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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 1,387 records · Page 77
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2012

Test Driven Development of Scientific Models

Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a software development process that promises many advantages for developer productivity and has become widely accepted among professional software engineers. As the name suggests, TDD practitioners alternate between writing short automated tests and producing code that passes those tests. Although this overly simplified description will undoubtedly sound prohibitively burdensome to many uninitiated developers, the advent of powerful unit-testing frameworks greatly reduces the effort required to produce and routinely execute suites of tests. By testimony, many developers find TDD to be addicting after only a few days of exposure, and find it unthinkable to return to previous practices. Of course, scientific/technical software differs from other software categories in a number of important respects, but I nonetheless believe that TDD is quite applicable to the development of such software and has the potential to significantly improve programmer productivity and code quality within the scientific community. After a detailed introduction to TDD, I will present the experience within the Software Systems Support Office (SSSO) in applying the technique to various scientific applications. This discussion will emphasize the various direct and indirect benefits as well as some of the difficulties and limitations of the methodology. I will conclude with a brief description of pFUnit, a unit testing framework I co-developed to support test-driven development of parallel Fortran applications.

Clune, Thomas L.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Test Driven Development of Scientific Models

Test-Driven Development (TDD), a software development process that promises many advantages for developer productivity and software reliability, has become widely accepted among professional software engineers. As the name suggests, TDD practitioners alternate between writing short automated tests and producing code that passes those tests. Although this overly simplified description will undoubtedly sound prohibitively burdensome to many uninitiated developers, the advent of powerful unit-testing frameworks greatly reduces the effort required to produce and routinely execute suites of tests. By testimony, many developers find TDD to be addicting after only a few days of exposure, and find it unthinkable to return to previous practices.After a brief overview of the TDD process and my experience in applying the methodology for development activities at Goddard, I will delve more deeply into some of the challenges that are posed by numerical and scientific software as well as tools and implementation approaches that should address those challenges.

Overview of TDD Process↗
NASA NTRS2020

Psyche Magnetometer Engineering Model Test and Thermal Model Correlation to Validate Operational Thermal Requirement

Psyche Fluxgate Magnetometer candidate fabricated by UCLA has a critical temperature gradient requirement inside the magnetometer sensor head. Since the temperature gradient requirement is a driving factor for the magnetometer operation and science data collection at 16 Psyche, it is critical to validate and verify this requirement via modeling and test. In this work, a thermal vacuum test was completed for Psyche flight-like magnetometer engineering model. Flight-like environments were simulated for a hot operational case (after launch), a cold survival case (cruise), and two cold operational cases to characterize thermal performance of the instrument. An additional, non-flight, steady-state test case was completed to better correlate the magnetometer thermal model. During the test, sensitive Cernox temperature sensors with accuracy of ±0.1°C were used to precisely characterize the temperature gradient and correlate the model to the best accuracy. Collected test data indicated power consumption of 28% lower than predicted. The temperature gradient measured met the expected value and the requirement. Test data indicated the magnetometer also met the AFTs in relevant hot and cold environments. Test Results were used to correlate the thermal model. The correlated thermal model will be integrated to the spacecraft thermal model to predict magnetometer thermal performance while collecting science data in Psyche orbits.

Caron, Ryan↗
DOE OSTI2020

Analysis of Air-Purifying Respirator (APR) and Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR) Cartridge Performance Testing on a Hanford AX Tank Farm Exhauster Slipstream Volume 1

Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) conducted tests of four types of chemical cartridges for air-purifying respirators (APR) and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR) to determine the period of time the cartridges would provide adequate performance1 for APRs and PAPRs used to protect workers when exposed to a mixture of Chemicals of Potential Concern (COPCs) from vapors exiting the Hanford AX tank farm exhauster slipstream. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) considers cartridge testing to be a valid approach for establishing a cartridge service life. Testing is applied in situations where mixtures of COPCs exist, and where other approaches, such as manufacturer recommendations and modeling, are less reliable. The tests were designed and conducted to assure measurement and/or control of the key variables OSHA identified as important to estimate the cartridge service life, including temperature, humidity, COPC concentration, breathing rate, and cartridge adsorption capacity. Cartridge testing using vapors from a Hanford AX tank farm exhauster slipstream was conducted from August 25–27, 2017. Vapors from the exhauster slipstream were fed to two respirator cartridge test stands developed by WRPS in collaboration with HiLine Engineering (Richland, Washington). Four different cartridges were assessed. Multipurpose APR cartridges—SCOTT 7422-SD1 and SCOTT 7422-SC1 (SCOTT Safety, Monroe, North Carolina)—were assessed on separate days using an APR cartridge test stand. Multipurpose PAPR cartridges—MSA-TL (TL1) (MSA Safety Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and 3M FR57 (TL2) (3M Company, Maplewood, Minnesota)—also were tested over the same two days using a separate PAPR cartridge test stand. Sample media (i.e., sorbent tubes) were used to collect samples of the vapor stream entering and exiting the respirator cartridges and were subsequently analyzed for COPC concentrations. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was tasked with conducting an independent analysis of the analytical results and making recommendations based on the results for respiratory cartridge performance and service life. The key conclusions from the analysis are described below.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

