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At least 109 records · Page 6

Ceramic Heat Pipe for Thermal Management of a High Frequency Inductor

As the power density of electric machines and power electronics continues to increase to meet the demands of more electric aircraft, the thermal management of these devices becomes increasingly important. Ideally, the thermal management solution of the device should have high thermal conductivity and be electrically insulating so that it can be directly integrated with the device in question. Technical ceramics are a class of materials that meet these two requirements. Direct liquid cooling by submerging electric components in a dielectric fluid is an alternate option, but adds system complexity and may incur pumping loss. In this work, the thermal management solution for a high frequency inductor is presented. A conventional wicked heat pipe is designed that is made from a solid ceramic case with a sintered ceramic wick. This heat pipe can provide structural support for the core and windings and is electrically insulating, so it does not incur any additional eddy current losses from the high frequency magnetic fields. It does not require additional pumping power, because conventional wicked heat pipes are passive devices. In this paper, the manufacturing process of the ceramic heat pipe is also presented. It is shown that the sintering of large diameter spherical ceramic particles is difficult due to their high specific surface area and low surface free energy. To overcome this difficulty, a flux material was used to initiate liquid phase sintering. The results of the sintering trials show that for the 120 μm diameter α-Al2O3powder selected for the wick, the combination of 1650°C sintering temperature and the addition of 5 wt% talc sintered the porous matrix together sufficiently for use as a heat pipe wic

High-frequency Inductor↗

Ceramic Heat Pipe for Thermal Management of a High Frequency Inductor

As the power density of electric machines and power electronics continues to increase to meet the demands of more electric aircraft, the thermal management of these devices becomes increasingly important. Ideally, the thermal management solution of the device should have high thermal conductivity and be electrically insulating so that it can be directly integrated with the device in question. Technical ceramics are a class of materials that meet these two requirements. Direct liquid cooling by submerging electric components in a dielectric fluid is an alternate option, but adds system complexity and may incur pumping loss. In this work, the thermal management solution for a high frequency inductor is presented. A conventional wicked heat pipe is designed that is made from a solid ceramic case with a sintered ceramic wick. This heat pipe can provide structural support for the core and windings and is electrically insulating, so it does not incur any additional eddy current losses from the high frequency magnetic fields. It does not require additional pumping power, because conventional wicked heat pipes are passive devices. In this paper, the manufacturing process of the ceramic heat pipe is also presented. It is shown that the sintering of large diameter spherical ceramic particles is difficult due to their high specific surface area and low surface free energy. To overcome this difficulty, a flux material was used to initiate liquid phase sintering. The results of the sintering trials show that for the 120 μm diameter α-Al2O3 powder selected for the wick, the combination of 1650°C sintering temperature and the addition of 5 wt% talc sintered the porous matrix together sufficiently for use as a heat pipe wick.

High frequency inductor↗

Computational Models of Human Performance: Validation of Memory and Procedural Representation in Advanced Air/Ground Simulation

The Man-Machine Interaction Design and Analysis System (MIDAS) under joint U.S. Army and NASA cooperative is intended to assist designers of complex human/automation systems in successfully incorporating human performance capabilities and limitations into decision and action support systems. MIDAS is a computational representation of multiple human operators, selected perceptual, cognitive, and physical functions of those operators, and the physical/functional representation of the equipment with which they operate. MIDAS has been used as an integrated predictive framework for the investigation of human/machine systems, particularly in situations with high demands on the operators. We have extended the human performance models to include representation of both human operators and intelligent aiding systems in flight management, and air traffic service. The focus of this development is to predict human performance in response to aiding system developed to identify aircraft conflict and to assist in the shared authority for resolution. The demands of this application requires representation of many intelligent agents sharing world-models, coordinating action/intention, and cooperative scheduling of goals and action in an somewhat unpredictable world of operations. In recent applications to airborne systems development, MIDAS has demonstrated an ability to predict flight crew decision-making and procedural behavior when interacting with automated flight management systems and Air Traffic Control. In this paper, we describe two enhancements to MIDAS. The first involves the addition of working memory in the form of an articulatory buffer for verbal communication protocols and a visuo-spatial buffer for communications via digital datalink. The second enhancement is a representation of multiple operators working as a team. This enhanced model was used to predict the performance of human flight crews and their level of compliance with commercial aviation communication procedures. We show how the data produced by MIDAS compares with flight crew performance data from full mission simulations. Finally, we discuss the use of these features to study communication issues connected with aircraft-based separation assurance.

