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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 NTRS1997

NPAC-Nozzle Performance Analysis Code

A simple and accurate nozzle performance analysis methodology has been developed. The geometry modeling requirements are minimal and very flexible, thus allowing rapid design evaluations. The solution techniques accurately couple: continuity, momentum, energy, state, and other relations which permit fast and accurate calculations of nozzle gross thrust. The control volume and internal flow analyses are capable of accounting for the effects of: over/under expansion, flow divergence, wall friction, heat transfer, and mass addition/loss across surfaces. The results from the nozzle performance methodology are shown to be in excellent agreement with experimental data for a variety of nozzle designs over a range of operating conditions.

Barnhart, Paul J.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Processing and Synthesis of Pre-Biotic Chemicals in Hypervelocity Impacts

Hypervelocity impacts (HVIs) may have played a significant role in establishing the initial organic inventory for pre-biotic chemistry on the Earth and other planetary bodies. In addition to the delivery of organic compounds intact to planetary surfaces, generally at velocities below approx.20 km/s, HVIs also enable synthesis of new molecules. The cooling post-impact plasma plumes of HVIs in the interstellar medium (ISM), the protosolar nebula (PSN), and the early solar system comprise pervasive conditions for organic synthesis. Such plasma synthesis (PS) can operate over many length scales (from nm-scale dust to planets) and energy scales (from molecular rearrangement to atomization and recondensation). HVI experiments with the flexibility to probe the highest velocities and distinguish synthetic routes are a high priority to understand the relevance of PS to exobiology. We describe here recent studies of PS at small spatial scales and extremely high velocities with pulsed laser ablation (PLA). PLA can simulate the extreme plasma conditions generated in impacts of dust particles at speeds of up to 100 km/s or more. When applied to carbonaceous solids, new and pre-biotically relevant molecular species are formed with high efficiency [1,2].

Brickerhoff, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Dynamics and control of a planar truss actuator

The concept of using an active truss actuator to control the vibration of a flexible (space) structure has been investigated. The actuator with a generic beam continuum cantilevered from it has been modeled using energy methods. A time-invariant optimal state feedback scheme was utilized for the control method. A digital simulation of the system dynamic response demonstrated the good vibration control possibilities for the (planar) truss actuator on a large flexible space structure.

Lovejoy, V. D.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Aerospace energy systems laboratory: Requirements and design approach

The NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards, California, operates a mixed fleet of research aircraft employing nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries in a variety of flight-critical applications. Dryden's Battery Systems Laboratory (BSL), a computerized facility for battery maintenance servicing, has developed over two decades into one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the world. Recently a major BSL upgrade was initiated with the goal of modernization to provide flexibility in meeting the needs of future advanced projects. The new facility will be called the Aerospace Energy Systems Laboratory (AESL) and will employ distributed processing linked to a centralized data base. AESL will be both a multistation servicing facility and a research laboratory for the advancement of energy storage system maintenance techniques. This paper describes the baseline requirements for the AESL and the design approach being taken for its mechanization.

Glover, Richard D.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Comparison of Synchrotron MicroXANES Determination of Fe(3+)/Sigma Fe with Moessbauer Values for Clean Mineral Separates of Pyroxene from Martian Meteorites

The oxidation state of Fe in Martian meteorites is a parameter of great interest and the ability to determine this value in micrometer scale samples is important. Intense, tunable x-ray sources at large synchrotron storage rings are being exploited to examine the Fe K-absorption edge with energy resolution of approx. 1-1.5eV in spots of 10x15 microns on thin sections of a wide variety of materials including several Martian meteorites. Synchrotron microXANES (SmX) spectroscopy is the technique that provides the most flexible capability for investigating Fe(3+)/Sigma Fe. Variation of Fe(3+)/Sigma Fe is manifested as a function of the energy of the pre-edge to the Fe absorption edge produced by the sample. SmX is at present the only technique that can be used with conventional polished thin sections. Data for a broad spectrum of minerals have been produced and indicate that SmX can be used with a large variety of samples types.

Delaney, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Effects of energy dissipation in the bearing assemblies of dual-spin spacecraft

Proper evaluation of the effects of bearing assembly flexibility on the attitude stability of dual-spin spacecraft may explain the observed anomalies in the motion of a recently launched satellite. A convenient, but approximate, expression with which to gauge these effects is presented, as in an example of a possible application of this expression in a design role.

