SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Two asteroids have clear indications of olivine-rich surface petrology without any indication of pyroxene or plagioclase, suggesting that the olivine may be quite pure. They provide probable examples of mantles of differentiated parent asteroids exposed by fragmentation and are good candidates for the parent bodies of the unusual olivine meteorite Brachina or the olivine-iron alloy meteorites called pallasites.
The purpose of this effort was to consider and evaluate some specific concepts for performing a number of extremely low gravity (i.e., microgravity) experiments involving the directional solidification of samples of high carbon, cast iron alloys. The specific experiments considered herein were conceived to permit scientific investigation of the resultant microstructures and mechanical properties of the test samples after the microgravity environment processing. This study was limited to consideration of the NASA/MSFC furnace payloads, referred to herein as the Automated Directional Solidification Furnace (ADSF) systems. Three ADSF systems were reviewed and are as follows: (1) Low temperature ADSF (ADSF-1); (2) High temperature ADSF (ADSF-2); and (3) Advanced ADSF (AADSF).
Fatigue crack propagation in metal is almost always accompanied by plastic deformation unless conditions strongly favor brittle fracture. The analysis of the plastic zone is crucial to the understanding of crack propagation behavior as it governs the crack growth kinetics. This research was undertaken to study the fatigue crack propagation in a silicon iron alloy. Kinetic and plasticity aspects of fatigue crack propagation in the alloy were obtained, including the characterization of damage evolution.
Consideration is given to the design, fabrication, and testing of a magnetically suspended flywheel system for energy storage applications in space. The device is the prototype of a system combining passive suspension of the flywheel plate by samarium cobalt magnets and active control in the radial direction using eight separate magnetic coils. The bearing assembly was machined from a nickel-iron alloy, and the machine parts are all hydrogen annealed. Slots in the magnetic plate allow four independent quadrants for control. The motor/generator component of the system is a brushless dc-permanent magnetic/ironless engine using electronic communication. The system has been tested at over 2500 rpm with satisfactory results. The system characteristics of the flywheel for application in low earth orbit (LEO) are given in a table.
Bonding method reliably joins copper wires to short iron-alloy leads from glass-encased dry magnetic-reed switch without disturbing integrity of glass-to-metal seal. Joint resistant to high temperatures and has low electrical resistance.
Ceramic-fiber-reinforced iron alloys show promise as turbine parts for intermediate-temperature service. Intermediate-temperature composites reduce weights of turbine blades by 40 percent and increase life expectancies of blades. In study, relatively-low-temperature fabrication process, hollow-cathode sputtering developed.
The properties of the earth's core are overviewed with emphasis on seismologically determined regions and pressures and seismologically measured density, elastic wave velocities, and gravitational acceleration. Attention is given to solid-state convection of the inner core, and it is noted that though seismological results do not conclusively prove that the inner core is convective, the occurrence and magnitude of seismic anisotropy are explained by the effects of solid-state convection. Igneous petrology and geochemistry of the inner core, a layer at the base of the mantle and contact metasomatism at the core-mantle boundary, and evolution of the core-mantle system are discussed. It is pointed out that high-pressure melting experiments indicate that the temperature of the core is ranging from 4500 to 6500 K, and a major implication of such high temperature is that the tectonics and convection of the mantle, as well as the resulting geological processes observed at the surface, are powered by heat from the core. As a result of the high temperatures, along with the compositional contrast between silicates and iron alloy, the core-mantle boundary is considered to be most chemically active region of the earth.
The Goddard Space Flight Center has studied magnetic shielding for an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator. Four types of shielding were studied: active coils, passive ferromagnetic shells, passive superconducting coils, and passive superconducting shells. The passive superconducting shells failed by allowing flux penetration. The other three methods were successful, singly or together. Experimental studies of passive ferromagnetic shielding are compared with calculations made using the Poisson Group of programs, distributed by the Los Alamos Accelerator Code Group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Agreement between calculation and experiment is good. The ferromagnetic material is a silicon iron alloy.
