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Results for “Manufactured solutions”

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 NTRS1976

Space Shuttle Main Propulsion System

The Space Shuttle Main Propulsion System provides the impulse to transfer the reusable Orbiter of the Space Shuttle Transportation system and its payload from earth to earth orbit. Both cryogenic and solid rocket propulsion systems are utilized. The selected systems are characterized by (1) reusability wherever possible to reduce program cost, (2) design pressures, and other important design parameters, for the liquid propellant engine significantly higher than past programs for increased performance, and (3) advanced materials and manufacturing processes to withstand the extreme environments. The approaches for solution of these varied problems are emphasized.

Wood, C. C.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Solar Hot Water for a Motor Inn -- Las Vegas, Nevada

Solar hot-water installation at motor inn in Las Vegas, Nevada is described in report containing descriptions of design, philosophy, operation of system and problems and solutions. Provides drawings of solar roof plan, operator's instructions, manufacturers' brochures and copy of acceptance report.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

Alignment of the atmospheric visibility monitoring telescope

Alignment of the first Atmospheric Visibility Monitoring Telescope has revealed errors in mount design, mount manufacture, software, and electronics. This article discusses error sources and solutions, and re-alignment results. Alignment requirements for operation are also presented. The telescope now operates with the desired accuracy and repeatability.

Cowles, K.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Intelligent robotics can boost America's economic growth

A case is made for strategic investment in intelligent robotics as a part of the solution to the problem of improved global competitiveness for U.S. manufacturing, a critical industrial sector. Similar cases are made for strategic investments in intelligent robotics for field applications, construction, and service industries such as health care. The scope of the country's problems and needs is beyond the capability of the private sector alone, government alone, or academia alone to solve independently of the others. National cooperative programs in intelligent robotics are needed with the private sector supplying leadership direction and aerospace and non-aerospace industries conducting the development. Some necessary elements of such programs are outlined. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) can be key players in such national cooperative programs in intelligent robotics for several reasons: (1) human space exploration missions require supervised intelligent robotics as enabling tools and, hence must develop supervised intelligent robotic systems; (2) intelligent robotic technology is being developed for space applications at JSC (but has a strong crosscutting or generic flavor) that is advancing the state of the art and is producing both skilled personnel and adaptable developmental infrastructure such as integrated testbeds; and (3) a NASA JSC Technology Investment Program in Robotics has been proposed based on commercial partnerships and collaborations for precompetitive, dual-use developments.

Erickson, Jon D.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Building on 50 Years of Mission Operations Experience for a New Era of Space Exploration

The U.S. National Space Policy, I the 14-nation Global Exploration Strategy,2 and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) 2006 Strategic Plan3 provide foundational direction for far-ranging missions, from safely flying the Space Shuttle and completing construction of the International Space Station by 2010, to fielding a next generation space transportation system consisting of the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle!Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle!Altair Lunar Lander (fig. 1). Transportation beyond low-Earth orbit will open the frontier for a lunar outpost, where astronauts will harness in-situ resources while exploring this 4 billion-year-old archaeological site, which may hold answers to how the Earth and its satellite were formed. Ultimately, this experience will pave the way for the first human footprint on Mars. In October 2007, NASA" announced assignments for this lunar exploration work.4 The Marshall Space Flight Center is responsible for designing, developing, testing, and evaluating the Ares I and Ares V, which are Space Shuttle derived launch vehicles, along with a number of lunar tasks. The Marshall Center's Engineering Directorate provides the skilled workforce and unique manufacturing, testing, and operational infrastructure needed to deliver space transportation solutions that meet the requirements stated in the Constellation Architecture Requirements Document (CARD). While defining design reference missions to the Station and the Moon, the CARD includes goals that include reducing recurring and nonrecurring costs, while increasing safety and reliability. For this reason, future systems are being designed with operability considerations and lifecycle expenses as independent variables in engineering trade studies.

Onken, Jay F.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Cases for Additive Manufacturing on the International Space Station

There are thousands of plastic or non-structural metal components on the International Space Station (ISS), any of which could require replacing sometime between resupply missions. While these may not be life critical, it can cause significant delays to flight projects that have to wait several weeks to months to receive a key part one that could have been designed and built on-board the ISS within a few hours. A plastic deposition additive manufacturing process is a low-energy, low-mass solution to many common needs on board the ISS.

Cooper, Kenneth G.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Synthetic Biology off Planet for Game-Changing Solutions for a Greener Earth

Synthetic biology – creating new capabilities with life – promises to create a greener future for planet Earth, from fields as diverse as pharmaceuticals to manufacturing, agriculture and nanotechnology. Progress can be stymied by such considerations as economics, politics, legal and philosophical issues surrounding GMOs. Often solutions to these problems already exist, so it is difficult for a new, superior method to displace the old. As we move humans beyond Earth, to long duration stays in the International Space Station, and then onward to the Moon and Mars, the challenges of supporting human life will need radical new solutions. While there are new constraints, such as worrying about the mass of a solution, constraints offer opportunities for game-changing solutions that will then allow revolutions back on our home planet.

