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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 811 records · Page 45

Thermoregulation During Deconditioning

The importance of maintaining body temperature is well understood by both clinicians and lay persons. The normal, resting body core temperature is about 37 C (98.6 F), and death often occurs when it falls below 27 C (80.6 F) or exceeds 42 C (107.6 F). Thus, for survival the degree of overheating is more critical than that for overcooling. The lower limit of body core temperature for onset of heatstroke is usually only 41 C - 42 C (105.8 F - 107.6 F), but classic heatstroke has occurred with core body temperature as low as 40.6 (105.1 F). The physical effects of weightlessness on heat loss responses have not been well investigated; however, convective heat loss is greatly compromised and evaporative heat loss may also be impaired. These effects on convection and evaporation can be minimized by increasing air flow and reducing ambient humidity. The specific environments that crew members may be expected to encounter are described in this chapter.

Schneider, Suzanne M.↗

On the Use of Accelerated Test Methods for Characterization of Advanced Composite Materials

A rational approach to the problem of accelerated testing for material characterization of advanced polymer matrix composites is discussed. The experimental and analytical methods provided should be viewed as a set of tools useful in the screening of material systems for long-term engineering properties in aerospace applications. Consideration is given to long-term exposure in extreme environments that include elevated temperature, reduced temperature, moisture, oxygen, and mechanical load. Analytical formulations useful for predictive models that are based on the principles of time-based superposition are presented. The need for reproducible mechanisms, indicator properties, and real-time data are outlined as well as the methodologies for determining specific aging mechanisms.

Gates, Thomas S.↗

Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation (AIR) Project Review

The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement (NCRP) and the National Academy of Science (NAS) established that the uncertainty in the data and models associated with the high-altitude radiation environment could and should be reduced. In response, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Measurements Laboratory (EML) created the Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation (AIR) Project under the auspices of the High Speed Research (HSR) Program Office at the Langley Research Center. NASA's HSR Program was developed to address the potential of a second-generation supersonic transport. A critical element focussed on the environmental issues, including the threat to crew and passengers posed by atmospheric radiation. Various international investigators were solicited to contribute instruments to fly on an ER-2 aircraft at altitudes similar to those proposed for the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). A list of participating investigators, their institutions, and instruments with quantities measured is presented. The flight series took place at solar minimum (radiation maximum) with northern, southern, and east/west flights. The investigators analyzed their data and presented preliminary results at the AIR Workshop in March, 1998. A review of these results are included.

Singleterry, R. C., Jr.↗

Improved Acoustic Blanket Developed and Tested

Acoustic blankets are used in the payload fairing of expendable launch vehicles to reduce the fairing's interior acoustics and the subsequent vibration response of the spacecraft. The Cassini spacecraft, to be launched on a Titan IV in October 1997, requires acoustic levels lower than those provided by the standard Titan IV blankets. Therefore, new acoustic blankets were recently developed and tested to reach NASA's goal of reducing the Titan IV acoustic environment to the allowable levels for the Cassini spacecraft.

Source record↗

Role of High-End Computing in Meeting NASA's Science and Engineering Challenges

High-End Computing (HEC) has always played a major role in meeting the modeling and simulation needs of various NASA missions. With NASA's newest 62 teraflops Columbia supercomputer, HEC is having an even greater impact within the Agency and beyond. Significant cutting-edge science and engineering simulations in the areas of space exploration, Shuttle operations, Earth sciences, and aeronautics research, are already occurring on Columbia, demonstrating its ability to accelerate NASA s exploration vision. The talk will describe how the integrated supercomputing production environment is being used to reduce design cycle time, accelerate scientific discovery, conduct parametric analysis of multiple scenarios, and enhance safety during the life cycle of NASA missions.