In order to demonstrate the measurement of aerodynamic forces/moments, including the effects of exhaust jets in Magnetic Suspension and Balance System (MSBS) wind tunnels, two propulsion simulator models were developed at Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI). Both the small-scale model (1 in. diameter X 8 in. long) and the large-scale model (2.5 in. diameter X 15 in. long) employed compressed, liquefied carbon dioxide as a propellant. The small-scale simulator, made from a highly magnetizable iron alloy, was demonstrated in the 7 in. MSBS wind tunnel at the University of Southampton. It developed a maximum thrust of approximate 1.3 lbf with a 0.098 in. diameter nozzle and 0.7 lbf with a 0.295 in. diameter nozzle. The Southampton MSBS was able to control the simulator at angles-of attack up to 20 deg. The large-scale simulator was demonstrated to operate in both a steady-state and a pulse mode via a miniaturized solinoid valve. It developed a stable and repeatable thrust of 2.75 lbf over a period of 4s and a nozzle pressure ratio (NPR) of 5.
Deep x-ray lithography and electroplating may be combined to form a fabrication tool for micromechanical devices with large structural heights, to 500 micron, and extreme edge acuities, less than 0.1 micron-run-out per 100 micron of height. This process concept which originated in Germany as LIGA may be further extended by adding surface micromachining. This extension permits the fabrication of precision metal and plastic parts which may be assembled into three-dimensional micromechanical components and systems. The processing tool may be used to fabricate devices from ferromagnetic material such as nickel and nickel-iron alloys. These materials when properly heat treated exhibit acceptable magnetic behavior for current to flux conversion and marginal behavior for permanent magnet applications. The tool and materials have been tested via planar, magnetic, rotational micromotor fabrication. Three phase reluctance machines of the 6:4 configuration with 280 micron diameter rotors have been tested and analyzed. Stable rotational speeds to 34,000 rpm with output torques above 10 x 10(exp -9) N-m have been obtained. The behavior is monitored with integrated shaft encoders which are photodiodes which measure the rotor response. Magnetic levitation of the rotor via reluctance forces has been achieved and has reduced frictional torque losses to less than 1 percent of the available torque. The results indicate that high speed limits of these actuators are related to torque ripple. Hysteresis motors with magnetic bearings are under consideration and will produce high speed rotational machines with excellent sensor application potential.
The aftermath of phase separation and crystal-liquid fractionation in a magma ocean should leave a planet geochemically differentiated. Subsequent convective and other mixing processes may operate over time to obscure geochemical evidence of magma ocean differentiation. On the other hand, core formation is probably the most permanent, irreversible part of planetary differentiation. Hence the geochemical traces of core separation should be the most distinct remnants left behind in the mantle and crust, In the case of the Earth, core formation apparently coincided with a magma ocean that extended to a depth of approximately 1000 km. Evidence for this is found in high pressure element partitioning behavior of Ni and Co between liquid silicate and liquid iron alloy, and with the Ni-Co ratio and the abundance of Ni and Co in the Earth's upper mantle. A terrestrial magma ocean with a depth of 1000 km will solidify from the bottom up and first crystallize in the perovskite stability field. The largest effect of perovskite fractionation on major element distribution is to decrease the Si-Mg ratio in the silicate liquid and increase the Si-Mg ratio in the crystalline cumulate. Therefore, if a magma ocean with perovskite fractionation existed, then one could expect to observe an upper mantle with a lower than chondritic Si-Mg ratio. This is indeed observed in modern upper mantle peridotites. Although more experimental work is needed to fully understand the high-pressure behavior of trace element partitioning, it is likely that Hf is more compatible than Lu in perovskite-silicate liquid pairs. Thus, perovskite fractionation produces a molten mantle with a higher than chondritic Lu-Hf ratio. Arndt and Blichert-Toft measured Hf isotope compositions of Barberton komatiites that seem to require a source region with a long-lived, high Lu-Hf ratio. It is plausible that that these Barberton komatiites were generated within the majorite stability field by remelting a perovskite-depleted part of the upper mantle transition zone.
