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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Electron storage ring power supply system design report

In January 2020, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette announced the decision to build an Electron Ion Collider (EIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). While advancing the state of the art of particle colliders, the EIC will enable the U.S. nuclear physics community, with world wide participation, to take a giant step forward in the centuries-old quest to understand the nature of matter at its most fundamental level, providing the clearest picture yet of how the elemental quarks and gluons interact to form the basic structure of atoms and nuclei. The EIC at Brookhaven National Laboratory will be the first particle accelerator capable of colliding polarized ions with polarized electrons.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1980

Large space systems technology electronics: Data and power distribution

The development of hardware technology and manufacturing techniques required to meet space platform and antenna system needs in the 1980s is discussed. Preliminary designs for manned and automatically assembled space power system cables, connectors, and grounding and bonding materials and techniques are reviewed. Connector concepts, grounding design requirements, and bonding requirements are discussed. The problem of particulate debris contamination for large structure spacecraft is addressed.

Dunbar, W. G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Design of power electronics for TVC EMA systems

The Composite Development Division of the Propulsion Laboratory at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is currently developing a class of electromechanical actuators (EMA's) for use in space transportation applications such as thrust vector control (TVC) and propellant control valves (PCV). These high power servomechanisms will require rugged, reliable, and compact power electronic modules capable of modulating several hundred amperes of current at up to 270 volts. MSFC has selected the brushless dc motor for implementation in EMA's. This report presents the results of an investigation into the applicability of two new technologies, MOS-controlled thyristors (MCT's) and pulse density modulation (PDM), to the control of brushless dc motors in EMA systems. MCT's are new power semiconductor devices, which combine the high voltage and current capabilities of conventional thyristors and the low gate drive requirements of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET's). The commanded signals in a PDM system are synthesized using a series of sinusoidal pulses instead of a series of square pulses as in a pulse width modulation (PWM) system. A resonant dc link inverter is employed to generate the sinusoidal pulses in the PDM system. This inverter permits zero-voltage switching of all semiconductors which reduces switching losses and switching stresses. The objectives of this project are to develop and validate an analytical model of the MCT device when used in high power motor control applications and to design, fabricate, and test a prototype electronic circuit employing both MCT and PDM technology for controlling a brushless dc motor.

Nelms, R. Mark↗
NASA NTRS1992

Applicability of Long Duration Exposure Facility environmental effects data to the design of Space Station Freedom electrical power system

Data defining space environmental effects on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) are examined in terms of the design of the electrical power system (EPS) of the Space Station Freedom (SSF). The significant effects of long-term exposure to space are identified with respect to the performance of the LDEF's materials, components, and systems. A total of 57 experiments were conducted on the LDEF yielding information regarding coatings, thermal systems, electronics, optics, and power systems. The resulting database is analyzed in terms of the specifications of the SSF EPS materials and subsystems and is found to be valuable in the design of control and protection features. Specific applications are listed for findings regarding the thermal environment, atomic oxygen, UV and ionizing radiation, debris, and contamination. The LDEF data are shown to have a considerable number of applications to the design and planning of the SSF and its EPS.

Christie, Robert J.↗
NASA NTRS2024

AC and DC Fault Management for Megawatt Electrified Aircraft Electrical Powertrains - Task 2: Power Quality Filtering Using Nanocrystalline Soft Magnetic Inductor

The NASA RTAPS program on AC and DC Fault Management for Megawatt Electrified Power Train is a multi-year joint project with Pratt & Whitney (P&W), Collins Aerospace (CA), and RTX Technology Research Center (RTRC). This research program focuses on the high-voltage distribution issues that present a significant technological obstacle in the adoption of Electrified Aviation Propulsion (EAP) systems. One challenge to the adoption of high-voltage distribution systems with power electronic converters is the need for filter elements to limit the generation and propagation of noise, protect the cable systems from premature aging and prevent against excessive heating within subcomponents due to high-frequency induced currents. While increased distribution voltages aide in reducing the cable mass for a fixed power system, the associated mass with the filtering elements for power electronic converter can grow with increasing distribution voltages – thereby mitigating any benefit associated with increasing the distribution system voltage. To enable high-voltage distribution systems with high system specific power densities, new magnetic materials must be developed. Therefore, the second task of the NASA RTAPS program is associated with the design and application of advanced soft magnetic components for Megawatt class electric propulsion systems, specifically the motor drive system. This report covers the collaborative work between NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), RTRC, P&W and CA in the development of three types of magnetic components over the span of the three-year program. These critical magnetic components are the DC side EMI filter, which limits the propagation of harmful electromagnetic noise to the rise of the distribution system, and the AC side damping with the dv/dt filter, which limits the fast rise time of the power electronic converter output voltage to limit the degradation on the cable/motor insulation systems. Each of these components are investigated from component level design and are optimized at the system level with a combined modelling and testing effort. In the final experimental evaluation of the NASA developed soft magnetic material with a dv/dt filter, a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) magnetic core and the GRC magnetic core are optimized and loaded at 320Arms to evaluate their difference in performance. After a run time of 30 minutes in a MW-class motor driver at RTRC, the NASA GRC cores were found to not only offer a lower temperature rise of nearly 25°𝐶, but also a reduction in measured core loss of 25% (12.75W to 9.5W).

