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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 91 records · Page 5

Computational Work to Support FAP/SRW Variable-Speed Power-Turbine Development

The purpose of this report is to document the work done to enable a NASA CFD code to model the transition on a blade. The purpose of the present work is to down-select a transition model that would allow the flow simulation of a Variable-Speed Power-Turbine (VSPT) to be accurately performed. The modeling is to be ultimately performed to also account for the blade row interactions and effect on transition and therefore accurate accounting for losses. The present work is limited to steady flows. The low Reynolds number k-omega model of Wilcox and a modified version of same will be used for modeling of transition on experimentally measured blade pressure and heat transfer. It will be shown that the k-omega model and its modified variant fail to simulate the transition with any degree of accuracy. A case is therefore made for more accurate transition models. Three-equation models based on the work of Mayle on Laminar Kinetic Energy were explored and the Walters and Leylek model which was thought to be in a more mature state of development is introduced and implemented in the Glenn-HT code. Two-dimensional flat plate results and three-dimensional results for flow over turbine blades and the resulting heat transfer and its transitional behavior are reported. It is shown that the transition simulation is much improved over the baseline k-omega model.

Ameri, Ali A.↗

2011 Mars Science Laboratory Launch Period Design

The Mars Science Laboratory mission, set to launch in the fall of 2011, has the primary objective of landing the most advanced rover to date to the surface of Mars to assess whether Mars ever was, or still is today, able to sustain carbon-based life. Arriving at Mars in August 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory will also demonstrate the ability to deliver large payloads to the surface of Mars, land more accurately (than previous missions) in a 20-km by 25-km ellipse, and traverse up to 20 km. Following guided entry and parachute deployment, the spacecraft will descend on a parachute and a Powered Descent Vehicle to safely land the rover on the surface of Mars. The launch/arrival strategy is driven by several key requirements, which include: launch vehicle capability, atmosphere-relative entry speed, communications coverage during Entry, Descent and Landing, latitude accessibility, and dust storm season avoidance. Notable among these requirements is maintaining a telecommunications link from atmospheric entry to landing plus one minute, via a Direct-To-Earth X-band link and via orbital assets using an UHF link, to ensure that any failure during Entry, Descent and Landing can be reconstructed in case of a mission anomaly. Due to concerns related to the lifetime of the relay orbiters, two additional launch/arrival strategies have been developed to improve Entry, Descent, and Landing communications. This paper discusses the final launch/arrival strategy selected prior to the launch period down-selection that is scheduled to occur in August 2011. It is also important to note that this paper is an update to Ref. 1 in that it includes two new Type 1 launch periods and drops the Type 2 launch period that is no longer considered.

mission design↗

Rotary Wing Deceleration Use on Titan

Rotary wing decelerator (RWD) systems were compared against other methods of atmospheric deceleration and were determined to show significant potential for application to a system requiring controlled descent, low-velocity landing, and atmospheric research capability on Titan. Design space exploration and down-selection results in a system with a single rotor utilizing cyclic pitch control. Models were developed for selection of a RWD descent system for use on Titan and to determine the relationships between the key design parameters of such a system and the time of descent. The possibility of extracting power from the system during descent was also investigated.

Young, Larry A.↗

MAARSS: Magnet Architectures and Active Radiation Shielding Study

Protecting humans from space radiation is a major hurdle for human exploration of the solar system and beyond. Like on Earth, large magnetic fields surrounding a spaceship would deflect charged particles away from the habitat region and reduce the radiation dose to acceptable limits. The objective of this study is to determine the feasibility of current state of the art (SOA) high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets as a means to protect crew from space radiation exposure on long duration missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The study will look at architecture concepts to deflect high energy Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) and Solar Proton Events (SPEs). Mass, power, and shielding efficiency will be considered and compared with current passive shielding capabilities. This report will walk the reader through several designs considered over the one year study and discuss the multiple parameters that should be evaluated for magnetic shielding. The study team eventually down-selects to a scalable light weight solenoid architecture that is launchable and then deployable using magnetic pressure to expand large diameter coils. Benefitting from the low temperature and high vacuum environment of deep space, existing high-temperature superconductors make such radiation shields realistic, near-term technical developments.

