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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1986

Turbine Engine Hot Section Technology (HOST) Project

The Hot Section Technology (HOST) Project is a NASA-sponsored endeavor to improve the durability of advanced gas turbine engines for commercial and military aircraft. Through improvements in the analytical models and life prediction systems, designs for future hot section components, the combustor and turbine, will be more accurately analyzed and will incorporate features required for longer life in the more hostile operating environment of high performance engines.

Sokolowski, Daniel E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The poststall nonlinear dynamics and control of an F-18: A preliminary investigation

The successful high angle of attack (HAOA) operation of fighter aircraft will necessarily require the introduction of a new onboard control methodology that address the nonlinearity of the system when flown at the stall/poststall limits of the craft's flight envelope. As a precursor to this task, a researcher endeavored to familarize himself with the dynamics of one specific aircraft, the F-18, when it is flown at HAOA. This was accomplished by conducting a number of real time flight sorties using the NASA-Langley Research Center's F-18 simulator, which was operated with a pilot in the loop. In addition to developing a first hand familarity with the aircraft's dynamic characteristic at HAOA, work was also performed to identify the input/output operational footprint of the F-18's control surfaces. This investigator proposes to employ the nonlinear models of the plant identified this summer in a subsequent research effort that will make it possible to fly the F-18 effectively at poststall angles of attack. The controller design used there will rely on a new technique proposed by this investigator that provides for the automatic generation of online optimal control solutions for nonlinear dynamic systems.

Patten, William N.↗
NASA NTRS1988

How successful were the lunar sampling tools: Implications for sampling Mars

Like the Mars Sample Return endeavor, the Apollo lunar-sample program began with definition of strategy for sample collection and of scientific requirements for sampling hardware design. Several lessons can be illustrated by specific tools. The evolution of drive tubes from narrow 2 cm diameter, thick-walled tubes (used on Apollo 11, 12 and 14) to 4 cm diameter, thin-walled tubes used on Apollo 15, 16, and 17) as an example of the improvements made possible during multiple missions. The original Apollo 11 drive tube was designed to work in fluffy soil; thus, only 50 percent of the relatively dense lunar soil was recovered, and the core was distorted. The final configuration resulted in nearly 100 pct recovery with little distortion. The surface samplers (Contact Soil Sampling Devices) were designed to collect the upper 100 micrometer or the upper 1 mm of soil. It was over 2 years after the mission before these particularly specific samplers were opened because interest in them waned. Both core tubes and surface samplers were difficult to open in the laboratory. The Apollo Lunar Sample Return Containers (ALSRCs) were constructed with one indium and 2 Viton seals. They were closed on the lunar surface. Interior container pressures measured upon return to the laboratory indicate that these seals were not reliable in the lunar environment. Also, choice of indium as a sealing material interfered with siderophile analyses of samples.

Allton, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Get Away Special (GAS): Educational applications of space flight

The Small Self-Contained Payloads (SCCP) program, commonly known as the Get Away Special (GAS) is discussed. The program allows a person to place a small self-contained experimental payload on the Space Shuttle at a very low cost. The payloads must be of peaceful intent and an engineering and/or science endeavor. The prime objective of the GAS program is to foster enthusiasm in the younger generation in the use of space. The paper presents the history of the program, its interaction with the educational/industrial relationship, some educational objectives, and predictions for the future.

Gerondakis, George G.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Center for Advanced Space Propulsion (CASP)

With a mission to initiate and conduct advanced propulsion research in partnership with industry, and a goal to strengthen U.S. national capability in propulsion technology, the Center for Advanced Space Propulsion (CASP) is the only NASA Center for Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) which focuses on propulsion and associated technologies. Meetings with industrial partners and NASA Headquarters personnel provided an assessment of the constraints placed on, and opportunities afforded commercialization projects. Proprietary information, data rights, and patent rights were some of the areas where well defined information is crucial to project success and follow-on efforts. There were five initial CASP projects. At the end of the first year there are six active, two of which are approaching the ground test phase in their development. Progress in the current six projects has met all milestones and is detailed. Working closely with the industrial counterparts it was found that the endeavors in expert systems development, computational fluid dynamics, fluid management in microgravity, and electric propulsion were well received. One project with the Saturn Corporation which dealt with expert systems application in the assembly process, was placed on hold pending further direction from Saturn. The Contamination Measurment and Analysis project was not implemented since CASP was unable to identify an industrial participant. Additional propulsion and related projects were investigated during the year. A subcontract was let to a small business, MicroCraft, Inc., to study rocket engine certification standards. The study produced valuable results; however, based on a number of factors it was decided not to pursue this project further.

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NASA NTRS1988

Agenda of the Fourth Annual Summer Conference, NASA/USRA University Advanced Design Program

Presentations given by the participants at the fourth annual summer conference of the NASA/USRA University Advanced Design Program are summarized. The study topics include potential space and aeronautics projects which could be undertaken during a 20 to 30 year period beginning with the Space Station Initial Operating Configuration (IOC) scheduled for the early to mid-1990's. This includes system design studies for both manned and unmanned endeavors; e.g., lunar launch and landing facilities and operations, variable artificial gravity facility for the Space Station, manned Mars aircraft and delivery system, long term space habitat, construction equipment for lunar bases, Mars oxygen production system, trans-Pacific high speed civil transport, V/STOL aircraft concepts, etc.

