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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

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NASA NTRS1986

Microcomputer-based programmable optical signal processor

A microcomputer-based real-time programmable optical signal processing system utilizing a magneto-optic spatial light modulator (MOSLM) and a liquid crystal light valve (LCLV) is described. This system can perform a myriad of complicated optical operations, such as image correlation, image subtraction, and matrix multiplication. Its important asserts are its programmability and the capability of real-time addressing. These are important for telerobotic vision in space automation applications. Design specifications and suggestions for practical implementation of the system are discussed. Some preliminary experimental demonstrations are conducted to demonstrate applications of the proposed system to image correlation for optical pattern recognition, image subtraction for lC chip inspection, and matrix multiplication for optical computing.

Yu, F. T. S.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Dry Ribbon for Heated Head Automated Fiber Placement

Ply-by-ply in situ processes involving automated heated head deposition are being developed for fabrication of high performance, high temperature composite structures from low volatile content polymer matrices. This technology requires (1) dry carbon fiber towpreg, (2) consolidation of towpreg to quality, placement-grade unidirectional ribbon or tape, and (3) rapid, in situ, accurate, ply-by-ply robotic placement and consolidation of this material to fabricate a composite structure. In this study, the physical properties of a candidate thermoplastic ribbon, PIXA/IM7, were evaluated and screened for suitability in robotic placement. Specifically, towpreg was prepared from PIXA powder. Various conditions (temperatures) were used to convert the powder-coated towpreg to ribbons with varying degrees of processability. Ribbon within preset specifications was fabricated at 3 temperatures: 390, 400 and 410 C. Ribbon was also produced out-of-spec by purposely overheating the material to a processing temperature of 450 C. Automated placement equipment at Cincinnati Milacron and NASA Langley was used to fabricate laminates from these experimental ribbons. Ribbons were placed at 405 and 450 C by both sets of equipment. Double cantilever beam and wedge peel tests were used to determine the quality of the laminates and, especially, the interlaminar bond formed during the placement process. Ribbon made under conditions expected to be non-optimal (overheated) resulted in poor placeability and composites with weak interlaminar bond strengths, regardless of placement conditions. Ribbon made under conditions expected to be ideal showed good processability and produced well-consolidated laminates. Results were consistent from machine to machine and demonstrated the importance of ribbon quality in heated-head placement of dry material forms. Preliminary screening criteria for the development and evaluation of ribbon from new matrix materials were validated.

Hulcher, A. Bruce↗

NASA NTRS2024

Ultra-Light, Strong, and Self-Reprogrammable Mechanical Metamaterials

Versatile programmable materials have long been envisioned that can reconfigure themselves to adapt to changing use cases in adaptive infrastructure, space exploration, disaster response, and more. We introduce a robotic structural system as an implementation of programmable matter, with mechanical performance and scale on par with conventional high-performance materials and truss systems. Fiber reinforced composite truss-like building-blocks form strong, stiff, and lightweight lattice structures as mechanical metamaterials. Two types of mobile robots operate over the exterior surface and through the interior of the system, performing transport, placement, and reversible fastening using the intrinsic lattice periodicity for indexing and metrology. Leveraging programmable matter algorithms to achieve scalability in size and complexity, this system design enables robust collective automated assembly and reconfiguration of large structures with simple robots. We describe the system design and experimental results from a 256-unit cell assembly demonstration and lattice mechanical testing, as well as demonstration of disassembly and reconfiguration. The assembled structural lattice material exhibits ultra-light mass density (0.0103 g/cc) with high strength and stiffness for its weight (0.01117 MPa and 1.1129 MPa, respectively), a material performance realm appropriate for applications like space structures. With simple robots and structure, high mass-specific structural performance, and competitive throughput, this system demonstrates potential for self-reconfiguring autonomous metamaterials for diverse applications.

