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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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164 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Overview 1993: Chemical propulsion at CSTAR

Chemical Propulsion at CSTAR continues to expand its activities and areas of interest. Several new initiatives are being developed which are extensions of, or replacements for, earlier projects. One current focus is on reassessing promising engine cycles and the enabling technologies for implementing them. These engine cycles which include advanced hybrids, and staged combustion cycles have the use of oxygen as a working fluid and coolant in common. Oxygen is used as a turbine drive gas, tank pressurant and as a cooling medium for combustion devices. CSTAR has interest in the propellant feed systems for advanced rocket engines, including propellant conditioning and tank pressurization, gas generators, and turbomachinery. CSTAR's interests also include propellant injection into the main chamber. These aspects of rocket propulsion embody a diverse range of technical disciplines and technologies, critical to the pursuit of low cost space access. The chemical propulsion program at CSTAR includes active projects investigating hybrid rocket engine oxygen feed systems, hybrid rocket injectors, gas fed hybrid rocket combustion, elements of main injectors for staged combustion devices. CSTAR is actively seeking industrial partners interested in joint participation in one or more phases of the analyses, design, development and application of propulsion technologies and related technical disciplines.

William H. Knuth↗
NASA NTRS1984

Nickel-iron battery system safety

The generated flow rates of gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen from an electrical vehicle nickel-iron battery system were determined and used to evaluate the flame quenching capabilities of several candidate devices to prevent flame propagation within batteries having central watering/venting systems. The battery generated hydrogen and oxygen gases were measured for a complete charge and discharge cycle. The data correlates well with accepted theory during strong overcharge conditions indicating that the measurements are valid for other portions of the cycle. Tests confirm that the gas mixture in the cells is always flammable regardless of the battery status. The literature indicated that a conventional flame arrestor would not be effective over the broad spectrum of gassing conditions presented by a nickel-iron battery. Four different types of protective devices were evaluated. A foam-metal arrestor design was successful in quenching gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen flames, however; the application of this flame arrestor to individual cell or module protection in a battery is problematic. A possible rearrangement of the watering/venting system to accept the partial protection of simple one-way valves is presented which, in combination with the successful foam-metal arrestor as main vent protection, could result in a significant improvement in battery protection.

Saltat, R. C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Controls for Electrified Aircraft Propulsion

Advanced electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP) concepts with integrated power, propulsion, and thermal systems require the development of equally sophisticated controllers to fly safe and efficient missions. Hybrid electric aircraft utilize electric machines mechanically coupled to the engine shafts to extract and insert power for a variety of purposes. Additionally, electric machines may drive propulsive fans pulling from a combination of on-board energy storage devices and engine extracted power. NASA’s investment in hybrid electric aircraft hardware-in-the-loop testing enables controls research on representative engine models using a novel emulation and scaling methodology. High-voltage, high-power electrical powertrain presents several technical risks at altitude. High-power requires high efficiency to minimize losses. Superconducting electric machines and power distribution research at NASA has identified key challenges with potential controls solutions. These risks necessitate the development of controllers robust to model uncertainty, disturbances, and fault conditions. System health management and fault detection schemes play an important role in a multi-layer controls approach that utilizes a supervisor which oversees inner loops for the highly coupled power, propulsion, and thermal systems. Such a supervisory controller enables coordinates energy transfer between engines, energy storage devices, electric machines, propulsors, and heat exchangers. Existing methods have shown an improvement in engine operability using the hybrid electric powertrain.

Halle E Buescher↗
NASA NTRS1963

The Hall Current Plasma Accelerator

A theoretical and experimental investigation has been made of the operation of a relatively new type of plasma accelerator - the Hall Current Accelerator. This device employs the radial component of a fringing magnetic field, a Hall induced current, and an axial discharge to obtain the electromagnetic acceleration of a neutral plasma.

Plasma acceleration↗
NASA NTRS1995

29th Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium

The proceedings of the 29th Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium, which was hosted by NASA Johnson Space Center and held at the South Shore Harbour Conference Facility on May 17-19, 1995, are reported. Technological areas covered include actuators, aerospace mechanism applications for ground support equipment, lubricants, pointing mechanisms joints, bearings, release devices, booms, robotic mechanisms, and other mechanisms for spacecraft.