Benchmark Evaluation of Start-Up and Zero-Power Measurements at the High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor

Benchmark models were developed to evaluate six cold-critical and two warm-critical, zero-power measurements of the HTTR. Additional measurements of a fully-loaded subcritical configuration, core excess reactivity, shutdown margins, six isothermal temperature coefficients, and axial reaction-rate distributions were also evaluated as acceptable benchmark experiments. Insufficient information is publicly available to develop finely-detailed models of the HTTR as much of the design information is still proprietary. However, the uncertainties in the benchmark models are judged to be of sufficient magnitude to encompass any biases and bias uncertainties incurred through the simplification process used to develop the benchmark models. Dominant uncertainties in the experimental keff for all core configurations come from uncertainties in the impurity content of the various graphite blocks that comprise the HTTR. Monte Carlo calculations of keff are between approximately 0.9 % and 2.7 % greater than the benchmark values. Reevaluation of the HTTR models as additional information becomes available could improve the quality of this benchmark and possibly reduce the computational biases. High-quality characterization of graphite impurities would significantly improve the quality of the HTTR benchmark assessment. Simulation of the other reactor physics measurements are in good agreement with the benchmark experiment values. The complete benchmark evaluation details are available in the 2014 edition of the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS1992

Tunnel injection transit-time diodes for W-band power generation

GaAs p(+ +)n(+)n(-)n(+) single-drift tunnel injection transit-time (TUNNETT) diodes for W-band operation have been successfully designed and tested. An output power of 32 mW at 93.5 GHz with a dc to RF conversion efficiency of 2.6 percent was obtained. The oscillations have a clean spectrum in a conventional waveguide cavity.

Kidner, C.↗
DOE OSTI2013

Astrophysical tests of modified gravity: Constraints from distance indicators in the nearby universe

We use distance measurements in the nearby universe to carry out new tests of gravity, surpassing other astrophysical tests by over two orders of magnitude for chameleon theories. The three nearby distance indicators—cepheids, tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) stars, and water masers—operate in gravitational fields of widely different strengths. This enables tests of scalar-tensor gravity theories because they are screened from enhanced forces to different extents. Inferred distances from cepheids and TRGB stars are altered (in opposite directions) over a range of chameleon gravity theory parameters well below the sensitivity of cosmological probes. Using published data, we have compared cepheid and TRGB distances in a sample of unscreened dwarf galaxies within 10 Mpc. We use a comparable set of screened galaxies as a control sample. We find no evidence for the order unity force enhancements expected in these theories. Using a two-parameter description of the models (the coupling strength and background field value), we obtain constraints on both the chameleon and symmetron screening scenarios. In particular we show that f(R) models with background field values f {sub R0} above 5 × 10{sup –7} are ruled out at the 95% confidence level. We also compare TRGB and maser distances to the galaxy NGC 4258 as a second test for larger field values. While there are several approximations and caveats in our study, our analysis demonstrates the power of gravity tests in the local universe. We discuss the prospects for additional improved tests with future observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Stability Assessment of a System Comprising a Single Machine and a Virtual Oscillator Controlled Inverter with Scalable Ratings

We present a small-signal stability study of a coupled synchronous generator and inverter system, where the inverter is controlled by virtual oscillator control (VOC). VOC is a recently proposed grid-forming inverter control strategy, which acts on faster time scales compared to droop control. In our study, we leverage a scalable VOC controller (that is by design agnostic of power levels) to test the system's small-signal stability at different inverter penetration levels. The impact of rotational inertia, reactive power support, and filter parameters on stability is then investigated. Results highlight possible issues that might arise in these mixed machine-inverter systems further motivating the need to develop next generation stabilizing grid-forming controllers.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1979

