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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT): Additive Manufactured Hot Fire Planning and Testing in GRC Cell 32 Project

The objective of this project is to hot fire test an additively manufactured thrust chamber assembly TCA (injector and thrust chamber). GRC will install the additively manufactured Inconel 625 injector, two additively manufactured (SLM) water cooled Cu-Cr thrust chamber barrels and one additively manufactured (SLM) water cooled Cu-Cr thrust chamber nozzle on the test stand in Cell 32 and perform hot fire testing of the integrated TCA.

Fikes, John C.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Large Scale Experiments on Spacecraft Fire Safety

Full scale fire testing complemented by computer modelling has provided significant know how about the risk, prevention and suppression of fire in terrestrial systems (cars, ships, planes, buildings, mines, and tunnels). In comparison, no such testing has been carried out for manned spacecraft due to the complexity, cost and risk associated with operating a long duration fire safety experiment of a relevant size in microgravity. Therefore, there is currently a gap in knowledge of fire behaviour in spacecraft. The entire body of low-gravity fire research has either been conducted in short duration ground-based microgravity facilities or has been limited to very small fuel samples. Still, the work conducted to date has shown that fire behaviour in low-gravity is very different from that in normal-gravity, with differences observed for flammability limits, ignition delay, flame spread behaviour, flame colour and flame structure. As a result, the prediction of the behaviour of fires in reduced gravity is at present not validated. To address this gap in knowledge, a collaborative international project, Spacecraft Fire Safety, has been established with its cornerstone being the development of an experiment (Fire Safety 1) to be conducted on an ISS resupply vehicle, such as the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) or Orbital Cygnus after it leaves the ISS and before it enters the atmosphere. A computer modelling effort will complement the experimental effort. Although the experiment will need to meet rigorous safety requirements to ensure the carrier vehicle does not sustain damage, the absence of a crew removes the need for strict containment of combustion products. This will facilitate the possibility of examining fire behaviour on a scale that is relevant to spacecraft fire safety and will provide unique data for fire model validation. This unprecedented opportunity will expand the understanding of the fundamentals of fire behaviour in spacecraft. The experiment is being developed by an international topical team that is collaboratively defining the experiment requirements and performing supporting analysis, experimentation and technology development. This paper presents the objectives, status and concept of this project.

Urban, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Large Scale Experiments on Spacecraft Fire Safety

Full scale fire testing complemented by computer modelling has provided significant knowhow about the risk, prevention and suppression of fire in terrestrial systems (cars, ships, planes, buildings, mines, and tunnels). In comparison, no such testing has been carried out for manned spacecraft due to the complexity, cost and risk associated with operating a long duration fire safety experiment of a relevant size in microgravity. Therefore, there is currently a gap in knowledge of fire behaviour in spacecraft. The entire body of low-gravity fire research has either been conducted in short duration ground-based microgravity facilities or has been limited to very small fuel samples. Still, the work conducted to date has shown that fire behaviour in low-gravity is very different from that in normal gravity, with differences observed for flammability limits, ignition delay, flame spread behaviour, flame colour and flame structure. As a result, the prediction of the behaviour of fires in reduced gravity is at present not validated. To address this gap in knowledge, a collaborative international project, Spacecraft Fire Safety, has been established with its cornerstone being the development of an experiment (Fire Safety 1) to be conducted on an ISS resupply vehicle, such as the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) or Orbital Cygnus after it leaves the ISS and before it enters the atmosphere. A computer modelling effort will complement the experimental effort. Although the experiment will need to meet rigorous safety requirements to ensure the carrier vehicle does not sustain damage, the absence of a crew removes the need for strict containment of combustion products. This will facilitate the possibility of examining fire behaviour on a scale that is relevant to spacecraft fire safety and will provide unique data for fire model validation. This unprecedented opportunity will expand the understanding of the fundamentals of fire behaviour in spacecraft. The experiment is being developed by an international topical team that is collaboratively defining the experiment requirements and performing supporting analysis, experimentation and technology development. This paper presents the objectives, status and concept of this project.

