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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

A Mobile Robot for Remote Response to Incidents Involving Hazardous Materials

This paper will describe a teleoperated mobile robot system being developed at JPL for use by the JPL Fire Department/HAZMAT Team. The project, which began in October 1990, is focused on prototyping a robotic vehicle which can be quickly deployed and easily operated by HAZMAT Team personnel allowing remote entry and exploration of a hazardous material incident site. The close involvement of JPL Fire Department personnel has been critical in establishing system requirements as well as evaluating the system. The current robot, called HAZBOT III, has been especially designed for operation in environments that may contain combustible gases. Testing of the system with the Fire Department has shown that teleoperated robots can successfully gain access to incident sites allowing hazardous material spills to be remotely located and identified. Work is continuing to enable more complex missions through enhancement of the operator interface and by allowing tetherless operation.

robots teleoperator hazardous materials HAZMAT HAZ↗
NASA NTRS2016

Operation and Development Status of the Spacecraft Fire Experiments (Saffire)

Since 2012, a series of Spacecraft Fire Experiments (Saffire) have been under development by the Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration (SFS Demo) project, funded by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Division. The overall objective of this project is to reduce the uncertainty and risk associated with the design of spacecraft fire safety systems for NASA's exploration missions. The approach to achieving this goal has been to define, develop, and conduct experiments that address gaps in spacecraft fire safety knowledge and capabilities identified by NASA's Fire Safety System Maturation Team. The Spacecraft Fire Experiments (Saffire-I, -II, and -III) are material flammability tests at length scales that are realistic for a spacecraft fire in low-gravity. The specific objectives of these three experiments are to (1) determine how rapidly a large scale fire grows in low-gravity and (2) investigate the low-g flammability limits compared to those obtained in NASA's normal gravity material flammability screening test. The experiments will be conducted in Orbital ATK's Cygnus vehicle after it has unberthed from the International Space Station. The tests will be fully automated with the data downlinked at the conclusion of the test before the Cygnus vehicle reenters the atmosphere. This paper discusses the status of the Saffire-I, II, and III experiments followed by a review of the fire safety technology gaps that are driving the development of objectives for the next series of experiments, Saffire-IV, V, and VI.

Fire Safety↗
NASA NTRS2016

The Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire) - Objectives, Development and Status

Since 2012, the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire) has been under development by the Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration (SFS Demo) project that is funded by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Division in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The overall objective of this project is to reduce the uncertainty and risk associated with the design of spacecraft fire safety systems for NASA's exploration missions. This is accomplished by defining, developing, and conducting experiments that address gaps in spacecraft fire safety knowledge and capabilities identified by NASA's Fire Safety System Maturation Team. This paper describes the three Spacecraft Fire Experiments (Saffire-I, -II, and -III) that were developed at NASA-GRC and that will conduct a series of material flammability tests in low-gravity and at length scales that are realistic for a spacecraft fire. The experiments will be conducted in Orbital ATK's Cygnus vehicle after it has unberthed from the International Space Station. The tests will be fully automated with the data downlinked at the conclusion of the test and before the Cygnus vehicle reenters the atmosphere. The objectives of these experiments are to (1) determine how rapidly a large scale fire grows in low-gravity and (2) investigate the low-g flammability limits compared to those obtained in NASA's normal gravity material flammability screening test. The hardware for these experiments has been completed and is awaiting their respective launches, all planned for 2016. This paper will review the objectives of these experiments and how they address several of the knowledge gaps for NASA's exploration missions. The hardware development will be discussed including several novel approaches that were taken for testing and evaluation of these series payloads. The status of the missions and operational status will also be presented.

combustion↗
NASA NTRS1997

Test Structures Applied to the Rapid Prototyping of Sensors

Recently, test structures were used to aid in the rapid development of a gas sensor and pressure sensor. These sensors were fabricated using co-fired ceramic technology and a multiproject approach. This talk will describe results obtained from a ceramic substrate which contained 36 chips with six variants including the sensors, process control monitors, and an interconnect chip. As far as the authors know, this is the first implementation of multi-projects in co-fired ceramic substrate. The gas sensor is being developed for the Space Shuttle and the pressure gage is being developed as a Martian barometer.

sensors ceramic substrate prototyping↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Development of Midlatitude Cirrus Models for MODIS Using FIRE-I, FIRE-II, and ARM In Situ Data