Robotics↗

NASA NTRS1992

Automating FEA programming

In this paper we briefly describe a combined symbolic and numeric approach for solving mathematical models on parallel computers. An experimental software system, PIER, is being developed in Common Lisp to synthesize computationally intensive and domain formulation dependent phases of finite element analysis (FEA) solution methods. Quantities for domain formulation like shape functions, element stiffness matrices, etc., are automatically derived using symbolic mathematical computations. The problem specific information and derived formulae are then used to generate (parallel) numerical code for FEA solution steps. A constructive approach to specify a numerical program design is taken. The code generator compiles application oriented input specifications into (parallel) FORTRAN77 routines with the help of built-in knowledge of the particular problem, numerical solution methods and the target computer.

Sharma, Naveen↗

NASA NTRS2015

Computational Modeling and Experimental Characterization of Martensitic Transformations in Nicoal for Self-Sensing Materials

Fundamental changes to aero-vehicle management require the utilization of automated health monitoring of vehicle structural components. A novel method is the use of self-sensing materials, which contain embedded sensory particles (SP). SPs are micron-sized pieces of shape-memory alloy that undergo transformation when the local strain reaches a prescribed threshold. The transformation is a result of a spontaneous rearrangement of the atoms in the crystal lattice under intensified stress near damaged locations, generating acoustic waves of a specific spectrum that can be detected by a suitably placed sensor. The sensitivity of the method depends on the strength of the emitted signal and its propagation through the material. To study the transition behavior of the sensory particle inside a metal matrix under load, a simulation approach based on a coupled atomistic-continuum model is used. The simulation results indicate a strong dependence of the particle's pseudoelastic response on its crystallographic orientation with respect to the loading direction and suggest possible ways of optimizing particle sensitivity. The technology of embedded sensory particles will serve as the key element in an autonomous structural health monitoring system that will constantly monitor for damage initiation in service, which will enable quick detection of unforeseen damage initiation in real-time and during onground inspections.

Wallace, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Experimental Demonstration of Technologies for Autonomous On-Orbit Robotic Assembly

The Modular Reconfigurable High Energy (MRHE) program aimed to develop technologies for the automated assembly and deployment of large-scale space structures and aggregate spacecraft. Part of the project involved creation of a terrestrial robotic testbed for validation and demonstration of these technologies and for the support of future development activities. This testbed was completed in 2005, and was thereafter used to demonstrate automated rendezvous, docking, and self-assembly tasks between a group of three modular robotic spacecraft emulators. This paper discusses the rationale for the MRHE project, describes the testbed capabilities, and presents the MRHE assembly demonstration sequence.

LeMaster, Edward A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Automated solar panel assembly line

The initial stage of the automated solar panel assembly line program was devoted to concept development and proof of approach through simple experimental verification. In this phase, laboratory bench models were built to demonstrate and verify concepts. Following this phase was machine design and integration of the various machine elements. The third phase was machine assembly and debugging. In this phase, the various elements were operated as a unit and modifications were made as required. The final stage of development was the demonstration of the equipment in a pilot production operation.

Somberg, H.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Analysis of relativistic nucleus-nucleus interactions in emulsion chambers

The development of a computer-assisted method is reported for the determination of the angular distribution data for secondary particles produced in relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions in emulsions. The method is applied to emulsion detectors that were placed in a constant, uniform magnetic field and exposed to beams of 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon O-16 ions at the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) of the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN). Linear regression analysis is used to determine the azimuthal and polar emission angles from measured track coordinate data. The software, written in BASIC, is designed to be machine independent, and adaptable to an automated system for acquiring the track coordinates. The fitting algorithm is deterministic, and takes into account the experimental uncertainty in the measured points. Further, a procedure for using the track data to estimate the linear momenta of the charged particles observed in the detectors is included.