Westover, Shayne C.↗

Development of Advanced High Lift Leading Edge Technology for Laminar Flow Wings

This paper describes the Advanced High Lift Leading Edge (AHLLE) task performed by Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Aerospace Systems (NGAS) for the NASA Subsonic Fixed Wing project in an effort to develop enabling high-lift technology for laminar flow wings. Based on a known laminar cruise airfoil that incorporated an NGAS-developed integrated slot design, this effort involved using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and quality function deployment (QFD) analysis on several leading edge concepts, and subsequently down-selected to two blown leading-edge concepts for testing. A 7-foot-span AHLLE airfoil model was designed and fabricated at NGAS and then tested at the NGAS 7 x 10 Low Speed Wind Tunnel in Hawthorne, CA. The model configurations tested included: baseline, deflected trailing edge, blown deflected trailing edge, blown leading edge, morphed leading edge, and blown/morphed leading edge. A successful demonstration of high lift leading edge technology was achieved, and the target goals for improved lift were exceeded by 30% with a maximum section lift coefficient (Cl) of 5.2. Maximum incremental section lift coefficients ( Cl) of 3.5 and 3.1 were achieved for a blown drooped (morphed) leading edge concept and a non-drooped leading edge blowing concept, respectively. The most effective AHLLE design yielded an estimated 94% lift improvement over the conventional high lift Krueger flap configurations while providing laminar flow capability on the cruise configuration.

Bright, Michelle M.↗

The Challenges of Integrating Instrumentation with Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators

To realize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) goal of landing humans on Mars, development of technologies to facilitate the landing of heavy payloads are being explored. Current entry, decent, and landing technologies are not practical when utilizing these heavy payloads due to mass and volume constraints dictated by limitations imposed by current launch vehicle fairings. Therefore, past and present technologies are now being considered to provide a mass and volume efficient solution, including Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators (IADs) [1]. IAD ground and flight tests are currently being conducted to develop and characterize their performance under flight-like conditions. The integrated instrumentation systems, which are key to the performance characterization in each of these tests, have proven to be a challenge compared to the instrumentation of traditional rigid aeroshells. To overcome these challenges, flexible and embedded sensing systems have been developed, along with improved instrumenting techniques. This development opportunity faces many difficult aspects specific to inflatable structures in extreme environments. These include but are not limited to: physical flexibility, packaging, temperature, structural integration and data acquisition [2]. To better define the instrumentation challenges posed by IAD technology development, a survey was conducted to identify valuable measurements for ground and flight testing. From this survey many sensing technologies were explored, resulting in a down-selection to the most viable prospects. These systems were then iterated upon in design to determine the best integration techniques specific to a 3m and 6m stacked torus IAD. Each sensing system was then integrated and employed to support the IAD testing in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex 40 x 80 wind tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center in the summer of 2012. Another challenge that has been explored is the data acquisition of IAD sensing technologies. Traditionally all space based sensing systems transmit their data through a wired interface. This limits the amount of sensors able to be integrated within the IAD due to volume and routing restrictions of the supporting signal and excitation wires. To alleviate this situation, multiple wireless data acquisition technologies have been researched and developed through rapid prototyping efforts. The final custom multi-nodal wireless system utilized during the summer 2012 IAD test series consisted of four remote nodes and one receiving base station. The system reliably conditioned and acquired 20+ sensors over the course of the wind tunnel test series. These developments in wireless data acquisition techniques can eliminate the need for structural feedthroughs and reduce system mass associated with wiring and wire harnesses. This makes the utilization of flight instrumentation more attractive to future missions, which would result in further improved characterization of IAD technology, and overall, increased scientific knowledge regarding the response of inflatable structures to extreme entry environments. [

Swanson, Gregory T.↗

Benefits of Hybrid-Electric Propulsion to Achieve 4x Increase in Cruise Efficiency for a VTOL Aircraft

