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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 NTRS2000

A Faster Fastener

A licensing agreement between Marshall Space Flight Center and M&A Screw and Machineworks has brought the quick connect nut to the commerical market. Originally designed as part of a project seeking in-space assembly techniques, the quick connect nut is secured around a bolt merely by pushing it onto the bolt and giving it a single twist. Applications for the nuts include oil drilling platforms, mining industry, and other practices that rely on speedy assembly for success.

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NASA NTRS1986

Detection and mapping of volcanic rock assemblages and associated hydrothermal alteration with Thermal Infrared Multiband Scanner (TIMS) data Comstock Lode Mining District, Virginia City, Nevada

Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data were acquired over the Virginia City area on September 12, 1984. The data were acquired at approximately 1130 hours local time (1723 IRIG). The TIMS data were analyzed using both photointerpretation and digital processing techniques. Karhuen-Loeve transformations were utilized to display variations in radiant spectral emittance. The TIMS image data were compared with color infrared metric camera photography, LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) data, and key areas were photographed in the field.

Taranik, James V.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Using a Genetic Algorithm to Model Broadband Regional Waveforms for Crustal Structure in the Western United States

In this study, we analyze regional seismograms to obtain the crustal structure in the eastern Great Basin and western Colorado plateau. Adopting a for- ward-modeling approach, we develop a genetic algorithm (GA) based parameter search technique to constrain the one-dimensional crustal structure in these regions. The data are broadband three-component seismograms recorded at the 1994-95 IRIS PASSCAL Colorado Plateau to Great Basin experiment (CPGB) stations and supplemented by data from U.S. National Seismic Network (USNSN) stations in Utah and Nevada. We use the southwestern Wyoming mine collapse event (M(sub b) = 5.2) that occurred on 3 February 1995 as the seismic source. We model the regional seismograms using a four-layer crustal model with constant layer parameters. Timing of teleseismic receiver functions at CPGB stations are added as an additional constraint in the modeling. GA allows us to efficiently search the model space. A carefully chosen fitness function and a windowing scheme are added to the algorithm to prevent search stagnation. The technique is tested with synthetic data, both with and without random Gaussian noise added to it. Several separate model searches are carried out to estimate the variability of the model parameters. The average Colorado plateau crustal structure is characterized by a 40-km-thick crust with velocity increases at depths of about 10 and 25 km and a fast lower crust while the Great Basin has approximately 35- km-thick crust and a 2.9-km-thick sedimentary layer.

Bhattacharyya, Joydeep↗
NASA NTRS1989

Lunar deep drill apparatus

Proposed as a baseline configuration, this rotary drill apparatus is designed to produce 100-mm diameter holes in the lunar surface at depths up to 50 meters. The drill is intended to acquire samples for scientific analysis, mineral resource location, calibration of electronic exploration devices, and foundation analysis at construction sites. It is also intended to prepare holes for emplacement of scientific instruments, the setting of structural anchors, and explosive methods in excavation and mining activities. Defined as a deep drill because of the modular drill string, it incorporates an automatic rod changer. The apparatus is teleoperated from a remote location, such as earth, utilizing supervisory control techniques. It is thus suitable for unmanned and man-tended operation. Proven terrestrial drilling technology is used to the extent it is compatible with the lunar environment. Augers and drive tubes form holes in the regolith and may be used to acquire loose samples. An inertial cutting removal system operates intermittently while rock core drilling is in progress. The apparatus is carried to the work site by a three-legged mobile platform which also provides a 2-meter feed along the hole centerline, an off-hole movement of approximately .5 meters, an angular alignment of up to 20 deg. from gravity vertical, and other dexterity required in handling rods and samples. The technology can also be applied using other carriers which incorporate similar motion capabilities. The apparatus also includes storage racks for augers, rods, and ancillary devices such as the foot-plate that holds the down-hole tooling during rod changing operations.

