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At least 127 records · Page 7

Overview of advanced plasma-facing materials testing for Fusion Pilot Plants at DIII-D

Characterization and testing of advanced plasma-facing materials (PFMs) for Fusion Pilot Plants (FPP) is being conducted at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility through the ongoing two-year FPP Candidate Materials Thrust. Year one tested 17 novel materials utilizing the Divertor Materials Evaluation System (DiMES), with samples analyzed pre- and post-experiment via SEM, EDS, and confocal microscopy. Repeatable reference discharges were developed to ensure uniformity between experiments, including a new strike-point rastering scenario to provide more uniform heat/particle flux across DiMES during ELMing H-mode discharges. Various sample geometries and temperatures were used to achieve FPP-relevant conditions, including samples angled 10° towards the incident plasma flux and pre-heating up to 500 °C. The first exposure of liquid lithium (Li) capillary porous structures in a tokamak demonstrated uniform emission of Li vapor and suppression of Li droplets in H-mode when preheated to 350 °C. Dispersoid-strengthened W with 1 wt% TaC, TiC, and ZrC exposed to H-mode showed cracking and dispersoid ejection for all varieties except TiC, providing a clear down-selection. Ultra-high temperature ceramic materials TiB 2 and ZrB 2 showed minimal degradation under L-mode exposure. Silicon carbide (SiC) fiber composites showed arcing along edges, while CVD SiC remained pristine. Atmospheric plasma-sprayed W and SiC coatings endured H-mode exposure without macroscopic delamination; SiC exhibited granular ejection, while W showed increased outgassing. Additional W-based alloys were stress tested in H-mode, including Ni-based W heavy alloys, W f SiC f /W composites, W multi-principle element alloys, and functionally-graded W/SiC, to varying degrees of success.

DIII-D↗

Free-Spinning-Tunnel Tests of a 0.057-Scale Model of the Chance Vought XF7U-1 Airplane

An investigation of the spin and recovery characteristics of a 0.057-scale model of the Chance Vought XF7U-1 airplane has been conducted in the Langley 20-foot free-spinning tunnel. The effects of control settings and movements on the erect and inverted spin and recovery characteristics were determined, as were also the effects of extending the wing slats, of center-of-gravity movement, and-of variation in the mass distribution. The investigation also included wing-tip spin-recovery-parachute tests, pilot-escape tests, and rudder-control-force tests. The investigation indicated that the spin and recovery characteristics of the airplane will be satisfactory for all conditions. It was found that a single 4.24-foot (full-scale) parachute when opened alone from the outboard wing tip or two 8.77-foot (full-scale) parachutes when opened simultaneously, one from each wing tip, would effect satisfactory emergency recoveries (the drag coefficients of the parachutes, based on the surface area of the parachute, were 0.83 and 0.70 for the 4.24- and 8.77-foot parachutes, respectively). The towline length in both cases was 25 feet (full scale). Tests results showed that, if the pilot should have to leave the airplane during a spin, he should jump from the outboard side (left side in a right spin) of the cockpit. The rudder-control force necessary for recovery from a spin was found to be rather high but appeared to be within the upper limits of a pilot's capabilities.

