclic durability testing of ceramic materials for turbine engines

The thermal cyclic durability of commercial ceramic materials for turbine engines was under evaluation since 1978. Ceramic materials are exposed to cyclic diesel-fired burner exhaust at either 1204 or 1371 C (2200 or 2500 F) for up to 3500 hours. The test conditions are selected to simulate the environment experienced by the hot flow path components in an automotive gas turbine engine. The silicon nitride and silicon carbide materials tested are the same ceramic materials currently used on the AGT100 and AGT101 ceramic turbine engine program.

Lindberg, L. J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Atomic Oxygen Used to Restore Artworks

Techniques developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center to produce atomic oxygen in order to simulate the low-Earth-orbit environment for spacecraft materials testing can also be applied in the field of art restoration. Defaced or fire-damaged artwork can be treated with atomic oxygen to remove the damage and enable restoration that could not be accomplished with conventional methods. The process has been patented (U.S. Patents 5,560,781 and 5,693,241) and has been used to restore several works of art.

Banks, Bruce A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Pulse Detonation Engine Test Bed Developed

A detonation is a supersonic combustion wave. A Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) repetitively creates a series of detonation waves to take advantage of rapid burning and high peak pressures to efficiently produce thrust. NASA Glenn Research Center's Combustion Branch has developed a PDE test bed that can reproduce the operating conditions that might be encountered in an actual engine. It allows the rapid and cost-efficient evaluation of the technical issues and technologies associated with these engines. The test bed is modular in design. It consists of various length sections of both 2- and 2.6- in. internal-diameter combustor tubes. These tubes can be bolted together to create a variety of combustor configurations. A series of bosses allow instrumentation to be inserted on the tubes. Dynamic pressure sensors and heat flux gauges have been used to characterize the performance of the test bed. The PDE test bed is designed to utilize an existing calorimeter (for heat load measurement) and windowed (for optical access) combustor sections. It uses hydrogen as the fuel, and oxygen and nitrogen are mixed to simulate air. An electronic controller is used to open the hydrogen and air valves (or a continuous flow of air is used) and to fire the spark at the appropriate times. Scheduled tests on the test bed include an evaluation of the pumping ability of the train of detonation waves for use in an ejector and an evaluation of the pollutants formed in a PDE combustor. Glenn's Combustion Branch uses the National Combustor Code (NCC) to perform numerical analyses of PDE's as well as to evaluate alternative detonative combustion devices. Pulse Detonation Engine testbed.

Breisacher, Kevin J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Spinoff 2011

Topics include: Bioreactors Drive Advances in Tissue Engineering; Tooling Techniques Enhance Medical Imaging; Ventilator Technologies Sustain Critically Injured Patients; Protein Innovations Advance Drug Treatments, Skin Care; Mass Analyzers Facilitate Research on Addiction; Frameworks Coordinate Scientific Data Management; Cameras Improve Navigation for Pilots, Drivers; Integrated Design Tools Reduce Risk, Cost; Advisory Systems Save Time, Fuel for Airlines; Modeling Programs Increase Aircraft Design Safety; Fly-by-Wire Systems Enable Safer, More Efficient Flight; Modified Fittings Enhance Industrial Safety; Simulation Tools Model Icing for Aircraft Design; Information Systems Coordinate Emergency Management; Imaging Systems Provide Maps for U.S. Soldiers; High-Pressure Systems Suppress Fires in Seconds; Alloy-Enhanced Fans Maintain Fresh Air in Tunnels; Control Algorithms Charge Batteries Faster; Software Programs Derive Measurements from Photographs; Retrofits Convert Gas Vehicles into Hybrids; NASA Missions Inspire Online Video Games; Monitors Track Vital Signs for Fitness and Safety; Thermal Components Boost Performance of HVAC Systems; World Wind Tools Reveal Environmental Change; Analyzers Measure Greenhouse Gasses, Airborne Pollutants; Remediation Technologies Eliminate Contaminants; Receivers Gather Data for Climate, Weather Prediction; Coating Processes Boost Performance of Solar Cells; Analyzers Provide Water Security in Space and on Earth; Catalyst Substrates Remove Contaminants, Produce Fuel; Rocket Engine Innovations Advance Clean Energy; Technologies Render Views of Earth for Virtual Navigation; Content Platforms Meet Data Storage, Retrieval Needs; Tools Ensure Reliability of Critical Software; Electronic Handbooks Simplify Process Management; Software Innovations Speed Scientific Computing; Controller Chips Preserve Microprocessor Function; Nanotube Production Devices Expand Research Capabilities; Custom Machines Advance Composite Manufacturing; Polyimide Foams Offer Superior Insulation; Beam Steering Devices Reduce Payload Weight; Models Support Energy-Saving Microwave Technologies; Materials Advance Chemical Propulsion Technology; and High-Temperature Coatings Offer Energy Savings.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2016