Corker, Kevin M.↗

Information Management Workflow and Tools Enabling Multiscale Modeling Within ICME Paradigm

With the increased emphasis on reducing the cost and time to market of new materials, the need for analytical tools that enable the virtual design and optimization of materials throughout their processing - internal structure - property - performance envelope, along with the capturing and storing of the associated material and model information across its lifecycle, has become critical. This need is also fueled by the demands for higher efficiency in material testing; consistency, quality and traceability of data; product design; engineering analysis; as well as control of access to proprietary or sensitive information. Fortunately, material information management systems and physics-based multiscale modeling methods have kept pace with the growing user demands. Herein, recent efforts to establish workflow for and demonstrate a unique set of web application tools for linking NASA GRC's Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) Granta MI database schema and NASA GRC's Integrated multiscale Micromechanics Analysis Code (ImMAC) software toolset are presented. The goal is to enable seamless coupling between both test data and simulation data, which is captured and tracked automatically within Granta MI®, with full model pedigree information. These tools, and this type of linkage, are foundational to realizing the full potential of ICME, in which materials processing, microstructure, properties, and performance are coupled to enable application-driven design and optimization of materials and structures.

Materials Engineering↗

An object-oriented, technology-adaptive information model

The primary objective was to develop a computer information system for effectively presenting NASA's technologies to American industries, for appropriate commercialization. To this end a comprehensive information management model, applicable to a wide variety of situations, and immune to computer software/hardware technological gyrations, was developed. The model consists of four main elements: a DATA_STORE, a data PRODUCER/UPDATER_CLIENT and a data PRESENTATION_CLIENT, anchored to a central object-oriented SERVER engine. This server engine facilitates exchanges among the other model elements and safeguards the integrity of the DATA_STORE element. It is designed to support new technologies, as they become available, such as Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), on-demand audio-video data streaming with compression (such as is required for video conferencing), Worldwide Web (WWW) and other information services and browsing, fax-back data requests, presentation of information on CD-ROM, and regular in-house database management, regardless of the data model in place. The four components of this information model interact through a system of intelligent message agents which are customized to specific information exchange needs. This model is at the leading edge of modern information management models. It is independent of technological changes and can be implemented in a variety of ways to meet the specific needs of any communications situation. This summer a partial implementation of the model has been achieved. The structure of the DATA_STORE has been fully specified and successfully tested using Microsoft's FoxPro 2.6 database management system. Data PRODUCER/UPDATER and PRESENTATION architectures have been developed and also successfully implemented in FoxPro; and work has started on a full implementation of the SERVER engine. The model has also been successfully applied to a CD-ROM presentation of NASA's technologies in support of Langley Research Center's TAG efforts.

Anyiwo, Joshua C.↗

NASA Electrified Aircraft Propulsion Efforts

NASA's broad investments in Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) are reviewed in this paper. NASA investments are guided by an assessment of potential market impacts, technical key performance parameters, and technology readiness attained through a combination of studies, enabling fundamental research, and flight research. NASA has determined that the impact of EAP varies by market and NASA is considering three markets: national/international, on-demand mobility, and short haul regional air transport. Flight research is underway to demonstrate integrated solutions and inform standards and certification processes. This paper focuses on the vehicle related activities, however there are related NASA activities in air space management and vehicle autonomy activities as well as a breakthrough technology project called the Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project. A key finding is that sufficient technical advances in key areas have been made which indicate EAP is a viable technology for aircraft. Significant progress has been made to reduce EAP adoption barriers and further work is needed to transition the technology to a commercial product and improve the technology so it is applicable to large transonic aircraft. This paper will review the activities of the Hybrid Gas Electric Subproject of the Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology Project, and the X-57 Flight Demonstration Project, and discuss the potential EAP benefits for commercial and military applications.

