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Results for “Design Methods and Validation”

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 109 records · Page 6

High Reynolds Number Assessment of Boundary Layer Transition Trip Drag at Mach 2.48 on HSCT Configuration

The NASA High Speed Research (HSR) Program is intended to establish a technology base enabling industry development of an economically viable and environmentally acceptable second generation high speed civil transport (HSCT). The HSR program consists of work directed towards several broad technology areas, one of which is aerodynamic performance. The objective of the Configuration Aerodynamics task of the Aerodynamic Performance technology area is the development of aerodynamic drag reduction, stability and control, and propulsion airframe integration technologies required to support the HSCT development process. Towards this goal, computational and empirical based aerodynamic design tools are being developed, evaluated, and validated through ground based experimental testing. In addition, methods for ground to flight scaling are being developed and refined. Successful development of validated design and scaling methodologies will result in improved economy of operation for an HSCT and reduce uncertainty in full-scale flight predictions throughout the development process.

Wahls, Richard↗

Analytical Failure Prediction Method Developed for Woven and Braided Composites

Historically, advances in aerospace engine performance and durability have been linked to improvements in materials. Recent developments in ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) have led to increased interest in CMCs to achieve revolutionary gains in engine performance. The use of CMCs promises many advantages for advanced turbomachinery engine development and may be especially beneficial for aerospace engines. The most beneficial aspects of CMC material may be its ability to maintain its strength to over 2500 F, its internal material damping, and its relatively low density. Ceramic matrix composites reinforced with two-dimensional woven and braided fabric preforms are being considered for NASA s next-generation reusable rocket turbomachinery applications (for example, see the preceding figure). However, the architecture of a textile composite is complex, and therefore, the parameters controlling its strength properties are numerous. This necessitates the development of engineering approaches that combine analytical methods with limited testing to provide effective, validated design analyses for the textile composite structures development.

Min, James B.↗

Spring 2013 Graduate Engineering Internship Summary

In the spring of 2013, I participated in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Pathways Intern Employment Program at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. This was my final internship opportunity with NASA, a third consecutive extension from a summer 2012 internship. Since the start of my tenure here at KSC, I have gained an invaluable depth of engineering knowledge and extensive hands-on experience. These opportunities have granted me the ability to enhance my systems engineering approach in the field of payload design and testing as well as develop a strong foundation in the area of composite fabrication and testing for repair design on space vehicle structures. As a systems engineer, I supported the systems engineering and integration team with final acceptance testing of the Vegetable Production System, commonly referred to as Veggie. Verification and validation (V and V) of Veggie was carried out prior to qualification testing of the payload, which incorporated the process of confirming the system's design requirements dependent on one or more validation methods: inspection, analysis, demonstration, and testing.

Ehrlich, Joshua↗

The Orbiter Experiments (OEX) Program

The objective of the Orbiter Experiments (OEX) program is to obtain research quality flight data for the augmentation and advancement of space transportation technologies. This includes the validation and advancement of analytical theories and of ground-test methods and techniques. The following topics are discussed: aerothermodynamic design tool development and validation; the freestream environment; trajectory reconstruction; atmospheric reconstruction; the Shuttle Entry Air Data System (SEADS); the Shuttle Upper Atmosphere Mass Spectrometer (SUMS); and aerodynamic forces and moments. The discussion is presented in vugraph form.

Throckmorton, David A.↗

Radioisotope Heater Unit-Based Stirling Power Convertor Development at NASA Glenn Research Center

Stirling Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) are being developed as an option to provide power on future space science missions where robotic spacecraft will orbit, flyby, land or rove. A variety of mission concepts have been studied by NASA and the U. S. Department of Energy that would utilize RPS for landers, probes, and rovers and only require milliwatts to tens of watts of power. These missions would contain science measuring instruments that could be distributed across planetary surfaces or near objects of interest in space solar flux insufficient for using solar cells. A low power Stirling convertor is being developed to provide an RPS option for future low power applications. Initial concepts convert heat available from several Radioisotope Heater Units to electrical power for spacecraft instruments and communication. Initial development activity includes defining and evaluating a variety of Stirling configurations and selecting one for detailed design, research of advanced manufacturing methods that could simplify fabrication, evaluating thermal interfaces, characterizing components and subassemblies to validate design codes, and preparing for an upcoming demonstration of proof of concept in a laboratory environment.