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NASA NTRS1988

Laboratory for Oceans

A review is made of the activities of the Laboratory for Oceans. The staff and the research activities are nearly evenly divided between engineering and scientific endeavors. The Laboratory contributes engineering design skills to aircraft and ground based experiments in terrestrial and atmospheric sciences in cooperation with scientists from labs in Earth sciences.

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NASA NTRS1989

Microgravity combustion science: A program overview

The promise of microgravity combustion research is introduced by way of a brief survey of results, the available set of reduced gravity facilities, and plans for experimental capabilities in the Space Station era. The study of fundamental combustion processes in a microgravity environment is a relatively new scientific endeavor. A few simple, precursor experiments were conducted in the early 1970's. Today the advent of the U.S. space shuttle and the anticipation of the Space Station Freedom provide for scientists and engineers a special opportunity, in the form of long duration microgravity laboratories, and need, in the form of spacecraft fire safety and a variety of terrestrial applications, to pursue fresh insight into the basic physics of combustion. The microgravity environment enables a new range of experiments to be performed since buoyancy-induced flows are nearly eliminated, normally obscured forces and flows may be isolated, gravitational settling or sedimentation is nearly eliminated, and larger time or length scales in experiments become permissible. The range of experiments completed to date was not broad, but is growing. Unexpected phenomena have been observed often in microgravity combustion experiments, raising questions about the degree of accuracy and completion of our classical understanding and our ability to estimate spacecraft fire hazards. Because of the field's relative immaturity, instrumentation has been restricted primarily to high-speed photography. To better explain these findings, more sophisticated diagnostic instrumentation, similar to that evolving in terrestrial laboratories, is being developed for use on Space Station Freedom and, along the way, in existing microgravity facilities.

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NASA NTRS1988

The tether inspection and repair experiment (TIRE)

The successful development and deployment of reusable tethers for space applications will require methods for detecting, locating, and repairing damage to the tether. This requirement becomes especially important whenever the safety of the STS or the Space Station may be diminished or when critical supplies or systems would be lost in the event of a tether failure. A joint NASA/PSN study endeavor has recently been initiated to evaluate and address the problems to be solved for such an undertaking. The objectives of the Tether Inspection and Repair Experiment (TIRE) are to develop instrumentation and repair technology for specific classes of tethers defined as standards, and to demonstrate the technologies in ground-based and in-flight testing on the STS.

Wood, George M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Computational Fluid Dynamics For Helicopters

Powerful computer codes undergoing development. Report reviews development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for prediction of airflow around rotary wings of helicopters. Reviews progress in following endeavors: Prediction and verification of flows under various operating conditions; calculation of interactions between rotor blades and vortexes; analysis of viscous, transonic flows about airfoils; and study of formation of vortexes at tips of rotors.

Caradonna, F. X.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Propagation Of Pulse Vibrations In Large Structures

Study yields new insights into propagation of pulse-excited vibrations in large, complicated structures. Special attention paid to dispersion, damping, and trapping of pulses. Understanding of these effects help such endeavors as designing tall, thin buildings to resist high winds and earthquakes.

Zak, Michail↗
NASA NTRS1989

Report on orbital debris

The success of space endeavors depends upon a space environment sufficiently free of debris to enable the safe and dependable operation of spacecraft. An environment overly cluttered with debris would threaten the ability to utilize space for a wide variety of scientific, technological, military, and commercial purposes. Man made space debris (orbital debris) differs from natural meteoroids because it remains in earth orbit during its lifetime and is not transient through the space around the Earth. The orbital debris environment is considered. The space environment is described along with sources of orbital debris. The current national space policy is examined, along with ways to minimize debris generation and ways to survive the debris environment. International efforts, legal issues and commercial regulations are also examined.

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NASA NTRS1989

Hypersonic nozzle design

Possible experimental facilities appropriate to a university environment that could make meaningful contributions to the solution of problems in hypersonic aerodynamics are investigated. Needs for the National Aerospace Plane and interplanetary flights with atmospheric aerobraking are used to scope the problem. Relevant events of the past two decades in universities and at the national laboratories are examined for their implications regarding both problems and prospects. Most striking is the emergence of computational fluid dynamics, which is viewed here as an equal partner with laboratory experimentation and flight test in relating theory with reality. Also significant are major advances in instrumentation and data processing methods, especially optical techniques. The direction of the study was guided by the concept of a companion program, i.e., the university effort should complement a major area of endeavor at NASA-Langley. Through this, both faculty and student participants gain a natural and effective working relationship. Existing and proposed major hypersonic aerodynamic facilities in industry and at the national laboratories are examined by type; hypersonic wind tunnels, arc-heated tunnels, shock tubes and tunnels, and ballistic ranges. Of these, the free piston tunnel and shock tube/tunnel are most appropriate for a university.