Rothschild, Lynn J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Synthetic biology off planet for game-changing solutions for a greener Earth

Synthetic biology – creating new capabilities with life – promises to create a greener future for planet Earth, from fields as diverse as pharmaceuticals to manufacturing, agriculture and nanotechnology. Progress can be stymied by such considerations as economics, politics, legal and philosophical issues surrounding GMOs. Often solutions to these problems already exist, so it is difficult for a new, superior method to displace the old. As we move humans beyond Earth, to long duration stays in the International Space Station, and then onward to the Moon and Mars, the challenges of supporting human life will need radical new solutions. For example, while life on Earth uses an enzymatic machinery which evolved close to 3 billion years ago, synthetic biology promises to be able to engineer the systems to adapt to current natural or industrial environments. A focus on solutions off planet require a focus on a circular economy. While there are new constraints, such as worrying about the mass of a solution, constraints offer opportunities for game-changing solutions that will then allow revolutions back on our home planet.

Lynn J Rothschild↗
NASA NTRS2018

SpiderFab: Process for On-Orbit Construction of Kilometer-Scale Apertures

The SpiderFab effort has investigated the value proposition and feasibility of radically changing the way we build and deploy spacecraft by enabling space systems to fabricate and integrate key components on-orbit. In this Phase II effort, we have focused on developing and demonstrating tools and processes to enable robotic systems to manufacture and assemble high performance structural elements that will serve as the support structures for components such as antennas and solar arrays. Through testing of these technologies in the laboratory environment,these efforts have established the technical feasibility of the key capabilities required for in-space manufacture of large apertures such as antennas, solar arrays, and optical systems,maturing prototype technical solutions for these capabilities to TRL-4. The SpiderFab effort has resulted in successful post-NIAC transition of the technology, first to SBIR-funded development of a technology for in-space manufacture (ISM) of truss structures, and then to a NASA/STMD Tipping Point Technologies funded effort to prepare a flight demonstration of ISM of a structure for a GEO communications satellite.

Manufacturing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Inspectability Metric: A Formalized System Of Measurement Enabling The Design For Inspection Framework

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) engineers are often confronted with structural design choices that present challenges to meeting inspection requirements. These challenges, at best, increase the resources needed to design an inspection solution and, at worst, require resource intensive redesign of the structure. If the inspectability of the structure can be determined early in the design cycle, these challenging inspection scenarios can be avoided. The emergence of additive manufacturing has further compounded this problem by enabling the creation of highly optimized structures with no regard to inspection constraints. Design for inspection (DFI) offers a framework to integrate nondestructive evaluation (NDE) into the design process to alleviate the mechanisms that produce uninspectable designs. DFI is the concept of including inspectability in a multi-objective optimization framework so that it can be considered in parallel to other metrics such as mass and manufacturability. This allows rapid evaluation of the trade-off between design metrics to find solutions that meet the inspection needs of a particular material system, structural concept, or vehicle program. To enable DFI, there must be a system by which the inspectability of a structure can be measured. This system must be agile to produce results quickly, it must be versatile to work with the type of incomplete information one would encounter early in the design process (such as lack of inspection requirements), and it must be delivered in a form that is easily understood by designers. To meet this need, this presentation introduces the novel inspectability metric as a system to measure inspectability. The inspectability metric is a standardized, automation friendly procedure that uses simulations to determine inspectability. Along with guidelines to properly process designs and integrate with existing workflows, the inspectability metric provides a suite of simulation tests to interrogate the ability to find defects and the sensitivity to variability. The testing rubric is designed to maximize the coverage of the parameter space while minimizing the number of simulations needed. The inspectability metric has been in development in collaboration with industry partners to ensure compatibility with modern simulation tools and aerospace design workflows. In this study, we will demonstrate how the inspectability metric is able to determine the inspectability of multiple types of structures, including aerospace composites and additively manufactured parts. We will then show how the inspectability score can be plugged into existing design optimization tasks, such as structural sizing algorithms or design for manufacturing (DFM) frameworks.

Design for inspection↗
NASA NTRS1986

Silicon carbide sintered products and a method for their manufacturing

SiC based sinters are produced by pressureless sintering from a SiC-AlN solid solution containing Al2 to 20, N 0.2 to 10, O 0.2 to 5, a Group IIIB element 0 to 15 percent, the remainder being Si and C. Thus, a 90:10 mixture of SiC and AlN powders were cold pressed at 2000 kg/sq cm and sintered for 5 hours at 2100 C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The resulting product had density of 3.11 g/cu cm and bending strength at ambient and 1400 C at 68.5 and 66.3 kg/sq mm.

