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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 127 records · Page 7

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NASA NTRS1984

The multipurpose composite flywheel

The twin disk composite flywheel shows that the techniques that were developed at Rocketdyne to successfully design, fabricate, and test high-speed rotating machinery (turbopumps) for rocket engines could be used to develop advanced flywheels. This flywheel not only demonstrates that successful mating of metal flywheel characteristics (high torque and ruggedness) and composite flywheel characteristics (lightweight and high energy density) can be achieved, but the unique design lends itself to easy adaptation to other configurations.

Ginsburg, B. R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

1700 deg C optical temperature sensor

A new gas temperature sensor was developed that shows promise of sufficient ruggedness to be useful as a gas turbine temperature sensor. The sensor is in the form of a single-crystal aluminum oxide ceramic, ground to a cone shape and given an emissive coating. A lens and an optical fiber conduct the thermally emitted light to a remote and near-infrared photodetector assembly. Being optically coupled and passive, the sensor is highly immune to all types of electrical interference. Candidate sensors were analyzed for optical sensor performance, heat transfer characteristics, stress from gas loading. This led to the selection of the conical shape as the most promising for the gas turbine environment. One uncoated and two coated sensing elements were prepared for testing. Testing was conducted to an indicated 1750 C in a propane-air flame. Comparison with the referee optical pyrometer shows an accuracy of + or - 25 C at 1700 C for this initial development. One hundred cycles from room temperature to 1700 C left the sapphire cone intact, but some loss of the platinum, 6% rhodium coating was observed. Several areas for improving the overall performance and durability are identified.

Mossey, P. W.↗

NASA NTRS1984

NASA applications for acousto-optic spectrometers

Small, compact, and rugged IF spectrometers are needed in high resolution heterodyne receivers designed for a new generation of space-borne telescopes planned for the next decade. Acousto-optic Spectrometers (AOS) promise to provide the necessary bandwidth and resolution in a package which is compact, power efficient, and ruggedized for space applications. Sensitivity, linearity, and stability are the primary goals of an astronomical receiver and these features must be demonstrated in order for an AOS to be accepted in place of more conventional RF or digital technology.

Chin, G.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A fast-response aspirating probe for measurements of total temperature and pressure in transonic cryogenic wind tunnel

A newly developed, 3-mm-diam, dual hot-wire aspirating probe was used to measure the time-resolved stagnation temperature and pressure in a transonic cryogenic wind tunnel. The probe consists of two coplanar constant temperature hot wires at different overheat ratios operating in a 1.5-mm-diam channel with a choked exit. Thus, the constant Mach number flow by the wires is influenced only by free-stream stagnation temperature and pressure. Diffusion of the free-stream Mach number to a lower value in the channel reduces the dynamic drag on the hot-wire. Frequency response of the present design is dc to 20 kHz. The probe was used to measure the unsteady wake shed from an oscillating airfoil tested in the 0.3-m Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel at NASA-Langley Research Center. The hot-wire lasted for more than ten hours before breaking, proving the ruggedness of the probe and the usefulness of the technique in a high dynamic pressure, transonic cryogenic wind tunnel. Typical data obtained from the experiment are presented after reduction to stagnation pressure and temperature.

Ng, W.-F.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Performance analysis of advanced spacecraft TPS

For the Space Shuttle several types of ceramic heat shield materials were developed, both flexible and rigid. Improvements on the materials are continuously evolving. Material properties that have been studied and improved are high temperature limits, material strength, surface ruggedness, and surface catalycity. The results are presented of preliminary analyses concerning the thermal protection systems of future spacecraft and their sensitivity to the above material properties.

Pitts, William C.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Optical fiber sensors for the non-destructive evaluation of materials

The operation of the modal domain vibration sensor was demonstrated in several simple vibrational systems. Two apparent advantages are the sensors bandwidth and sensitivity. An inherent drawback of standard vibration detection devices is their rapid cost increase with high frequency bandwidth. This sensor showed consistent response in the freqency range of 1.5 to 400 Hz. By imparting very small but measurable excitations in the structures, the sensors ability to respond to very low order vibration induced strain was established. Dynamic ranges on the order of 18 to 22 dB for the CF beam and string systems respectively were observed. The sensor itself represents a very simple system: a coherent source, a single fiber and a low bandwidth detector. The inherent advantages of ruggedness and immunity to external radiation can also be added. Finally, the sensor minimally impairs structural motion through loading, an advantage in monitoring small vibrations or lightweight structures. Some drawbacks of the sensor are also noted.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1987