Griffith, Wayland C.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Microgravity noncontact temperature requirements at NASA Lewis Research Center

NASA Lewis Research Center is currently supporting 66 microgravity science and applications projects. The 66 projects are separated into 23 flight projects and 43 ground-based projects. The part of the NASA Lewis program dealing with flight experiments is divided into six areas: Combustion Science, Materials Science, Fluid Physics, Instrumentation/Equipment, Advanced Technology Development, and Space Station Multi-User Facility studies. The part of the NASA Lewis program dealing with ground-based experiments is coincidentally also divided into six areas: Electronic Materials, Combustion Science, Fluid Dynamics and Transport Phenomena, Metals and Alloys, Glasses and Ceramics, and Physics and Chemistry Experiments. Several purposes exist for ground-based experimenting. Preliminary information is necessary before a decision can be made for flight status, the short low gravity durations available in ground facilities are adequate for a particular study, or extensive ground-based research must be conducted to define and support the microgravity science endeavors contemplated for space. Not all of the 66 microgravity science and application projects at NASA Lewis have temperature requirements, but most do. Since space allocation does not permit a review of all the pertinent projects, a decision was made to restrict the coverage to the science flight projects, flight projects minus the advanced technology development, and multiuser facility efforts. Very little is lost by this decision as the types of temperature requirements for science flight projects can be considered representative of those for the ground-based projects. The noncontact temperature needs at NASA Lewis, as represented by the science flight projects are discussed by describing briefly the experiments themselves, by displaying an illustration of each experimental setup, and by specifying their temperature requisites.

Santoro, G.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Supporting tools of solar-terrestrial science

Solar-terrestrial science is pursued by individuals and teams of workers situated in academia, research institutes, industry, and government laboratories. Progress in the field is made in various ways, but publication of results in scientific journals is the principal means of assuring that the knowledge gained from research is available to the public, now and in the future. In general, much of the research in the field is made via careful evaluation of data viewed in the context of fundamental physical principles as set forth in theoretical and analytical models, and computer simulations of physical processes. In addition, there is accumulation of knowledge expressed in the development of empirical or phenomenological models. Experience gained over the past three decades of solar-terrestrial research indicated that advances in the field require a diversity of resources and that the health of the entire discipline depends upon a balance among these. To maintain the health of the discipline, NASA and other federal funding agencies concerned with solar-terrestrial research must work together to insure that the following resources are available in reasonable measure to support solar-terrestrial research endeavors: ground-based facilities; balloons and rockets; spaceborne experiments; information networks; computational resources; models of solar terrestrial processes; data bases and archives; and research students.

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NASA NTRS1989

The use of graphics in the design of the human-telerobot interface

The Man-Systems Telerobotics Laboratory (MSTL) of NASA's Johnson Space Center employs computer graphics tools in their design and evaluation of the Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) human/telerobot interface on the Shuttle and on the Space Station. It has been determined by the MSTL that the use of computer graphics can promote more expedient and less costly design endeavors. Several specific examples of computer graphics applied to the FTS user interface by the MSTL are described.

Stuart, Mark A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Stereopsis cueing effects on hover-in-turbulence performance in a simulated rotorcraft

The efficacy of stereopsis cueing in pictorial displays was assessed in a real-time piloted simulation experiment of a rotorcraft precision hover-in-turbulence task. Seven pilots endeavored to maintain a hover by visually aligning a set of inner and outer wickets (major elements of a real-world pictorial display, thus attaining the desired hover position, in a full factorial experimental design. The display conditions examined included the presence or absence of a velocity display element (a velocity head-up display) as well as the stereopsis cueing conditions, which included non-stereo (binoptic or monoscopic - no depth cues other than those provided by a perspective, real-world display), stereo 3-D, and hyper stereo (telestereoscopic). Subjective and objective results indicated that the depth cues provided by the stereo displays enhanced the situational awareness of the pilot and enabled improved hover performance to be achieved. The velocity display element also improved the hover performance, with the best hover performance being achieved with the combined use of stereo and the velocity display element. Pilot control input data revealed that less control action was required to attain the improved hover performance with the stereo displays.

Parrish, Russell V.↗
NASA NTRS1989

The partnership: Space shuttle, space science, and space station

An overview of the NASA Space Station Program functions, design, and planned implementation is presented. The discussed functions for the permanently manned space facility include: (1) development of new technologies and related commercial products; (2) observations of the Earth and the universe; (3) provision of service facilities for resupply, maintenance, upgrade and repair of payloads and spacecraft; (4) provision of a transportation node for stationing, processing and dispatching payloads and vehicles; (5) provision of manufacturing and assembly facilities; (6) provision of a storage depot for parts and payloads; and (7) provision of a staging base for future space endeavors. The fundamental concept for the Space Station, as given, is that it be designed, operated, and evolved in response to a broad variety of scientific, technological, and commercial user interests. The Space Shuttle's role as the principal transportation system for the construction and maintenance of the Space Station and the servicing and support of the station crew is also discussed.

Culbertson, Philip E.↗