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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 919 records · Page 51

Moving ground simulation by tangential blowing

Belt-type moving ground equipment, used for ground-effect simulation in STOL and VTOL tests, can be inconvenient and costly, especially in larger tunnels. In most cases such difficulties may be avoided by employing tangential blowing at the ground surface, from a single slot. The paper reviews several powered model tests using both moving ground and tangential blowing and describes the slot configuration, and the test techniques which were developed. Ground skin friction is monitored to set blowing levels and no model-dependent calculations are needed. It is also shown that application to center-tunnel testing can delay tunnel flow breakdown very considerably.

Hackett, J. E.↗

Strapdown gyro test program

The power spectral noise characteristic performance of the Teledyne two-degree-of-freedom dry tuned gimbal gyroscope was determined. Tests were conducted using a current configuration SDG-5 gyro in conjunction with test equipment with minor modification. Long term bias stability tests were conducted as well as some first difference performance tests. The gyro, test equipment, and the tests performed are described. Results are presented.

Irvine, R. B.↗

Effects of a high mean stress on the high cycle fatigue life of PWA 1480 and correlation of data by linear elastic fracture mechanics

High-cycle fatigue tests using 5-mm-diameter smooth specimens were performed on the single crystal alloy PWA 1480 (001 axis) at 70F (room temperature) in air and at 100F (538C) in vacuum (10 to the -6 power torr). Tests were conducted at zero mean stress as well as at high tensile mean stress. The results indicate that, although a tensile mean stress, in general, reduces life, the reduction in fatigue strength, for a given mean stress at a life of one million cycles, is much less than what is predicted by the usual linear Goodman plot. Further, the material appears to be significantly more resistant to mean stress effects at 1000F than at 70F. Metallographic examinations of failed specimens indicate that failures in all cases are initiated from micropores of sizes of the order of 30 to 40 microns. Since the macroscopic stress-strain response in all cases was observed to be linear elastic, linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) analyses were carried out to determine the crack growth curves of the material assuming that crack initiation from a micropore (a sub o = 40 microns) occurs very early in life. The results indicate that the calculated crack growth rates at an R (defined as the ratio between minimum stress to maximum stress) value of zero are approximately the same at 70F as at 1000F. However, the calculated crack growth rates at other R ratios, both positive and negative, tend to be higher at 70F than at 1000F. Calculated threshold effects at large R values tend to be independent of temperature in the temperature regime studied. They are relatively constant with increasing R ratio up to a value of about 0.6, beyond which the calculated threshold stress intensity factor range decreases rapidly with increasing R ratios.

Majumdar, S.↗

Navigation Flight Test Results from the Low Power Transceiver Communications and Navigation Demonstration on Shuttle (CANDOS) Experiment

This paper presents the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation results from the Communications and Navigation Demonstration on Shuttle (CANDOS) experiment flown on STS-107. This experiment was the initial flight of a Low Power Transceiver (LPT) that featured high capacity space- space and space-ground communications and GPS- based navigation capabilities. The LPT also hosted the GPS Enhanced Orbit Determination Experiment (GEODE) orbit determination software. All CANDOS test data were recovered during the mission using LPT communications links via the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). An overview of the LPT s navigation software and the GPS experiment timeline is presented, along with comparisons of test results to the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) real-time ground navigation vectors and Best Estimate of Trajectory (BET).

Haas, Lin↗

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement among National Energy Technology Laboratory, The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia by and on behalf of Georgia Institute of Technology, and University of Texas at El Paso [Abstract]

Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT), University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will collaborate and develop cyber-physical systems for advanced power systems. GIT will test virtual models on hybrid power system hardware and cyber physical components. UTEP will test novel actuators on hybrid power system hardware. NETL will access GIT’s expertise in the engineering and real time simulation of power system processes for cyber-physical systems and simulations to control hardware. NETL will establish a relationship to promote UTEP’s capabilities in additive manufacturing and high-temperature piezo-electric devices with the potential for controlling high-temperature flows with a light and inexpensive device at high response rates. This project is the result of an EERE Advanced Manufacturing Office open Multi-Topic awarded proposal led by GIT titled, “Robust Combined Heat and Hybrid Power (CHHP) for High Electrical Efficiency Cogeneration”.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Advanced Hypervelocity Aerophysics Facility Workshop

The primary objective of the workshop was to obtain a critical assessment of a concept for a large, advanced hypervelocity ballistic range test facility powered by an electromagnetic launcher, which was proposed by the Langley Research Center. It was concluded that the subject large-scale facility was feasible and would provide the required ground-based capability for performing tests at entry flight conditions (velocity and density) on large, complex, instrumented models. It was also concluded that advances in remote measurement techniques and particularly onboard model instrumentation, light-weight model construction techniques, and model electromagnetic launcher (EML) systems must be made before any commitment for the construction of such a facility can be made.