Jansen, Ralph H.↗

Towards Designing an Integrated Earth Observation System for the Provision of Solar Energy Resource and Assessment

The GEOSS strategic plan specifically targets the area of improved energy resource management due to the importance of these to the economic and social viability of every nation of the world. With the world s increasing demand for energy resources, the need for new alternative energy resources grows. This paper overviews a new initiative within the International Energy Agency that addresses needs to better manage and develop solar energy resources worldwide. The goal is to provide the solar energy industry, the electricity sector, governments, and renewable energy organizations and institutions with the most suitable and accurate information of the solar radiation resources at the Earth's surface in easily-accessible formats and understandable quality metrics. The scope of solar resource assessment information includes historic data sets and currently derived data products using satellite imagery and other means. Thus, this new task will address the needs of the solar energy sector while at the same time will serve as a model that satisfies GEOSS objectives and goals.

Stackouse, Paul W., Jr.↗

An Integrated Gate Turnaround Management Concept Leveraging Big Data Analytics for NAS Performance Improvements

"Gate Turnaround" plays a key role in the National Air Space (NAS) gate-to-gate performance by receiving aircraft when they reach their destination airport, and delivering aircraft into the NAS upon departing from the gate and subsequent takeoff. The time spent at the gate in meeting the planned departure time is influenced by many factors and often with considerable uncertainties. Uncertainties such as weather, early or late arrivals, disembarking and boarding passengers, unloading/reloading cargo, aircraft logistics/maintenance services and ground handling, traffic in ramp and movement areas for taxi-in and taxi-out, and departure queue management for takeoff are likely encountered on the daily basis. The Integrated Gate Turnaround Management (IGTM) concept is leveraging relevant historical data to support optimization of the gate operations, which include arrival, at the gate, departure based on constraints (e.g., available gates at the arrival, ground crew and equipment for the gate turnaround, and over capacity demand upon departure), and collaborative decision-making. The IGTM concept provides effective information services and decision tools to the stakeholders, such as airline dispatchers, gate agents, airport operators, ramp controllers, and air traffic control (ATC) traffic managers and ground controllers to mitigate uncertainties arising from both nominal and off-nominal airport gate operations. IGTM will provide NAS stakeholders customized decision making tools through a User Interface (UI) by leveraging historical data (Big Data), net-enabled Air Traffic Management (ATM) live data, and analytics according to dependencies among NAS parameters for the stakeholders to manage and optimize the NAS performance in the gate turnaround domain. The application will give stakeholders predictable results based on the past and current NAS performance according to selected decision trees through the UI. The predictable results are generated based on analysis of the unique airport attributes (e.g., runway, taxiway, terminal, and gate configurations and tenants), and combined statistics from past data and live data based on a specific set of ATM concept-of-operations (ConOps) and operational parameters via systems analysis using an analytic network learning model. The IGTM tool will then bound the uncertainties that arise from nominal and off-nominal operational conditions with direct assessment of the gate turnaround status and the impact of a certain operational decision on the NAS performance, and provide a set of recommended actions to optimize the NAS performance by allowing stakeholders to take mitigation actions to reduce uncertainty and time deviation of planned operational events. An IGTM prototype was developed at NASA Ames Simulation Laboratories (SimLabs) to demonstrate the benefits and applicability of the concept. A data network, using the System Wide Information Management (SWIM)-like messaging application using the ActiveMQ message service, was connected to the simulated data warehouse, scheduled flight plans, a fast-time airport simulator, and a graphic UI. A fast-time simulation was integrated with the data warehouse or Big Data/Analytics (BAI), scheduled flight plans from Aeronautical Operational Control AOC, IGTM Controller, and a UI via a SWIM-like data messaging network using the ActiveMQ message service, illustrated in Figure 1, to demonstrate selected use-cases showing the benefits of the IGTM concept on the NAS performance.