Hot-Fire Test Results of Liquid Oxygen/RP-2 Multi-Element Oxidizer-Rich Preburners

As part of the Combustion Stability Tool Development project funded by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center was contracted to assemble and hot-fire test a multi-element integrated test article demonstrating combustion characteristics of an oxygen/hydrocarbon propellant oxidizer-rich staged-combustion engine thrust chamber. Such a test article simulates flow through the main injectors of oxygen/kerosene oxidizer-rich staged combustion engines such as the Russian RD-180 or NK-33 engines, or future U.S.-built engine systems such as the Aerojet-Rocketdyne AR-1 engine or the Hydrocarbon Boost program demonstration engine. To supply the oxidizer-rich combustion products to the main injector of the integrated test article, existing subscale preburner injectors from a previous NASA-funded oxidizer-rich staged combustion engine development program were utilized. For the integrated test article, existing and newly designed and fabricated inter-connecting hot gas duct hardware were used to supply the oxidizer-rich combustion products to the oxidizer circuit of the main injector of the thrust chamber. However, before one of the preburners was used in the integrated test article, it was first hot-fire tested at length to prove it could provide the hot exhaust gas mean temperature, thermal uniformity and combustion stability necessary to perform in the integrated test article experiment. This paper presents results from hot-fire testing of several preburner injectors in a representative combustion chamber with a sonic throat. Hydraulic, combustion performance, exhaust gas thermal uniformity, and combustion stability data are presented. Results from combustion stability modeling of these test results are described in a companion paper at this JANNAF conference, while hot-fire test results of the preburner injector in the integrated test article are described in another companion paper.

Protz, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS2010

World, We Have Problems: Simulation for Large Complex, Risky Projects, and Events

Prior to a spacewalk during the NASA STS/129 mission in November 2009, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) correspondent William Harwood reported astronauts, "were awakened again", as they had been the day previously. Fearing something not properly connected was causing a leak, the crew, both on the ground and in space, stopped and checked everything. The alarm proved false. The crew did complete its work ahead of schedule, but the incident reminds us that correctly connecting hundreds and thousands of entities, subsystems and systems, finding leaks, loosening stuck valves, and adding replacements to very large complex systems over time does not occur magically. Everywhere major projects present similar pressures. Lives are at - risk. Responsibility is heavy. Large natural and human-created disasters introduce parallel difficulties as people work across boundaries their countries, disciplines, languages, and cultures with known immediate dangers as well as the unexpected. NASA has long accepted that when humans have to go where humans cannot go that simulation is the sole solution. The Agency uses simulation to achieve consensus, reduce ambiguity and uncertainty, understand problems, make decisions, support design, do planning and troubleshooting, as well as for operations, training, testing, and evaluation. Simulation is at the heart of all such complex systems, products, projects, programs, and events. Difficult, hazardous short and, especially, long-term activities have a persistent need for simulation from the first insight into a possibly workable idea or answer until the final report perhaps beyond our lifetime is put in the archive. With simulation we create a common mental model, try-out breakdowns of machinery or teamwork, and find opportunity for improvement. Lifecycle simulation proves to be increasingly important as risks and consequences intensify. Across the world, disasters are increasing. We anticipate more of them, as the results of global warming prove more and more ominous-glaciers melting in Bolivia, floods in Saudi Arabia, the Maldives sinking and salt rising along the Nile. Fear grows about potential asteroid crashes and nightly television images raise awareness of victims of floods, hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons, fire, tornado, tsunami, bombings, landslides, and cross-boundary criminality. The Red Cross says that disasters impact 250 million people each year. That means that 700,000 people are having a very bad day today. Modeling and simulation is and must be part of the solution.