Electric propulsion enables radical new vehicle concepts, particularly for Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft because of their significant mismatch between takeoff and cruise power conditions. However, electric propulsion does not merely provide the ability to normalize the power required across the phases of flight, in the way that automobiles also use hybrid electric technologies. The ability to distribute the thrust across the airframe, without mechanical complexity and with a scale-free propulsion system, is a new degree of freedom for aircraft designers. Electric propulsion is scale-free in terms of being able to achieve highly similar levels of motor power to weight and efficiency across a dramatic scaling range. Applying these combined principles of electric propulsion across a VTOL aircraft permits an improvement in aerodynamic efficiency that is approximately four times the state of the art of conventional helicopter configurations. Helicopters typically achieve a lift to drag ratio (L/D) of between 4 and 5, while the VTOL aircraft designed and developed in this research were designed to achieve an L/D of approximately 20. Fundamentally, the ability to eliminate the problem of advancing and retreating rotor blades is shown, without resorting to unacceptable prior solutions such as tail-sitters. This combination of concept and technology also enables a four times increase in range and endurance while maintaining the full VTOL and hover capability provided by a helicopter. Also important is the ability to achieve low disc-loading for low ground impingement velocities, low noise and hover power minimization (thus reducing energy consumption in VTOL phases). This combination of low noise and electric propulsion (i.e. zero emissions) will produce a much more community-friendly class of vehicles. This research provides a review of the concept brainstorming, configuration aerodynamic and mission analysis, as well as subscale prototype construction and flight testing that verifies transition flight control. A final down-selected vehicle is also presented.

Fredericks, William J.↗

Honeywell Cascade Distiller System Performance Testing Interim Results

The ability to recover and purify water through physiochemical processes is crucial for realizing long-term human space missions, including both planetary habitation and space travel. Because of their robust nature, distillation systems have been actively pursued as one of the technologies for water recovery. The Cascade Distillation System (CDS) is a vacuum rotary distillation system with potential for greater reliability and lower energy costs than existing distillation systems. The CDS was previously under development through Honeywell and NASA. In 2009, an assessment was performed to collect data to support down-selection and development of a primary distillation technology for application in a lunar outpost water recovery system. Based on the results of this testing, an expert panel concluded that the CDS showed adequate development maturity, TRL-4, together with the best product water quality and competitive weight and power estimates to warrant further development. The Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Water Recovery Project (WRP) worked to address weaknesses identified by The Panel; namely bearing design and heat pump power efficiency. Testing at the NASA-JSC Advanced Exploration System Water Laboratory (AES Water Lab) using a prototype Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS) wastewater processor (Honeywell International, Torrance, Calif.) with test support equipment and control system developed by Johnson Space Center was performed to evaluate performance of the system with the upgrades. The CDS will also have been challenged with ISS analog waste streams and a subset of those being considered for Exploration architectures. This paper details interim results of the AES WRP CDS performance testing.

Callahan, Michael R.↗

Design and Development of Aerogel-Based Antennas for Aerospace Applications: A Final Report to the NARI Seedling

As highly porous solids possessing low density and low dielectric permittivity combined with good mechanical properties, polyimide (PI) aerogels offer great promise as an enabling technology for lightweight aircraft antenna systems. While they have been aggressively explored for thermal insulation, barely any effort has been made to leverage these materials for antennas or other applications that take advantage of their aforementioned attributes. In Phase I of the NARI Seedling Project, we fabricated PI aerogels with properties tailored to enable new antenna concepts with performance characteristics (wide bandwidth and high gain) and material properties (low density, environmental stability, and robustness) superior to the state of practice (SOP). We characterized electromagnetic properties, including permittivity, reflectivity, and propagation losses for the aerogels. Simple, prototype planar printed circuit patch antennas from down-selected aerogel formulations were fabricated by molding the aerogels to net shapes and by gold-metalizing the pattern onto the templates via electron beam evaporation in a clean room environment. These aerogel based antennas were benchmarked against current antenna SOP, and exhibited both broader bandwidth and comparable or higher gain performance at appreciably lower mass. Phase II focused on the success of the Phase I results pushing the PI aerogel based antenna technology further by exploring alternative antenna design (i.e., slot coupled antennas) and by examining other techniques for fabricating the antennas including ink jet printing with the goal of optimizing antenna performance and simplifying production. We also examined new aerogel formulations with better moisture and solvent resistance to survive processing conditions. In addition, we investigated more complex antenna designs including passive phased arrays such as 2x4 and 4x8 element arrays to assess the scalability of the aerogel antenna concept. Furthermore, we explored the possibility of developing these arrays in thin, flexible form to make conformable antennas.

