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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 NTRS1972

An isotope heat source integrated with a 7 kW/e/ to 25 kW/e/ Brayton cycle space power supply.

The power system described is intended for applications in a manned space mission. The Isotope Reentry Vehicle (IRV) developed is considered together with the Heat Source (HS), the Heat Source Heat Exchanger and the Brayton Cycle Power Conversion Module. Other subjects discussed include the IRV/Brayton cycle spacecraft integration concept, abort and deorbit mechanization, emergency cooling methods, and crew shielding requirements. Mounting and integration for the IRV is to a large degree controlled by nuclear safety requirements. Another major factor in the installation concept is the type of emergency cooling or passive heat dump mode used in rejection of HS energy.

Ryan, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Double metalization for VLSI

Postsintering process increases yield of double-layer metal conductors to almost 100 percent. When wafers containing double-metalized chips are sintered, metal layers react with oxide film remaining in insulation layer holes, breaking it up so that it no longer impedes electric current. Cooling also mechanically disrupts oxide film.

Trotter, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The E3 combustors - Status and challenges

The technology programs for the Energy Efficient Engine (E3) combustors are outlined, status and test results to date are summarized, and present and future challenges indicated. The NASA-sponsored programs, which are being conducted at the General Electric Company and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, are making important technology advances. Both combustor designs utilize an annular configuration with two-zone combustion for low emissions, advanced liners for improved durability, and short, curved-wall, dump prediffusers for compactness. Advanced cooling techniques and segmented construction characterize the advanced liners in both programs. Liner segments are made from castable, turbine-type materials. At this time, analysis and design activities have been completed; experimental evaluations are progressing. Test results are verifying both design concepts for combustion, cooling, and mechanical integrity. All goals appear capable of being met, with the exception of NO(x).

Sokolowski, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The atmosphere of Venus: Recent findings; Proceedings of the Workshop III of the 25th COSPAR Plenary Meeting, Graz, Austria, June 25-July 7, 1984

Topics discussed include the structure and dynamics of the Venus atmosphere below 100 km, radiation and chemistry below 100 km, the neutral upper atmosphere, the ionosphere, and solar wind interaction. Papers are presented on infrared spectrometry of Venus from Venera 15 and Venera 16, recent results on the Venus atmosphere from Pioneer Venus radio occultations, absorption of solar energy and the heating rate in the atmosphere of Venus, long term changes in Venus sulfur dioxide, and mechanisms of cooling of the nightside thermosphere of Venus. Also considered are recent advances in model calculations of the Venus ionosphere, current-driven plasma instabilities and auroral-type particle acceleration at Venus, and plasma measurements in the Venus near wake.

Keating, G. M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Is the Venusian lithosphere subducting?

Using data collected by the Magellan spacecraft, we are exploring the hypothesis that the cooler and more rigid outer layer of Venus (i.e., the lithosphere) is sinking (subducting) into the interior of Venus. If this process is occurring, it provides a mechanism for cooling the interior of Venus and also for recycling the lighter crustal rocks back into the interior. In addition, since subduction zones drive the plate tectonic motion on the Earth, evidence for lithospheric subduction on Venus raises the possibility of limited plate tectonic-like activity on Venus.

Sandwell, David T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Constraints on the acceleration of anomalous cosmic rays

The recent determination of an upper limit of 0.2 pc on the distance to the source of the anomalous cosmic rays, and the implied upper limit on their age imposes a significant observational constraint on possible acceleration mechanisms. Adiabatic cooling in the expanding wind makes the constraints significantly more stringent. In the light of these constraints, the rate of second-order Fermi acceleration is much too low to play a significant role. Diffusive shock acceleration, even at the strong termination shock of the solar wind, is sufficient only if one discards the standard expression for the maximum acceleration rate based on the Bohm limit. Only diffusive acceleration at the quasi-perpendicular solar wind termination shock has a high enough acceleration rate to be the source of the anomalous component.