Elfrey, Priscilla↗
NASA NTRS2004

Scripting Scenarios for the Human Patient Simulator

The Human Patient Simulator (HPS) is particularly useful in providing scenario-based learning which can be tailored to fit specific scenarios and which can be modified in realtime to enhance the teaching environment. Scripting these scenarios so as to maximize learning requires certain skills, in order to ensure that a change in student performance, understanding, critical thinking, and/or communication skills results. Methods: A "good" scenario can be defined in terms of applicability, learning opportunities, student interest, and clearly associated metrics. Obstacles to such a scenario include a lack of understanding of the applicable environment by the scenario author(s), a desire (common among novices) to cover too many topics, failure to define learning objectives, mutually exclusive or confusing learning objectives, unskilled instructors, poor preparation , disorganized approach, or an inappropriate teaching philosophy (such as "trial by fire" or education through humiliation). Results: Descriptions of several successful teaching programs, used in the military, civilian, and NASA medical environments , will be provided, along with sample scenarios. Discussion: Simulator-based lessons have proven to be a time- and cost-efficient manner by which to educate medical personnel. Particularly when training for medical care in austere environments (pre-hospital, aeromedical transport, International Space Station, military operations), the HPS can enhance the learning experience.

Bacal, Kira↗
NASA NTRS2016

Hot-Fire Test Results of an Oxygen/RP-2 Multi-Element Oxidizer-Rich Staged-Combustion Integrated Test Article

As part of the Combustion Stability Tool Development project funded by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center was contracted to assemble and hot-fire test a multi-element integrated test article demonstrating combustion characteristics of an oxygen/hydrocarbon propellant oxidizer-rich staged-combustion engine thrust chamber. Such a test article simulates flow through the main injectors of oxygen/kerosene oxidizer-rich staged combustion engines such as the Russian RD-180 or NK-33 engines, or future U.S.-built engine systems such as the Aerojet-Rocketdyne AR-1 engine or the Hydrocarbon Boost program demonstration engine. For the thrust chamber assembly of the test article, several configurations of new main injectors, using relatively conventional gas-centered swirl coaxial injector elements, were designed and fabricated. The design and fabrication of these main injectors are described in a companion paper at this JANNAF meeting. New ablative combustion chambers were fabricated based on hardware previously used at NASA for testing at similar size and pressure. An existing oxygen/RP-1 oxidizer-rich subscale preburner injector from a previous NASA-funded program, along with existing and new inter-connecting hot gas duct hardware, were used to supply the oxidizer-rich combustion products to the oxidizer circuit of the main injector of the thrust chamber. Results from independent hot-fire tests of the preburner injector in a combustion chamber with a sonic throat are described in companion papers at this JANNAF conference. The resulting integrated test article - which includes the preburner, inter-connecting hot gas duct, main injector, and ablative combustion chamber - was assembled at Test Stand 116 at the East Test Area of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The test article was well instrumented with static and dynamic pressure, temperature, and acceleration sensors to allow the collected data to be used for combustion analysis model development. Hot-fire testing was conducted with main combustion chamber pressures ranging from 1400 to 2100 psia, and main combustion chamber mixture ratios ranging from 2.4 to 2.9. Different levels of fuel film cooling injected from the injector face were examined ranging from none to about 12% of the total fuel flow. This paper presents the hot-fire test results of the integrated test article. Combustion performance, stability, thermal, and compatibility characteristics of both the preburner and the thrust chamber are described. Another companion paper at this JANNAF meeting includes additional and more detailed test data regarding the combustion dynamics and stability characteristics.