Biswas, Rupak↗

Numerical Study of Flow Augmented Thermal Management for Entry and Re-Entry Environments

The use of a flow augmented thermal management system for entry and re-entr environments is one method for reducing heat and drag loads. This concept relies on jet penetration from supersonic and hypersonic counterflowing jets that could significantly weaken and disperse the shock-wave system of the spacecraft flow field. The objective of this research effort is to conduct parametric studies of the supersonic flow over a 2.6% scale model of the Apollo capsule, with and without the counterflowing jet, using time-accurate and steady-state computational fluid dynamics simulations. The numerical studies, including different freestream Mach number angle of attack counterflowing jet mass flow rate, and nozzle configurations, were performed to examine their effect on the drag and beat loads and to explore the counternowing jet condition. The numerical results were compared with the test data obtained from transonic blow-down wind-tunnel experiments conducted independently at NASA MSFC.

Cheng, Gary C.↗

BioSentinel: Mission Development of a Radiation Biosensor to Gauge DNA Damage and Repair Beyond Low Earth Orbit on a 6U Nanosatellite

We are designing and developing a 6U (10 x 22 x 34 cm; 14 kg) nanosatellite as a secondary payload to fly aboard NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) Exploration Mission (EM) 1, scheduled for launch in late 2017. For the first time in over forty years, direct experimental data from biological studies beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) will be obtained during BioSentinels 12- to 18-month mission. BioSentinel will measure the damage and repair of DNA in a biological organism and allow us to compare that to information from onboard physical radiation sensors. In order to understand the relative contributions of the space environments two dominant biological perturbations, reduced gravity and ionizing radiation, results from deep space will be directly compared to data obtained in LEO (on ISS) and on Earth. These data points will be available for validation of existing biological radiation damage and repair models, and for extrapolation to humans, to assist in mitigating risks during future long-term exploration missions beyond LEO. The BioSentinel Payload occupies 4U of the spacecraft and will utilize the monocellular eukaryotic organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) to report DNA double-strand-break (DSB) events that result from ambient space radiation. DSB repair exhibits striking conservation of repair proteins from yeast to humans. Yeast was selected because of 1) its similarity to cells in higher organisms, 2) the well-established history of strains engineered to measure DSB repair, 3) its spaceflight heritage, and 4) the wealth of available ground and flight reference data. The S. cerevisiae flight strain will include engineered genetic defects to prevent growth and division until a radiation-induced DSB activates the yeasts DNA repair mechanisms. The triggered culture growth and metabolic activity directly indicate a DSB and its successful repair. The yeast will be carried in the dry state within the 1-atm PL container in 18 separate fluidics cards with each card having 16 independent culture microwells, with integral microchannels and filters to supply nutrients and reagents, confine the yeast to the wells, and enable optical measurement. The measurement subsystem will monitor each subgroup of culture wells continuously for several weeks, optically tracking DSB-triggered cell growth and metabolism. BioSentinel will also include physical radiation sensors based on the TimePix sensor, as implemented by JSCs RadWorks group, which record individual radiation events including estimates of their linear-energy-transfer (LET) values. Radiation-dose and LET data will be compared directly to the rate of DSB-and-repair events measured by the S. cerevisiae biosentinels.

Radiation Biosensor↗

Examining the Changing Roles and Responsibilities of Humans in Envisioned Future In-Time Aviation Safety Management Systems

Advances in technology are enabling new concepts of operations that will trans-form aviation including increasingly autonomous capabilities to handle evolving complex dynamic ecosystems like those associated with Advanced Aerial Mobility. A major challenge is how to ensure today’s safety levels are maintained as the system scales for rapid detection and timely mitigation of safety issues. NASA has developed a concept of operation for In-Time Aviation Safety Management Systems (IASMS) that represents a system-of-system perspective on interconnected capabilities needed to proactively reduce risk in complex operational environments where unknown hazards may exist. As a result, NASA research priorities include under-standing how the balance between humans and automation changes in such envisioned systems, which may lead to novel human-machine interaction paradigms and human-autonomy teaming for informed contingency management.