Heterostructure solar cells

The performance of gallium arsenide solar cells grown on Ge substrates is discussed. In some cases the substrate was thinned to reduce overall cell weight with good ruggedness. The conversion efficiency of 2 by 2 cm cells under AMO reached 17.1 percent with a cell thickness of 6 mils. The work described forms the basis for future cascade cell structures, where similar interconnecting problems between the top cell and the bottom cell must be solved. Applications of the GaAs/Ge solar cell in space and the expected payoffs are discussed.

Chang, K. I.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Field Repair Of Thermoplastic Windows And Canopies

Toroid bonding techniques further developed to meet typical field-repair requirements. Induction-heating power supply engineered into "ruggedized" solid-state unit, in a 1-ft to the third power package weighing 20 lb. Hand-held bonding gun weighing 3 lb plugs into this power supply on long cord. Maximum power required is 300 W. Lightly loaded repair bonds made in several minutes at average power input of 150 W on metallic, polymeric, or polymermatrix materials.

Fox, Robert L.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Folded cavity design for a ruby resonator

A folded cavity laser resonator operating in the TEM(00) mode has been built and tested. The new oscillator configuration leads to an increase in efficiency and to better line narrowing due to the increased number of passes through the laser rod and tuning elements, respectively. The modification is shown to lead to cavity ruggedization.

Arunkumar, K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Diode-pumped laser research

The Laboratory for Oceans is currently working on the development of compact laser diode array (LD) pumped Nd:YAG lasers for use in space-based altimetry and ranging. Laser diode-array pumping technology promises to increase the electrical to optical efficiency of solid state lasers by an order of magnitude with a lifetime increase of nearly three orders of magnitude relative to today's conventional flashlamp-pumped laser systems. The small size, efficiency, and ruggedness make LD-pumped solid state lasers ideal for space based applications. In an in-house RTOP effort, a novel multiple-pass LD-pumped Nd:YAG laser amplifier was designed and tested to increase the 100 microjoule output pulse energy of the Lightwave laser oscillator. Preliminary results have yielded a round trip amplifier gain of about 15 percent using 7 microjoule LD-pump energy. As a parallel activity, funding was recently obtained to investigate the possible use of custom made fiber optic arrays to obtain an efficient optical coupling mechanism between the emitting laser diode-arrays and the target solid state laser material. Fiber optic coupling arrays would allow for the easy manipulation of the spatial emitting pattern of the diode pump sources to match either an end or side pumping laser configuration.

Ramos-Izquierdo, L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Impact of end effector technology on telemanipulation performance

Generic requirements for end effector design are briefly summarized as derived from generic functional and operational requirements. Included is a brief summary of terms and definitions related to end effector technology. The second part contains a brief overview of end effector technology work as JPL during the past ten years, with emphasis on the evolution of new mechanical, sensing and control capabilities of end effectors. The third and major part is devoted to the description of current end effector technology. The ongoing work addresses mechanical, sensing and control details with emphasis on mechanical ruggedness, increased resolution in sensing, and close electronic and control integration with overall telemanipulator control system.

Bejczy, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Prosthetic Hand Lifts Heavy Loads

Prosthetic hand designed to enable amputee to lift diverse heavy objects like rocks and logs. Has simple serrated end effector with no moving parts. Prosthesis held on forearm by system of flexible straps. Features include ruggedness, simplicity, and relatively low cost.

Carden, James R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Rugged Direct-Current Transducer

Direct-current transducer withstands thermal and mechanical shocks. Operates from single, nominally 15-V power supply and nearly insensitive to both large variations in temperature and variations of as much as plus or minus 5 V in supply voltage. Its output voltage highly linear function of sensed current, with full-scale value of about 3 Vdc and offset of about 0.1 Vdc at 0 sensed current. Ruggedness of transducer due in large part to novel magnetic core, machined from solid block of nickel/iron high-permeability, low-hysteresis alloy.