Jokipii, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

An inquiry into the cirrus-cloud thermostat effect for tropical sea surface temperature

In this paper, we investigate the relative importance of local vs remote control on cloud radiative forcing using a cumulus ensemble model. It is found that cloud and surface radiation forcings are much more sensitive to the mean vertical motion assoicated with large scale tropical circulation than to the local SST (sea surface temperature). When the local SST is increased with the mean vertical motion held constant, increased surface latent and sensible heat flux associated with enhanced moisture recycling is found to be the primary mechanism for cooling the ocean surface. Large changes in surface shortwave fluxes are related to changes in cloudiness induced by changes in the large scale circulation. These results are consistent with a number of earlier empirical studies, which raised concerns regarding the validity of the cirrus-thermostat hypothesis (Ramanathan and Collins, 1991). It is argued that for a better understanding of cloud feedback, both local and remote controls need to be considered and that a cumulus ensemble model is a powerful tool that should be explored for such purpose.

Lau, K.-M.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Optical Design of the Developmental Cryogenic Active Telescope Testbed (DCATT)

In the summer of 1996, three Study teams developed conceptual designs and mission architectures for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST). Each group highlighted areas of technology development that need to be further advanced to meet the goals of the NGST mission. The most important areas for future study included: deployable structures, lightweight optics, cryogenic optics and mechanisms, passive cooling, and on-orbit closed loop wavefront sensing and control. NASA and industry are currently planning to develop a series of ground testbeds and validation flights to demonstrate many of these technologies. The Deployed Cryogenic Active Telescope Testbed (DCATT) is a system level testbed to be developed at Goddard Space Flight Center in three phases over an extended period of time. This testbed will combine an actively controlled telescope with the hardware and software elements of a closed loop wavefront sensing and control system to achieve diffraction limited imaging at 2 microns. We will present an overview of the system level requirements, a discussion of the optical design, and results of performance analyses for the Phase 1 ambient concept for DCATT,

Davila, Pam↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cryogenic Vacuum Chamber Testing of A Conductively-Cooled, High Temperature Superconducting Rotor for a 1.4 MW Electric Machine for Aeronautics Applications

This paper presents the second ever demonstration of a superconducting rotor cooled only via conductive connection to a cryocooler, i.e., without pumped or solid cryogens. The fullscale rotor was operated statically in its intended environment – about 1e-3 torr vacuum with only conductive cooling through mechanical connections to a cryocooler contained on the rotor. Stable operation of the rotor in a representative magnetic environment was demonstrated up to its rated direct current (57.2 A) and the designed temperature limit for the superconductor (62 K). Additional electrical measurements increased confidence that the superconducting coils functioned as intended. A collection of steady state temperature distributions was measured at operating and non-operating conditions. In all but one case, the observed temperature gradient between the cold tip and superconducting coils satisfies the design but with little margin. Opportunities to reduce the gradient are identified.

Electrified aircraft propulsion↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cryogenic Vacuum Chamber Testing of A Conductively-Cooled, High Temperature Superconducting Rotor for a 1.4 MW Electric Machine for Aeronautics Applications

This paper presents the first ever demonstration of a superconducting rotor cooled conductively without a cryogenic fluid or solid. The full-scale rotor was operated statically in its intended environment – about 1e-3 torr vacuum with only conductive cooling through mechanical connections to a cryocooler contained on the rotor. Stable operation of the rotor in a representative magnetic environment was demonstrated up to its rated direct current (57.2 A) and the designed temperature limit for the superconductor (62 K). Additional electrical measurements increased confidence that the superconducting coils functioned as intended. A collection of steady state temperature distributions was measured at operating and non-operating conditions. In all but one case, the observed temperature gradient between the cold tip and superconducting coils satisfies the design but with little margin. Opportunities to reduce the gradient are identified.