Urban, David↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

UASs Optimization - An evaluation of multiple mode vehicles in monitoring and communication

This presentation will describe the author's experience as Co-I in the NASA/USFS Project: "Strategic Tac Radio and Tac Overwatch (STRATO): Last Mile Communications and Realtime Observation Stratospheric Platforms for wildland fire". This project utilizes an uncrewed Stratospheric (> 70Kft) lighter than air Uninhabited Aerial System (UAS), carries 50 Kg of sensor and communications equipment, and remains on station over a wildfire for up to 30 days. The air vehicle is capable of in excess of 180 days on station, but while the full duration capabilities were not utilized in this project, they could, and would, be used in monitoring a feature like a volcano. In addition to duration, the ability of these Stratospheric Platforms to persistently monitor an area, while carrying "smart" sensors - generating information products, rather than just data - is game changing. Utilizing technologies such as LoRa, the platform can now be the nexus of an ad-hoc sensor web, receiving LoRa based data from low power in-situ sensors in the area being monitored, combining it with high fidelity information gained from on-board sensors, and sending the information product to a remote research facility, using Satellite communication, in real time. The author will relate the evolution of information collection, derivation and delivery mechanisms in the entire range of NASA's UAS fleet, to today's world, where information products conventionally derived in desk top computational environments, and made available to the Science Community in weeks or months, are now being generated and delivered in near real time.

UASs↗
NASA NTRS1989

Designing an infrared system to map and detect wildland fires

The 'Firefly' project is developing an infrared remote sensing system to provide near real-time wildland fire information for fire management and suppression. Recent technological advances in several areas now allow the design of an end-to-end, infrared system to map and detect wildland fires. The system components will include an airborne infrared sensor, automatic onboard signal and data processing, telecommunications link, and integration into a ground data terminal. The system will provide improved performance over current systems in terms of increased timeliness of data delivery, quantifiable accuracy, data consistency, reliability, and maintainability. The system will be the next generation of wildland fire mapping and detection system for the United States Forest Service.

Nichols, J. David↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modeling the Uptake of Hydrogen Chloride onto Interior Spacecraft Materials

Hydrogen chloride (HCl) is a major combustion product from the pyrolysis of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) insulated electrical wires, a common spacecraft fire safety concern. Models at two different scales were developed to predict HCl uptake on anodized, chromate conversion coated (Iridite), and bare aluminum surfaces, as well as on Nomex fabric: a macroscopic one-step global surface reaction model where all the active sites are on the exterior surface, and a pore model where the interior active sites deeper into the oxide layer can also be accessed by HCl. Experiments were performed to calibrate kinetic and diffusion constants in the models. A cast acrylic test cell was used to measure the differences between the inlet and outlet concentration of HCl after inserting a sample rod of the test material. For the materials with a thin (< 200 µm) or no oxide layer, the macroscopic surface reaction model adequately predicts the experimental measurements. For the anodized aluminum with a thicker oxide layer, the pore model provided a better match to experimental results. The results will be discussed with respect to the spacecraft fire safety project (Saffire).

modeling↗
NASA NTRS2005

Facility Activation and Characterization for IPD Turbopump Testing at NASA Stennis Space Center

The Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator (IPD) is a 250K lbf (1.1 MN) thrust cryogenic hydrogen/oxygen engine technology demonstrator that utilizes a full flow staged combustion engine cycle. The Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator (IPD) is, in part, supported by NASA. IPD is also supported through the Department of Defense's Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) program, which seeks to increase the performance and capability of today's state-of-the-art rocket propulsion systems while decreasing costs associated with military and commercial access to space. The primary industry participants include Boeing-Rocketdyne and GenCorp Aerojet. The IPD Program recently achieved two major milestones. The first was the successful completion of the IPD Oxidizer Turbopump (OTP) hot-fire test project at the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) E-1 test facility in June 2003. A total of nine IPD Workhorse Preburner tests were completed, and subsequently 12 IPD OTP hot-fire tests were completed. The second major milestone was the successful completion of the IPD Fuel Turbopump (FTP) cold-flow test project at the NASA SSC E-1 test facility in November 2003. A total of six IPD FTP cold-flow tests were completed. The next phase of development involves IPD integrated engine system testing also at the NASA SSC E-1 test facility scheduled to begin in early 2005. Following and overview of the NASA SSC E-1 test facility, this paper addresses the facility aspects pertaining to the activation and testing of the IPD oxidizer and fuel turbopumps. In addition, some of the facility challenges encountered and the lessons learned during the test projects shall be detailed.