Booms↗
NASA NTRS1964

The works of k. e. tsiolkovskiy on rocket technology

K. E. Tsiolkovskiy devoted a rather substantial portion of his works to the problem of flight by means of various reactive devices. We may state without exaggeration that Tsiolkovskiy considered his efforts in this direction to be of prime importance. Up to the time of his death Tsiolkovskiy continuously published articles; notes_ and calculations devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the possibilities and methods of interplanetary communications.

ROCKETRY↗
NASA NTRS2018

Simplified Aid for Extra-Vehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) Battery Assessment

In 2013, the Boeing Company model 787-8 Dreamliner commercial aircraft experienced three catastrophic lithium (Li) battery failures. The cause of each failure resulted in a single-cell thermal runaway (TR) condition, which propagated to adjacent battery cells. Two of the failures involved rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries, and the third event involved a nonrechargeable lithium-manganese dioxide (Li-MnO2) battery. In response to these Li battery failures, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) approved a technical assessment of the International Space Station Simplified Aid for Extra-Vehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) Li non-rechargeable battery. This assessment was conducted to evaluate the SAFER Li nonrechargeable battery safety design features against Boeing 787 Dreamliner Li battery failure lessons learned. Specifically, this investigation focused on assessing the severity of a SAFER battery TR hazard conditions.

Iannello, Christopher J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Electric Propulsion Orbital Platform

This paper describes the Electric Propulsion Orbital Platform (EPOP), of which the primary objective is to provide an instrumented platform for testing electric propulsion devices in space. It is anticipated that the first flight, EPOP-1, will take place on the Shuttle-deployed Wake Shield Facility in 1996, and will be designed around a commercial 1.8 kW arcjet system which will be operated on gaseous hydrogen propellant. Specific subsystems are described, including the arcjet system, the propellant and power systems, and the diagnostics systems.

V. J. Friedly↗
NASA NTRS1992

Second LDEF Post-Retrieval Symposium Abstracts

These abstracts from the symposium represent the data analysis of the 57 experiments flown on the LDEF. The experiments include materials, coatings, thermal systems, power and propulsion, science, (cosmic ray, interstellar gas, heavy ions, micrometeoroids, etc.), electronics, optics, and life science.

Arlene S. Levine↗
NASA NTRS2017

Novel Polyimide Battery Separator Imbibed with Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids

The journey to Mars will require advancements in many existing technologies, including space power and energy storage systems. According to the 2015 NASA Technology Roadmaps, energy storage is a critical technology area to develop for both terrestrial as well as future long-term space missions. Currently, batteries represent one of the major areas in need of advancement, both in terms of energy density as well as safety. Recently, concerns regarding the fire safety of commercial lithium-ion batteries have prompted efforts to produce nonflammable battery components, namely the electrolyte and separator. Commercial lithium-ion batteries utilize polyolefin separators imbibed with a lithium salt dissolved in cyclic carbonates. This separator/electrolyte combination imparts good ionic conductivities in the range of 10(exp -2) to 10(exp -3) S/cm. However, the cyclic carbonates and polyolefin separator are inherently flammable. Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) appear to be a safer alternative to cyclic carbonates. They offer good ionic conductivities, similar to those observed in cyclic carbonates, but are inherently nonvolatile and nonflammable giving them a safety advantage. Many promising RTILs for battery electrolytes are not compatible with commercial polyolefin separator materials. Polyimide aerogels possess an open-porous, fibrillar network architecture which offers a high degree of porosity (typically greater than 85 porous), required for lithium ion conduction, as well as good mechanical properties. Furthermore, these materials are compatible with all tested RTILs. By creating a polyimide gel and imbibing the gel with a RTIL containing a lithium salt instead of super critically drying them to form aerogels, a nonflammable separator/electrolyte system with conductivities in the range of 1x10(exp -3) S/cm has been demonstrated.