Efficent ATM systems↗

Lunar mission design using Nuclear Thermal Rockets

The NERVA-class Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR), with performance nearly double that of advanced chemical engines, has long been considered an enabling technology for human missions to Mars. NTR engines address the demanding trip time and payload delivery needs of both cargo-only and piloted flights. But NTR can also reduce the Earth launch requirements for manned lunar missions. First use of NTR for the Moon would be less demanding and would provide a test-bed for early operations experience with this powerful technology. Study of application and design options indicates that NTR propulsion can be integrated with the Space Exploration Initiative scenarios to deliver performance gains while managing controlled, long-term disposal of spent reactors to highly stable orbits.

Stancati, Michael L.↗

An Integrated Hydrological and Water Management Study of the Entire Nile River System - Lake Victoria to Nile Delta

The Nile basin River system spans 3 million km(exp 2) distributed over ten nations. The eight upstream riparian nations, Ethiopia, Eretria, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Tanzania and Kenya are the source of approximately 86% of the water inputs to the Nile, while the two downstream riparian countries Sudan and Egypt, presently rely on the river's flow for most of the their needs. Both climate and agriculture contribute to the complicated nature of Nile River management: precipitation in the headwaters regions of Ethiopia and Lake Victoria is variable on a seasonal and inter-annual basis, while demand for irrigation water in the arid downstream region is consistently high. The Nile is, perhaps, one of the most difficult trans-boundary water issue in the world, and this study would be the first initiative to combine NASA satellite observations with the hydrologic models study the overall water balance in a to comprehensive manner. The cornerstone application of NASA's Earth Science Research Results under this project are the NASA Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) and the USDA Atmosphere-land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model. These two complementary research results are methodologically independent methods for using NASA observations to support water resource analysis in data poor regions. Where an LDAS uses multiple sources of satellite data to inform prognostic simulations of hydrological process, ALEXI diagnoses evapotranspiration and water stress on the basis of thermal infrared satellite imagery. Specifically, this work integrates NASA Land Data Assimilation systems into the water management decision support systems that member countries of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD, located in Nairobi, Kenya) use in water resource analysis, agricultural planning, and acute drought response to support sustainable development of Nile Basin water resources. The project is motivated by the recognition that accurate, frequent, and spatially distributed estimates of the water balance are necessary for effective water management. This creates a challenge for watersheds that are large, include data poor regions, and/or span multiple nations. All of these descriptors apply to the Nile River basin, yet successful management of the Nile is critical for development and political stability in the region. For this reason, improved hydrological data to support cooperative water management in the Nile basin is a priority for USAID, the US State Department, the World Bank and other international organizations. In this project, the U.S. based research team is working with partners at RCMRD, Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), and their member national-level agencies to develop satellite-based land cover maps, satellite-derived evapotranspiration estimates (using the ALEXI algorithm), and NASA's Land Data Assimilation System (LDAS) customized to match identified information needs. The cornerstone applied sciences product of the project is the development of a customized "Nile LDAS" that will produce optimal estimates of hydrological states and fluxes, as vetted against the in situ observations of NBI and RCMRD member organizations and independent satellite-derived hydrological estimates. Nile LDAS will be applied to improve the reliability of emerging Decision Support Systems in applications that include drought monitoring, reservoir management, and irrigation planning. The end-users such as RCMRD, NBI, Ethiopian and Kenya Meteorological and Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNet) will be the eventual benefactors of this work. There will be a capacity building process involving the above end-user organizations and transfer the models and the results for these organizations to execute for future use. The team has already initiated this study and the early results of first years' work are shown. The plan is to complete this work by late 2013.

Habib, Shahid↗

Telemetry packetization for improved mission operations

The requirements for mission-operations data management will accelerate sharply when the Space Transportation System (i.e., Space Shuttle) becomes the primary vehicle for research from space. These demands can be satisfied most effectively by providing a higher-level source encoding function within the spaceborne vehicle. An Instrument Telemetry Packet (ITP) concept is described which represents an alternative to the conventional multiplexed telemetry frame approach for acquiring spaceborne instrument data. By providing excellent data-integrity protection at the source and a variable instrument bandwidth capability, this ITP concept represents a significant improvement over present data acquisition procedures. Realignments in the ground telemetry processing functions are described which are intended to take advantage of the ITP concept and to make the data management system more responsive to the scientific investigators.