Suzuki, K.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Precipitating Chromium Impurities in Silicon Wafers

Two new treatments for silicon wafers improve solar-cell conversion efficiency by precipitating electrically-active chromium impurities. One method is simple heat treatment. Other involves laser-induced damage followed by similar heat treatment. Chromium is one impurity of concern in metallurgical-grade silicon for solar cells. In new treatment, chromium active centers are made electrically inactive by precipitating chromium from solid solution, enabling use of lower grade, lower cost silicon in cell manufacture.

Salama, A. M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

An evaluation of bearings operating in a cryogenic environment with silicon nitride rolling elements

The bearings used in the space shuttle main engine (SSME) high pressure oxidizer turbopump (HPOTP) do not meet the expected life goals that were set for them. In an effort to improve their performance, many solutions are being studied. New bearing materials are being developed, better manufacturing techniques are being investigated, and improved cage materials for better lubrication are being tested. The focus is on the replacement of steel balls with ones made of silicon nitride in 57-mm HPOTP bearings. The bearings were then installed in a test rig and run at near turbopump operating conditions. The results from this test series are encouraging, with silicon nitride showing good wear resistance and thermal stability.

Gibson, H. G.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Mars Exploration Rover Potentiometer Problems, Failures and Lessons Learned

During qualification testing of three types of non-wire-wound precision potentiometers for the Mars Exploration Rover, a variety of problems and failures were encountered. This paper will describe some of the more interesting problems, detail their investigations and present their final solutions. The failures were found to be caused by design errors, manufacturing errors, improper handling, test errors, and carelessness. A trend of decreasing total resistance was noted, and a resistance histogram was used to identify an outlier. A gang fixture is described for simultaneously testing multiple pots, and real time X-ray imaging was used extensively to assist in the failure analyses. Lessons learned are provided.

Balzer, Mark↗
NASA NTRS2006

Mars Exploration Rover potentiometer problems, failures and lessons learned

During qualification testing of three types of nonwire-wound precision potentiometers for the Mars Exploration Rover, a variety of problems and failures were encountered. This paper will describe some of the more interesting problems, detail their investigations and present their final solutions. The failures were found to be caused by design errors, manufacturing errors, improper handling, test errors, and carelessness. A trend of decreasing total resistance was noted, and a resistance histogram was used to identify an outlier. A gang fixture is described for simultaneously testing multiple pots, and real time X-ray imaging was used extensively to assist in the failure analyses. Lessons learned are provided.

potentiometer↗
NASA NTRS2023

NASA High Temperature Alloy Development – GRX-810

Problem: Conventional materials and processing techniques limit the design of combustor domes used in jet turbine engines. Proposed Solution: Develop a high ductility, high temperature material for an additively manufactured (AM) combustor fuel nozzle and dome for supersonic aircraft (>1093°C (2000°F) operating temperature).

T Smith↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Balancing Manufacturability with Performance: Achieving Extrudable, High Thermal Conductivity, and Dielectrically Robust Thermoplastic Composites

Improved thermal management solutions for electrical insulation systems are a priority for increasing efficiency. Although polymeric electrical insulation is ubiquitous, it generally exhibits low thermal conductivities (κ ; 0.1 – 0.3 W/mK). High κ electrical insulation systems are desirable for several reasons including improved heat wicking. Polymer-ceramic composites offer a viable path towards increasing κ of electrical insulation systems. However, processing-induced anisotropic particle orientation can result in prohibitively high concentrations of high κ particles being required to achieve impactful improvements. This work evaluates the effectiveness of a double percolation approach and its impacts on extruded polymer composite insulation κ using polyimide (PI), polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Thermoplastic composite blends of PI/PPSU exhibited a 15% improvement in composite κ at comparable loading levels of hBN relative to mono-polymer material systems. On the other hand, PI/PPSU/hBN composites exhibited lower dielectric strengths than either neat polymer/hBN composite. A trade-off between maximizing material κ and resultant processing and dielectric performances may exist when using a double percolation approach for thermoplastic composites.

Witold K. Fuchs↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Expansion of Additive Manufacturing Capabilities Into in Situ Alloying of Dispersion Strengthened, High Temperature Cu Alloys

New alloys and materials are potentially possible through additive manufacturing’s unique thermal history. Current literature explores the fabrication of eutectic and solid solution strengthened alloys through in-situ alloying, to take advantage of AM’s unique thermal history. The resulting lessons learned by in-situ alloying currently available materials will likely lead to the development of novel materials solely possible through in-situ alloying. This work will expand the application of in-situ alloying via additive manufacturing to NASA’s GRCop-42 (Cu-4at% Cr-2at% Nb), a high temperature copper alloy which has shown success in additively manufactured combustion chambers from pre-alloyed powders. GRCop-42 is unique to literature because a reaction to form the Cr2Nb dispersoids is required during the in-situ alloying. Both reaction completion rate and how input energy from the AM process influences the reaction progress will be evaluated. Ultimately, expansion of in-situ alloying capabilities provides further insight to develop novel materials using AM.

David Steven Scannapieco↗