insulation↗

Thermal Protection System Aerothermal Screening Tests in HYMETS Facility

The Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) Technology Development Project has been tasked to develop Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials for insertion into future Mars Entry Systems. A screening arc jet test of seven rigid ablative TPS material candidates was performed in the Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System (HYMETS) facility at NASA Langley Research Center, in both an air and carbon dioxide test environment. Recession, mass loss, surface temperature, and backface thermal response were measured for each test specimen. All material candidates survived the Mars aerocapture relevant heating condition, and some materials showed a clear increase in recession rate in the carbon dioxide test environment. These test results supported subsequent down-selection of the most promising material candidates for further development.

thermal protection systems (TPS)↗

An Update on Design Tools for Optimization of CMC 3D Fiber Architectures

Objective: Describe and up-date progress for NASA's efforts to develop 3D architectural design tools for CMC in general and for SIC/SiC composites in particular. Describe past and current sequential work efforts aimed at: Understanding key fiber and tow physical characteristics in conventional 2D and 3D woven architectures as revealed by microstructures in the literature. Developing an Excel program for down-selecting and predicting key geometric properties and resulting key fiber-controlled properties for various conventional 3D architectures. Developing a software tool for accurately visualizing all the key geometric details of conventional 3D architectures. Validating tools by visualizing and predicting the Internal geometry and key mechanical properties of a NASA SIC/SIC panel with a 3D orthogonal architecture. Applying the predictive and visualization tools toward advanced 3D orthogonal SiC/SIC composites, and combining them into a user-friendly software program.

Lang, J.↗

Avionics Configuration Assessment for Flightdeck Interval Management: A Comparison of Avionics and Notification Methods

Flightdeck Interval Management is one of the NextGen operational concepts that FAA is sponsoring to realize requisite National Airspace System (NAS) efficiencies. Interval Management will reduce variability in temporal deviations at a position, and thereby reduce buffers typically applied by controllers - resulting in higher arrival rates, and more efficient operations. Ground software generates a strategic schedule of aircraft pairs. Air Traffic Control (ATC) provides an IM clearance with the IM spacing objective (i.e., the TTF, and at which point to achieve the appropriate spacing from this aircraft) to the IM aircraft. Pilots must dial FIM speeds into the speed window on the Mode Control Panel in a timely manner, and attend to deviations between actual speed and the instantaneous FIM profile speed. Here, the crew is assumed to be operating the aircraft with autothrottles on, with autopilot engaged, and the autoflight system in Vertical Navigation (VNAV) and Lateral Navigation (LNAV); and is responsible for safely flying the aircraft while maintaining situation awareness of their ability to follow FIM speed commands and to achieve the FIM spacing goal. The objective of this study is to examine whether three Notification Methods and four Avionics Conditions affect pilots' performance, ratings on constructs associated with performance (workload, situation awareness), or opinions on acceptability. Three Notification Methods (alternate visual and aural alerts that notified pilots to the onset of a speed target, conformance deviation from the required speed profile, and reminded them if they failed to enter the speed within 10 seconds) were examined. These Notification Methods were: VVV (visuals for all three events), VAV (visuals for all three events, plus an aural for speed conformance deviations), and AAA (visual indications and the same aural to indicate all three of these events). Avionics Conditions were defined by the instrumentation (and location) used to present IM information to crews: (1) Integrated (IM information is embedded in extant PFD (Primary Flight Display), ND (Navigation Display), EICAS (Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System) displays); (2) EFB_Aft (IM information is only supplied in an EFB and mounted in location similar to that for MITRE's UPS work); (3) EFB_Fore (IM information is only supplied in an EFB which is mounted more forward, under the side window), and (4) EFB_Aft plus use of an AGD (the same IM information is supplied in an EFB and on an AGD, both mounted in locations similar to that in MITRE's UPS work ). Twelve commercial pilot crews flew descent scenarios (VNAV Speed with the mode control panel (MCP) speed window open until flaps extended, then VNAV Path) in a commercial transport flight simulator with realistic visual scene and communications. The results of this study serve three practical aims: (1) contribute to the down-select of avionics configuration for future assessment of the ASTAR spacing algorithm at NASA; (2) provide information useful to the FAA Human Factors Division (ANG-C1)'s mission to identify issues pertinent to flight certification of, and flight standards; (3) identify methodological considerations in support of future FIM human-in-the-loop (HITL) investigations.