Daughtridge, Lee T., Jr.↗

ISRU Pilot Excavator Wheel Testing in Lunar Regolith Simulant

The ISRU Pilot Excavator, or IPEx, is a robotic excavator funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The Concept of Operations for IPEx involves the robot driving on the lunar surface up to 70 km at a speed of up to 30 cm/s. As such, it is critical to the mission’s success to optimize the design of the wheels for performance in lunar conditions, specifically in lunar regolith. To achieve this, an array of tests was completed to observe the effects of various wheel design choices on the driving performance of the wheels in lunar regolith simulant. In order to facilitate testing, we designed a 12” dia. configurable wheel to allow for interchangeability between various wheel formations. Two types of wheel parts were designed to be swapped: cleats, which form the tread of the wheel; and grousers, which protrude from the treads. The test variables that we considered were as follows: square vs. round wheel shape, solid vs. perforated cleats, cleat spacing, grouser height, and grouser spacing. By combining different settings of each of these test variables, ten discrete wheel designs were created and tested. The configurable test wheels were mounted on the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) developed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. In our experiments, the robot was driven at a controlled speed across a prepared surface of BP-1 lunar regolith simulant. Four types of tests were conducted: circle driving, straight driving, slope driving, and drawbar pull. The driving tests were chosen to mimic a variety of conditions in which IPEx may be expected to operate, and the drawbar pull test was chosen to provide a standard of comparison with existing wheel design literature. The circle and straight driving tests were each performed at different levels: for the circle driving test, the robot was driven at a constant linear speed and three different angular speeds, while for the straight driving test, the robot was driven at three different linear speeds. The data collected from these tests included the power usage from each of the wheels, measurements of the tread patterns left in the regolith surface, and the amount of slip the wheels experienced, which was calculated using data from an OptiTrack motion capture system. From the results of these experiments, we found that certain test variables were more significant than others in determining performance for each type of test, and no single wheel design clearly outperformed the others in all areas. The details of our findings will be discussed further in this paper. This data will be utilized to inform the design of the wheels for IPEx and can provide a basis for the design of wheels for future lunar terrain vehicles.

RASSOR↗

Pilots Rate Augmented Generalized Predictive Control for Reconfiguration

The objective of this paper is to report the results from the research being conducted in reconfigurable fight controls at NASA Ames. A study was conducted with three NASA Dryden test pilots to evaluate two approaches of reconfiguring an aircraft's control system when failures occur in the control surfaces and engine. NASA Ames is investigating both a Neural Generalized Predictive Control scheme and a Neural Network based Dynamic Inverse controller. This paper highlights the Predictive Control scheme where a simple augmentation to reduce zero steady-state error led to the neural network predictor model becoming redundant for the task. Instead of using a neural network predictor model, a nominal single point linear model was used and then augmented with an error corrector. This paper shows that the Generalized Predictive Controller and the Dynamic Inverse Neural Network controller perform equally well at reconfiguration, but with less rate requirements from the actuators. Also presented are the pilot ratings for each controller for various failure scenarios and two samples of the required control actuation during reconfiguration. Finally, the paper concludes by stepping through the Generalized Predictive Control's reconfiguration process for an elevator failure.

Soloway, Don↗

Performance Optimization for Lunar Extravehicular Activity Readiness (POLAR) Study: Methods Paper

To better understand which aspects of physical fitness may be most related to performance during Lunar surface operations and thereby help to inform the current NASA fitness standards, much can be learned from fields encompassing the “tactical athlete.” Other physically demanding professions such as law enforcement, military, or rescue professionals often require candidates to meet occupationally-relevant fitness standards. The determination of such standards is a multistep process, including both objective and subjective measures, to determine tasks essential to occupational performance and identify the minimal fitness profile needed to meet physical demands of the job. Notably, fitness is only one component which may contribute to the demands of astronaut selection, flight assignment, and occupational performance. Utilizing a framework to systematically determine which domains of fitness most contribute to relevant job tasks can aid in the refinement of current NASA-STD-3001 fitness standards. Therefore, NASA’s Exercise Physiology & Countermeasures Laboratory conducted the Performance Optimization for Lunar Extravehicular Activity Readiness (POLAR) study to identify and examine a comprehensive list of fitness tests (including NASA-STD-3001 assessments: 1-Repetition Maximum [1-RM] bench press and deadlift) and determine preliminary relationships between identified fitness parameters and novel Artemis-relevant tasks to help inform future investigations for the continued development of aerobic and muscular fitness standards for surface EVAs. This was accomplished through 1) a review of the literature relating fitness assessments to simulated or real EVA performance to identify fitness tests that are most correlated with simulated EVA task performance; 2) a task analysis following a modified framework for physical employment standards development to down select mission critical tasks; and 3) development and pilot testing of a novel, portable Artemis-relevant EVA task circuit to relate to a battery of fitness assessments. The current report describes the methodology used to complete the task analysis, EVA task circuit development, and the pilot study.