Witcofski, Robert D.↗

Autonomous power expert system advanced development

The autonomous power expert (APEX) system is being developed at Lewis Research Center to function as a fault diagnosis advisor for a space power distribution test bed. APEX is a rule-based system capable of detecting faults and isolating the probable causes. APEX also has a justification facility to provide natural language explanations about conclusions reached during fault isolation. To help maintain the health of the power distribution system, additional capabilities were added to APEX. These capabilities allow detection and isolation of incipient faults and enable the expert system to recommend actions/procedure to correct the suspected fault conditions. New capabilities for incipient fault detection consist of storage and analysis of historical data and new user interface displays. After the cause of a fault is determined, appropriate recommended actions are selected by rule-based inferencing which provides corrective/extended test procedures. Color graphics displays and improved mouse-selectable menus were also added to provide a friendlier user interface. A discussion of APEX in general and a more detailed description of the incipient detection, recommended actions, and user interface developments during the last year are presented.

Quinn, Todd M.↗

Automatic outdoor monitoring system for photovoltaic panels

Long-term acquisition of solar panel performance parameters, for panels operated at maximum power point in their real environment, is of critical importance in the photovoltaic research sector. However, few options exist for the characterization of non-standard panels such as concentrated photovoltaic systems, heavily soiled or shaded panels or those operating under non-standard spectral illumination; certainly, it is difficult to find such a measurement system that is flexible and affordable enough to be adopted by the smaller research institutes or universities. We present here an instrument aiming to fill this gap, autonomously tracking and maintaining any solar panel at maximum power point while continuously monitoring its operational parameters and dissipating the produced energy without connection to the power grid. Here, the instrument allows periodic acquisition of current-voltage curves to verify the employed maximum power point tracking approach. At the same time, with hardware schematics and software code being provided, it provides a flexible open development environment for the monitoring of non-standard generators like concentrator photovoltaic systems and to test novel power tracking approaches. The key issues, and the corresponding solutions, encountered in the design are analyzed in detail and the relevant schematics presented.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Performance of U 3 Si–Al dispersion fuel at HANARO full-power condition

The irradiation performance of U3Si dispersion fuel in an Al matrix, U3Si-Al, under the Hi-Flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO) design full-power condition of 30 MW was tested for full-power qualification of the fuel. A test assembly was fabricated containing 18 fuel rods made with atomized U3Si powder manufactured at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The test assembly was irradiated for 188 full-power operation days in the HANARO subject to the normal fuel-loading scheme and achieved about 60 at% U-235 average burnup and 75 at% U-235 peak burnup. The maximum linear power of the test assembly was 98 kW/m. Nondestructive and destructive postirradiation examinations were conducted. The measured postirradiation examination data were compared with data from previous irradiations and the design criteria required for HANARO fuel. Consequently, it was concluded that in-pile performance was acceptable and fuel integrity was maintained, and the behavior satisfied the fuel design requirements.

Chae, Heetaek↗

Aluminum cladding oxide growth prediction for high flux research reactors

Aluminum cladding oxidation of research-reactor fuel elements at high power conditions has a disadvantageous effect on fuel performance due to the lower thermal conductivity of the oxide. The oxide growth prediction models available in the literature were mostly developed for low power conditions. To examine the applicability of the models to high power and high temperature test conditions, the models were studied by coupling with the most frequently employed heat transfer coefficient (HTC) correlations including the Dittus-Boelter correlation, the Colburn correlation, the Sieder-Tate correlation, and KAERI-developed correlation. The Griess model over-predicted the oxide growth while the KAERI-Griess model under-predicted the oxide growth for high power tests. The Kim model, coupled with the Colburn correlation, gave most consistent results with the measured data from two BR2 experiments. However, the Kim model was found to be inapplicable to the EUHFRR conditions at the peak power locations if it was coupled with the Dittus-Boelter correlation. A revision of the prediction models to more closely agree with the measured data was recommended. Furthermore, AG3NE and AlFeNi cladding types were tested in the E-FUTURE experiment, and a noticeable (although small) reduction in oxide thickness on the AlFeNi cladding was observed. However, this difference was believed to be only a secondary effect considering other uncertainties in model predictions, so no attempt was made to model the alloying effect.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Secure Time Synchronization in Power Grids and Network HIL Synchrophasor Testing

Reliable and secure time synchronization underpins the monitoring and control functions of modern power grids. As GPS-based timing infrastructures grow more susceptible to spoofing and jamming, their vulnerabilities pose escalating risks to grid stability. This work investigates a secure, resilient timing framework that can serve as an alternative or redundant source for power grids, with a particular focus on synchrophasorbased applications. A candidate timing system architecture is evaluated to guarantee trustworthy time dissemination, even in degraded conditions. A network hardware-in-the-loop testing of two synchrophasors validates the concepts, demonstrating enhanced timing integrity, improved detection of timing anomalies, and sustained observability during adverse timing events.