Elecrified Aircraft Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1975

Power processing for electric propulsion

The inclusion of electric thruster systems in spacecraft design is considered. The propulsion requirements of such spacecraft dictate a wide range of thruster power levels and operational lifetimes, which must be matched by lightweight, efficient, and reliable thruster power processing systems. Electron bombardment ion thruster requirements are presented, and the performance characteristics of present power processing systems are reviewed. Design philosophies and alternatives in areas such as inverter type, arc protection, and control methods are discussed along with future performance potentials for meeting goals in the areas of power process or weight (10 kg/kW), efficiency (approaching 92 percent), reliability (0.96 for 15,000 hr), and thermal control capability (0.3 to 5 AU).

Finke, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Design Studies for a Far Infrared Absolute Spectrometer for the Cosmic Background Explorer

Unrelenting symmetry of design is required to assure the thermal balance of a cryogenically cooled, rapid scan interferometer spectrometer to be mounted in vacuum with the Cosmic Background Explorer liquid helium dewar. The instrument receives inputs from Winston cone optical flux collectors, one open to space and a second coupled to a black body reference source. A differential instrument, the spectrometer produces outputs corresponding to the Fourier transform of the spectral radiance difference between the two inputs. The two outputs are sensed by four detectors, two optimized for shorter wavelength response, and two optimized for longer wavelengths. The optical design, detector and signal channel, system sensitivity, mechanics, thermal control and cryogenics, electronics and power systems, command and control, calibration, system test requirements, and the instrument interface are discussed. Recommendations for continued work are indicated for the superconducting reflective horns, the motor bearing and drive, and design detail.

Johnson, N. J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Low-Cost, High-Performance Hall Thruster Support System

Colorado Power Electronics (CPE) has built an innovative modular PPU for Hall thrusters, including discharge, magnet, heater and keeper supplies, and an interface module. This high-performance PPU offers resonant circuit topologies, magnetics design, modularity, and a stable and sustained operation during severe Hall effect thruster current oscillations. Laboratory testing has demonstrated discharge module efficiency of 96 percent, which is considerably higher than current state of the art.

Hesterman, Bryce↗
NASA NTRS1994

Design of power electronics for TVC and EMA systems

The EMA systems proposed for future space transportation applications are high power systems operating at voltages up to 270 Vdc and at current levels on the order of hundreds of amperes. The position of the actuator is controlled by modulating the flow of energy from the source to an electric motor with an inverter. Hard-switching of the semiconductor devices in the inverter results in considerable device switching stresses and losses and in the generation of substantial amounts of EMI. Both of these can be reduced by employing zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) techniques in the inverter. This project has focused on the development of a ZVS inverter for the Marshall Space Center EMA prototypes, which utilize brushless dc motors to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy. An inverter which permitted zero-voltage switching and a quasi-PWM operation was selected for study and implementation. A waveshaping circuit is added to the front of a standard three-phase inverter to achieve the desired switching properties. This circuit causes the input voltage of the three-phase inverter to ring to zero where it is clamped for a short period of time. During this zero-voltage period, any of the semiconductor switches in the three-phase inverter are switched on or off at zero voltage resulting in a reduction in switching losses and EMI. The operation of this waveshaping circuit and its interaction with the three-phase inverter are described. The different circuit modes were analyzed using equivalent circuits. Based on this analysis, design relationships were developed for calculating component values for the circuit elements in the waveshaping circuit. Waveforms of various voltages and currents in the waveshaping circuit were plotted and used to determine the ratings of the semiconductors in the waveshaping circuit. The implementation of this inverter are described. Block diagrams for the overall control system and the waveshaping circuit control are presented and discussed. The current control scheme employed in the controller is also described.