Latorella, Kara A.↗

Book of Knowledge (BOK) for NASA Electronic Packaging Roadmap

The objective of this document is to update the NASA roadmap on packaging technologies (initially released in 2007) and to present the current trends toward further reducing size and increasing functionality. Due to the breadth of work being performed in the area of microelectronics packaging, this report presents only a number of key packaging technologies detailed in three industry roadmaps for conventional microelectronics and a more recently introduced roadmap for organic and printed electronics applications. The topics for each category were down-selected by reviewing the 2012 reports of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductor (ITRS), the 2013 roadmap reports of the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), the 2013 roadmap of association connecting electronics industry (IPC), the Organic Printed Electronics Association (OE-A). The report also summarizes the results of numerous articles and websites specifically discussing the trends in microelectronics packaging technologies.

Ghaffarian, Reza↗

Implications of Operational Pressure on CSSE PGS Design

The Constellation Spacesuit Element (CSSE) was required to support crew survival (CS); launch, entry, and abort (LEA) scenarios; zero gravity (0-g) extravehicular activity (EVA) (both unscheduled and contingency); and planetary EVA. Operation of the CSSE in all of these capacities required a pressure garment subsystem (PGS) that would operate efficiently through various pressure profiles. The PGS team initiated a study to determine the appropriate operational pressure profile of the CSSE and how this selection would affect the design of the CSSE PGS. This study included an extensive review of historical PGS operational pressure selection and the operational effects of those pressures, the presentation of four possible pressure paradigm options for use by the CSSE, the risks and design impacts of these options, and the down-selected pressure option.

Lee, Ryan↗

Environmentally Friendly Corrosion Preventative Compounds

The objective of the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program Environmentally Friendly Corrosion Protective Coatings and Corrosion Preventive Compounds (CPCs) project is to identify, test, and develop qualification criteria for the use of environmentally friendly corrosion protective coatings and CPCs for flight hardware and ground support equipment. This document is the Final Report for Phase I evaluations, which included physical property, corrosion resistance, and NASA spaceport environment compatibility testing and analysis of fifteen CPC types. The CPCs consisted of ten different oily film CPCs and five different wax or grease CPC types. Physical property testing encompassed measuring various properties of the bulk CPCs, while corrosion resistance testing directly measured the ability of each CPC material to protect various metals against corrosion. The NASA spaceport environment compatibility testing included common tests required by NASA-STD-6001, "Flammability, Odor, Offgassing, and Compatibility Requirements and Test Procedures for Materials in Environments that Support Combustion". At the end of Phase I, CPC materials were down-selected for inclusion in the next test phases. This final report includes all data and analysis of results obtained by following the experimental test plan that was developed as part of the project. Highlights of the results are summarized by test criteria type.