Nicole C Strock↗

Evaluation of Piloted Inputs for Onboard Frequency Response Estimation

Frequency response estimation results are presented using piloted inputs and a real-time estimation method recently developed for multisine inputs. A nonlinear simulation of the F-16 and a Piper Saratoga research aircraft were subjected to different piloted test inputs while the short period stabilator/elevator to pitch rate frequency response was estimated. Results show that the method can produce accurate results using wide-band piloted inputs instead of multisines. A new metric is introduced for evaluating which data points to include in the analysis and recommendations are provided for applying this method with piloted inputs.

Grauer, Jared A.↗

Display-based communications for advanced transport aircraft

The next generation of civil transport aircraft will depend increasingly upon ground-air-ground and satellite data link for information critical to safe and efficient air transportation. Previous studies which examined the concept of display-based communications in addition to, or in lieu of, conventional voice transmissions are reviewed. A full-mission flight simulation comparing voice and display-based communication modes in an advanced transport aircraft is also described. The results indicate that a display-based mode of information transfer does not result in significantly increased aircrew workload, but does result in substantially increased message acknowledgment times when compared to conventional voice transmissions. User acceptance of the display-based communication system was generally high, replicating the findings of previous studies. However, most pilots tested expressed concern over the potential loss of information available from frequency monitoring which might result from the introduction of discrete address communications. Concern was expressed by some pilots for the reduced time available to search for conflicting traffic when using the communications display system. The implications of the findings for the design of display-based communications are discussed.

Lee, Alfred T.↗

Demonstration of frequency-sweep testing technique using a Bell 214-ST helicopter

A demonstration of frequency-sweep testing using a Bell-214ST single-rotor helicopter was completed in support of the Army's development of an updated MIL-H-8501A, and an LHX (ADS-33) handling-qualities specification. Hover and level-flight (V sub a = 0 knots and V sub a = 90 knots) tests were conducted in 3 flight hours by Army test pilots at the Army Aviation Engineering Flight Activity (AEFA) at Edwards AFB, Calif. Bandwidth and phase-delay parameters were determined from the flight-extracted frequency responses as required by the proposed specifications. Transfer function modeling and verification demonstrates the validity of the frequency-response concept for characterizing closed-loop flight dynamics of single-rotor helicopters -- even in hover. This report documents the frequency-sweep flight-testing technique and data-analysis procedures. Special emphasis is given to piloting and analysis considerations which are important for demonstrating frequency-domain specification compliance.

Tischler, Mark B.↗

Comparison of flying qualities derived from in-flight and ground-based simulators for a jet-transport airplane for the approach and landing pilot tasks

The primary objective was to provide information to the flight controls/flying qualities engineer that will assist him in determining the incremental flying qualities and/or pilot-performance differences that may be expected between results obtained via ground-based simulation (and, in particular, the six-degree-of-freedom Langley Visual/Motion Simulator (VMS)) and flight tests. Pilot opinion and performance parameters derived from a ground-based simulator and an in-flight simulator are compared for a jet-transport airplane having 32 different longitudinal dynamic response characteristics. The primary pilot tasks were the approach and landing tasks with emphasis on the landing-flare task. The results indicate that, in general, flying qualities results obtained from the ground-based simulator may be considered conservative-especially when the pilot task requires tight pilot control as during the landing flare. The one exception to this, according to the present study, was that the pilots were more tolerant of large time delays in the airplane response on the ground-based simulator. The results also indicated that the ground-based simulator (particularly the Langley VMS) is not adequate for assessing pilot/vehicle performance capabilities (i.e., the sink rate performance for the landing-flare task when the pilot has little depth/height perception from the outside scene presentation).