Mcguire, Stephen C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Structural Analysis Methods Development for Turbine Hot Section Components

This paper summarizes the structural analysis technologies and activities of the NASA Lewis Research Center's gas turbine engine Hot Section Technology (HOST) program. The technologies synergistically developed and validated include: time-varying thermal/mechanical load models; component-specific automated geometric modeling and solution strategy capabilities; advanced inelastic analysis methods; inelastic constitutive models; high-temperature experimental techniques and experiments; and nonlinear structural analysis codes. Features of the program that incorporate the new technologies and their application to hot section component analysis and design are described. Improved and, in some cases, first time three-dimensional nonlinear structural analyses of hot section components of isotropic and anisotropic nickel-base superalloys are presented.

High-temperature↗

NASA NTRS1988

Structural analysis methods development for turbine hot section components

The structural analysis technologies and activities of the NASA Lewis Research Center's gas turbine engine Hot Section Technology (HOST) Program are summarized. The technologies synergistically developed and validated include: time-varying thermal/mechanical load models; component-specific automated geometric modeling and solution strategy capabilities; advanced inelastic analysis methods; inelastic constitutive models; high-temperature experimental techniques and experiments; and nonlinear structural analysis codes. Features of the program that incorporate the new technologies and their application to hot section component analysis and design are described. Improved and, in some cases, first-time 3-D nonlinear structural analyses of hot section components of isotropic and anisotropic nickel-base superalloys are presented.

Thompson, R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Structural analysis methods development for turbine hot section components

This paper summarizes the structural analysis technologies and activities of the NASA Lewis Research Center's gas turbine engine Hot Section Technology (HOST) program. The technologies synergistically developed and validated include: mechanical load models; component-specific automated geometric modeling and solution strategy capabilities; advanced inelastic analysis methods; inelastic constitutive models; high-temperature experimental techniques and experiments; and nonlinear structural analysis codes. Features of the program that incorporate the new technologies and their application to hot section component analysis and design are described. Improved and, in some cases, first-time three-dimensional non-linear structural analyses of hot section components of isotropic and anisotropic nickel-base superalloys are presented.

R L Thompson↗

NASA NTRS2010

Finding Interstellar Particle Impacts on Stardust Aluminium Foils: The Safe Handling, Imaging, and Analysis of Samples Containing Femtogram Residues

Impact ionisation detectors on a suite of spacecraft have shown the direction, velocity, flux and mass distribution of smaller ISP entering the Solar System. During the aphelion segments of the Stardust flight, a dedicated collector surface was oriented to intercept ISP of beta = 1, and returned to Earth in January 2006. In this paper we describe the probable appeareance and size of IS particle craters from initial results of experimental impacts and numerical simulation, explain how foils are being prepared and mounted for crater searching by automated acquisition of high magnification electron images (whilst avoiding contamination of the foils) and comment on appropriate analytical techniques for Preliminary Examination (PE).

Kearsley, A. T.↗

NASA NTRS2022

Automatic variable selection in ecological niche modeling: A case study using Cassin’s Sparrow (Peucaea cassinii)

MERRA/Max provides a feature selection approach to dimensionality reduction that enables direct use of global climate model outputs in ecological niche modeling. The system accomplishes this reduction through a Monte Carlo optimization in which many independent MaxEnt runs, operating on a species occurrence file and a small set of randomly selected variables in a large collection of variables, converge on an estimate of the top contributing predictors in the larger collection. These top predictors can be viewed as potential candidates in the variable selection step of the ecological niche modeling process. MERRA/Max’s Monte Carlo algorithm operates on files stored in the underlying filesystem, making it scalable to large data sets. Its software components can run as parallel processes in a high-performance cloud computing environment to yield near real-time performance. In tests using Cassin’s Sparrow (Peucaea cassinii) as the target species, MERRA/Max selected a set of predictors from Worldclim’s Bioclim collection of 19 environmental variables that have been shown to be important determinants of the species’ bioclimatic niche. It also selected biologically and ecologically plausible predictors from a more diverse set of 86 environmental variables derived from NASA’s Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis, an output product of the Goddard Earth Observing System Version 5 (GEOS-5) modeling system. We believe these results point to a technological approach that could expand the use global climate model outputs in ecological niche modeling, foster exploratory experimentation with otherwise difficult-to-use climate data sets, streamline the modeling process, and, eventually, enable automated bioclimatic modeling as a practical, readily accessible, low-cost, commercial cloud service.