A MEMS-based programmable aperture mask is under development at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Termed the Microshutter (u-shutter) Array, the device will be used to control the transmission of light, with both high efficiency and contrast, to a multi-object spectrometer on the James Webb Space Telescope. Fabrication of the p-shutter array employs several novel designs and processing techniques. The current generation of micro-shutters consists of 128x64 pixel arrays with unit cell dimensions of 100x200 microns. Shutters are patterned in silicon nitride and sit on a 100 micron silicon frame that is DRIE etched below each shutter. The front and back sides of the device are shown. A magnetic cobalt-iron alloy patterned on top of the shutter allows it to be actuated 90 degrees out-of-plane, into the frame, by an external magnetic field. An electrode on the shutter and a vertical electrode on the sidewall of the frame, approximately 90pm deep, allow them to be electrostatically latched in their rotated position. The vertical electrode is deposited and patterned on the backside of the frame in a single step using a directionally controlled evaporation. Individual addressing of shutters for electrostatic latching is accomplished via a crosspoint addressing scheme, with no on-chip active components. A portion of an array with shutters in the open, latched, and closed positions is shown. Light loss at shutter edges is minimized by an overhanging aluminum light-shield that is anchored to the frame. A photoresist sacrificial layer is used to raise the light-shield up and over the 2 micron gap that surrounds each pixel. After completion, arrays are subjected to life cycle, environmental and optical testing. Fabricated devices have survived 10(exp 6) actuation cycles at both room and cryogenic temperatures and a 14g rms launch-simulation test. Optical testing has shown contrast measurements between open and closed shutters up to 10000:1.
A cleaning solvent useful in the cleaning of metal surfaces, e.g. nickle-iron alloys, contains sulfamic acid, citric acid, a solvent for hydrocarbon residues, and a surfactant. Metal surfaces are cleaned by contacting the surface with the cleaning solvent and then passivated by contact with aqueous solutions of citric acid or sodium nitrite or a combination of the two.
Very high magnetic field annealing is shown to affect the magnetic anisotropy in FeCo-base nanocrystalline soft ferromagnetic alloys. Alloys of composition Fe(44.5)Co(44.5)Zr(7)B(4) were prepared by melt spinning into amorphous ribbons, then wound to form toroidal bobbin cores. One set of cores was crystallized in a zero field at 600 deg. C for 1 h, then, field annealed at 17 tesla (T) at 480 deg. C for 1 h. Another set was crystallized in a 17-T field at 480 deg. C for 1 h. Field orientation was transverse to the magnetic path of the toroidal cores. An induced anisotropy is indicated by a sheared hysteresis loop. Sensitive torque magnetometry measurements with a Si cantilever sensor indicated a strong, uniaxial, longitudinal easy axis in the zero-field-crystallized sample. The source is most likely magnetoelastic anisotropy, caused by the residual stress from nanocrystallization and the nonzero magnetostriction coefficient for this material. The magnetostrictive coefficient lambda(5) is measured to be 36 ppm by a strain gage technique. Field annealing reduces the magnitude of the induced anisotropy. Core loss measurements were made in the zero-field-crystallized, zero-field-crystallized- than-field-annealed, and field-crystallized states. Core loss is reduced 30%-50% (depending on frequency) by field annealing. X-ray diffraction reveals no evidence of crystalline texture or orientation that would cause the induced anisotropy. Diffusional pair ordering is thought to be the cause of the induced anisotropy. However, reannealing the samples in the absence of a magnetic field at 480 deg. C does not completely remove the induced anisotropy.
As the oil supply declines, there is a greater need for cleaner alternative fuels. There will undoubtedly be a shift from crude oil to non-petroleum sources as a feedstock for aviation (and other transportation) fuels. The Fischer-Tropsch process uses a gas mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen which is converted into various liquid hydrocarbons; this versatile gas-to-liquid technology produces a complex product stream of paraffins, olefins, and oxygenated compounds such as alcohols and aldehydes. The Fischer-Tropsch process can produce a cleaner diesel oil fraction with a high cetane number (typically above 70) without any sulfur and aromatic compounds. It is most commonly catalyzed by cobalt supported on alumina, silica, or titania or unsupported alloyed iron powders. Cobalt is typically used more often than iron, in that cobalt is a longer-active catalyst, has lower water-gas shift activity, and lower yield of modified products. Promoters are valuable in improving Fischer-Tropsch catalyst as they can increase cobalt oxide dispersion, enhance the reduction of cobalt oxide to the active metal phase, stabilize a high metal surface area, and improve mechanical properties. Our goal is to build up the specificity of the Fischer-Tropsch catalyst while adding less-costly transition metals as promoters; the more common promoters used in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis are rhenium, platinum, and ruthenium. In this report we will describe our preliminary efforts to design and produce catalyst materials to achieve our goal of preferentially producing C8 to C18 paraffin compounds in the NASA Glenn Research Center Gas-To-Liquid processing plant. Efforts at NASA Glenn Research Center for producing green fuels using non-petroleum feedstocks support both the Sub-sonic Fixed Wing program of Fundamental Aeronautics and the In Situ Resource Utilization program of the Exploration Technology Development and Demonstration program.
