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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
NASA NTRS1990

Computer-Access-Code Matrices

Authorized users respond to changing challenges with changing passwords. Scheme for controlling access to computers defeats eavesdroppers and "hackers". Based on password system of challenge and password or sign, challenge, and countersign correlated with random alphanumeric codes in matrices of two or more dimensions. Codes stored on floppy disk or plug-in card and changed frequently. For even higher security, matrices of four or more dimensions used, just as cubes compounded into hypercubes in concurrent processing.

Collins, Earl R., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Development of a quadrupole-based Secondary-Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) system at Lewis Research Center

The design, construction, and initial use of an ion microprobe to carry out secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) of solid samples is reported. The system is composed of a differentially pumped custom-made UHV (Ultra High Vacuum) chamber, a quadrupole mass spectrometer and a telefocus A-DIDA ion gun with the capability of producing beams of Cesium, as well as inert and reactive gases. The computer control and acquisition of the data were designed and implemented using a personal computer with plug-in boards, and external circuitry built as required to suit the system needs. The software is being developed by using a FORTH-like language. Initial tests aimed at characterizing the system, as well as preliminary surface and depth-profiling studies are presently underway.

Vargas-Aburto, Carlos↗
NASA NTRS1990

Modular Containerless Processing Facility

The Modular Containerless Processing Facility (MCPF) of the Space Station Freedom, being developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is described. The MCPF will be capable of positioning, manipulating, and performing processing operations on samples completely free of container walls. It will be comprised of a host facility and a series of interchangeable plug-in modules. Initial iterations of MCPF modules will be flown on the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML) series of Shuttle flights. The Drop Physics Module schedualed to fly on USML-1 in March 1992 is also considered.

Morrison, Andrew D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Unified Ultrasonic/Eddy-Current Data Acquisition

Imaging station for detecting cracks and flaws in solid materials developed combining both ultrasonic C-scan and eddy-current imaging. Incorporation of both techniques into one system eliminates duplication of computers and of mechanical scanners; unifies acquisition, processing, and storage of data; reduces setup time for repetitious ultrasonic and eddy-current scans; and increases efficiency of system. Same mechanical scanner used to maneuver either ultrasonic or eddy-current probe over specimen and acquire point-by-point data. For ultrasonic scanning, probe linked to ultrasonic pulser/receiver circuit card, while, for eddy-current imaging, probe linked to impedance-analyzer circuit card. Both ultrasonic and eddy-current imaging subsystems share same desktop-computer controller, containing dedicated plug-in circuit boards for each.

Chern, E. James↗
NASA NTRS1995

High resolution time interval counter

In recent years, we have developed two types of high resolution, multi-channel time interval counters. In the NIST two-way time transfer MODEM application, the counter is designed for operating primarily in the interrupt-driven mode, with 3 start channels and 3 stop channels. The intended start and stop signals are 1 PPS, although other frequencies can also be applied to start and stop the count. The time interval counters used in the NIST Frequency Measurement and Analysis System are implemented with 7 start channels and 7 stop channels. Four of the 7 start channels are devoted to the frequencies of 1 MHz, 5 MHz or 10 MHz, while triggering signals to all other start and stop channels can range from 1 PPS to 100 kHz. Time interval interpolation plays a key role in achieving the high resolution time interval measurements for both counters. With a 10 MHz time base, both counters demonstrate a single-shot resolution of better than 40 ps, and a stability of better than 5 x 10(exp -12) (sigma(sub chi)(tau)) after self test of 1000 seconds). The maximum rate of time interval measurements (with no dead time) is 1.0 kHz for the counter used in the MODEM application and is 2.0 kHz for the counter used in the Frequency Measurement and Analysis System. The counters are implemented as plug-in units for an AT-compatible personal computer. This configuration provides an efficient way of using a computer not only to control and operate the counters, but also to store and process measured data.

Zhang, Victor S.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Dissemination of compressed satellite imagery within the Navy SPAWAR Central Site Product Display environment

This paper presents a case study of integration of compression techniques within a satellite image communication component of an actual tactical weather information dissemination system. The paper describes history and requirements of the project, and discusses the information flow, request/reply protocols, error handling, and, especially, system integration issues: specification of compression parameters and the place and time for compressor/decompressor plug-ins. A case for a non-uniform compression of satellite imagery is presented, and its implementation in the current system id demonstrated. The paper gives special attention to challenges of moving the system towards the use of standard, non-proprietary protocols (smtp and http) and new technologies (OpenDoc), and reports the ongoing work in this direction.