Detailed in situ data from cirrus clouds have been collected during dedicated field Campaigns, but the use of the size and habit distribution data has been lagging in the development of more realistic cirrus scattering models. In this study, the authors examine the use of in situ cirrus data collected during three field campaigns to develop more realistic midlatitude cirrus microphysical models. Data are used from the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE)-I (1986) and FIRE-II (1991) campaigns and from a recent Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program campaign held in March-April of 2000. The microphysical models are based on measured vertical distributions of both particle size and particle habit and are used to develop new scattering models for a suite of moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) bands spanning visible. near-infrared, and infrared wavelengths. The sensitivity of the resulting scattering properties to the underlying assumptions of the assumed particle size and habit distributions are examined. It is found that the near-infrared bands are sensitive not only to the discretization of the size distribution but also to the assumed habit distribution. In addition. the results indicate that the effective diameter calculated from a given size distribution tends to be sensitive to the number of size bins that are used to discretize the data and also to the ice-crystal habit distribution.

Nasiri, Shaima L.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Master Console, SMC

The Master Console oversees the function of Computer Systems in Firing room 1 (FR1). Master Console Operators, MCOs' for short, are our customer. I was integrated into the System Monitoring and Control (SMC) software team that is under the guidance of David Slaiman, who is the product group lead. I have been brought up to speed with System Monitoring and Control. The initial time spent reading SMC software design description and understanding how it works. The current Firing Room 1 Console Display is a floor layout giving the MCO two essential pieces of information which are Health and Status. When an issue arises, the MCO has to look on the display to find which console is affected and then the MCO must use the Reference designator from the display to manually search for the Portal Workstation (PWS) installed in the console using the hardware map; which is a long process to lookup a PWS if an issue is present. My project is to make the FR1 Console Display easier for the MCO's to pinpoint PWS's without having to lookup additional resources in the process. My project also includes updating Firing Room 1 Console Display to include the F1R Non-Redundant Set. The display does not have good use of space and functionality. PWS numbers were not present in the previous design and are the critical component in efficient understanding and administration of the consoles. Part of the process includes getting feedback from the customer, instead of just emailing them with a question, we made a proposal with changes so they could respond and give us their input; which proved to be an effective method for engaging them. In order to do this I had to use the Display Editor (DE) tool developed by NASA, Paint.Net and Visio. The process I have been using has been Visio to alter the floor layout of Firing Room and take advantage of the white areas, and then I take the altered floor plan into Paint.Net. Once in Paint.Net I put the new floor plan as a background to the standard console display. Paint.Net also serves as a tool to create the new service state bars for the new background; finally I used the DE to assemble everything and setup the right CUI's for each PWS.

MCO↗
NASA NTRS2000

Burning Plastics Investigated in Space for Unique US/Russian Cooperative Project

It is well known that fires in the low-gravity environment of Earth-orbiting spacecraft are different from fires on Earth. The flames lack the familiar upward plume, which is the result of gravitational buoyancy. These flames, however, are strongly influenced by minor airflow currents. A recent study conducted in low gravity (microgravity) on the Russian orbital station Mir used burning plastic rods mounted in a small chamber with a controllable fan to expose the flame to airflows of different velocities. In this unique project, a Russian scientific agency, the Keldysh Research Center, furnished the apparatus and directed the Mir tests, while the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field provided the test materials and the project management. Reference testing and calibrations in ground laboratories were conducted jointly by researchers at Keldysh and at the NASA Johnson Space Center's White Sands Test Facility. Multiple samples of three different plastics were burned in the tests: Delrin, a common material for valve bodies; PMMA, a plastic "glass"; and polyethylene, a familiar material for containers and films. Each burned with a unique spherical or egg-shaped flame that spread over the rod. The effect of varying the airflow was dramatic. At the highest airflow attainable in the combustion chamber, nearly 10 cm/sec (a typical ventilation breeze), the flames were bright and strong. As airflow velocity decreased, the flames became shorter but wider. In addition, the flames became less bright, and for PMMA and polyethylene, they showed two colors, a bright part decreasing in volume and a nearly invisible remainder (see the photographs). Finally, at a very low velocity, the flames extinguished. For the plastics tested, this minimum velocity was very low, around 0.3 to 0.5 cm/sec. This finding confirms that at least a slight airflow is required to maintain a flame in microgravity for these types of materials.