Mclyman, W. T.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Extreme ultraviolet transmission of a synthetic diamond thin film

Measurements are presented of a thin film of synthetic diamond at various wavelengths in the extreme ultraviolet. The synthetic diamond combines the transmission properties of carbon with the strength, density, and ruggedness of a natural diamond. The Extreme Ultraviolet Transmission (EUV) of a film of the synthetic diamond has shown the existence of a thin surface layer of silicon, probably in the form of silicon carbide, which is not a contaminant layer.

Vallerga, John V.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Spacelab qualified infrared imager for microgravity science applications

The Lewis Research Center is developing, under contract, a Spacelab (manned module in the Space Shuttle payload bay) qualified infrared imager for noncontact surface temperature measurement in the Surface Tension Driven Convection Experiment, a microgravity fluid physics experiment. A versatile design philosophy was used in order to provide other experiments with essentially an off the shelf Shuttle qualified instrument, eliminating the duplication of the rigorous development and flight qualification processes. An Inframetrics Model 600 Scanning Infrared Radiometer is being modified to satisfy both experimental and flight requirements, while maintaining the basic performance parameters of the commercial instrument. The modifications include an efficient, low power closed cycle cryogenic cooler to cool the detector, a ruggedized scanner mechanism, 8 bit A/D conversion, Mil-STD components (where possible), size and weight optimization, and the addition of a microprocessor to perform automatic gain control. Features such as detector spectral response, the addition of spectral filters, and target temperature ranges could easily be changed to make this instrument useful as both a qualitative and quantitative diagnostic tool for Spacelab microgravity experiments, in combustion and fluid physics.

Pline, Alexander D.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Visually Coupled Systems (VCS): The Virtual Panoramic Display (VPD) System

The development and impact is described of new visually coupled system (VCS) equipment designed to support engineering and human factors research in the military aircraft cockpit environment. VCS represents an advanced man-machine interface (MMI). Its potential to improve aircrew situational awareness seems enormous, but its superiority over the conventional cockpit MMI has not been established in a conclusive and rigorous fashion. What has been missing is a 'systems' approach to technology advancement that is comprehensive enough to produce conclusive results concerning the operational viability of the VCS concept and verify any risk factors that might be involved with its general use in the cockpit. The advanced VCS configuration described here, was ruggedized for use in military aircraft environments and was dubbed the Virtual Panoramic Display (VPD). It was designed to answer the VCS portion of the systems problem, and is implemented as a modular system whose performance can be tailored to specific application requirements. The overall system concept and the design of the two most important electronic subsystems that support the helmet mounted parts, a new militarized version of the magnetic helmet mounted sight and correspondingly similar helmet display electronics, are discussed in detail. Significant emphasis is given to illustrating how particular design features in the hardware improve overall system performance and support research activities.

Kocian, Dean F.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Nonlinear optical polymers for electro-optic signal processing

Photonics is an emerging technology, slated for rapid growth in communications systems, sensors, imagers, and computers. Its growth is driven by the need for speed, reliability, and low cost. New nonlinear polymeric materials will be a key technology in the new wave of photonics devices. Electron-conjubated polymeric materials offer large electro-optic figures of merit, ease of processing into films and fibers, ruggedness, low cost, and a plethora of design options. Several new broad classes of second-order nonlinear optical polymers were developed at the Navy's Michelson Laboratory at China Lake, California. Polar alignment in thin film waveguides was achieved by electric-field poling and Langmuir-Blodgett processing. Our polymers have high softening temperatures and good aging properties. While most of the films can be photobleached with ultraviolet (UV) light, some have excellent stability in the 500-1600 nm range, and UV stability in the 290-310 nm range. The optical nonlinear response of these polymers is subpicosecond. Electro-optic switches, frequency doublers, light modulators, and optical data storage media are some of the device applications anticipated for these polymers.

Lindsay, Geoffrey A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Balloon borne optical disk mass storage system

An on-board data recording system for balloon-borne interferometer using a vacuum operable, ruggedized WORM optical drive is presented. This system, as presently under development, provides 320 Mbytes of data storage (or approximately 11 hrs at the 64 kbits/sec telemetry rate of the experiment). It has the capability of recording the unmodified telemetry bit system as transmitted or doing some preprocessing of the data onboard. The system is compact and requires less than 28 watts of battery power to operate.

Vanek, M. D.↗