Electrified aircraft propulsion↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thermal Design, Analysis, and Testing of a Conductively-Cooled, High Temperature Superconducting Rotor for a 1.4 MW Electric Machine for Aeronautics Applications

This presentation covers the second ever demonstration of a superconducting rotor cooled only via conductive connection to a cryocooler, i.e., without pumped or solid cryogens. The full-scale rotor was operated statically in its intended environment – about 1e-3 torr vacuum with only conductive cooling through mechanical connections to a cryocooler contained on the rotor. Stable operation of the rotor in a representative magnetic environment was demonstrated up to its rated direct current (57.2 A) and the designed temperature limit for the superconductor (62 K). In all but one case, the observed temperature gradient between the cold tip and superconducting coils satisfies the design but with little margin. Thermal modeling and correlation with test data is presented identifying the areas of largest discrepancy. Opportunities to reduce the temperature gradient are identified.

electrified aircraft propulsion↗
DOE OSTI2024

, Experimental Investigation of Electrically Charged Water Droplets Two-Phase Cross-Flow Interactions with Humid

Electrically charged water droplets can capture water vapor molecules in surrounding moist air and promote vapor condensation. This concept unfolds an alternative to mechanical cooling-based air dehumidification systems that separate sensible and latent cooling loads in HVAC applications. The effect of dielectrophoresis, electro-hydrodynamic, and micro-diffusive flows due to highly electrically charged water droplets traveling through moist air were investigated as new methods to reduce the air’s water vapor content. This paper presents new experimental data on humidification and power consumption for a system consisting of highly energized electrosprays in combination with mist eliminators. Electrosprays produced highly charged water spray cones crossing the air perpendicularly and upwardly. The moist air stream was circulated in a horizontal duct at 22C, 80% relative humidity, and 0.24 ms-1 airspeed. Mist eliminators made of stainless wire clothes of 36 and 25 μm pore diameter were used to screen the droplets growing during their flight trajectory. The mist eliminators blocked some of the largest diameter droplets. Still, they could not prevent re-evaporation of the droplets into the bulk air from the droplets deposited on their wire clothes. The equilibrium between the dielectrophoresis condensation from the electrosprays and the droplets’ re-evaporation phenomena resulted in reduced humidification when compared to conventional-type spray evaporative cooling systems. However, to dehumidify the air, the droplets injected by the electrosprays must be separated entirely and promptly removed from the bulk airflow at the end of their flight trajectory.

Electrostatic droplets, Electrospray, humidificati↗
DOE OSTI2023

Upgrade of the mechanically pumped CO 2 two-phase cooling system for the alpha magnetic spectrometer on the international space station

This study describes the successful upgrade of a mechanically pumped CO 2 two-phase cooling system in space by designing a new pump module for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 on the International Space Station. Key factors for mission success are emphasized, including achieving high coolant filling accuracy within 10% of the target and maintaining system stability within ±1 °C. The impact of adding radiators to improve cooling efficiency is examined, and it is found that operating multi-radiators out-of-phase does not significantly affect system reliability. The centrifugal pump design is shown to allow for better lubricant circulation, while the in-house designed controller incorporates protective measures to prevent cavitation, overheating, and over-current. Further, this research advances the understanding of circulation loop systems and their upgrades in space and demonstrates the potential for extending the lifetime of space-borne mechanically pumped two-phase cooling systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thin hybrid capillary two-phase cooling system

A novel hybrid two-phase cooling system was developed that integrated a mechanically pumped two-phase loop with a capillary-driven two-phase cooling device. The latter cooling mechanism was based on evaporation/boiling from wick structures made by sintering copper particles on the interior surfaces of a copper cold plate. The cold plate provided cooling to two surfaces and each of them included four heaters in series. The novelty of the developed technology was preventing flooding of the evaporator wicks by isolating the evaporation surface from the pumped liquid flow that fed them. This arrangement allowed for a high liquid feed flow rate much greater than would be allowed by a capillary pumped system while maintaining a low thermal resistance at the evaporation surface. Using this approach, the cooling system removed over 850 W with a low pumping power below 1.0 W while using R245fa as the working fluid. The equivalent heat fluxes exceeded 970 W/cm 2 over areas less than 0.12 cm 2 . The measured thermal resistance was as low as 0.09 K-cm 2 /W. The presented thermal management solution enables an increase in the power of high heat flux electronic devices beyond the state-of-the-art.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1993

Turntable mechanism

In vacuum plasma spraying a turntable must be provided which not only makes it possible to rotate and tilt a heavy workpiece, but to operate at vacuum plasma temperatures to do so. In the vacuum plasma coating of large parts such as combustion chambers of rocket engines, the workpiece must not only be rotated, but it must be tilted. Hence, the turntable must be capable not only of supporting heavy parts, but of angulating such heavy workpieces. And this must be done without drive means failure due to extremely high temperatures under which the turntable mechanism is operated. A turntable mechanism is provided which is capable of operating under such conditions. For cooling the turntable drive mechanism, internal cooling means are included.