Friedman, Robert↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Drone Applications for Wildfires and Other Emergency Situations

Potential Solutions to Wildfires This project is looking at multiple aspects of the use of UAV’s during wildfire season. This project identifies multiple solutions to communication problems, early action response, and innovative tactics to fight wildfires during the dark hours of the second shift. This project will identify the features and innovations needed to create a second shift that can more effectively fight wildland fires at night. In addition, this project will look to find which satellite systems work best for detection of wildfires, with a special focus on remote locations with more rural communities. There will also be a focus on ways to improve current UAVs and sensors for aerial fire surveillance as well as the understanding on how to establish a safe airspace for these UAVs during wildfires. More specifically, unmanned ariel vehicles (UAV) or drones can be used during natural disasters and other situations to help first responders be a more efficient team, ultimately saving hundreds of more lives. Depending on the situation, drones can be equipped with many different accessories, each with their own advantages. When it comes to operating a drone, communication between the first responder, dispatcher, and the person flying the drone is very important when exchanging useful information. A focus on existing systems, and what changes could be made to create more novel systems will also be shown. Moreover, wildfires not only pose a hazard to human safety and a dent on communication methods, but it also has detrimental effects on the environment. Specifically, the use of common fire retardants have dangerous health effects on human health and the environment as a whole. Therefore, this project will also explore the use of alternative eco-friendly fire retardants and recent innovations to the use of sustainable retardants.

Drones↗
NASA NTRS1981

Development, qualification, and delivery of a hydrogen burnoff igniter

The hydrogen burnoff igniter, a pyrotechnic device used to burn off excess hydrogen gas near the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) nozzle, was designed, fabricated, and qualified. Characteristics of the burnoff igniter include a function time of 8 + or - 2 seconds, a minimum three foot flame length at maximum output, and hot particles projected 15 feet when fired directly into or perpendicular to a 34.5 knot wind. The three foot flame length was considered to be of questionable importance, since the hot particles are the media for igniting the hydrogen. Flame temperature is greater than 1500 F.

Ray, D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Remote sensing for forest applications in New York: Two case studies

Under-utilized forest resources in the Northeast can supply fiber to new markets. Information on forest resources, however, is often too aggregated to estimate available woody material with sufficient detail for planning specific projects. Over the past year, staff of Cornell University's Remote Sensing Program, under a grant from NASA, assisted New York State agency personnel by assessing available woody material for two potential development projects, a wood-fired power plant and a particle board manufacturing plant. These feasibility studies are reviewed, illustrating how information derived from high-altitude aircraft photographs, LANDSAT imagery, and available supporting data were integrated to arrive at estimates of woody material.

Stanturf, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Radiative properties of visible and subvisible Cirrus: Scattering on hexagonal ice crystals

One of the main objectives of the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE) is to provide a better understanding of the physics of upper level clouds. The focus is on just one specific aspect of cirrus physics, namely on characterizing the radiative properties of single, nonspherical ice particles. The basis for further more extensive studies of the radiative transfer through upper level clouds is provided. Radiation provides a potential mechanism for strong feedback between the divergence of in-cloud radiative flux and the cloud microphysics and ultimately on the dynamics of the cloud. Some aspects of ice cloud microphysics that are relevant to the radiation calculations are described. Next, the Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA) is introduced and some new results of scattering by irregular crystals are presented. The Anomalous Diffraction Theory (ADT) was adopted to investigate the scattering properties of even larger crystals. In this way the scattering properties of nonspherical particles were determined over a range of particle sizes.

Flatau, Piotr J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Estimation of cirrus cloud particle fallspeeds from vertically pointing Doppler radar

The First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) Regional Experiment 2 (FIRE 2) was conducted in Coffeyville, Kansas in late 1991 to study the microphysical and radiative properties of cirrus clouds. A variety of active and passive remote sensors were employed, including an 8-mm-wavelength cloud-sensing Doppler radar developed at the Wave Propagation Laboratory (WPL). The radar, having excellent sensitivity to cloud particles (-30 dBZ at 10 km), good spatial resolution (37 m), and velocity precision (.05 ms -1), is an excellent tool for observing cirrus clouds. Having this radar directed toward the zenith for long periods of time during FIRE 2 permitted the reflectivity-weighted particle fallspeed to be related to reflectivity which allowed a separation of ice particle fallspeeds from vertical air motions. Additionally, such relationships proved useful in other multi-sensor techniques for determining vertical profiles of ice particle characteristic size and ice water content in cirrus clouds. The analysis method and the results of applying it to cirrus cloud reflectivity and velocity data collected during FIRE 2 are discussed.