Lawrence Prinzel↗

Noise Evaluation of Various High-gain, Very-low-noise Current Sense Amplifier Circuits

We report an evaluation of three different electronic topologies for a high-gain, very-low-noise current sense amplifier (CSA) for use in remote sensing applications. The circuits in question were built from commercially available parts and were evaluated for their performance in an interface to a photodetector used in NASA’s Lunar Flashlight infrared spectrometer spacecraft. Through constraints on the test environment, we were able to reduce the impact of systematic noise sources by making them common mode to the measurement. The parts compared were based on the ADA4530-1, the LTC6240, and the LSK389A. We determined which of the three different versions of the CSA had superior noise performance for selection for use on the instrument. Two tests and simulations of each board compare and contrast functionality and performance, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and based on those results, we show that the ADA4350-1 out-performed the opposing components.

Foor, David↗

Development of an Inertial Sensor-based Methodology for Spacesuited Geology Task Assessments during Simulated Lunar Extravehicular Activities

Lunar surface exploration during Artemis missions will require the specific skill set of geology sampling. Apollo astronauts had extensive training and used specialized tools to collect lunar rocks, core samples, pebbles, sand, and dust. The inflexibility of the pressurized Apollo spacesuits forced sampling to be taken at a standstill posture. However, new exploration spacesuits are expected to incorporate advanced materials and joint bearings, allowing for greater mobility and a wider range of functional postures. Thus, science and exploration during Artemis missions will likely involve a variety of standing, squatting, and kneeling postures. In preparation for future lunar exploration missions, NASA provides geologic training to astronauts and other mission personnel. This professional training with a spacesuit in simulated lunar environments will enhance performance and reduce risk of injury to astronauts on the lunar surface. However, anecdotally, untrained or newly trained people wearing prototype planetary spacesuits have been observed to performing motions differently than a trained geologist would when conducting the same geology sampling tasks. Therefore, a tool for evaluating geology postures at extravehicular activity (EVA) training facilities becomes required. In this paper, we introduce a novel inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based method of geology task assessments in spacesuited conditions during simulated lunar EVAs. As a case study, two subjects (one geologist and one non-geologist) participated and donned the Mark III prototype planetary spacesuit during offloading with the spreader bar gimbal in NASA’s Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS). For automated geology task assessments, the spacesuit was instrumented with three wireless IMUs (APDM Opal, OR, USA): one on the chest and one each on the left and right ankle bearings. Then subjects performed geology tasks using various tools (rake, trench, hammer chisel, scoop, and drive tube) for 45 minutes each. The chest IMU measured the torso tilt angle in the sagittal plane. We used an ensemble learning method with the ankle IMUs to discriminate between standing and kneeling activities. IMU data were processed using custom MATLAB (Mathworks, MA, USA) software. In our case study, the developed method was able to discriminate differences in standing and kneeling activity levels between subjects who were all highly experienced with spacesuited testing. Our preliminary data showed one subject maintained the constant and lower range of the upper body tilt angle while both standing and kneeling, while the other subject showed more variation of the upper body tilt angle and preferred bending the upper body rather than changing from standing to kneeling posture and vice versa. While geology experience may be a factor, these results need further investigation as suit sizing and ARGOS offloading configurations have been proven to have a significant influence on suited ARGOS tasks. Also, more subjects will be needed to complete these tasks for validation. IMU-based geology task assessments can provide useful information for geology training programs. Additionally, our IMU-based posture analysis can provide new insights into how to evaluate spacesuited geology task characteristics of astronauts during simulated lunar EVAs.

Kyoung Jae Kim↗

Los Angeles Urban Development Utilizing Nasa Earth Observations to Evaluate the Impact of Tree Coverage on Urban Heat Mitigation

In recent decades, Los Angeles, California has experienced an increase in summer temperatures that has intensified the urban heat island effect. The expansion of developed areas has contributed significantly to this phenomenon by trapping and reradiating heat, posing dangerous health risks to residents. To mitigate this problem, organizations including City Plants and the L.A.’s Office of City Forest Management have implemented initiatives to promote urban greening and tree planting, which help cool down vulnerable communities. In collaboration with these partners, NASA DEVELOP has undertaken a study to investigate the role of trees in urban environments and their effectiveness in reducing local urban heat islands.