Nelms, R. Mark↗
NASA NTRS1999

Vibration-Induced Droplet Atomization

Thermal management is critical to a number of technologies used in a microgravity environment and in Earth-based systems. Examples include electronic cooling, power generation systems, metal forming and extrusion, and HVAC (heating, venting, and air conditioning) systems. One technique that can deliver the large heat fluxes required for many of these technologies is two-phase heat transfer. This type of heat transfer is seen in the boiling or evaporation of a liquid and in the condensation of a vapor. Such processes provide very large heat fluxes with small temperature differences. Our research program is directed toward the development of a new, two-phase heat transfer cell for use in a microgravity environment. In this paper, we consider the main technology used in this cell, a novel technique for the atomization of a liquid called vibration-induced droplet atomization. In this process, a small liquid droplet is placed on a thin metal diaphragm that is made to vibrate by an attached piezoelectric transducer. The vibration induces capillary waves on the free surface of the droplet that grow in amplitude and then begin to eject small secondary droplets from the wave crests. In some situations, this ejection process develops so rapidly that the entire droplet seems to burst into a small cloud of atomized droplets that move away from the diaphragm at speeds of up to 50 cm/s. By incorporating this process into a heat transfer cell, the active atomization and transport of the small liquid droplets could provide a large heat flux capability for the device. Experimental results are presented that document the behavior of the diaphragm and the droplet during the course of a typical bursting event. In addition, a simple mathematical model is presented that qualitatively reproduces all of the essential features we have seen in a burst event. From these two investigations, we have shown that delayed droplet bursting results when the system passes through a resonance condition. This occurs when the initial acceleration of the diaphragm is higher than the critical acceleration and the driving frequency is larger than the initial resonance frequency of the diaphragm-droplet system. We have incorporated this droplet atomization device into a design for a new heat transfer cell for use in a microgravity environment. The cell is essentially a cylindrical container with a hot surface on one end and a cold surface on the other. The vibrating diaphragm is mounted in the center of the cold surface. Heat transfer occurs through droplet evaporation and condensation on the hot and cold ends of the cell. A prototype of this heat transfer cell has been built and tested. It can operate continuously and provides a modest level of heat transfer, about 20 W/sq cm. Our work during the next few years will be to optimize the design of this cell to see if we can produce a device that has significantly better performance than conventional heat exchangers and heat pipes.

Smith, M. K.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Technical Challenges and Barriers Affecting Turbo-Electric and Hybrid Electric Aircraft Propulsion

In order to meet aggressive aircraft performance goals set by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, the Glenn Research Center (GRC) is leading research and development of electrified aircraft propulsion systems with electricity being generated from a gas turbine engine or combination of gas turbine engine and an alternate energy source. The presentation will provide an overview of technical challenges and barriers affecting the development and implementation of turboelectric and hybrid electric systems. Advances will be required in multiple areas, which include energy storage, electrical machines, power transmission, power electronics, control systems, materials, thermal management, and multi-scale modeling tools. The presentation will summarize current GRC activities in these areas. Challenges associated with integration and demonstration of multiple technologies at the system level will be presented.

Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS2012

Accelerated Aging Experiments for Capacitor Health Monitoring and Prognostics

This paper discusses experimental setups for health monitoring and prognostics of electrolytic capacitors under nominal operation and accelerated aging conditions. Electrolytic capacitors have higher failure rates than other components in electronic systems like power drives, power converters etc. Our current work focuses on developing first-principles-based degradation models for electrolytic capacitors under varying electrical and thermal stress conditions. Prognostics and health management for electronic systems aims to predict the onset of faults, study causes for system degradation, and accurately compute remaining useful life. Accelerated life test methods are often used in prognostics research as a way to model multiple causes and assess the effects of the degradation process through time. It also allows for the identification and study of different failure mechanisms and their relationships under different operating conditions. Experiments are designed for aging of the capacitors such that the degradation pattern induced by the aging can be monitored and analyzed. Experimental setups and data collection methods are presented to demonstrate this approach.