John L. Schnase↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Database Design Strategies for Coordinated Simulation and Testing in Additive Manufacturing

The qualification and certification (Q&C) process presents a significant challenge for widespread adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) materials and processes for aerospace applications. A relational database framework will be presented as a tool for data curation of coordinated experimental and computational materials modeling research activities. A comparison of relational and hierarchical data structures in this domain will be emphasized through the evolution of a database design strategy. This framework’s mission is to support the advancement of computational materials-informed Q&C by providing the necessary data infrastructure to trace reliability and reproducibility measures through unified AM materials simulation and experimental testing. FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data will be highlighted as a necessary precursor for automation of specific actions, which ultimately reduces the time and expense burden for Q&C. The discussion will be mostly limited to back-end design elements, though a few front-end user experience examples will also be shared.

Qualification↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Augmented Ground Station Architecture for Spacecraft-Initiated Communication Service Requests

Spacecraft performing science and exploration missions have increasingly complex and event-driven objectives, making communication needs difficult to predict in advance. Additional flexibility is required in space communication provider networks to effectively meet time-varying demand. We envision a framework for automated resource allocation in which requests for communications service are initiated by spacecraft based on current mission needs. We propose an augmented ground station configuration featuring a wide field-of-view antenna to receive transmissions from spacecraft requesting high-rate communications. A software suite to automate the service fulfillment process, including interfacing with external scheduling systems such as NASA’s Near Space Network, is described. Experimental results characterizing the physical-layer link between the wide field-of-view antenna and a software-defined radio testbed on the International Space Station are presented. We also discuss long-duration software testing on a ground-based testbed. Taken together, these proof-of-concept results demonstrate the feasibility of the concept to improve the responsiveness of space communications.

user-initiated service↗

NASA NTRS1984

Automation effects in a stereotypical multiloop manual control system

The increasing reliance of state-of-the art, high performance aircraft on high authority stability and command augmentation systems, in order to obtain satisfactory performance and handling qualities, has made critical the achievement of a better understanding of human capabilities, limitations, and preferences during interactions with complex dynamic systems that involve task allocation between man and machine. An analytical and experimental study has been undertaken to investigate human interaction with a simple, multiloop dynamic system in which human activity was systematically varied by changing the levels of automation. Task definition has led to a control loop structure which parallels that for any multiloop manual control system, and may therefore be considered a stereotype.

Hess, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

An experiment in vision based autonomous grasping within a reduced gravity environment

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Reduced Gravity Program (RGP) offers opportunities for experimentation in gravities of less than one-g. The Extravehicular Activity Helper/Retriever (EVAHR) robot project of the Automation and Robotics Division at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is undertaking a task that will culminate in a series of tests in simulated zero-g using this facility. A subset of the final robot hardware consisting of a three-dimensional laser mapper, a Robotics Research 807 arm, a Jameson JH-5 hand, and the appropriate interconnect hardware/software will be used. This equipment will be flown on the RGP's KC-135 aircraft. This aircraft will fly a series of parabolas creating the effect of zero-g. During the periods of zero-g, a number of objects will be released in front of the fixed base robot hardware in both static and dynamic configurations. The system will then inspect the object, determine the objects pose, plan a grasp strategy, and execute the grasp. This must all be accomplished in the approximately 27 seconds of zero-g.

Grimm, K. A.↗

NASA NTRS2014

An Experimental Study of the Effect of Transparency on Pilot Trust in the Emergency Landing Planner

This experimental study examined the effects of transparency (operationalized as increasing levels of explanation) on pilot trust of an automated emergency landing planner. A low-fidelity study was conducted where commercial pilots (N12) interacted with simulated recommendations from NASA's Emergency Landing Planner (ELP). These recommendations varied in their associated levels of transparency. Results indicated that trust in the ELP was influenced by the level of transparency within the human-machine interface of the ELP.

transparency↗