Leyla Namazie↗

Lunar Dust Considerations for Vertical Solar Arrays Volume 1: Lunar Environment and Dust Interactions

Lunar dust can complicate nearly every aspect of operations on the lunar surface. Jagged surface asperities, electrostatic charge, chemical reactivity, and interactions resulting in high-velocity motion enable a myriad of potential interaction pathways for lunar dust to adversely affect any exposed surface. Optimization of solar array energy collection efficiency, which will be important for a sustained lunar presence, will require overcoming many challenges presented by lunar dust. In this work, the fundamental properties of lunar dust, natural aspects of the lunar environment that influence the properties of lunar dust, and lunar exploration activities that will contribute to problems associated with lunar dust exposure are discussed. Aspects of the lunar environment that could contribute to reducing the operational efficiency of vertical solar arrays, which will be required for the lunar south pole region, are also identified.

vertical solar array technology↗

Biofabrication in Space - A Perspective

Human exploration of Mars is one of the primary goals of NASA. A three-year human exploration mission to Mars is a viable design reference mission (Design Reference Mission). If we are sending a four member crew, comprehensive understanding of the health conditions of the crew is important. Based on the biomedical results of long-duration crew members at ISS, and during gravitational transitions, a few maladaptation have been observed. Discovering the root-cause of these aberrations and finding suitable mitigations at the molecular and cellular levels are of importance for a successful mission. Developing and executing the technologies to carry out tissue generation in space as well as the development of an analog hardware for tissue generation under terrestrial conditions will be discussed. These tissues were typically used to develop disease models and drug toxicology studies for several weeks and many other applications. The significant progress made during the last two decades have unfolded developments in organ generation, stem cell generation in space. When you remove the gravitational force during these cellular building processes while in space, other forces like surface tension, intermolecular forces, Coriolis force, loss of convection, reduced shear force, dominate the environment leading to behavior that we may not observe under terrestrial conditions. Based on these discoveries, the fundamental mechanisms could be better understood and new insights into bioprocesses could be developed for an exciting future.

Antony Jeevarajan↗

Techno-Economic Analysis of Geologically Connected Seawater Air Conditioning (GeoSWAC) Concept for District Cooling at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras: Preprint

At the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, a central chilled water plant supplies cooling to several campus buildings, contributing significantly to electricity demand during daytime peak hours, particularly in the summer months. These operational challenges are exacerbated by Puerto Rico's tropical rainforest climate and a power grid vulnerable to frequent disruptions caused by hurricanes and tropical storms. This study presents a techno-economic analysis of the existing chilled water plant serving four representative campus buildings and introduces a conceptual alternative: the Geologically connected Seawater Air Conditioning (GeoSWAC) system. GeoSWAC leverages stable low temperatures of deep ocean water (~1 km depth), hydraulically connected to an inland well, to deliver cooling without the use of vapor-compression refrigeration. Using modeled annual cooling loads and chiller performance data, capital costs, energy consumption, and levelized cost of cooling (LCOC) were evaluated for both systems. While GeoSWAC showed higher capital costs than the chiller-based scenario, operational costs were significantly lower at $26k-$53k annually, resulting in a lower LCOC between $2.3/MWh and $8.2/MWh compared to $30.2/MWh-$33.6/MWh for the chiller scenario. These results suggest that the GeoSWAC system offers a promising, low-energy, and climate-resilient alternative for large-scale cooling in tropical coastal environments, with significant potential to reduce peak electricity demand and improve long-term system reliability.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Combustion of Gaseous Fuels Under Reduced-Gravity Conditions