Myers, William Neill↗
NASA NTRS1995

Hot bottom burning in asymptotic giant branch stars and its effect on oxygen isotopic abundances

A self-consistent calculation of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) evolution was carried out, including nucleosynthesis at the base of the convective envelope (hot bottom burning). Hot bottom burning was found to occur for stars between approximately 4.5 and approximately 7 solar mass, producing envelopes with O-18/O-16 less than or equal to 10(exp -6) and 10(exp -3) approximately less than or equal O-17/O-16 approximately less than or equal to 10(exp -1). The O-17 abundance depends sensitively on the nuclear O-17-destruction rate; this rate is only loosely constrained by the requirement that first and second dredge-up models match O-isotope observations of red giant branch (RGB) stars (Boothroyd, Sackmann, & Wasserburg 1994). In some cases, high mass-loss rates can terminate hot bottom burning before further O-17 enrichment takes place or even before all O-18 is destroyed. These predictions are in accord with the very limited stellar observations of J type carbon stars on the AGB and with some of the circumstellar Al2O3 grains from meteorites. In contrast, precise data from a number of grains and data from most low-mass S and C AGB stars (approximately less than 1.7 solar mass) lie in a region of the O-18/O-16 versus O-17/O-16 diagram that is not accessible by first and second dredge-up or by hot bottom burning. We conclude that for AGB stars, the standard models of stellar evolution are not in accord with these observations. We surmise that an additional mixing mechanism must exist that transports material from the cool bottom of the stellar convective envelope to a depth at which O-18 is destroyed. This 'cool bottom processing' mechanism on the AGB is similar to extra mixing mechanisms proposed to explain the excess C-13 (and depleted C-12) observed in the earlier RGB stage of evolution and the large Li-7 depletion observed in low-mass main-sequence stars.

Boothroyd, Arnold I.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Dust grains in a hot gas. I - Basic physics. II - Astrophysical applications

The interaction of graphite grains with a hot gas is investigated. Detailed computations, based on experimental data and simple theoretical models are presented of the energy transfer by gas particle collisions and of the sputtering rates and grain lifetimes, as functions of gas temperature and grain radius. The electric charge on the grains is calculated, and the effect of electric forces on mechanical stability is discussed. The rate at which the gas cools by this mechanism is evaluated. The results of the work on gas-grain cooling and sputtering rates are applied to various astrophysical environments where dust and hot gas may coexist. The effect is studied of swept-up interstellar grains on the evolution of young supernova remnants, and the infrared luminosity is computed as a function of the age of the remnant. An interpretation is proposed of far-infrared sources embedded in compact H II regions or dense clouds, in terms of the supernova phenomenon, with specific application to eta Carinae. The question of the existence of dust in intergalactic matter in galaxy clusters is also reexamined.

Burke, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A comparison of superconductor and manganin technology for electronic links used in space mission applications

The electronic link connecting cryogenically cooled radiation detectors to data acquisition and signal processing electronics at higher temperatures contributes significantly to the total heat load on spacecraft cooling systems that use combined mechanical and cryogenic liquid cooling. Using high transition temperature superconductors for this link has been proposed to increase the lifetime of space missions. Herein, several YBCO (YBa2Cu3O7) superconductor-substrate combinations were examined and total heat loads were compared to manganin wire technology in current use. Using numerical solutions to the heat-flow equations, it is shown that replacing manganin technology with YBCO thick film technology can extend a 7-year mission by up to 1 year.

Caton, R.↗