Preventative Compounds↗

Selection of a Brine Processor Technology for NASA Manned Missions

The current ISS Water Recovery System (WRS) reclaims water from crew urine, humidity condensate, and Sabatier product water. Urine is initially processed by the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) which recovers 75% of the urine as distillate. The remainder of the water is present in the waste brine which is currently disposed of as trash on ISS. For future missions this additional water must be reclaimed due to the significant resupply penalty for missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). NASA has pursued various technology development programs for a brine processor in the past several years. This effort has culminated in a technology down-select to identify the optimum technology for future manned missions. The technology selection is based on various criteria, including mass, power, reliability, maintainability, and safety. Beginning in 2016 the selected technology will be transitioned to a flight hardware program for demonstration on ISS. This paper summarizes the technology selection process, the competing technologies, and the rationale for the technology selected for future manned missions.

Carter, Donald L.↗

Development Of FIAT-Based Parametric Thermal Protection System Mass Estimating Relationships For NASA's Multi-Mission Earth Entry Concept

An integrated tool called the Multi Mission System Analysis for Planetary Entry Descent and Landing (M-SAPE) is being developed as part of NASAs In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) program. Part of M-SAPEs development requires the formulation of mass estimating relationships (MERs) to determine the vehicle's Thermal Protection System (TPS) material and required thickness for safe Earth entry. The objective of this study was to develop MERs using simple correlations that were non-ITAR and matched as accurately as possible NASAs high-fidelity ablation modeling tool, the Fully Implicit Ablation and Thermal Analysis Program (FIAT ). These MERs would be a first-estimate for feasibility studies; it is understood that higher-fidelity modeling like FIAT would be necessary once a proposed trajectory was down-selected. The trajectory space for these MERS consisted of 840 different trajectories, and a materials heating limit was the main constraint for an allowable trajectory. MERs for the vehicle fore body included the ablating materials Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA ) and Carbon Phenolic atop Advanced Carbon-Carbon. For the backshell the materials were Silicone Impregnated Reusable Ceramic Ablator (SIRCA ), Acusil II, SLA-561V, and LI-900. The MERFIAT ratio indicates MERs are accurate to within 14 percent (at one standard deviation) of FIAT prediction, and the most any MER can under-predict TPS thickness is 18.7 percent of FIAT prediction. This poster focuses on the development of these MERs, the resulting equations, model limitations, and model accuracy.

thermal protection system↗

Affordable Development and Demonstration of a Small NTR Engine and Stage: A Preliminary NASA, DOE, and Industry Assessment

In FY11, NASA formulated a plan for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) development that included Foundational Technology Development followed by system-level Technology Demonstrations. The ongoing NTP project, funded by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program, is focused on Foundational Technology Development and includes 5 key task activities: (1) Fuel element fabrication and non-nuclear validation testing of heritage fuel options; (2) Engine conceptual design; (3) Mission analysis and engine requirements definition; (4) Identification of affordable options for ground testing; and (5) Formulation of an affordable and sustainable NTP development program. Performance parameters for Point of Departure designs for a small criticality-limited and full size 25 klb (sub f) (kip, or 1000 pound-force)-class engine were developed during FYs 13-14 using heritage fuel element designs for both Rover NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications) Graphite Composite (GC) and Ceramic Metal (Cermet) fuel forms. To focus the fuel development effort and maximize use of its resources, the AES program decided, in FY14, that a leader-follower down-selection between GC and cermet fuel was required. An Independent Review Panel (IRP) was convened by NASA and tasked with reviewing the available fuel data and making a recommendation to NASA. In February 2015, the IRP recommended and the AES program endorsed GC as the leader fuel In FY14, a preliminary development schedule DDTE (Design Development Test and Evaluation) plan was produced by GRC (Glenn Research Center), DOE (Department of Energy) and industry for the AES program. Assumptions, considerations and key task activities are presented here. At the direction of NASA HQ (32515), NASA and DOE are to work together to formulate a detailed development plan and schedule allowing the affordable development of a small (7.5-16.5 klbf) GC engine for possible flight technology demonstration (FTD) mission within a 10-year timeframe.

Lunar Flyby Mission↗