Polyimide↗
NASA NTRS2026

Hot Water, Cold Reality: Feasibility Assessment of Iodine Removal in Heated Spacecraft Potable Water Systems

The current eXploration Potable Water Dispenser (xPWD) design removes iodine upstream of the heated leg due to concerns with the Activated Carbon and Ion Exchange (ACTEX) functionality in hot water, leaving the downstream volume without residual biocide. The NESC determined that this non-iodinated volume is a concern for microbial growth during exploration missions and proposed 33 biocide architecture options for future missions that could address this concern. The top-ranked architecture out of the report was Option 1: moving the iodine removal media as close to the dispensing needle as possible to minimize the wetted components without biocide in the xPWD. Three main challenges were identified with this proposed configuration. First, the hot water at 175 ± 25 °F is a concern for the potential physical degradation of the ion exchange resin and lowered adsorption capacity in activated carbon. Second, moving the ACTEX or alternative sorption media closer to the dispense needle increases the unheated volume downstream of the heater, challenging the ability for dispensed water to meet temperature requirements. Finally, bubbles evolved from dissolved gas coming out of solution in the heater could clog or reduce the efficiency of the sorption media. To address the first challenge, more thermally robust ion exchange resins were identified and adsorption capacity tests were planned and will be discussed in a companion ICES paper (ICES-2026-5). To address the dispense temperature concerns, allowable bed size and architectural configuration changes are proposed. The value of adding phase separators to remove bubbles and potential implementation schemes are discussed. These findings support the development of potable water systems resilient to microbial risks during long-duration space missions.

Biocide↗
NASA NTRS2026

Hot Water, Cold Reality: Feasibility Assessment of Iodine Removal in Heated Spacecraft Potable Water Systems

The current eXploration Potable Water Dispenser (xPWD) design removes iodine upstream of the heated leg due to concerns with the Activated Carbon and Ion Exchange (ACTEX) functionality in hot water, leaving the downstream volume without residual biocide. The NESC determined that this non-iodinated volume is a concern for microbial growth during exploration missions and proposed 33 biocide architecture options for future missions that could address this concern. The top-ranked architecture out of the report was Option 1: moving the iodine removal media as close to the dispensing needle as possible to minimize the wetted components without biocide in the xPWD. Three main challenges were identified with this proposed configuration. First, the hot water at 175 ± 25 °F is a concern for the potential physical degradation of the ion exchange resin and lowered adsorption capacity in activated carbon. Second, moving the ACTEX or alternative sorption media closer to the dispense needle increases the unheated volume downstream of the heater, challenging the ability for dispensed water to meet temperature requirements. Finally, bubbles evolved from dissolved gas coming out of solution in the heater could clog or reduce the efficiency of the sorption media. To address the first challenge, more thermally robust ion exchange resins were identified and adsorption capacity tests were planned and will be discussed in a companion ICES paper (ICES-2026-5). To address the dispense temperature concerns, allowable bed size and architectural configuration changes are proposed. The value of adding phase separators to remove bubbles and potential implementation schemes are discussed. These findings support the development of potable water systems resilient to microbial risks during long-duration space missions.

PWD↗
NASA NTRS2008

Circuit with a Switch for Charging a Battery in a Battery Capacitor Circuit

A circuit for charging a battery combined with a capacitor includes a power supply adapted to be connected to the capacitor, and the battery. The circuit includes an electronic switch connected to the power supply. The electronic switch is responsive to switch between a conducting state to allow current and a non-conducting state to prevent current flow. The circuit includes a control device connected to the switch and is operable to generate a control signal to continuously switch the electronic switch between the conducting and non-conducting states to charge the battery.

Stuart, Thomas A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Sodium Sulfur Battery Cell Experiment (NaSBE)

The Ford Motor Company published papers describing new types of secondary battery comprised of: solid, sodium ion conducting electrolyte; liquid metal electrode; redox electrode; operating temperature between 300 and 400 deg. C; specific energy of 150 Wh/kg; and a nominal voltage of 2.0 V.