Orr, Brad W.↗
NASA NTRS2007

NASA Experience with UAS Science Applications

Viewgraphs of NASA's Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) as it applies to Earth science missions is presented. The topics include: 1) Agenda; 2) Background; 3) NASA Science Aircraft Endurance; 4) Science UAS Development Challenges; 5) USCG Alaskan Maritime Surveillance; 6) NOAA/NASA UAV Demonstration Project; 7) Western States Fire Mission; 8) Esperanza Fire Emergency Response; 9) Ikhana (Predator B); 10) UAV Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR); 11) Global Hawk; and 12) Related Technologies

Curry, Robert E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Path to Improving Simulated Properties of Low Clouds over the Beaufort Sea using Airborne In Situ Observations of Subgrid-Scale Variability

Arctic low clouds influence the evolution of the Arctic system through their effects on radiative fluxes, boundary layer mixing, stability, turbulence, humidity, and precipitation. Unfortunately, atmospheric models and retrospective analysis (reanalysis) products struggle to accurately simulate the occurrence and properties of low clouds in the Arctic. One of the main reasons for this problem are the possible unrealistic assumptions that models/reanalyses make about the subgrid-scale (SGS) variability of meteorological properties, as well as the relationship between SGS variability and grid-scale (GS) cloud properties. We utilize cloud and thermodynamic data of low level (primarily) liquid clouds collected from two aircraft campaigns conducted over the Beaufort Sea to better understand and characterize this problem. Examining data from the September 2014 Arctic Radiation-IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment (ARISE) airborne campaign reveals that GS cloud water variability is closely related with SGS distribution of total water (i.e. water vapor + cloud water). Multiple models/reanalyses use SGS supersaturated total water (relative to GS saturation) as a threshold for partitioning available water for condensation, and indeed we find significant correlation between GS cloud water and SGS supersaturation. However, we also find that the assumption of a static threshold of 100% saturation to be unrealistic. Empirical calculations from the ARISE data show a large sensitivity of this threshold to GS relative humidity, and so a microphysical parameterization allowing the threshold to vary according to GS thermodynamic properties may result in more realistic GS cloud water values. Finally, to determine how sensitive the ARISE-derived results are to that particular campaign, we include additional data from the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE)–Arctic Cloud Experiment (ACE) conducted in 1998. The inclusion of the second dataset will help with demonstrating the robustness of the results and their utility in improving the representation of Arctic clouds in models and reanalyses.

J Brant Dodson↗
NASA NTRS2020

Miniaturized Laser Absorption Spectrometer for Combustion Calorimetry and Process Monitoring

A miniaturized tunable laser absorption spectrometer capable of measuring gas-phase concentrations of CO, CO2, and O2 has been developed for operation in spacecraft environments. As part of the Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration (Saffire) project, we previously demonstrated the Combustion Product Monitor (CPM) instrument to characterize pyrolysis of relevant test materials in low gravity aboard a transfer vehicle returning from low Earth orbit. Here, we adapted the CPM instrument design to achieve detection of CO, CO2, and O2 with improved minimum detection limits and dynamic range as well as reduced instrument size and power. The instrument can be operated in either an open or sealed configureation, allowing for ambient gas composition measuremnts or in-line monitoring of gas streams. By accurately monitoring CO, CO2, and O2 with broad pressure/temperature calibration and response time on the order of 1 s, the instrument can be used to characterize the dynamics of combustion reactions in a variety of environments.

Briggs, Ryan M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

High Performance Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine for Mars Interplanetary Transport

NASA has successfully evaluated the performances and survivability of two additively manufactured (AM) continuously rotating detonation cycle rocket engine (RDRE) thrust chambers. The AM hardware was subjected to long duration continuous detonative environments in excess of 100 seconds. Performance trends were directly compared to theory and similar scale constant pressure engines with identical propellants. The performance benefits of RDREs include higher combustion efficiency at a more compact design trade space, which allow advantages for future NASA missions. A major finding of this work is that the heat fluxes experienced are substantially higher than traditional liquid rocket engines at the same operating conditions. In addition, completion of combustion occurs rapidly in an annular geometry at ¼ that of the L* and L’ of an equivalent state-of-the-art thrust chamber. Finally, all hardware survived the extreme environments and achieved the major goal of the test project by demonstrating hot fire conditions with detonation modes up to 133 seconds in duration. Follow-on efforts funded by STMD Early Career Initiative (ECI) award are now focused on achieving higher performances than the previous designs and closing the remaining technology risks.

Thomas Teasley↗