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NASA NTRS1998

A New and Fast Method for Smoothing Spectral Imaging Data

The Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) acquires spectral imaging data covering the 0.4 - 2.5 micron wavelength range in 224 10-nm-wide channels from a NASA ER-2 aircraft at 20 km. More than half of the spectral region is affected by atmospheric gaseous absorption. Over the past decade, several techniques have been used to remove atmospheric effects from AVIRIS data for the derivation of surface reflectance spectra. An operational atmosphere removal algorithm (ATREM), which is based on theoretical modeling of atmospheric absorption and scattering effects, has been developed and updated for deriving surface reflectance spectra from AVIRIS data. Due to small errors in assumed wavelengths and errors in line parameters compiled on the HITRAN database, small spikes (particularly near the centers of the 0.94- and 1.14-micron water vapor bands) are present in this spectrum. Similar small spikes are systematically present in entire ATREM output cubes. These spikes have distracted geologists who are interested in studying surface mineral features. A method based on the "global" fitting of spectra with low order polynomials or other functions for removing these weak spikes has recently been developed by Boardman (this volume). In this paper, we describe another technique, which fits spectra "locally" based on cubic spline smoothing, for quick post processing of ATREM apparent reflectance spectra derived from AVIRIS data. Results from our analysis of AVIRIS data acquired over Cuprite mining district in Nevada in June of 1995 are given. Comparisons between our smoothed spectra and those derived with the empirical line method are presented.

Gao, Bo-Cai↗
NASA NTRS2017

Robust Exploration and Commercial Missions to the Moon Using LANTR Propulsion and Lunar Liquid Oxygen Derived from FeO-Rich Pyroclastic Deposits

Studies conducted by NASA and its contractors (early 1980s early 1990s) indicated a substantial benefit from using lunar-derived propellants specifically lunar-derived LO2 (LLO2) or LUNOX in a lunar space transportation system (LTS). With a LTS using LO2/LH2 chemical rockets, approx. 6 kilograms (kg) of mass in low Earth orbit (LEO) is required to place 1 kg of payload on the lunar surface (LS). Of this 6 kg, approx. 70% (4.2 kg) is propellant and 6/7th of this mass (3.6 kg) is oxygen assuming an O/H MR 6:1. Since the cost of placing a kilogram of mass on the LS is approx. 6X the cost of delivering it to LEO, the ability to produce and utilize LUNOX or lunar-derived LO2 and hydrogen (LLH2) from lunar polar ice (LPI) deposits can provide significant mission leverage. Providing LUNOX for use in fuel cells, life support systems and LO2/LH2 chemical rockets used on lunar landing vehicles (LLVs), can allow high value cargo (people, manufacturing and scientific equipment, etc.) to be transported to LEO, then to the Moon instead of bulk LO2 propellant. Oxygen is abundant in the lunar regolith (approx. 43% by mass) and can be extracted using a variety of techniques, such as hydrogen reduction of ilmenite (FeOTiO2) or FeO-rich volcanic glass (orange soil) discovered during the Apollo 17 mission to Taurus-Littrow. While considerable interest has been expressed about mining and processing LPI for rocket propellant, ground truth must first be established to quantify the physical state of the ice (e.g., its vertical thickness and areal extent, levels of soil contamination, etc.) and the deep, extremely cold (approx. 26-100 K) permanently shadowed craters where the ice resides.

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1995

Machine learning for a Toolkit for Image Mining

A prototype user environment is described that enables a user with very limited computer skills to collaborate with a computer algorithm to develop search tools (agents) that can be used for image analysis, creating metadata for tagging images, searching for images in an image database on the basis of image content, or as a component of computer vision algorithms. Agents are learned in an ongoing, two-way dialogue between the user and the algorithm. The user points to mistakes made in classification. The algorithm, in response, attempts to discover which image attributes are discriminating between objects of interest and clutter. It then builds a candidate agent and applies it to an input image, producing an 'interest' image highlighting features that are consistent with the set of objects and clutter indicated by the user. The dialogue repeats until the user is satisfied. The prototype environment, called the Toolkit for Image Mining (TIM) is currently capable of learning spectral and textural patterns. Learning exhibits rapid convergence to reasonable levels of performance and, when thoroughly trained, Fo appears to be competitive in discrimination accuracy with other classification techniques.