Hulka, J. R.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Linear Approximation Line Pack Model for Integrated Electricity and Natural Gas Systems OPF

With the increasing installation of renewable energy electricity generation capacity, the penetration of natural gas fired generation is also substantailly increasing in power systems due to their fast response capability to mitigate system variability and uncertainty. The dependencies between the electricity system and the natural gas system are becoming more important to maintain the reliability of both systems. In integrated electricity and natural gas systems (IEGSs) operations, the nonlinearity of the natural gas system brings challenges to the system operators. In this paper, the IEGSs optimal power flow (OPF) model is proposed that includes the line pack of the gas system via linear approximation. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed model can obtain optimal solutions efficiently that are comparable in accuracy as the nonlinear line pack model.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

CRCNS22 Learning Rules in the Hippocampus and their Mapping to Neuromorphic Systems (Final Technical Report)

Large scale biologically-realistic computational models are key to investigating the interplay between structure and function in nervous systems, thus paving the way to new clinical methods and neuro-inspired computing solutions. This project focuses on the hippocampus, in particular the CA3-CA1 regions, due to their role in associative learning and memory, pattern separation and completion, and spatial navigation. Investigations into the neuronal organization and learning rule(s) of this circuit can shed light into how declarative memories are formed, stored, recalled and forgotten and inform computational, experimental and clinical neuroscience work. Our project aims at developing a novel data-driven methodology supported by a broad heterogeneous base of neuroscience experimental knowledge and inspired from advances in computer science and engineering. Specifically, this work will benchmark existing and new learning rules within a full-scale spiking neural network simulation of the CA3-CA1 region. The model will be based on an open-source repository, called the Hippocampome, which contains neuronal morphologies, firing patterns, synapse probabilities, and most other required parameters for all known neuron types in the rodent hippocampal formation. The model will be first trained in a supervised fashion for associative memory tasks using backpropagation through time traditionally used in computer science, enhanced with a new technique called the surrogate gradient method. This optimization method will be used to obtain a global loss minimization, but it is not biologically inspired as it assumes the use of data not locally available to the synapses. However, we propose its use as a benchmarking tool, to compare the training performance of local biologically plausible and hardware-mappable learning rules at scale. New rules or combinations will be proposed and tested as needed, based on the obtained results. Progress in this area will also drive the development of novel hardware-mappable algorithms for continual lifelong learning and categorization of new events from few presented examples. This project goes beyond the existing state-of-the-art by looking at large scale realistic neuronal circuits as networks trainable via global optimization methods such as surrogate gradient descent. The objective function of the brain that supports learning is largely unknown, but it is likely that it operates through local learning rules. Studying network trajectories around local minima as proposed in this work represents a useful strategy for understanding whether a network is training by using a specific (set of) learning rule(s). Starting from a completely untrained network is a challenging test since it is difficult to determine how the learning rule affects the trajectory of the network. This interdisciplinary project will help understand what rule governs learning in these regions or if multiple learning rules are involved. The work will develop a robust methodology to measure if the network is converging to the target solution, oscillating around it, or diverging away.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1978

The Annular Suspension and Pointing System /ASPS/

The Annular Suspension and Pointing System (ASPS) may be attached to a carrier vehicle for orientation, mechanical isolation, and fine pointing purposes applicable to space experiments. It has subassemblies for both coarse and vernier pointing. A fourteen-degree-of-freedom simulation of the ASPS mounted on a Space Shuttle has yielded initial performance data. The simulation describes: the magnetic actuators, payload sensors, coarse gimbal assemblies, control algorithms, rigid body dynamic models of the payload and Shuttle, and a control system firing model.

Anderson, W. W.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Entry Vehicle Control System Design for the Mars Smart Lander

The NASA Langley Research Center, in cooperation with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, participated in a preliminary design study of the Entry, Descent and Landing phase for the Mars Smart Lander Project. This concept utilizes advances in Guidance, Navigation and Control technology to significantly reduce uncertainty in the vehicle landed location on the Mars surface. A candidate entry vehicle controller based on the Reaction Control System controller for the Apollo Lunar Excursion Module digital autopilot is proposed for use in the entry vehicle attitude control. A slight modification to the phase plane controller is used to reduce jet-firing chattering while maintaining good control response for the Martian entry probe application. The controller performance is demonstrated in a six-degree-of-freedom simulation with representative aerodynamics.