Grantham, William D.↗

An Investigation of Rotorcraft Stability-Phase Margin Requirements in Hover

A cooperative study was performed to investigate the handling quality effects from reduced flight control system stability margins, and the trade-offs with higher disturbance rejection bandwidth (DRB). The piloted simulation study, perform on the NASA-Ames Vertical Motion Simulator, included three classes of rotorcraft in four configurations: a utility-class helicopter; a medium-lift helicopter evaluated with and without an external slung load; and a large (heavy-lift) civil tiltrotor aircraft. This large aircraft also allowed an initial assessment of ADS-33 handling quality requirements for an aircraft of this size. Ten experimental test pilots representing the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, NASA, rotorcraft industry, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), evaluated the four aircraft configurations, for a range of flight control stability-margins and turbulence levels, while primarily performing the ADS-33 Hover and Lateral Reposition MTEs. Pilot comments and aircraft-task performance data were analyzed. The preliminary stability margin results suggest higher DRB and less phase margin cases are preferred as the aircraft increases in size. Extra care will need to be taken to assess the influence of variability when nominal flight control gains start with reduced margins. Phase margins as low as 20-23 degrees resulted in low disturbance-response damping ratios, objectionable oscillations, PIO tendencies, and a perception of an incipient handling qualities cliff. Pilot comments on the disturbance response of the aircraft correlated well to the DRB guidelines provided in the ADS-33 Test Guide. The A D-3S3 mid-term response-to-control damping ratio metrics can be measured and applied to the disturbance-response damping ratio. An initial assessment of LCTR yaw bandwidth shows the current Level 1 boundary needs to be relaxed to help account for a large pilot off-set from the c.g. Future efforts should continue to investigate the applicability/refinement of the current ADS-33 requirements to large vehicles, like an LCTR.

Blanken, Chris L.↗

A Description of the "Crow's Foot" Tunnel Concept

NASA Langley Research Center has actively pursued the development and the use of pictorial or three-dimensional perspective displays of tunnel-, pathway- or highway-in-the-sky concepts for presenting flight path information to pilots in all aircraft categories (e.g., transports, General Aviation, rotorcraft) since the late 1970s. Prominent among these efforts has been the development of the crow s foot tunnel concept. The crow's foot tunnel concept emerged as the consensus pathway concept from a series of interactive workshops that brought together government and industry display designers, test pilots, and airline pilots to iteratively design, debate, and fly various pathway concepts. Over years of use in many simulation and flight test activities at NASA and elsewhere, modifications have refined and adapted the tunnel concept for different applications and aircraft categories (i.e., conventional transports, High Speed Civil Transport, General Aviation). A description of those refinements follows the definition of the original tunnel concept.

Parrish, Russell V.↗

The YAV-8B simulation and modeling. Volume 2: Program listing

Detailed mathematical models of varying complexity representative of the YAV-8B aircraft are defined and documented. These models are used in parameter estimation and in linear analysis computer programs while investigating YAV-8B aircraft handling qualities. Both a six degree of freedom nonlinear model and a linearized three degree of freedom longitudinal and lateral directional model were developed. The nonlinear model is based on the mathematical model used on the MCAIR YAV-8B manned flight simulator. This simulator model has undergone periodic updating based on the results of approximately 360 YAV-8B flights and 8000 hours of wind tunnel testing. Qualified YAV-8B flight test pilots have commented that the handling qualities characteristics of the simulator are quite representative of the real aircraft. These comments are validated herein by comparing data from both static and dynamic flight test maneuvers to the same obtained using the nonlinear program.

Source record↗

Flight testing and frequency domain analysis for rotorcraft handling qualities characteristics

A demonstration of frequency domain flight testing techniques and analyses was performed on a U.S. Army OH-58D helicopter in support of the OH-58D Airworthiness and Flight Characteristics Evaluation and the Army's development and ongoing review of Aeronautical Design Standard 33C, Handling Qualities Requirements for Military Rotorcraft. Hover and forward flight (60 knots) tests were conducted in 1 flight hour by Army experimental test pilots. Further processing of the hover data generated a complete database of velocity, angular rate, and acceleration frequency responses to control inputs. A joint effort was then undertaken by the Airworthiness Qualification Test Directorate (AQTD) and the U.S. Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate (AFDD) to derive handling qualities information from the frequency response database. A significant amount of information could be extracted from the frequency domain database using a variety of approaches. This report documents numerous results that have been obtained from the simple frequency domain tests; in many areas, these results provide more insight into the aircraft dynamics that affect handling qualities than to traditional flight tests. The handling qualities results include ADS-33C bandwidth and phase delay calculations, vibration spectral determinations, transfer function models to examine single axis results, and a six degree of freedom fully coupled state space model. The ability of this model to accurately predict aircraft responses was verified using data from pulse inputs. This report also documents the frequency-sweep flight test technique and data analysis used to support the tests.