Sass, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Observations of marine stratocumulus clouds during FIRE

The First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Regional Experiment (FIRE) to study extensive fields of stratocumulus clouds off the coast of California is presented. Measurements on the regional and detailed local scales were taken, allowing for a wide interpretation of the mean, turbulent, microphysical, radiative, and chemical characteristics of stratocumulus. Multiple aircraft and ground-based remote-sensing systems were used to study the time evolution of the boundary layer structure over a three-week period, and probes from tethered balloons were used to measure turbulence and to collect cloud-microphysical and cloud-radiative data. The observations provide a base for studying the generation maintenance and dissipation of stratocumulus clouds, and could aid in developing numerical models and improved methods for retrieving cloud properties by satellite.

Albrecht, Bruce A.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Cloud Condensation Nuclei in FIRE III

Yum and Hudson showed that the springtime Arctic aerosol is probably a result of long-range transport at high altitudes. Scavenging of particles by clouds reduces the low level concentrations by a factor of 3. This produces a vertical gradient in particle concentrations when low-level clouds are present. Concentrations are uniform with height when clouds are not present. Low-level CCN (cloud condensation nuclei) spectra are similar to those in other maritime areas as found by previous projects including FIRE 1 and ASTEX, which were also supported on earlier NASA-FIRE grants. Wylie and Hudson carried this work much further by comparing the CCN spectra observed during ACE with back trajectories of air masses and satellite photographs. This showed that cloud scavenging reduces CCN concentrations at all altitudes over the springtime Arctic, with liquid clouds being more efficient scavengers than frozen clouds. The small size of the Arctic Ocean seems to make it more susceptible to continental and thus anthropogenic aerosol influences than any of the other larger oceans.

Hudson, James G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Spectral emissivity of cirrus clouds

The inference of cirrus cloud properties has many important applications including global climate studies, radiation budget determination, remote sensing techniques and oceanic studies from satellites. Data taken at the Parsons Kansas site during the FIRE II project are used for this study. On November 26 there were initially clear sky conditions gradually giving way to a progressively thickening cirrus shield over a period of a few hours. Interferometer radiosonde and lidar data were taken throughout this event. Two techniques are used to infer the downward spectral emittance of the observed cirrus layer. One uses only measurements and the other involves measurements and FASCODE III calculations. FASCODE III is a line-by line radiance/transmittance model developed at the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory.

Beck, Gordon H.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Role of small ice crystals in radiative properties of cirrus: A case study, FIRE II, November 22, 1991

Aircraft observations of cirrus cloud were made near Coffeyville, Kansas, during November 1991 as part of the First ISCCP Regional Experiment II (FIRE II) project. Cloud ice particle spectra measurements were made using both a particle measuring system (PMS) 2DC probe and an ice particle replicator. Particles larger than 200 micrometers were column rosettes. The replicator shows the presence of large numbers of ice crystals smaller than 66 micrometers (two PMS size bins) that are not recorded by the PMS 2DC probe. Calculations based on the replicator data of the geometrical blocked area and absorption cross section of the cloud per unit volume show that small particles can contribute significantly to and sometimes dominate both the solar extinction and the infrared emission. Intercomparison is made of the ice particle size, area, and mass distributions determined by these different instruments. Power law relationships for area occluded by a crystal as a function of crystal maximum dimension were computed from the PMS 2DC data. The wavelength-dependent infrared absorption cross section per volume was computed using a simple model based on anomalous diffraction and area and mass dimensional relationships for the ice crystals.