The need for an improved understanding of fires is becoming critically important with increased space travel and utilization. While the control of fires in low-gravity environments is not well understood, it is known that buoyancy significantly affects flame behavior and characteristics. The objective of this research is to gain a more fundamental understanding of fires, and to quantify flame behavior under reduced-gravity levels. Non-premixed flames of gaseous fuels are considered in this study because they are relatively simple and easy to control, yet embody mechanisms found in all types of combustion processes ranging from uncontrolled fires to practical combustion systems. This paper presents some recent results from microgravity studies of these flames. In addition, the potential usefulness of lunar- and Martian-based laboratories is discussed in order to understand the characteristics and behavior of fires in reduced-gravity environments.

Bahadori, M. Yousef↗

Pulse Radiolysis Investigation of Radicals Derived from Water-Soluble Cyanine Dyes: Implications for Super-resolution Microscopy

Light-induced blinking, an inherent feature of many forms of super-resolution microscopy, has been linked to transient reduction of the fluorescent cyanine dye used as an imaging agent. There is, however, only scant literature information related to one-electron reduced cyanine dyes, especially in an aqueous environment. Here, we examine a small series of cyanine dyes, possessing disparate π-conjugation lengths, under selective reducing or oxidizing conditions. The experiment allows recording of both differential absorption spectra and decay kinetics of the resultant one-electron reduced or oxidized transient species in water. Relative to the ground state, absorption transitions for the various radicals are weak and somewhat broadened but do allow correlation with the π-conjugation length. In all cases, absorption maxima lie to the blue of the main ground-state transition. Under anaerobic conditions, the transient species decay on the microsecond to millisecond time scale, with the mean lifetime depending on molecular structure, radiation dose, and dye concentration. The experimental absorption spectra recorded for the one-electron reduced radicals and the presumed dimer cation radical compare well to spectra obtained from time-dependent density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, the results allow conclusions to be drawn regarding the plausibility of the reduced species being responsible for light-induced blinking in direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Overview of NASA's Space Environments and Effects (SEE) Program Technology Development Activities

Reducing size and weight of spacecraft, along with demanding increased performance capabilities, introduces many uncertainties in the engineering design community on how spacecraft and spacecraft systems will perform in space. The engineering design community is forever behind on obtaining and developing new tools and guidelines to mitigate the harmful effects of the space environment. Adding to this complexity is the push to use Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and shrinking microelectronics behind less shielding utilizing new materials. The potential usage of unproven technologies such as large solar sail structures and nuclear electric propulsion introduces new requirements to develop new engineering tools. In order to drive down these uncertainties, NASA s SEE Program provides resources for technology development to accommodate or mitigate these harmful environments on spacecraft. This paper will describe the current SEE Program's, currently funded activities and possible future developments.

Kauffman, Billy↗

Investigation of Lunar Regolith Reduction via Hydrogen Plasma in Different Plasma Environments

The team at NASA KSC explored the use of hydrogen plasma as a reducing agent for Lunar regolith simulant in order to prove the viability of oxygen extraction from oxides. The focus of this work was to investigate the hydrogen ion production of different plasma power sources. An optimization trade study was completed by maximizing the production of the hydrogen ion and comparing the amount produced to the energy consumed. Hydrogen ion production was determined via residual gas analysis and a rough calibration using injected water. The hydrogen ions reduce the oxides present in the Lunar regolith, forming an OH molecule, which can further react with the hydrogen environment to form water vapor. This water vapor can then be measured through a residual gas analysis. Through this study, it was found that a direct current (DC) glow discharge operating at approximately 1 torr in a hydrogen environment produced the largest amount of reduced regolith when compared with a nanosecond pulsed system and alternating current (AC) source. Radiofrequency devices beyond AC were not studied in this work. Although the DC source performed the best here, limitations in design and experiment setup/scalability may lead to the selection of an alternative plasma power source in the future.

Kenneth Engeling↗