Wilson, Scott D.↗

Radioisotope Heater Unit-Based Stirling Power Convertor Development at NASA Glenn Research Center

Stirling Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) are being developed as an option to provide power on future space science missions where robotic spacecraft will orbit, flyby, land or rove. A variety of mission concepts have been studied by NASA and the U. S. Department of Energy that would utilize RPS for landers, probes, and rovers and only require milliwatts to tens of watts of power. These missions would contain science measuring instruments that could be distributed across planetary surfaces or near objects of interest in space solar flux insufficient for using solar cells. A low power Stirling convertor is being developed to provide an RPS option for future low power applications. Initial concepts convert heat available from several Radioisotope Heater Units to electrical power for spacecraft instruments and communication. Initial development activity includes defining and evaluating a variety of Stirling configurations and selecting one for detailed design, research of advanced manufacturing methods that could simplify fabrication, evaluating thermal interfaces, characterizing components and subassemblies to validate design codes, and preparing for an upcoming demonstration of proof of concept in a laboratory environment.

Wilson, Scott D.↗

Impact of Future Low-Emissions Combustor Technology on Acoustic Scaling Laws

The overall goal of a recent research project at the Raytheon Technologies Research Center, under National Aeronautics and Space Administration sponsorship, was to develop a first-ofits-kind database of detailed unsteady measurements characterizing noise sources of far-term advanced low-emissions aero-combustors. The program addressed the need for fundamental combustion-noise experiments which, in the near term, enable improvements to reduced-order models for use in system level noise assessments at the preliminary design stage for advanced air transport vehicles. In addition, optical measurement techniques were refined and validated for usage at the higher pressures and temperatures relevant to future combustor designs. In the long term, results from this program can be utilized to validate high-fidelity prediction methods suited for detailed multi-disciplinary acoustics/emissions combustor design. This paper concentrates on one aspect of the overall project, namely an examination of the legacy scaling laws for broadband combustor noise.

aeroacoustics, turbomachinery noise, combustor noi↗

Impact of Future Low-Emissions Combustor Technology on Acoustic Scaling Laws

The work is a summary and further analysis of unlimited-rights acoustic data acquired under NRA Contract NNC16CA39C (September 2016 - November2019) with United Technologies (now Raytheon Technologies) Research Center, East Hartford, Connecticut. NASA/CR-20205011099/VOL1, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20205011099. The overall goal of the Contract was to develop a first-of-its- kind database of detailed unsteady measurements characterizing noise sources of far-term advanced low-emissions aero-combustors. The program addressed the need for fundamental combustion-noise experiments which, in the near term, enable improvements to reduced-order models for use in system level noise assessments at the preliminary design stage for advanced air transport vehicles. In addition, optical measurement techniques were refined and validated for usage at the higher pressures and temperatures relevant to future combustor designs. In the long term, results from this program can be utilized to validate high-fidelity prediction methods suited for detailed multi-disciplinary acoustics/emissions combustor design. This presentation concentrates on one aspect of the overall project, namely an examination of the legacy scaling laws for broadband combustor noise.

aeroacoustics, turbomachinery noise, combustor noi↗

Reusable Rocket Engine Operability Modeling and Analysis

This paper describes the methodology, model, input data, and analysis results of a reusable launch vehicle engine operability study conducted with the goal of supporting design from an operations perspective. Paralleling performance analyses in schedule and method, this requires the use of metrics in a validated operations model useful for design, sensitivity, and trade studies. Operations analysis in this view is one of several design functions. An operations concept was developed given an engine concept and the predicted operations and maintenance processes incorporated into simulation models. Historical operations data at a level of detail suitable to model objectives were collected, analyzed, and formatted for use with the models, the simulations were run, and results collected and presented. The input data used included scheduled and unscheduled timeline and resource information collected into a Space Transportation System (STS) Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) historical launch operations database. Results reflect upon the importance not only of reliable hardware but upon operations and corrective maintenance process improvements.