Kiselyov, Oleg↗
NASA NTRS1994

Multi-Flight-Phase GPS Navigation Filter Applications to Terrestrial Vehicle Navigation and Positioning

A candidate onboard space navigation filter demonstrated excellent performance (less than 8 meter level RMS semi-major axis accuracy) in performing orbit determination of a low-Earth orbit Explorer satellite using single-frequency real GPS data. This performance is significantly better than predicted by other simulation studies using dual-frequency GPS data. The study results revealed the significance of two new modeling approaches evaluated in the work. One approach introduces a single-frequency ionospheric correction through pseudo-range and phase range averaging implementation. The other approach demonstrates a precise axis-dependent characterization of dynamic sample space uncertainty to compute a more accurate Kalman filter gain. Additionally, this navigation filter demonstrates a flexibility to accommodate both perturbational dynamic and observational biases required for multi-flight phase and inhomogeneous application environments. This paper reviews the potential application of these methods and the filter structure to terrestrial vehicle and positioning applications. Both the single-frequency ionospheric correction method and the axis-dependent state noise modeling approach offer valuable contributions in cost and accuracy improvements for terrestrial GPS receivers. With a modular design approach to either 'plug-in' or 'unplug' various force models, this multi-flight phase navigation filter design structure also provides a versatile GPS navigation software engine for both atmospheric and exo-atmospheric navigation or positioning use, thereby streamlining the flight phase or application-dependent software requirements. Thus, a standardized GPS navigation software engine that can reduce the development and maintenance cost of commercial GPS receivers is now possible.

Park, Young W.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Virtual Reality at the PC Level

The main objective of my research has been to incorporate virtual reality at the desktop level; i.e., create virtual reality software that can be run fairly inexpensively on standard PC's. The standard language used for virtual reality on PC's is VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language). It is a new language so it is still undergoing a lot of changes. VRML 1.0 came out only a couple years ago and VRML 2.0 came out around last September. VRML is an interpreted language that is run by a web browser plug-in. It is fairly flexible in terms of allowing you to create different shapes and animations. Before this summer, I knew very little about virtual reality and I did not know VRML at all. I learned the VRML language by reading two books and experimenting on a PC. The following topics are presented: CAD to VRML, VRML 1.0 to VRML 2.0, VRML authoring tools, VRML browsers, finding virtual reality applications, the AXAF project, the VRML generator program, web communities and future plans.

Dean, John↗
NASA NTRS1999

Cartridge Bearing System for Space Applications

Conventional spin axis ball bearings have been unreliable in spacecraft, often failing by two heretofore uncontrolled processes: ball retainer instability and lubricant breakdown. The Space Cartridge Bearing System (SCBS) addresses each of these mechanisms directly, leading to a bearing system with absolute freedom from retainer instability and negligible lubricant degradation rate. The result is a reliable plug-in bearing cartridge with a definite design life.

Kingsbury, Edward P.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Rapidly Re-Configurable Flight Simulator Tools for Crew Vehicle Integration Research and Design

While simulation is a valuable research and design tool, the time and difficulty required to create new simulations (or re-use existing simulations) often limits their application. This report describes the design of the software architecture for the Reconfigurable Flight Simulator (RFS), which provides a robust simulation framework that allows the simulator to fulfill multiple research and development goals. The core of the architecture provides the interface standards for simulation components, registers and initializes components, and handles the communication between simulation components. The simulation components are each a pre-compiled library 'plug-in' module. This modularity allows independent development and sharing of individual simulation components. Additional interfaces can be provided through the use of Object Data/Method Extensions (OD/ME). RFS provides a programmable run-time environment for real-time access and manipulation, and has networking capabilities using the High Level Architecture (HLA).

Schutte, Paul C.↗
NASA NTRS2002

A Facility and Architecture for Autonomy Research

Autonomy is a key enabling factor in the advancement of the remote robotic exploration. There is currently a large gap between autonomy software at the research level and software that is ready for insertion into near-term space missions. The Mission Simulation Facility (MST) will bridge this gap by providing a simulation framework and suite of simulation tools to support research in autonomy for remote exploration. This system will allow developers of autonomy software to test their models in a high-fidelity simulation and evaluate their system's performance against a set of integrated, standardized simulations. The Mission Simulation ToolKit (MST) uses a distributed architecture with a communication layer that is built on top of the standardized High Level Architecture (HLA). This architecture enables the use of existing high fidelity models, allows mixing simulation components from various computing platforms and enforces the use of a standardized high-level interface among components. The components needed to achieve a realistic simulation can be grouped into four categories: environment generation (terrain, environmental features), robotic platform behavior (robot dynamics), instrument models (camera/spectrometer/etc.), and data analysis. The MST will provide basic components in these areas but allows users to plug-in easily any refined model by means of a communication protocol. Finally, a description file defines the robot and environment parameters for easy configuration and ensures that all the simulation models share the same information.