Arnott, W. Patrick↗
NASA NTRS1994

Measurements of Ice Particles in Tropical Cirrus Anvils: Importance in Radiation Balance

Cirrus is important in the radiation balance of the global atmosphere, both at solar and thermal infrared (IR) wavelengths. In particular cirrus produced by deep convection over the oceans in the tropics may be critical in controlling processes whereby energy from warm tropical oceans is injected to different levels in the tropical atmosphere to subsequently influence not only tropical but mid latitude climate. Details of the cloud composition may differentiate between a net cooling or warming at these levels. The cloud composition may change depending on the input of nuclei from volcanic or other sources. Observations of cirrus during the FIRE-2 Project over Coffeyville, Kansas and by satellite demonstrate that cirrus, on occasion, is composed not only of larger particles with significant fall velocity (few hundred micrometers, 0.5 m/s) but much more numerous small particles, size 10-20 micrometers, with small fall velocity (cm/s), which may sometimes dominate the radiation field. This is consistent with emissivity measurements. In the thermal IR, ice absorption is strong, so that ice particles only 10 micrometers thick are opaque, at some wavelengths; on the other hand at other wavelengths and in the visible, ice is only moderately to weakly absorbing. It follows that for strongly absorbing wavelengths the average projected area of the ice particles is the important parameter, in weakly absorbing regions it is the volume (mass) of ice which is important. The shape of particles and also their internal structure may also have significant effect on their radiative properties. In order to access the role of cirrus in the radiation budget it is necessary to measure the distribution of ice particles sizes, shapes and concentrations in the regions of interest. A casual observation of any cirrus cloud shows that there is variability down to a scale of at least a few 100 m; this is confirmed by radar and lidar remote sensing. Thus aircraft measurements designed to give insight into the spatial distribution of radiation properties of ice crystals must be capable of examination of concentration, size and shape over a distance ideally of 100 m or less and to detect particles down to a size below which radiative effects are no longer significant.

Foster, Theodore↗
NASA NTRS1997

Integrated Digital Video and Experimental Data Analysis for Microgravity Combustion Experiment

The purpose of the Diffusive and Radiative Transport in Fires (DARTFire) Project is to study various mechanisms of energy transport in the ignition and growth of flames in microgravity. This sounding rocket experiment incorporates two multispectral video cameras, two 8-mm video recorders, and several temperature and pressure probes that record information on two separate flames, burning under different oxygen concentrations and flow rates. Mirrors allow each camera to view side-by-side images of both flames.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1977

Coast Guard Firefighting Module

NASA and the U.S. Coast Guard are jointly developing a lightweight, helicopter-transportable, completely self-contained firefighting module for combating shipboard and dockside fires. The project draws upon NASA technology in high-capacity rocket engine pumps, lightweight materials and compact packaging.

Source record↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine Development

The Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine has maintained steady development at NASA with many staggering performance advantages demonstrated to date over the state-of-the-art (SOA). The implementation of additive manufacturing and specialized NASA developed alloys have enabled rapid maturation of the technology. Several hot fire test projects have been successfully conducted at Marshall Space Flight Center under an early career initiative project funded by NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. In addition, a new start Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM) project has been funded to investigate challenges relating to integration of turbomachinery with an RDRE thrust chamber assembly. This engine system demonstration will leverage a methane/oxygen single shaft turbopump with fuel rich gas generator and a 10,000 lbf thrust chamber assembly. The configuration was down selected based on feedback from both US industry collaborators and power balance trades in combination with technical feasibility. To date, industry has identified several use cases for RDRE ranging from thruster to primary launch vehicle propulsion. A wide range of fuel and oxidizers were also identified including but not limited to Methane, Kerosene and other liquid hydrocarbon (LH) fuels, and hydrogen. Recent work at NASA and in partnership with NASA has investigated these major fuels of interest with oxygen, air, and hydrogen peroxide (HTP) for various applications. NASA Marshall has already investigated the use of hydrogen/oxygen, methane/oxygen, kerosene/oxygen, and has plans in partnership with industry and academia to investigate LH/air and LH/HTP. In addition to propellants, hardware geometry has been investigated with some critical lessons learned toward greater theoretical performance over the SOA. To this end, several experimental and computational activities are ongoing to further advance the RDRE towards flight missions. Given the rate of advancement, it is highly likely the technology will be flown in space mission in the coming decade. This work documents and overviews many of these investigations and overviews NASA’s future plans for the technology maturation.