Ham, Johnnie A.↗

The Impact of Structural Vibration on Flying Qualities of a Supersonic Transport

A piloted simulation experiment has been conducted in the NASA Langley Visual/Motion Simulator facility to address the impact of dynamic aeroelastic effects on flying qualities of a supersonic transport. The intent of this experiment was to determine the effectiveness of several measures that may be taken to reduce the impact of aircraft flexibility on piloting tasks. Potential solutions that were examined included structural stiffening, active vibration suppression, and elimination of visual cues associated with the elastic modes. A series of parametric configurations was evaluated by six test pilots for several types of maneuver tasks. During the investigation, several incidents were encountered in which cockpit vibrations due to elastic modes fed back into the control stick through involuntary motions of the pilot's upper body and arm. The phenomenon, referred to as biodynamic coupling, is evidenced by a resonant peak in the power spectrum of the pilot's stick inputs at a structural mode frequency. The results of the investigation indicate that structural stiffening and compensation of the visual display were of little benefit in alleviating the impact of elastic dynamics on the piloting tasks, while increased damping and elimination of control-effector excitation of the lowest frequency modes offered great improvements when applied in sufficient degree.

David L Raney↗

Flight-testing and frequency-domain analysis for rotorcraft handling qualities

A demonstration of frequency-domain flight-testing techniques and analysis was performed on a U.S. Army OH-58D helicopter in support of the OH-58D Airworthiness and Flight Characteristics Evaluation and of the Army's development and ongoing review of Aeronautical Design Standard 33C, Handling Qualities Requirements for Military Rotorcraft. Hover and forward flight (60 kn) tests were conducted in 1 flight hour by Army experimental test pilots. Further processing of the hover data generated a complete database of velocity, angular-rate, and acceleration-frequency responses to control inputs. A joint effort was then undertaken by the Airworthiness Qualification Test Dirtectorate and the U.S. Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate to derive handling-quality information from the frequency-domain database using a variety of approaches. This report documents numerous results that have been obtained from the simple frequency-domain tests; in many areas, these results provide more insight into the aircraft dynmamics that affect handling qualities than do traditional flight tests. The handling-quality results include ADS-33C bandwidth and phase-delay calculations, vibration spectral determinations, transfer-function models to examine single-axis results, and a six-degree-of-freedom fully coupled state-space model. The ability of this model to accurately predict responses was verified using data from pulse inputs. This report also documents the frequency-sweep flight-test technique and data analysis used to support the tests.

Ham, Johnnie A.↗

Did Vertigo Kill America's Forgotten Astronaut?

On November 15, 1967, U.S. Air Force test pilot Major Michael J. Adams was killed while flying the X-15 rocket-propelled research vehicle in a parabolic spaceflight profile. This flight was part of a joint effort with NASA. An electrical short in one of the experiments aboard the vehicle caused electrical transients, resulting in excessive workload by the pilot. At altitude Major Adams inappropriately initiated a flat spin that led to a series of unusual aircraft attitudes upon atmospheric re-entry, ultimately causing structural failure of the airframe. Major Adams was known to experience vertigo (i.e. spatial disorientation) while flying the X-15, but all X-15 pilots most likely experienced vertigo (i.e. somatogravic, or "Pitch-Up", illusion) as a normal physiologic response to the accelerative forces involved. Major Adams probably experienced vertigo to a greater degree than did others, since prior aeromedical testing for astronaut selection at Brooks AFB revealed that he had an unusually high degree of labyrinthine sensitivity. Subsequent analysis reveals that after engine burnout, and through the zenith of the flight profile, he likely experienced the oculoagravic ("Elevator") illusion. Nonetheless, painstaking investigation after the mishap revealed that spatial disorientation (Type II, Recognized) was NOT the cause, but rather, a contributing factor. The cause was in fact the misinterpretation of a dual-use flight instrument (i.e. Loss of Mode Awareness), resulting in confusion between yaw and roll indications, with subsequent flight control input that was inappropriate. Because of the altitude achieved on this flight, Major Adams was awarded Astronaut wings posthumously. Understanding the potential for spatial disorientation, particularly the oculoagravic illusion, associated with parabolic spaceflight profiles, and understanding the importance of maintaining mode awareness in the context of automated cockpit design, are two lessons that have direct application to the commercial space industry today.