Pisanich, Greg↗
NASA NTRS2004

Advanced Infant Car Seat Would Increase Highway Safety

An advanced infant car seat has been proposed to increase highway safety by reducing the incidence of crying, fussy behavior, and other child-related distractions that divert an adult driver s attention from driving. In addition to a conventional infant car seat with safety restraints, the proposed advanced infant car seat would include a number of components and subsystems that would function together as a comprehensive infant-care system that would keep its occupant safe, comfortable, and entertained, and would enable the driver to monitor the baby without having to either stop the car or turn around to face the infant during driving. The system would include a vibrator with bulb switch to operate; the switch would double as a squeeze toy that would make its own specific sound. A music subsystem would include loudspeakers built into the seat plus digital and analog circuitry that would utilize plug-in memory modules to synthesize music or a variety of other sounds. The music subsystem would include a built-in sound generator that could synthesize white noise or a human heartbeat to calm the baby to sleep. A second bulb switch could be used to control the music subsystem and would double as a squeeze toy that would make a distinct sound. An anti-noise sound-suppression system would isolate the baby from potentially disturbing ambient external noises. This subsystem would include small microphones, placed near the baby s ears, to detect ambient noise. The outputs of the microphone would be amplified and fed to the loudspeakers at appropriate amplitude and in a phase opposite that of the detected ambient noise, such that the net ambient sound arriving at the baby s ears would be almost completely cancelled. A video-camera subsystem would enable the driver to monitor the baby visually while continuing to face forward. One or more portable miniature video cameras could be embedded in the side of the infant car seat (see figure) or in a flip-down handle. The outputs of the video cameras would be transmitted by radio or infrared to a portable, miniature receiver/video monitor unit that would be attached to the dashboard of the car. The video-camera subsystem can also be used within transmission/reception range when the seat was removed from the car. The system would include a biotelemetric and tracking subsystem, which would include a Global Positioning System receiver for measuring its location. This subsystem would transmit the location of the infant car seat (even if the seat were not in a car) along with such biometric data as the baby s heart rate, perspiration rate, urinary status, temperature, and rate of breathing. Upon detecting any anomalies in the biometric data, this subsystem would send a warning to a paging device installed in the car or carried by the driver, so that the driver could pull the car off the road to attend to the baby. A motion detector in this subsystem would send a warning if the infant car seat were to be moved or otherwise disturbed unexpectedly while the infant was seated in it: this warning function, in combination with the position- tracking function, could help in finding a baby who had been kidnapped with the seat. Removable rechargeable batteries would enable uninterrupted functioning of all parts of the system while transporting the baby to and from the car. The batteries could be recharged via the cigarette-lighter outlet in the car or by use of an external AC-powered charger.

Dabney, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2003

Software for Building Models of 3D Objects via the Internet

The Virtual EDF Builder (where EDF signifies Electronic Development Fixture) is a computer program that facilitates the use of the Internet for building and displaying digital models of three-dimensional (3D) objects that ordinarily comprise assemblies of solid models created previously by use of computer-aided-design (CAD) programs. The Virtual EDF Builder resides on a Unix-based server computer. It is used in conjunction with a commercially available Web-based plug-in viewer program that runs on a client computer. The Virtual EDF Builder acts as a translator between the viewer program and a database stored on the server. The translation function includes the provision of uniform resource locator (URL) links to other Web-based computer systems and databases. The Virtual EDF builder can be used in two ways: (1) If the client computer is Unix-based, then it can assemble a model locally; the computational load is transferred from the server to the client computer. (2) Alternatively, the server can be made to build the model, in which case the server bears the computational load and the results are downloaded to the client computer or workstation upon completion.

Schramer, Tim↗
DOE OSTI2026

Multi-Split Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) System Building Energy Simulations Using Performance Maps

Multi-split variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are highly energy-efficient HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) technologies that connect a single outdoor unit to multiple independent indoor terminal units using a common refrigerant circuit and a variable-speed compressor. Building energy simulations that incorporate VRF systems help model their unique operational characteristics and predict energy consumption in specific building designs. Traditionally, EnergyPlus models these systems by employing multiple sets of performance curves to characterize both individual terminal units and the outdoor unit. However, producing these curves is labor intensive and error prone, and they often do not capture all the key input and output variables. This paper introduces a novel approach that uses multi-dimensional performance maps to model VRF systems in building environments for space cooling. In this approach, performance maps are developed at the component level—separately for the outdoor unit and for each indoor terminal. The new modeling method is validated within EnergyPlus via a Python plug-in that contains a simple solver loop to coordinate the component-level, indoor, and outdoor unit maps. Furthermore, because performance maps can span more variables than traditional performance curves, they offer the opportunity to implement advanced controls, such as enhanced dehumidification and compressor modulation. A VRF air conditioner’s hardware system was modeled using the DOE/ORNL Heat Pump Design Model, which was automated to produce extensive performance maps for both the indoor and outdoor units.