Thomas Teasley↗
NASA NTRS1987

FIRE - The First ISCCP Regional Experiment

The First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Regional Experiment (FIRE) designed to study the roles of clouds, in particular marine stratocumulus and cirrus-cloud systems, in the global climate is discussed. The objectives of FIRE are: (1) to develop a cloud-classification scheme; (2) to validate and improve satellite cloud-retrieval techniques; (3) to improve cloud radiation models; (4) to collect cloud space/time statistics; (5) to improve cloud dynamics models; and (6) to validate and improve GCM cloud parameterizations. The methods used to acquire extended time data and intensive field observations are described. The extended time and intensive field data collected during the FIRE are to be archived in the NASA Pilot Climate Data System at Goddard Space Flight Center.

Cox, Stephen K.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Large-Scale Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiments in ISS Resupply Vehicles

Our understanding of the fire safety risk in manned spacecraft has been limited by the small scale of the testing we have been able to conduct in low-gravity. Fire growth and spread cannot be expected to scale linearly with sample size so we cannot make accurate predictions of the behavior of realistic scale fires in spacecraft based on the limited low-g testing to date. As a result, spacecraft fire safety protocols are necessarily very conservative and costly. Future crewed missions are expected to be longer in duration than previous exploration missions outside of low-earth orbit and accordingly, more complex in terms of operations, logistics, and safety. This will increase the challenge of ensuring a fire-safe environment for the crew throughout the mission. Based on our fundamental uncertainty of the behavior of fires in low-gravity, the need for realistic scale testing at reduced gravity has been demonstrated. To address this concern, a spacecraft fire safety research project is underway to reduce the uncertainty and risk in the design of spacecraft fire safety systems by testing at nearly full scale in low-gravity. This project is supported by the NASA Advanced Exploration Systems Program Office in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The activity of this project is supported by an international topical team of fire experts from other space agencies to maximize the utility of the data and to ensure the widest possible scrutiny of the concept. The large-scale space flight experiment will be conducted on three missions; each in an Orbital Sciences Corporation Cygnus vehicle after it has deberthed from the ISS. Although the experiment will need to meet rigorous safety requirements to ensure the carrier vehicle does not sustain damage, the absence of a crew allows the fire products to be released into the cabin. The tests will be fully automated with the data downlinked at the conclusion of the test before the Cygnus vehicle reenters the atmosphere. The international topical team is collaborating with the NASA team in the definition of the experiment requirements and performing supporting analysis, experimentation and technology development.

Combustion↗
NASA NTRS2013

Development of Large-Scale Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiments

The status is presented of a spacecraft fire safety research project that is under development to reduce the uncertainty and risk in the design of spacecraft fire safety systems by testing at nearly full scale in low-gravity. Future crewed missions are expected to be more complex and longer in duration than previous exploration missions outside of low-earth orbit. This will increase the challenge of ensuring a fire-safe environment for the crew throughout the mission. Based on our fundamental uncertainty of the behavior of fires in low-gravity, the need for realistic scale testing at reduced gravity has been demonstrated. To address this gap in knowledge, a project has been established under the NASA Advanced Exploration Systems Program under the Human Exploration and Operations Mission directorate with the goal of substantially advancing our understanding of the spacecraft fire safety risk. Associated with the project is an international topical team of fire experts from other space agencies who conduct research that is integrated into the overall experiment design. The experiments are under development to be conducted in an Orbital Science Corporation Cygnus vehicle after it has undocked from the ISS. Although the experiment will need to meet rigorous safety requirements to ensure the carrier vehicle does not sustain damage, the absence of a crew removes the need for strict containment of combustion products. The tests will be fully automated with the data downlinked at the conclusion of the test before the Cygnus vehicle reenters the atmosphere. A computer modeling effort will complement the experimental effort. The international topical team is collaborating with the NASA team in the definition of the experiment requirements and performing supporting analysis, experimentation and technology development. The status of the overall experiment and the associated international technology development efforts are summarized.

Life Support↗