Delanoy, Richard L.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Occupant Protection at NASA

This slide presentation reviews NASA's efforts to arrive at protection of occupants of the ORION space craft on landing. An Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) has been developed, it is an anatomically-based, consensus-derived, global severity scoring system that classifies each injury by body region according to its relative importance on a 6-point ordinal scale. It reviews an Operationmally Relevant Injury Scale (ORIS), a classification methodology, and shows charts that detail the results of applying this ORIS to the injury databases. One chart uses NASCAR injury classification. It discusses providing a context for the level of risk inherent in the Orion landings in terms that people understand and have a sense for. For example is the risk of injury during an Orion landing roughly the same, better or worse than: An aircraft carrier landing, a NASCAR crash, or a helicopter crash, etc? The data for NASCAR and Indy Racing league (IRL) racing crash and injury data was reviewed. The risk from the Air Force, Navy, and Army injury data was also reviewed. Past NASA and the Soyuz programs injury risks are also reviewed. The work is an attempt to formulate a recommendation to the Orion Project for an acceptable level of injury risk associated with Nominal and Off-Nominal landing cases. The presentation also discusses the data mining and use of the data to Validate NASA Operationally-Relevant Injury Scale (NORIS) / Military Operationally-Relevant Injury Scale (MORIS), developing injury risk criteria, the types of data that are required, NASCAR modeling techniques and crash data, and comparison with the Brinkley model. The development of injury risk curves for each biodynamic response parameter is discussed. One of the main outcomes of this work is to establish an accurate Automated Test Dummy (ATD) that can be used to measure human tolerances.

Somers, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2013

Using Combustion Synthesis to Reinforce Berms and Other Regolith Structures

The Moonraker Excavator and other tools under development for use on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids will be employed to construct a number of civil engineering projects and to mine the soil. Mounds of loose soil will be subject to the local transport mechanisms plus artificial mechanisms such as blast effects from landers and erosion from surface vehicles. Some of these structures will require some permanence, with a minimum of maintenance and upkeep. Combustion Synthesis (CS) is a family of processes and techniques whereby chemistry is used to transform materials, often creating flame in a hard vacuum. CS can be used to stabilize civil engineering works such as berms, habitat shielding, ramps, pads, roadways, and the like. The method is to unroll thin sheets of CS fabric between layers of regolith and then fire the fabric, creating a continuous sheet of crusty material to be interposed among layers of loose regolith. The combination of low-energy processes, ISRU (in situ resource utilization) excavator, and CS fabrics, seems compelling as a general method for establishing structures of some permanence and utility, especially in the role of robotic missions as precursors to manned exploration and settlement. In robotic precursory missions, excavator/ mobility ensembles mine the Lunar surface, erect constructions of soil, and dispense sheets of CS fabrics that are covered with layers of soil, fired, and then again covered with layers of soil, iterating until the desired dimensions and forms are achieved. At the base of each berm, for example, is a shallow trench lined with CS fabric, fired and filled, mounded, and then covered and fired, iteratively to provide a footing against lateral shear. A larger trench is host to a habitat module, backfilled, covered with fabric, covered with soil, and fired. Covering the applied CS fabric with layers of soil before firing allows the resulting matrix to incorporate soil both above and below the fabric ply into the fused layer, developing a very irregular surface which, like sandpaper, can provide an anchor for loose soil. CS fabrics employ a coarse fiberglass weave that persists as reinforcement for the fired material. The fiberglass softens at a temperature that exceeds the combustion temperature by factors of two to three, and withstands the installation process. This type of structure should be more resistant to rocket blast effects from Lunar landers.

Rodriquez, Gary↗
NASA NTRS2001

An Evaluation of Fractal Surface Measurement Methods for Characterizing Landscape Complexity from Remote-Sensing Imagery

The rapid increase in digital data volumes from new and existing sensors necessitates the need for efficient analytical tools for extracting information. We developed an integrated software package called ICAMS (Image Characterization and Modeling System) to provide specialized spatial analytical functions for interpreting remote sensing data. This paper evaluates the three fractal dimension measurement methods: isarithm, variogram, and triangular prism, along with the spatial autocorrelation measurement methods Moran's I and Geary's C, that have been implemented in ICAMS. A modified triangular prism method was proposed and implemented. Results from analyzing 25 simulated surfaces having known fractal dimensions show that both the isarithm and triangular prism methods can accurately measure a range of fractal surfaces. The triangular prism method is most accurate at estimating the fractal dimension of higher spatial complexity, but it is sensitive to contrast stretching. The variogram method is a comparatively poor estimator for all of the surfaces, particularly those with higher fractal dimensions. Similar to the fractal techniques, the spatial autocorrelation techniques are found to be useful to measure complex images but not images with low dimensionality. These fractal measurement methods can be applied directly to unclassified images and could serve as a tool for change detection and data mining.