M. P. Scher↗
NASA NTRS1994

Flexible Solar Cells

Solar cell "modules" are plastic strips coated with thin films of photovoltaic silicon that collect solar energy for instant conversion into electricity. Lasers divide the thin film coating into smaller cells to build up voltage. Developed by Iowa Thin Film Technologies under NASA and DOE grants, the modules are used as electrical supply for advertising displays, battery rechargers for recreational vehicles, and to power model airplanes. The company is planning other applications both in consumer goods and as a power source in underdeveloped countries.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2008

Neutron Stars and Black Holes Seen with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE)

Astrophysical X-rays bring information about location, energy, time, and polarization. X-rays from compact objects were seen in the first explorations to vary in time. Eclipses and pulsations have simple explanations that identified the importance of X-ray binaries and magnetic neutron stars in the first decade of X-ray astronomy. The dynamics of accretion onto stellar and supermassive black holes and onto neutron stars with relatively low magnetic fields shows up as more complex variations, quasi-periodic oscillations, noise with characteristic frequency spectra, broad-band changes in the energy spectra. To study these variations, RXTE instruments needed to have large area and operational flexibility to find transient activity and observe when it was present. Proportional counters and Phoswich scintillators provided it in a modest mission that has made textbook level contributions to understanding of compact objects. The first seen, and the brightest known, X-ray binary, Sco X-1 is one of a class of neutron stars with low mass companions. Before RXTE, none of these had been seen to show pulsations, though they were hypothesized to be the precursors of radio pulsars with millisecond periods and low magnetic fields. RXTE's large area led to identifying coherent millisecond pulsars in a subset which are relatively faint transients. It also led to identifying short episodes of pulsation during thermonuclear bursts, in sources where a steady signal is not seen. The X-ray stage verifies the evolution that produces millisecond radio pulsars.Masses and radii of neutron stars are being determined by various techniques, constraining the equation of state of matter at nuclear densities. Accretion should lead to a range of neutron star masses. An early stage of superstrong magnetic field neutron stars is now known to produce X-ray and gamma-ray bursts in crust quakes and magnetic field reconnection releases of energy. Soft Gamma Repeaters, Anomolous X-ray Pulsars, and high magnetic field rotation-powered pulsars are all now called magnetars, because they have pulse periods indicating they are slowing down as they would with magnetic dipole radiation for a surface field above 5x1013 gauss. The accretion disk has been connected to the launching of radio jets from black holes, and even from neutron stars. Estimates of the angular momenta of black holes are being made from different approaches, modelling a high frequency oscillation that may be related to how close the inner part of the accretion disk is to the black hole, modelling the continua spectra of the X-ray emission, and modeling the emission of red-shifted iron that may be emitted from the accretion disk. These investigations require early discovery of the black hole transient with the All Sky Monitor on RXTE or other monitoring information, frequent extended observations, and coordinated observations with missions that give higher energy resolution, or radio and infrared information.

Swank, Jean↗
NASA NTRS2001

GLAST: Exploring Nature's Highest Energy Processes with the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is an international and multi-agency space mission that will study the cosmos in the energy range 10 keV-300 GeV. Several successful exploratory missions in gamma-ray astronomy led to the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). Launched in 1991, EGRET made the first complete survey of the sky in the 30 MeV-10 GeV range. EGRET showed the high-energy gamma-ray sky to be surprisingly dynamic and diverse, with sources ranging from the sun and moon to massive black holes at large redshifts. Most of the gamma-ray sources detected by EGRET remain unidentified. In light of the discoveries with EGRET, the great potential of the next generation gamma-ray telescope can be appreciated. GLAST will have an imaging gamma-ray telescope vastly more capable than instruments flown previously, as well as a secondary instrument to augment the study of gamma-ray bursts. The main instrument, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), will have superior area, angular resolution, field of view, and deadtime that together will provide a factor of 30 or more advance in sensitivity, as well as provide capability for study of transient phenomena. The GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM) will have a field of view several times larger than the LAT and will provide spectral coverage of gamma-ray bursts that extends from the lower limit of the LAT down to 10 keV. The basic parameters of the GBM are compared to those of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) instrument on CGRO in Table 1-2. With the LAT and GBM, GLAST will be a flexible observatory for investigating the great range of astrophysical phenomena best studied in high-energy gamma rays. NASA plans to launch GLAST in late 2005.