Design and test of a prototype scale ejector wing

A two dimensional momentum integral analysis was used to examine the effect of changing inlet area ratio, diffuser area ratio, and the ratio of ejector length to width. A relatively wide range of these parameters was considered. It was found that for constant inlet area ratio the augmentation increases with the ejector length, and for constant length: width ratio the augmentation increases with inlet area ratio. Scale model tests were used to verify these trends and to examine th effect of aspect ratio. On the basis of these results, an ejector configuration was selected for fabrication and testing at a scale representative of an ejector wing aircraft. The test ejector was powered by a Pratt-Whitney F401 engine developing approximately 12,000 pounds of thrust. The results of preliminary tests indicate that the ejector develops a thrust augmentation ratio better than 1.65.

Mefferd, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Statistical comparison of pooled nitrogen washout data of various altitude decompression response groups

This analysis was done to determine whether various decompression response groups could be characterized by the pooled nitrogen (N2) washout profiles of the group members, pooling individual washout profiles provided a smooth time dependent function of means representative of the decompression response group. No statistically significant differences were detected. The statistical comparisons of the profiles were performed by means of univariate weighted t-test at each 5 minute profile point, and with levels of significance of 5 and 10 percent. The estimated powers of the tests (i.e., probabilities) to detect the observed differences in the pooled profiles were of the order of 8 to 30 percent.

Edwards, B. F.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Aerodynamic characteristics of a propeller powered high lift semispan wing

An experimental investigation was conducted on the engine/airframe integration aerodynamics for potential high-lift aircraft configurations. The model consisted of a semispan wing with a double-isolated flap system and a Krueger leading edge device. The advanced propeller and the powered nacelle were tested and aerodynamic characteristics of the combined system are presented. It was found that the lift coefficient of the powered wing could be increased by the propeller slipstream when the rotational speed was increased and high-lift devices were deployed. Moving the nacelle/propeller closer to the wing in the vertical direction indicated higher lift augmentation than a shift in the longitudinal direction. A pitch-down nacelle inclination enhanced the lift performance of the system much better than vertical and horizontal variation of the nacelle locations and showed that the powered wing can sustain higher angles of attack near maximum lift performance.

Takallu, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Sample Acquisition and Instrument Deployment (SAID)

This report details the interim progress for contract NASW-4818, Sample Acquisition and Instrument Deployment (SAID), a robotic system for deploying science instruments and acquiring samples for analysis. The system is a conventional four degree of freedom manipulator 2 meters in length. A baseline design has been achieved through analysis and trade studies. The design considers environmental operating conditions on the surface of Mars, as well as volume constraints on proposed Mars landers. Control issues have also been studied, and simulations of joint and tip movements have been performed. A passively braked shape memory actuator with the ability to measure load has been developed. The wrist also contains a mechanism which locks the lid output to the bucket so that objects can be grasped and released for instrument deployment. The wrist actuator has been tested for operational power and mechanical functionality at Mars environmental conditions. The torque which the actuator can produce has been measured. Also, testing in Mars analogous soils has been performed.

Boyd, Robert C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Improvements To Progressive Wave Tube Performance Through Closed-Loop Control

This report documents recent improvements to the acoustic and thermal control systems of the Thermal Acoustic Fatigue Apparatus (TAFA), a progressive wave tube test facility at the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. A brief summary of past acoustic performance is given first to serve as a basis for comparison with the new performance data using a multiple-input, closed-loop, narrow-band controller. Performance data in the form of test section acoustic power spectral densities and coherence are presented in three of six facility configurations for a variety of input spectra. Tested spectra include uniform, two cases of pink noise, three cases of narrow-band random, a simulated launch payload bay environment for an expendable launch vehicle, and a simulated external acoustic load for the aft section of a reusable launch vehicle. In addition, a new closed-loop temperature controller and thermocouple data acquisition system are described.

Rizzi, Stephen A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Evaluation of high-voltage, high-power, solid-state remote power controllers for amps

The Electrical Power Branch at Marshall Space Flight Center has a Power System Development Facility where various power circuit breadboards are tested and evaluated. This project relates to the evaluation of a particular remote power controller (RPC) energizing high power loads. The Facility equipment permits the thorough testing and evaluation of high-voltage, high-power solid-state remote power controllers. The purpose is to evaluate a Type E, 30 Ampere, 200 V dc remote power controller. Three phases of the RPC evaluation are presented. The RPC is evaluated within a low-voltage, low-power circuit to check its operational capability. The RPC is then evaluated while performing switch/circuit breaker functions within a 200 V dc, 30 Ampere power circuit. The final effort of the project relates to the recommended procedures for installing these RPC's into the existing Autonomously Managed Power System (AMPS) breadboard/test facility at MSFC.