Lam, Nina Siu-Ngan↗
NASA NTRS2012

Reducing Extra-Terrestrial Excavation Forces with Percussion

High launch costs and mission requirements drive the need for low mass excavators with mobility platforms, which in turn have little traction and excavation reaction capacity in low gravity environments. This presents the need for precursor and long term future missions with low mass robotic mining technology to perform In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) tasks. This paper discusses a series of experiments that investigate the effectiveness of a percussive digging device to reduce excavation loads and thereby the mass of the excavator itself. The goal of percussive excavation is to fluidize dry regolith in front of the leading edge of the tool by mechanically separating the microscopic interlocking grains resulting in a reduced force needed to shear the soil. There are several variables involved with this technique; this experiment varied: Impact energy, frequency, and excavation speed and held constant: impact direction, depth of cut, angle of tool, and soil bulk density. The test apparatus consisted of an aluminum truss bridge with a central pivoting arm. Attached to the arm was a winch with a load cell in line that recorded the tension in the cable and therefore the excavation load. The arm could be adjusted for excavation depth which was recorded along with the arm angle relative to the bridge. A percussive mechanism and 30" wide pivoting bucket were attached at the end of the arm simulating a basic backhoe with a percussion direction tangent to the direction of . movement. Internally the mechanism used a set of die springs and barrel cam to produce the percussive blow. By changing the springs and the speed of the motor the impact energy and frequency of percussion could be varied independently. Impact energies from 11.2J to 30.5J and frequencies from 0 BPM to 700 BPM were investigated. A reduction in excavation force of as much as 51% was achieved in this experimental investigation. Smaller percussive digging implements, tested by others, have achieved a reduction of as much as 72%. This paper will examine the effects of impact energy, frequency, scaling and their effect on excavation forces in a dry granular material such as lunar regolith. The past several years have shown an increasing interest in mining space resources both for exploration and commercial enterprises. This work studied the benefits and risks of percussive excavation and prelimin~ry results indicate that this technique may become an enabling technology for extra-terrestrial excavation of regolith and ice.

Schuler, Jason↗
NASA NTRS2001

Performance of Li-Ion Cells Under Battery Voltage Charge Control

A study consisting of electrochemical characterization and Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) cycling of Li-Ion cells from three vendors was initiated in 1999 to determine the cycling performance and to infuse the new technology in the future NASA missions. The 8-cell batteries included in this evaluation are prismatic cells manufactured by Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA), cylindrical cells manufactured by SAFT and prismatic cells manufactured by Yardney Technical Products, Inc. (YTP). The three batteries were cycle tested in the LEO regime at 40% depth of discharge, and under a charge control technique that consists of battery voltage clamp with a current taper. The initial testing was conducted at 20 C; however, the batteries were cycled also intermittently at low temperatures. YTP 20 Ah cells consisted of mixed-oxide (Co and Ni) positive, graphitic carbon negative, LIPF6 salt mixed with organic carbonate solvents. The battery voltage clamp was 32 V. The low temperature cycling tests started after 4575 cycles at 20 C. The cells were not capable of cycling. at low temperature since the charge acceptance at battery level was poor. There was a cell in the battery that showed too high an end-of-charge (EOC) voltage thereby limiting the ability to charge the rest of the cells in the battery. The battery has completed 6714 cycles. SAFT 12 Ah cells consisted of mixed-oxide (Co and NO positive, graphitic carbon negative, LiPF6 salt mixed with organic carbonate solvents. The battery voltage clamp was for 30.8 V. The low temperature cycling tests started after 4594 cycles at 20 C. A cell that showed low end of discharge (EOD) and EOC voltages and three other cells that showed higher EOC voltages limited the charge acceptance at the selected voltage limit during charge. The cells were capable of cycling at 10 C and 0 C but the charge voltage limit had to be increased to 34.3 V (4.3 V per cell). The low temperature cycling may have induced poor chargeability since the voltage had to be increased to achieve the required charge input. The battery has completed 6226 cycles. MSA 10 Ah cells consisted of Co oxide positive, graphitic carbon negative, LiPF6 salt mixed with organic carbonate solvents. The battery voltage clamp was 30.8 V. The low temperature cycling tests were started after 2182 cycles at 20 C. The cells were capable of cycling at 10 C and 0 C. Like SAFT, the voltage limit on charge had to be increased to 36 V (4.5 V per cell). There was a cell (cell S/N 13) in the battery that showed poor performance features such as low EOD voltage and high EOC voltage. The battery has completed 3441 cycles. A reconditioning procedure that consisted of C15 charge to a taper current of C/100 and C/20 discharge improved the voltage behavior of SAFT and MSA cells with no significant effect on YTP cells. We have demonstrated that the charge operation with VT clamp at battery rather than at cell level is feasible for onboard Li-Ion battery operation.