Digel, Seth↗
NASA NTRS1979

Redox flow cell energy storage systems

NASA-Redox systems are electrochemical storage devices that use two fully soluble Redox couples, anode and cathode fluids, as active electrode materials separated by a highly selective ion exchange membrane. The reactants are contained in large storage tanks and pumped through a stack of Redox flow cells where the electrochemical reactions (reduction and oxidation) take place at porous carbon felt electrodes. A string or stack of these power producing cells is connected in series in a bipolar manner. Redox energy storage systems promise to be inexpensive and possess many features that provide for flexible design, long life, high reliability and minimal operation and maintenance costs. These features include independent sizing of power and storage capacity requirements and inclusion within the cell stack of a cell that monitors the state of charge of the system as a whole, and a rebalance cell which permits continuous correction to be made for minor side reactions that would tend to result in the anode fluid and cathode fluids becoming electrochemically out of balance. These system features are described and discussed.

Thaller, L. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

A design technique for determining actuator gains in spacecraft vibration control

A design procedure is described which determines the gains of a diagonal damping matrix to control the vibrations of a flexible structure with application to orbiting spacecraft. The procedure is based on minimizing the energy dissipated by control actuators using nonlinear mathematical programming. Each damping gain is assumed to be an active viscous damper and the design process is formulated so that the force or torque output of the actuator does not exceed a specified value. The response of the structure at some specified time after the termination of the disturbance is constrained to be less than some prescribed value based upon spacecraft mission performance requirements. A grillage example is used to demonstrate the design process for determining gains for two representative cases. Resulting designs are verified by a finite element analysis of the structure augmented by the control actuators.

Horner, G. C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Past, present, and future activities in space power technology in the United States of America

Space power technology research in the U.S. is examined. The objectives for advanced power systems are long life, safety, flexibility, modularity, growth capability, and autonomy. Research in the areas of photovoltaic arrays, electrical energy storage, and the development of solar dynamic power systems and radio thermal generators is described. The applications of advances in power generation, energy storage, and power management and distribution to the Space Station are discussed.

Ambrus, Judith H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Long-Wavelength Infrared Detector

Proposed device detects infrared photons of 10- to 100-micrometer wavelength by intersubband absorption in coupled quantum wells. Based on splitting of energy level occuring when two quantum wells placed so close together wave functions of quantized energy levels overlap. Detector absorbs photons, energy which equals difference in energy between two levels resulting from split. Because degree of overlap of wave functions and, therefore, magnitude of split varied by varying width of barrier between two coupled wells, such detector, in principle, designed to operate at any desired wavelength. Restrictions on design parameters of quantum wells of proposed device less severe than single-well devices. Energy levels near tops of wells still necessary so photoexcited carriers tunnel out. Additional flexibility in design obtained by use of wells formed by barriers of different heights.

Vasquez, Richard P.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A numerical method for phase-change problems

A highly accurate and efficient finite-difference method for phase-change problems with multiple moving boundaries of irregular shape is developed by employing a coordinate transformation that immobilizes moving boundaries and preserves the conservative forms of the original governing equations. The numerical method is first presented for one-dimensional phase-change problems (involving large density variation between phases, heat generation, and multiple moving boundaries) and then extended to solve two-dimensional problems (without change of densities between phases). Numerical solutions are obtained non-iteratively using an explicit treatment of the interfacial mass and energy balances and an implicit treatment of the temperature field equations. The accuracy and flexibility of the present numerical method are verified by solving some phase-change problems and comparing the results with existing analytical, semi-analytical and numerical solutions. Results indicate that one- and two-dimensional phase-change problems can be handled easily with excellent accuracies.