Shen, Bo [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000336600393)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Community and Passenger Survey Responses for Bastrop, Texas Low-Speed Electric Vehicle Mobility Service Project

This document describes the contents of the following data products: 1. ALL-survey_results_NREL_LiveWire_04_14_2023 (Excel file with two worksheets) 2. eCab_DOE_NREL_LiveWire_04_14_2023_results_all_surveys_except_SP_csv (CSV file) 3. eCab_DOE_NREL_LiveWire_04_14_2023_SP_survey_results_only_csv (CSV file). These data products contain the results of the surveys conducted throughout the DOE-funded Electric First-/Last-Mile On-Demand Shuttle Service for Rural Communities in Central Texas project. The Excel file is the original database of all the survey results (contained in two worksheets). The CSV files are those two worksheets saved as individual CSV files.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Cooperative Automated Cohort Driving on Connected Infrastructure, Arterial Roadways, and Highways: Final Project Demonstration and System-of-Systems Model Correlation

This project seeks to synergize vehicle automated driving and connectivity data to improve mobility and energy efficiency of groups of mixed vehicles operating in close proximity (vehicle cohort) on various infrastructure. A custom cellular communication network links vehicles operating as a cohort with infrastructure to a centralized system-of-systems digital twin with an AI-based optimal behavior planner. The data contained in this set are from final testing and technology demonstrations to U.S. Department of Energy staff at the American Center for Mobility. The data contain single-lane, single-light scenarios; multi-lane, multi-light arterial scenarios; and limited-access highway scenarios. All test cases were derived from simulations and replicated on the test track. The project employed two and four light-duty vehicles with connectivity and drive automation for the testing. The baseline scenario without connectivity was run under the control of the system-of-systems centralized planner but operating each vehicle with an intelligent driver model controlling the velocity, lane utilization, and vehicle gap. This was to ensure the highest compatibility with the simulation in terms of dynamic behavior. The connected cohort case utilized AI optimization to perform coordinated and cooperative control for energy, as well as safe, comfortable behavior for the cohort. The dataset is appropriately named with unconnected and connected designations, with comparisons sharing the same run index number. The included PowerPoint and PDF files describe the test setup and provide an overview of results from the project. ![image](de-EE0009209_March_2023_Data_Arterial_Scenario_Results.png)

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Energy Consumption, Performance, and Cost Estimates for Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles Based on 2022 Assumptions

Assumptions for this work was collected and the analysis was completed in FY22. This contains information for more than 20 types of medium and heavy duty vehicles. Vehicles with various levels of hybridization, electric and fuel cell powertrains are considered in this work. More details are available in the report published by Argonne accessible from https://vms.taps.anl.gov/research-highlights/u-s-doe-vto-hfto-r-d-benefits/. TechScape, a convenient data visualization tool is also provided by Argonne for this data, accessible from [TechScape Web](https://vms.taps.anl.gov/data/techscape-web-2023/).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Federal Workplace Charging Program Guide

The 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act authorizes the installation, operation, and maintenance of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) for the purpose of recharging employees' privately owned vehicles (POVs) under the custody or control of the General Services Administration (GSA) or a Federal agency. It requires the collection of fees to recover the costs of installing, operating, and maintaining this equipment and imposes reporting requirements. This program guide reviews those requirements, excerpts the relevant language in Appendix A, and describes when and how fees may be required to cover costs of electricity, network costs, EVSE units, and installations in various scenarios. This program guide is designed to support Federal agencies developing and refining workplace charging programs for employee POVs. While it provides guidance and best practices, it does not replace agencywide policies or agency-specific legal counsel. It contains a roadmap for agency workplace charging programs and defines roles and responsibilities. This guide explains how to determine the number of POVs likely to charge at a given site and contains a sample employee survey in Appendix B. It reviews EVSE planning, including unit selection and acquisition, charger location(s), accounting for available power capacity, using existing infrastructure, and funding an incentive program. It also discusses the costs associated with EVSE acquisition, installation, and network management. These costs inform the subsequently provided information, which describes how to amortize costs to determine appropriate fees for each charging session. The final two sections of this guide address aspects of ongoing program management that the facility coordinator should consider and the reporting requirements associated with the FAST Act. The insights in this guide are applicable to all agency-owned and GSA-leased buildings or facilities offering the use of EVSE or a 120-volt receptacle for the purpose of recharging an employee's POV. However, the FAST Act requirements typically do not apply to any building or facility operated and maintained by a third-party vendor offering the use of EVSE as part of a commercial building lease unless the agency is managing the station and/or energy on behalf of the building and collecting POV fees.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