Christenson, R. L.↗

An Introduction to the BFS Method and Its Use to Model Binary NiAl Alloys

We introduce the Bozzolo-Ferrante-Smith (BFS) method for alloys as a computationally efficient tool for aiding in the process of alloy design. An intuitive description of the BFS method is provided, followed by a formal discussion of its implementation. The method is applied to the study of the defect structure of NiAl binary alloys. The groundwork is laid for a detailed progression to higher order NiAl-based alloys linking theoretical calculations and computer simulations based on the BFS method and experimental work validating each step of the alloy design process.

Bozzolo, Guillermo↗

Grid sensitivity capability for large scale structures

The considerations and the resultant approach used to implement design sensitivity capability for grids into a large scale, general purpose finite element system (MSC/NASTRAN) are presented. The design variables are grid perturbations with a rather general linking capability. Moreover, shape and sizing variables may be linked together. The design is general enough to facilitate geometric modeling techniques for generating design variable linking schemes in an easy and straightforward manner. Test cases have been run and validated by comparison with the overall finite difference method. The linking of a design sensitivity capability for shape variables in MSC/NASTRAN with an optimizer would give designers a powerful, automated tool to carry out practical optimization design of real life, complicated structures.

Nagendra, Gopal K.↗

Analysis of a boron-carbide-drum-controlled critical reactor experiment

In order to validate methods and cross sections used in the neutronic design of compact fast-spectrum reactors for generating electric power in space, an analysis of a boron-carbide-drum-controlled critical reactor was made. For this reactor the transport analysis gave generally satisfactory results. The calculated multiplication factor for the most detailed calculation was only 0.7-percent Delta k too high. Calculated reactivity worth of the control drums was $11.61 compared to measurements of $11.58 by the inverse kinetics methods and $11.98 by the inverse counting method. Calculated radial and axial power distributions were in good agreement with experiment.

Mayo, W. T.↗

Modelling and simulation of a heat exchanger

Two models for two different control systems are developed for a parallel heat exchanger. First by spatially lumping a heat exchanger model, a good approximate model which has a high system order is produced. Model reduction techniques are applied to these to obtain low order models that are suitable for dynamic analysis and control design. The simulation method is discussed to ensure a valid simulation result.

Xia, Lei↗

An atlas of selected calibrated stellar spectra

Five hundred and fifty six stars in the IRAS PSC-2 that are suitable for stellar radiometric standards and are brighter than 1 Jy at 25 microns were identified. In addition, 123 stars that meet all of our criteria for calibration standards, but which lack a luminosity class were identified. An approach to absolute stellar calibration of broadband infrared filters based upon new models of Vega and Sirius due to Kurucz (1992) is presented. A general technique used to assemble continuous wide-band calibrated infrared spectra is described and an absolutely calibrated 1-35 micron spectrum of alpha(Tau) is constructed and the method using new and carefully designed observations is independently validated. The absolute calibration of the IRAS Low Resolution Spectrometer (LRS) database is investigated by comparing the observed spectrum of alpha(Tau) with that assumed in the original LRS calibration scheme. Neglect of the SiO fundamental band in alpha(Tau) has led to the presence of a specious 'emission' feature in all LRS spectra near 8.5 microns, and to an incorrect spectral slope between 8 and 12 microns. Finally, some of the properties of asteroids that effect their utility as calibration objects for the middle and far infrared region are examined. A technique to determine, from IRAS multiwaveband observations, the basic physical parameters needed by various asteroid thermal models that minimize the number of assumptions required is developed.