Wu, Ori [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000326723410)↗

Aerodynamic Testing of the Orion Launch Abort Tower Separation with Jettison Motor Jet Interactions

The aerodynamic database for the Orion Launch Abort System (LAS) was developed largely from wind tunnel tests involving powered jet simulations of the rocket exhaust plumes, supported by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The LAS contains three solid rocket motors used in various phases of an abort to provide propulsion, steering, and Launch Abort Tower (LAT) jettison from the Crew Module (CM). This paper describes a pair of wind tunnel experiments performed at transonic and supersonic speeds to determine the aerodynamic effects due to proximity and jet interactions during LAT jettison from the CM at the end of an abort. The tests were run using two different scale models at angles of attack from 150deg to 200deg , sideslip angles from -10deg to +10deg , and a range of powered thrust levels from the jettison motors to match various jet simulation parameters with flight values. Separation movements between the CM and LAT included axial and vertical translations as well as relative pitch angle between the two bodies. The paper details aspects of the model design, nozzle scaling methodology, instrumentation, testing procedures, and data reduction. Sample data are shown to highlight trends seen in the results.

Rhode, Matthew N.↗

Effect of inlet-air humidity, temperature, pressure, and reference Mach number on the formation of oxides of nitrogen in a gas turbine combustor

Tests were conducted to determine the effect of inlet air humidity on the formation of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from a gas turbine combustor. Combustor inlet air temperature ranged from 506 K (450 F) to 838 K (1050 F). The tests were primarily run at a constant pressure of 6 atmospheres and reference Mach number of 0.065. The NOx emission index was found to decrease with increasing inlet air humidity at a constant exponential rate: NOx = NOx0e-19H (where H is the humidity and the subscript 0 denotes the value at zero humidity). the emission index increased exponentially with increasing normalized inlet air temperature to the 1.14 power. Additional tests made to determine the effect of pressure and reference Mach number on NOx showed that the NOx emission index varies directly with pressure to the 0.5 power and inversely with reference Mach number.

Marchionna, N. R.↗

Overview study of Space Power Technologies for the advanced energetics program

Space power technologies are reviewed to determine the state-of-the-art and to identify advanced or novel concepts which promise large increases in performance. The potential for incresed performance is judged relative to benchmarks based on technologies which have been flight tested. Space power technology concepts selected for their potentially high performance are prioritized in a list of R & D topical recommendations for the NASA program on Advanced Energetics. The technology categories studied are solar collection, nuclear power sources, energy conversion, energy storage, power transmission, and power processing. The emphasis is on electric power generation in space for satellite on board electric power, for electric propulsion, or for beamed power to spacecraft. Generic mission categories such as low Earth orbit missions and geosynchronous orbit missions are used to distinguish general requirements placed on the performance of power conversion technology. Each space power technology is judged on its own merits without reference to specific missions or power systems. Recommendations include 31 space power concepts which span the entire collection of technology categories studied and represent the critical technologies needed for higher power, lighter weight, more efficient power conversion in space.

Taussig, R.↗

DEMONSTRATION OF A PASSIVE CONDENSER LOOP

Building HVAC consumes significant amount of energy. It is estimated that about 7% of the total electricity consumed by water cooled chiller is used to drive the condenser water pump. A passive condenser loop is developed to curb this energy consumption by replacing the open pumped loop to a closed loop thermosyphon system. The loop thermosyphon uses waste heat to circulate the condenser fluid, eliminating the electrical pumping power requirement and the large circulation pump. Since it is a closed loop, it also reduces the maintenance cost and enables both wet and dry cooling modes. A demonstration unit with a riser about 40 feet (12.2 meters) tall is fabricated and tested at powers up to 25 kW. The result has successfully showed that the loop thermosyphon is able to transfer the heat near isothermally (∆T < 0.4C) over the long distance without the need of any pump and consuming any electricity.

Loop thermosyphon, building HVAC, condenser loop↗

Evaluation of the DC bus link capacitors and power transistor modules in the qualification testing of PV inverters

To achieve useful, fair, and cost-effective design qualification and type approval testing for PV inverters, two procedures were developed and demonstrated to evaluate the bus link capacitors and power transistor—and where applicable, its module—for long-term reliability. We evaluate the inverter under simulated use conditions with heat run tests to find the highest operating temperatures reached by these components. The procedures are demonstrated in this study with a 4-kVA class string inverter. The maximum temperature of the DC bus link capacitors was determined to be 76.4°C when the ambient temperature was at the inverter's maximum rated temperature of 60°C with derating occurring. On the other hand, the power transistor module's maximum temperature using the heat sink temperature as the index, 92.6°C, occurred in an ambient of 40.8°C when derating was not occurring. The conditions found for upper temperatures exhibited by these components are, respectively, proposed for implementation in the dry heat and thermal cycling tests in the IEC 62093 “Power conversion equipment for photovoltaic systems – Design qualification testing” international standard draft so that the levels applied in the tests are in proportion to those experienced in the field. Finally as a result, fairer evaluation of inverter reliability is realized.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