Greene, E. P.↗

Evaluation of the Controller-Managed Spacing Tools, Flight-Deck Interval Management and Terminal Area Metering Capabilities for the ATM Technology Demonstration #1

NASA has developed a suite of advanced arrival management technologies combining time-based scheduling with controller- and flight deck-based precision spacing capabilities that allow fuel-efficient arrival operations during periods of high throughput. An operational demonstration of these integrated technologies, i.e., the ATM Technology Demonstration #1 (ATD-1), is slated for 2016. Human-in-the-loop simulations were conducted to evaluate the performance of the ATD-1 system and validate operational feasibility. The ATD-1 system was found to be robust to scenarios with saturated demand levels and high levels of system delay. High throughput, 10 above baseline demand levels, and schedule conformance less than 20 seconds at the 75th percentile were achievable. The flight-deck interval management capabilities also improved the median schedule conformance at the final approach fix from 5 to 3 seconds with less variance.

terminal metering↗

An integrated study of earth resources in the state of California using remote sensing techniques

Progress and results of an integrated study of California's water resources are discussed. The investigation concerns itself primarily with the usefulness of remote sensing of relation to two categories of problems: (1) water supply; and (2) water demand. Also considered are its applicability to forest management and timber inventory. The cost effectiveness and utility of remote sensors such as the Earth Resources Technology Satellite for water and timber management are presented.

Colwell, R. N.↗

Exploration of Near-Term Potential Routes and Procedures for Urban Air Mobility

Urban air mobility is gaining interest as the need for On Demand Mobility in today's congested traffic is becoming high in metropolitan areas. Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is envisioned as a concept to transport passengers and cargo safely and efficiently using innovative aircraft in the urban areas. It is expected to improve mobility for the general public, decongest road traffic, reduce transport time and reduce the strain on existing public transport networks. There exist several challenges to Urban Air Mobility (UAM) such as integration of procedures with airspace and the airport, noise levels that are acceptable to the general public, public safety, public acceptance, vehicle certification, and more. Most of the research in the United States and European skies (DLR - German Aerospace Center) related to urban areas has focused on small UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) flights (NASA's UTM (UAS Traffic Management) research) and their integration with the airspace and building safe operations in densely populated areas. Previous studies on UAM have focused on fast time simulations of the routes that are separated via a separation service and network of routes. Similarly, research in Europe has focused on the approach profile for these innovative aircraft, vertiports and battery life among others. UAM as a part of the On-Demand Mobility effort has provided some guidelines for operations as shown below: Does not require additional ATC (Air Traffic Control) infrastructure; Does not impose additional workload on ATC; Does not restrict operations of traditional airspace users; Will meet appropriate safety thresholds and requirements; Will prioritize operational scalability; Will allow flexibility where possible and structure where necessary. This paper explores potential routes and procedures in a Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) experiment that could be applied in the near-term to allow integration of UAM flights into the airspace as well as a large airport. The airspace that was explored was Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airspace managed by the DFW East Tower in South Flow only. In addition, Dallas Love Field (DAL) and Addison (ADS) airspace were also part of the testbed. The initial set of routes investigated in this study were published helicopter routes in the DFW area. Figure 1 shows class B airspace in DFW area and the origin/destination city pairs where UAM flights flew along with helicopter routes shown in blue. The research focused on exploring procedures for integrating UAM flights into Class Bravo and Class Delta airspace. Three different communication procedures, evaluated with three different levels of UAM traffic, are shown in Table 1. The current day routes were evaluated with current day communication procedures were explored as the first condition. The current day routes were also evaluated in the second condition with reduced communications, which was assumed due to the presence of a Letter Of Agreement (LOA). The purpose of the LOA was to reduce the verbiage associated with pilots getting clearance to Class B airspace from the controllers, pre-assigning beacons codes to the UAM flights, separate routes by assigning altitudes and speeds to flights going in any one direction. Flights were expected to automatically change frequency when exiting Class B airspace, thus transition points for entry and exit points were also specified in the LOA.