Prognostics of Electronics↗
NASA NTRS2013

Silicon Heat Pipe Array

Improved methods of heat dissipation are required for modern, high-power density electronic systems. As increased functionality is progressively compacted into decreasing volumes, this need will be exacerbated. High-performance chip power is predicted to increase monotonically and rapidly with time. Systems utilizing these chips are currently reliant upon decades of old cooling technology. Heat pipes offer a solution to this problem. Heat pipes are passive, self-contained, two-phase heat dissipation devices. Heat conducted into the device through a wick structure converts the working fluid into a vapor, which then releases the heat via condensation after being transported away from the heat source. Heat pipes have high thermal conductivities, are inexpensive, and have been utilized in previous space missions. However, the cylindrical geometry of commercial heat pipes is a poor fit to the planar geometries of microelectronic assemblies, the copper that commercial heat pipes are typically constructed of is a poor CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) match to the semiconductor die utilized in these assemblies, and the functionality and reliability of heat pipes in general is strongly dependent on the orientation of the assembly with respect to the gravity vector. What is needed is a planar, semiconductor-based heat pipe array that can be used for cooling of generic MCM (multichip module) assemblies that can also function in all orientations. Such a structure would not only have applications in the cooling of space electronics, but would have commercial applications as well (e.g. cooling of microprocessors and high-power laser diodes). This technology is an improvement over existing heat pipe designs due to the finer porosity of the wick, which enhances capillary pumping pressure, resulting in greater effective thermal conductivity and performance in any orientation with respect to the gravity vector. In addition, it is constructed of silicon, and thus is better suited for the cooling of semiconductor devices.

Yee, Karl Y.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Pluto Express Power System Architecture

The Pluto Express power system must answer the challenge of the next generation spacecraft by reducing its power, mass, and volume envelopes. Technology developed by the New Millennium Program will enable the power system to meet the stringent requirements for the Pluto Express mission without exceeding the spacecraft mass and volume budgets.

electronics↗
NASA NTRS1994

Design of power electronics for TVC and EMA systems

The Component Development Division of the Propulsion Laboratory at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is currently developing a class of electromechanical actuators (EMA's) for use in space transportation applications such as thrust vector control (TVC) and propellant control valves (PCV). These high power servomechanisms will require rugged, reliable, and compact power electronic modules capable of modulating several hundred amperes of current at up to 270 volts. MSFC has selected the brushless dc motor for implementation in EMA's. A previous project performed by Auburn University examined the use of the resonant dc link (RDCL) inverter, pulse density modulation (PDM), and mos-controlled thyristors (MCT's) for speed control of a brushless dc motor. The speed of the brushless dc motor is proportional to the applied stator voltage. In a PDM system, the control system determines the number of resonant voltage pulses which must be applied to the stator to achieve a desired speed. The addition of a waveshaping circuit to the front end of a standard three-phase inverter yields a RDCL inverter; the resonant voltage pulses are produced through the action of this wave shaping circuit and the inverter. This project has focused on the implementation of a system which permits zero-voltage switching with the bus voltage clamped at the input voltage level. In the same manner as the RDCL inverter, the inverter selected for this implementation is a combination of waveshaping circuit and a standard three-phase inverter. In addition, this inverter allows a pulse-width modulated (PWM)-like control scheme instead of a PDM scheme. The operation of waveshaping circuit will be described through analysis and waveforms. Design relationships will also be presented.

Nelms, R. Mark↗
NASA NTRS1991

Survey of electronics capability for SP-100 space reactor power system applications

Because of reports indicating improvements in the radiation tolerance of some electronic parts, a survey was recently performed by SP-100 project personnel to determine the advisability of revising SP-100 SRPS (space reactor power systems) allowable neutron and gamma dose rates in order to reduce the size and mass of the radiation shield and thereby achieve system mass reductions. The survey results indicate that recent developments to increase the radiation tolerance of a limited set of electronics parts do not justify increasing the allowable SP-100 dose rates for electronic components. Specifically, the recent improvements on a limited set of parts do not justify increasing the current SP-100 allowable specifications of 5 x 10 exp 5 rads gamma dose and 1 x 10 exp 13 neutrons/sq cm fluence. However, if the improvements of 108 rads for gammas and 10 exp 15 neutrons/sq cm can be extended to a wide range of parts, significant mass savings would result.

Manvi, Ram↗