Kim, Charn-Jung↗
NASA NTRS2001

CAP: A Computer Code for Generating Tabular Thermodynamic Functions from NASA Lewis Coefficients

For several decades the NASA Glenn Research Center has been providing a file of thermodynamic data for use in several computer programs. These data are in the form of least-squares coefficients that have been calculated from tabular thermodynamic data by means of the NASA Properties and Coefficients (PAC) program. The source thermodynamic data are obtained from the literature or from standard compilations. Most gas-phase thermodynamic functions are calculated by the authors from molecular constant data using ideal gas partition functions. The Coefficients and Properties (CAP) program described in this report permits the generation of tabulated thermodynamic functions from the NASA least-squares coefficients. CAP provides considerable flexibility in the output format, the number of temperatures to be tabulated, and the energy units of the calculated properties. This report provides a detailed description of input preparation, examples of input and output for several species, and a listing of all species in the current NASA Glenn thermodynamic data file.

Zehe, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

CAP: A Computer Code for Generating Tabular Thermodynamic Functions from NASA Lewis Coefficients

For several decades the NASA Glenn Research Center has been providing a file of thermodynamic data for use in several computer programs. These data are in the form of least-squares coefficients that have been calculated from tabular thermodynamic data by means of the NASA Properties and Coefficients (PAC) program. The source thermodynamic data are obtained from the literature or from standard compilations. Most gas-phase thermodynamic functions are calculated by the authors from molecular constant data using ideal gas partition functions. The Coefficients and Properties (CAP) program described in this report permits the generation of tabulated thermodynamic functions from the NASA least-squares coefficients. CAP provides considerable flexibility in the output format, the number of temperatures to be tabulated, and the energy units of the calculated properties. This report provides a detailed description of input preparation, examples of input and output for several species, and a listing of all species in the current NASA Glenn thermodynamic data file.

Zehe, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Layered Model for Radiation-Induced Chemical Evolution of Icy Surface Composition on Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud Bodies

The diversity of albedos and surface colors on observed Kuiper Belt and Inner Oort Cloud objects remains to be explained in terms of competition between primordial intrinsic versus exogenic drivers of surface and near-surface evolution. Earlier models have attempted without success to attribute this diversity to the relations between surface radiolysis from cosmic ray irradiation and gardening by meteoritic impacts. A more flexible approach considers the different depth-dependent radiation profiles produced by low-energy plasma, suprathermal, and maximally penetrating charged particles of the heliospheric and local interstellar radiation environments. Generally red objects of the dynamically cold (low inclination, circular orbit) Classical Kuiper Belt might be accounted for from erosive effects of plasma ions and reddening effects of high energy cosmic ray ions, while suprathermal keV-MeV ions could alternatively produce more color neutral surfaces. The deepest layer of more pristine ice can be brought to the surface from meter to kilometer depths by larger impact events and potentially by cryovolcanic activity. The bright surfaces of some larger objects, e.g. Eris, suggest ongoing resurfacing activity. Interactions of surface irradiation, resultant chemical oxidation, and near-surface cryogenic fluid reservoirs have been proposed to account for Enceladus cryovolcanism and may have further applications to other icy irradiated bodies. The diversity of causative processes must be understood to account for observationally apparent diversities of the object surfaces.

Cooper, John F.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Layered Model for Radiation-Induced Chemical Evolution of Icy Surface Composition and Dynamics on Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud Bodies

The diversity of albedos and surface colors on observed Kuiper Belt and Inner Oort Cloud objects remains to be explained in terms of competition between primordial intrinsic versus exogenic drivers of surface and near-surface evolution. Earlier models have attempted without success to attribute this diversity to the relations between surface radiolysis from cosmic ray irradiation and gardening by meteoritic impacts. A more flexible approach considers the different depth-dependent radiation profiles produced by low-energy plasma, suprathermal, and maximally penetrating charged particles of the heliospheric and local interstellar radiation environment. Generally red objects of the dynamically cold (low inclination, circular orbit) Classical Kuiper Belt might be accounted for from erosive effects of plasma ions and reddening effects of high energy cosmic ray ions, while suprathermal keV-MeV ions could alternatively produce more color neutral surfaces. The deepest layer of more pristine ice can be brought to the surface from meter to kilometer depths by larger impact events and potentially by cryovolcanic activity. The bright surfaces of some larger objects, e.g. Eris, suggest ongoing resurfacing activity. Cycles of atmospheric formation and surface freezeout can further account for temporal variation as observed on Pluto. The diversity of causative processes must therefore be understood to account for observationally apparent diversities of the object surfaces.

Cooper, John F.↗