Walker, Russell G.↗

Cold flow testing of the Space Shuttle Main Engine alternate turbopump development high pressure fuel turbine model

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has established a cold airflow turbine test program to experimentally determine the performance of liquid rocket engine turbopump drive turbines. Testing of the SSME alternate turbopump development (ATD) fuel turbine was conducted for back-to-back comparisons with the baseline SSME fuel turbine results obtained in the first quarter of 1991. Turbine performance, Reynolds number effects, and turbine diagnostics, such as stage reactions and exit swirl angles, were investigated at the turbine design point and at off-design conditions. The test data showed that the ATD fuel turbine test article was approximately 1.4 percent higher in efficiency and flowed 5.3 percent more than the baseline fuel turbine test article. This paper describes the method and results used to validate the ATD fuel turbine aerodynamic design. The results are being used to determine the ATD high pressure fuel turbopump (HPFTP) turbine performance over its operating range, anchor the SSME ATD steady-state performance model, and validate various prediction and design analyses.

Gaddis, Stephen W.↗

Flow of Supercritical Hydrogen in a Uniformly Heated Circular Tube

Turbulent flow of supercritical hydrogen through a uniformly heated circular tube has been investigated using numerical methods, for the range of 4 x 10(exp 5) less than Re less than 3 x 10(exp 6), 5 less than or equal to q(sub W) less than or equal to 10 MW/sq m, 30 less than or equal to T(sub in) less than or equal to 90 K, and 5 less than or equal to P(sub in) less than or equal to 15 MPa. The purpose is to validate a turbulence model and calculation method for the design of active cooling systems of hydrogen-fueled hypersonic aircraft, where the hydrogen fuel a used as coolant. The PHOENICS software package was used for the computations, which required special provision for evaluation of the thermophysical properties of the supercritical hydrogen, and a low Reynolds number form of the k-epsilon turbulence model. Pressure drop and heat transfer data were compared with experiment and existing correlations and good agreement was demonstrated. For the pressure range considered here a "thermal spike" was observed and shown to be due to the secondary peak in specific heat, rather than the primary peak.

Youn, B.↗

Transonic-Small-Disturbance and Linear Analyses for the Active Aeroelastic Wing Program

Analysis serves many roles in the Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) program. It has been employed to ensure safe testing of both a flight vehicle and wind tunnel model, has formulated models for control law design, has provided comparison data for validation of experimental methods and has addressed several analytical research topics. Aeroelastic analyses using mathematical models of both the flight vehicle and the wind tunnel model configurations have been conducted. Static aeroelastic characterizations of the flight vehicle and wind tunnel model have been produced in the transonic regime and at low supersonic Mach numbers. The flight vehicle has been analyzed using linear aerodynamic theory and transonic small disturbance theory. Analyses of the wind-tunnel model were performed using only linear methods. Research efforts conducted through these analyses include defining regions of the test space where transonic effects play an important role and investigating transonic similarity. A comparison of these aeroelastic analyses for the AAW flight vehicle is presented in this paper. Results from a study of transonic similarity are also presented. Data sets from these analyses include pressure distributions, stability and control derivatives, control surface effectiveness, and vehicle deflections.

Wiesman, Carol D.↗

AirSTAR: A UAV Platform for Flight Dynamics and Control System Testing

As part of the NASA Aviation Safety Program at Langley Research Center, a dynamically scaled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and associated ground based control system are being developed to investigate dynamics modeling and control of large transport vehicles in upset conditions. The UAV is a 5.5% (seven foot wingspan), twin turbine, generic transport aircraft with a sophisticated instrumentation and telemetry package. A ground based, real-time control system is located inside an operations vehicle for the research pilot and associated support personnel. The telemetry system supports over 70 channels of data plus video for the downlink and 30 channels for the control uplink. Data rates are in excess of 200 Hz. Dynamic scaling of the UAV, which includes dimensional, weight, inertial, actuation, and control system scaling, is required so that the sub-scale vehicle will realistically simulate the flight characteristics of the full-scale aircraft. This testbed will be utilized to validate modeling methods, flight dynamics characteristics, and control system designs for large transport aircraft, with the end goal being the development of technologies to reduce the fatal accident rate due to loss-of-control.

Jordan, Thomas L.↗