Calhoun, Philip C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Obtaining NASA Approval for use of Non-Metallic Materials in Manned Space Flight

Material manufacturers and suppliers are often surprised when a material commonly provided to industry is not approved for use on manned spacecraft. Often the reason is a lack of test data in environments that simulate those encountered in space applications, especially oxygen-enriched conditions, which significantly increase both the likelihood of material combustion and the propagation of a fire. This paper introduces the requirements for flight approval of non-metallic materials, focusing on material testing for human-rated space flight programs; it reviews the history of flight materials requirements and provides the rationale for such and introduces specific requirements related to testing and to good material engineering and design practices. After describing the procedure for submitting materials to be tested, the paper outlines options available if a material fails testing. In addition, this treatise introduces the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Materials and Processes Technical Information System (MAPTIS), a database housing all test data produced in accordance with NASA-STD-6001, Flammability, Odor, Offgassing, and Compatibility Requirements and Test Procedures for Materials in Environments that Support Combustion.

Davis, Samuel E.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Space-based Observational Constraints for 1-D Plume Rise Models

We use a space-based plume height climatology derived from observations made by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard the NASA Terra satellite to evaluate the ability of a plume-rise model currently embedded in several atmospheric chemical transport models (CTMs) to produce accurate smoke injection heights. We initialize the plume-rise model with assimilated meteorological fields from the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System and estimated fuel moisture content at the location and time of the MISR measurements. Fire properties that drive the plume-rise model are difficult to estimate and we test the model with four estimates for active fire area and four for total heat flux, obtained using empirical data and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) re radiative power (FRP) thermal anomalies available for each MISR plume. We show that the model is not able to reproduce the plume heights observed by MISR over the range of conditions studied (maximum r2 obtained in all configurations is 0.3). The model also fails to determine which plumes are in the free troposphere (according to MISR), key information needed for atmospheric models to simulate properly smoke dispersion. We conclude that embedding a plume-rise model using currently available re constraints in large-scale atmospheric studies remains a difficult proposition. However, we demonstrate the degree to which the fire dynamical heat flux (related to active fire area and sensible heat flux), and atmospheric stability structure influence plume rise, although other factors less well constrained (e.g., entrainment) may also be significant. Using atmospheric stability conditions, MODIS FRP, and MISR plume heights, we offer some constraints on the main physical factors that drive smoke plume rise. We find that smoke plumes reaching high altitudes are characterized by higher FRP and weaker atmospheric stability conditions than those at low altitude, which tend to remain confined below the BL, consistent with earlier results. We propose two simplified parameterizations for computing injection heights for fires in CTMs and discuss current challenges to representing plume injection heights in large scale atmospheric models.

Martin, Maria Val↗
NASA NTRS2012

High Fidelity Simulations of Plume Impingement to the International Space Station

With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, the United States now depends on recently developed commercial spacecraft to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with cargo. These new vehicles supplement ones from international partners including the Russian Progress, the European Autonomous Transfer Vehicle (ATV), and the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). Furthermore, to carry crew to the ISS and supplement the capability currently provided exclusively by the Russian Soyuz, new designs and a refinement to a cargo vehicle design are in work. Many of these designs include features such as nozzle scarfing or simultaneous firing of multiple thrusters resulting in complex plumes. This results in a wide variety of complex plumes impinging upon the ISS. Therefore, to ensure safe "proximity operations" near the ISS, the need for accurate and efficient high fidelity simulation of plume impingement to the ISS is as high as ever. A capability combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) techniques has been developed to properly model the large density variations encountered as the plume expands from the high pressure in the combustion chamber to the near vacuum conditions at the orbiting altitude of the ISS. Details of the computational tools employed by this method, including recent software enhancements and the best practices needed to achieve accurate simulations, are discussed. Several recent examples of the application of this high fidelity capability are presented. These examples highlight many of the real world, complex features of plume impingement that occur when "visiting vehicles" operate in the vicinity of the ISS.

Lumpkin, Forrest E., III↗