Urban Air Mobility↗

Integrating Water Supply Constraints into Irrigated Agricultural Simulations of California

Simulations of irrigated croplands generally lack key interactions between water demand from plants and water supply from irrigation systems. We coupled the Water Evaluation and Planning system (WEAP) and Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) to link regional water supplies and management with field-level water demand and crop growth. WEAP-DSSAT was deployed and evaluated over Yolo County in California for corn, rice, and wheat. WEAP-DSSAT is able to reproduce the results of DSSAT under well-watered conditions and reasonably simulate observed mean yields, but has difficulty capturing yield interannual variability. Constraining irrigation supply to surface water alone reduces yields for all three crops during the 1987-1992 drought. Corn yields are reduced proportionally with water allocation, rice yield reductions are more binary based on sufficient water for flooding, and wheat yields are least sensitive to irrigation constraints as winter wheat is grown during the wet season.

Agriculture; Irrigation; Water Resources Managemen↗

Measuring Global Water Security Towards Sustainable Development Goals

Water plays an important role in underpinning equitable, stable and productive societies and ecosystems. Hence, United Nations recognized ensuring water security as one (Goal 6) of the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs). Many international river basins are likely to experience 'low water security' over the coming decades. Water security is rooted not only in the physical availability of freshwater resources relative to water demand, but also on social and economic factors (e.g. sound water planning and management approaches, institutional capacity to provide water services, sustainable economic policies). Until recently, advanced tools and methods are available for the assessment of water scarcity. However, quantitative and integrated-physical and socio-economic-approaches for spatial analysis of water security at global level are not available yet. In this study, we present a spatial multi-criteria analysis framework to provide a global assessment of water security. The selected indicators are based on Goal 6 of SDGs. The term 'security' is conceptualized as a function of 'availability', 'accessibility to services', 'safety and quality', and 'management'. The proposed global water security index (GWSI) is calculated by aggregating indicator values on a pixel-by-pixel basis, using the ordered weighted average method, which allows for the exploration of the sensitivity of final maps to different attitudes of hypothetical policy makers. Our assessment suggests that countries of Africa, South Asia and Middle East experience very low water security. Other areas of high water scarcity, such as some parts of United States, Australia and Southern Europe, show better GWSI values, due to good performance of management, safety and quality, and accessibility. The GWSI maps show the areas of the world in which integrated strategies are needed to achieve water related targets of the SDGs particularly in the African and Asian continents.

sustainable-development goals↗

The Sensor Management for Applied Research Technologies (SMART) Project

NASA seeks on-demand data processing and analysis of Earth science observations to facilitate timely decision-making that can lead to the realization of the practical benefits of satellite instruments, airborne and surface remote sensing systems. However, a significant challenge exists in accessing and integrating data from multiple sensors or platforms to address Earth science problems because of the large data volumes, varying sensor scan characteristics, unique orbital coverage, and the steep "learning curve" associated with each sensor, data type, and associated products. The development of sensor web capabilities to autonomously process these data streams (whether real-time or archived) provides an opportunity to overcome these obstacles and facilitate the integration and synthesis of Earth science data and weather model output.

Goodman, Michael↗

Application of future remote sensing systems to irrigation

Area estimates of irrigated crops and knowledge of crop type are required for modeling water consumption to assist farmers, rangers, and agricultural consultants in scheduling irrigation for distributed management of crop yields. Information on canopy physiology and soil moisture status on a spatial basis is potentially available from remote sensors, so the questions to be addressed relate to: (1) timing (data frequency, instantaneous and integrated measurement); and scheduling (widely distributed spatial demands); (2) spatial resolution; (3) radiometric and geometric accuracy and geoencoding; and (4) information/data distribution. This latter should be overnight, with no central storage, onsite capture, and low cost.

Miller, L. D.↗