Callis, Charles P.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Performance of Waterlogged LWR fuel during RIA

Fuel pins with small defects could allow for the gradual ingress of water into the cladding during normal operation. If these 'waterlogged' fuel pins are subjected to a rapid power change, the internal pressurization could greatly exceed that of a normal fuel pin due to rapid conversion of the water to steam. This could induce either a premature or a more energetic failure during a design basis RIA than in non-defected fuel pins. Experimental studies on this type of fuel are very limited and do not appear to have been fully reported in the open literature. Results from a variety of tests conducted at the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT), Special Power Excursion Reactor Test (SPERT) facility, Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR), and Power Burst Facility (PBF) are reviewed in this paper. These tests were intended to evaluate both the physical consequences of failure and the threshold and causes for waterlogged fuel failure during RIA. The available data suggests that although waterlogged fuel pins may burst at a lower energy deposition threshold, they do not pose a significant new hazard during design basis accidents. However, data is limited to tests conducted on fresh fuel samples only.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS1997

Space Environment Stability and Physical Properties of New Materials for Space Power and Commercial Applications

To test and evaluate suitability of materials for use in space power systems and related space and commercial applications, and to achieve sufficient understanding of the mechanisms by which, the materials perform in their intended applications. Materials and proposed applications included but were not limited to: Improved anodes for lithium ion batteries, highly-transparent arc-proof solar array coatings, and improved surface materials for solar dynamic concentrators and receivers. Cooperation and interchange of data with industrial companies as appropriate.

Hambourger, Paul D.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Compact Low-Voltage, High-Power, Multi-beam Klystron for ILC: Initial Test Results

Initial test results of an L-band multi-beam klystron with parameters relevant for ILC are presented. The chief distinction of this tube from MBKs already developed for ILC is its low operating voltage of 60 kV, a virtue that implies considerable technological simplifications in the accelerator complex. To demonstrate the concept underlying the tubes design, a six-beamlet quadrant (a 54 inch high one-quarter portion of the full 1.3 GHz tube) was built and recently underwent initial tests, with main goals of demonstrating rated gun perveance, rated gain, and at least one-quarter of the full 10-MW rated power. Our initial three-day conditioning campaign without RF drive (140 microsec pulses @ 60 Hz) was stopped at 53% of full rated duty because of time-limits at the test-site; no signs appeared that would seem to prevent achieving full duty operation (i.e., 1.6 msec pulses @ 10 Hz). The subsequent tests with 10-15 microsec RF pulses confirmed the rated gain, produced output powers of up to 2.86 MW at 60 kV with high efficiency and 56 dB gain, and showed acceptable beam interception. These results suggest that a full version of the tube should be able to produce up to 11.5 MW. Follow-on tests are planned for later in 2015.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Phenylnaphthalene Derivatives as Heat Transfer Fluids for Concentrating Solar Power: Loop Experiments and Final Report

ORNL and subcontractor Cool Energy completed an investigation of higher-temperature, organic thermal fluids for solar thermal applications. Although static thermal tests showed promising results for 1-phenylnaphthalene, loop testing at temperatures to 450 C showed that the material isomerized at a slow rate. In a loop with a temperature high enough to drive the isomerization, the higher melting point byproducts tended to condense onto cooler surfaces. So, as experienced in loop operation, eventually the internal channels of cooler components such as the waste heat rejection exchanger may become coated or clogged and loop performance will decrease. Thus, pure 1-phenylnaphthalene does not appear to be a fluid that would have a sufficiently long lifetime (years to decades) to be used in a loop at the increased temperatures of interest. Hence a decision was made not to test the ORNL fluid in the loop at Cool Energy Inc. Instead, Cool Energy tested and modeled power conversion from a moderate-temperature solar loop using coupled Stirling engines. Cool Energy analyzed data collected on third and fourth generation SolarHeart Stirling engines operating on a rooftop solar field with a lower temperature (Marlotherm) heat transfer fluid. The operating efficiencies of the Stirling engines were determined at multiple, typical solar conditions, based on data from actual cycle operation. Results highlighted the advantages of inherent thermal energy storage in the power conversion system.

concentrating solar power↗