Garner, J. Christopher↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Seeking & Evaluating Applications of SAWs (SEASAWs)

Surface Acoustic Wave sensors (SAWs) offer a battery less, wireless, passive, noninvasive, durable means of sensing which might be appealing to many fields in space technology. Developments in many aspects of SAWs including the miniaturization of associated hardware, improvements in interrogation and device fabrication / characterization allow for the use of SAWs in many aerospace settings where traditional sensors may have sufficed but SAWs might enhance. In order to place this technology in relevant environments, an inherent understanding of operation and capabilities must be understood. With the many possibilities of SAWs in their implementation, breaking down their tradeoffs and primary systems allows for their application.

Michael Szostak↗
NASA NTRS2008

NASA Battery Working Group - 2007-2008: Battery Task Summary Report

This presentation provides a summary of the 2007-2008 NASA Battery Working Group efforts completed in support of the NASA Engineering Safety Center (NESC). The effort covered a series of pro-active tasks that address the following: Binding Procurements -- guidelines related to requirements for the battery system that should be considered at the time of contract award Wet Life of Ni-H2 Batteries -- issues/strategies for effective storage and impact of long-term storage on performance and life Generic Guidelines for Lithium-ion Safety, Handling and Qualification -- Standardized approaches developed and risk assessments (1) Lithium-ion Performance Assessment -- survey of manufacturers and capabilities to meet mission needs. Guidelines document generated (2) Conditions Required for using Pouch Cells in Aerospace Missions -- focus on corrosion, thermal excursions and long-term performance issues. Document defining requirements to maintain performance and life (3) High Voltage Risk Assessment -- focus on safety and abuse tolerance of battery module assemblies. Recommendations of features required for safe implementation (4) Procedure for Determination of Safe Charge Rates -- evaluation of various cell chemistries and recommendation of safe operating regimes for specific cell designs

Manzo, Michelle↗
NASA NTRS2026

Highly Porous Polyimide Gel for Use as Battery Separator with Room Temperature Ionic Liquid Electrolytes

Advanced aerospace vehicular concepts require advances in many existing technologies, including space power and energy storage systems. Batteries represent one of the major areas in need of improvement, both in terms of energy density and safety, with growing concerns over the fire safety of commercial lithium-ion batteries. This has prompted efforts to develop nonflammable battery components, namely the electrolyte and separator. Existing commercial lithium-ion batteries utilize polyolefin microporous membranes as separators with an electrolyte consisting of a lithium salt dissolved in a mixture of cyclic carbonate solvents. This separator/electrolyte combination has ionic conductivities in the range of 10 −2 to 10 −3 S/cm. However, the cyclic carbonate solvents are inherently flammable. Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) appear to be a safer alternative. They offer good ionic conductivities and are inherently nonvolatile and nonflammable, giving them a safety advantage. However, many promising RTILs for battery electrolytes are not compatible with commercial polyolefin separator materials. Alternative separator materials, such as polyimides, are non-flammable and are capable of accepting RTILs into their structure. Polyimide gels, with a composition of 4,4′-oxydianiline, 3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylic dianhydride and cross-linked with Desmodur N3300A, possess an open-porous, fibrillar network architecture which offers a high degree of porosity (typically greater than 85% porosity) for lithium-ion transport and conduction, as well as good mechanical properties. Furthermore, these polyimide gels are compatible with selected imidazolium-based RTILs. Nonflammable separator/electrolyte systems with room-temperature conductivities in the range of 10 −3 S/cm have been evaluated. It has been demonstrated that 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide was the most promising among six RTILs screened, in terms of both ionic conductivity and constant current cycling.

Polyimide↗
NASA NTRS1983

The Galileo probe Li/SO2 battery: The safest battery on Jupiter

The unique power requirement of NASA's Galileo Jupiter Probe are most readily met by a Li/SO2 battery; however, because this battery system is not space flight proven, extensive effort was required to qualify this device from the stand point of performance and safety. Due to the rather checkered safety record of the Li/SO2 system, safety has been foremost among the design considerations and has been addressed at the cell, battery and system level. The mission requirements which led to the choice of the Li/SO2 battery and the safety engineering which went into the battery and power system design are described.

Marcoux, L. S.↗