Bendrick, Gregg A.↗

Air Traffic Management Technology Demostration-1 (ATD-1) Avionics Phase 2 Flight Test and Results

NASA’s first Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration (ATD-1) subproject successfully completed 19 days of flight test validation in January and February 2017 of an Interval Management (IM) avionics prototype and the procedures used to conduct IM arrival and approach operations. IM is one of the three elements integrated into NASA’s ATD-1 concept of operations with the subproject goal of improving aircraft efficiency and airport throughput during high-density arrival operations. The ATD-1 concept of operations combines advanced arrival scheduling, controller decision support tools, and interval management (IM) avionics to enable merging of multiple, time-based, efficient arrival streams. IM contributes to the operation by calculating speeds that enable an aircraft to precisely achieve a specific time or distance behind another aircraft. When precise spacing intervals can be calculated, achieved, and then maintained during high-density operations, aircraft efficiency should be improved by enabling the aircraft to remain closer to the optimum descent trajectory instead of using vectors and step-down altitudes, and airport throughput should be maintained or improved by each aircraft arriving at the runway threshold closer to the assigned spacing interval. This avionics development and flight test was conducted under a NASA contract by Boeing Research and Technology, with Boeing Commercial Aircraft, Honeywell, United Airlines, and Jeppesen as sub-contractors. The Honeywell built IM avionics were the first ever prototype built based on NASA requirements as well as developing and non-flight tested international IM standards, integrated into two test aircraft, and then flown in real-world conditions at the Grant County International Airport (KMWH). The IM prototype flown in the flight test used data from the Ownship and the assigned lead, or Target, aircraft to calculate the airspeed necessary for the Ownship to achieve the desired spacing. The flight test demonstrated that the IM avionics prototype generally met the IM requirement for spacing accuracy. However, the control laws implemented require further development to reduce the high IM speed command rate and the number of speed reversals observed during the test. Pilots assessed the IM procedure as acceptable, and issues requiring further attention were identified. In summary, the IM avionics prototype showed significant promise in contributing to the goals of improving aircraft efficiency and airport throughput. The flight test results also provided important data to the FAA and the working group developing the follow-on version of the international IM standards.

Baxley, Brian T.↗

An Investigation of Large Tilt-Rotor Hover and Low Speed Handling Qualities

A piloted simulation experiment conducted on the NASA-Ames Vertical Motion Simulator evaluated the hover and low speed handling qualities of a large tilt-rotor concept, with particular emphasis on longitudinal and lateral position control. Ten experimental test pilots evaluated different combinations of Attitude Command-Attitude Hold (ACAH) and Translational Rate Command (TRC) response types, nacelle conversion actuator authority limits and inceptor choices. Pilots performed evaluations in revised versions of the ADS-33 Hover, Lateral Reposition and Depart/Abort MTEs and moderate turbulence conditions. Level 2 handling qualities ratings were primarily recorded using ACAH response type in all three of the evaluation maneuvers. The baseline TRC conferred Level 1 handling qualities in the Hover MTE, but there was a tendency to enter into a PIO associated with nacelle actuator rate limiting when employing large, aggressive control inputs. Interestingly, increasing rate limits also led to a reduction in the handling qualities ratings. This led to the identification of a nacelle rate to rotor longitudinal flapping coupling effect that induced undesired, pitching motions proportional to the allowable amount of nacelle rate. A modification that counteracted this effect significantly improved the handling qualities. Evaluation of the different response type variants showed that inclusion of TRC response could provide Level 1 handling qualities in the Lateral Reposition maneuver by reducing coupled pitch and heave off axis responses that otherwise manifest with ACAH. Finally, evaluations in the Depart/Abort maneuver showed that uncertainty about commanded nacelle position and ensuing aircraft response, when manually controlling the nacelle, demanded high levels of attention from the pilot. Additional requirements to maintain pitch attitude within 5 deg compounded the necessary workload.

Malpica, Carlos A.↗