Due to environmental, economic, and security issues, there is a greater need for cleaner alternative fuels. There will undoubtedly be a shift from crude oil to non-petroleum sources as a feedstock for aviation (and other transportation) fuels. Additionally, efforts are concentrated on reducing costs coupled with fuel production from non-conventional sources. One solution to this issue is Fischer-Tropsch gas-to-liquid technology. Fischer-Tropsch processing of synthesis gas (CO/H2) produces a complex product stream of paraffins, olefins, and oxygenated compounds such as alcohols and aldehydes. The Fisher-Tropsch process can produce a cleaner diesel oil fraction with a high cetane number (typically above 70) without any sulfur or aromatic compounds. This process is most commonly catalyzed by heterogeneous (in this case, silver and platinum) catalysts composed of cobalt supported on alumina or unsupported alloyed iron powders. Physisorption, chemisorptions, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) are described to better understand the potential performance of Fischer-Tropsch cobalt on alumina catalysts promoted with silver and platinum. The overall goal is to preferentially produce C8 to C18 paraffin compounds for use as aerospace fuels. Progress towards this goal will eventually be updated and achieved by a more thorough understanding of the characterization of catalyst materials. This work was supported by NASA s Subsonic Fixed Wing and In-situ Resource Utilization projects.
As the oil supply declines, there is a greater need for cleaner alternative fuels. There will undoubtedly be a shift from crude oil to nonpetroleum sources as a feedstock for aviation (and other transportation) fuels. The Fischer-Tropsch process uses a gas mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen which is converted into various liquid hydrocarbons; this versatile gas-to-liquid technology produces a complex product stream of paraffins, olefins, and oxygenated compounds such as alcohols and aldehydes. The Fischer-Tropsch process can produce a cleaner diesel oil fraction with a high cetane number (typically above 70) without any sulfur and aromatic compounds. It is most commonly catalyzed by cobalt supported on alumina, silica, or titania or unsupported alloyed iron powders. Cobalt is typically used more often than iron, in that cobalt is a longer-active catalyst, has lower water-gas shift activity, and lower yield of modified products. Promoters are valuable in improving Fischer-Tropsch catalyst as they can increase cobalt oxide dispersion, enhance the reduction of cobalt oxide to the active metal phase, stabilize a high metal surface area, and improve mechanical properties. Our goal is to build up the specificity of the Fischer-Tropsch catalyst while adding less-costly transition metals as promoters; the more common promoters used in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis are rhenium, platinum, and ruthenium. In this report we will describe our preliminary efforts to design and produce catalyst materials to achieve our goal of preferentially producing C8 to C18 paraffin compounds in the NASA Glenn Research Center Gas-To-Liquid processing plant. Efforts at NASA Glenn Research Center for producing green fuels using non-petroleum feedstocks support both the Sub-sonic Fixed Wing program of Fundamental Aeronautics and the In Situ Resource Utilization program of the Exploration Technology Development and Demonstration program.
Due to environmental, economic, and security issues, there is a greater need for cleaner alternative fuels. There will undoubtedly be a shift from crude oil to non-petroleum sources as a feedstock for aviation (and other transportation) fuels. Additionally, efforts are concentrated on reducing costs coupled with fuel production from non-conventional sources. One solution to this issue is Fischer-Tropsch gas-to-liquid technology. Fischer-Tropsch processing of synthesis gas (CO/H2) produces a complex product stream of paraffins, olefins, and oxygenated compounds such as alcohols and aldehydes. The Fisher-Tropsch process can produce a cleaner diesel oil fraction with a high cetane number (typically above 70) without any sulfur or aromatic compounds. This process is most commonly catalyzed by heterogeneous (in this case, silver and platinum) catalysts composed of cobalt supported on alumina or unsupported alloyed iron powders. Physisorption, chemisorptions, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) are described to better understand the potential performance of Fischer-Tropsch cobalt on alumina catalysts promoted with silver and platinum. The overall goal is to preferentially produce C8 to C18 paraffin compounds for use as aerospace fuels. Progress towards this goal will eventually be updated and achieved by a more thorough understanding of the characterization of catalyst materials. This work was supported by NASA s Subsonic Fixed Wing and In-situ Resource Utilization projects.