Rao, Gopalakrishna M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Guidance automation for nap-of-the-earth flight

Low-Altitude/Nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) rotorcraft flight in adverse weather has been identified as a major technology void by both military and civil agencies because of its direct relationship to the needs of the military's new scout-attack helicopter and to various civilian applications including Emergency Medical Services (EMS). As part of NASA's Aircraft Automation Program, Ames Research Center has identified as a major goal the automating and advancing of applicable terrain following/terrain avoidance/obstacle avoidance (TF/TA/OA) guidance technologies to a level where NOE rotorcraft flight can be demonstrated in an advanced simulator and, later, in fully automatic flight. Areas of emphasis to date for achieving automatic guidance include real-time sensor blending and the real-time computation of NOE guidance commands. The present paper reports on the guidance command generation. The applicability of TF/TA techniques to the NOE problem is described, and simulation results are presented that suggest that automatic NOE can indeed be accomplished.

Denton, Richard V.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Enhanced Gravity Tractor Derived from the Asteroid Redirect Mission for Deflecting Hypothetical Asteroid 2017 PDC

The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) concept would robotically visit a hazardous-size near-Earth asteroid (NEA) with a rendezvous spacecraft, collect a multi-ton boulder and regolith samples from its surface, demonstrate an innovative planetary defense technique known as the Enhanced Gravity Tractor (EGT), and return the asteroidal material to a stable orbit around the Moon, allowing astronauts to explore the returned material in the mid-2020s. Launch of the robotic vehicle to rendezvous with the ARM reference target, NEA (341843) 2008 EV5, would occur in late 2021 [1,2]. The robotic segment of the ARM concept uses a 40 kW Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) system with a specific impulse (Isp) of 2600 s, and would provide the first ever demonstration of the EGT technique on a hazardous-size asteroid and validate one method of collecting mass in-situ. The power, propellant, and thrust capability of the ARM robotic spacecraft can be scaled from a 40 kW system to 150 kW and 300 kW, which represent a likely future power level progression. The gravity tractor technique uses the gravitational attraction of a station-keeping spacecraft with the asteroid to provide a velocity change and gradually alter the trajectory of the asteroid. EGT utilizes a spacecraft with a high-efficiency propulsion system, such as Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP), along with mass collected in-situ to augment the mass of the spacecraft, thereby increasing the gravitational force between the objects [3]. As long as the spacecraft has sufficient thrust and propellant capability, the EGT force is only limited by the amount of in-situ mass collected and can be increased several orders of magnitude compared to the traditional gravity tractor technique in which only the spacecraft mass is used to generate the gravitational attraction force. This increase in available force greatly reduces the required deflection time. The collected material can be a single boulder, multiple boulders, regolith, or a combination of different material types using a variety of collection techniques. The EGT concept assumes that the ability to efficiently collect asteroid mass in-situ from a wide variety of asteroid types and environments is a future capability that will be developed and perfected in the future by the asteroid mining community. Additionally, it is anticipated that the mass collection would likely be performed by a single or multiple separable spacecraft to allow the SEP spacecraft to operate at safe distance from the asteroid.

Mazanek, Daniel D.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Mineral resources, geological structure, and landform surveys

Diagnostic ERTS imagery has been used to pinpoint surface conditions associated with known mining districts. These include enhancements which depict hitherto unrecognized surface alteration and allow analysis of ore-controlling fractures distribution in a regional context. ERTS has likewise provided observational data containing previously unrecognized surface anomalies in large oil-producing basins which correlate closely with known oil fields. These observational data offer promise of providing new and powerful techniques for oil exploration, especially if further work using more sophisticated enhancement-processing proves capable of emphasizing the anomalies. ERTS is showing a better-than-anticipated potential for producing accurate small-scale (large-area) geologic maps, often containing details that were previously not recorded on similar regional maps. The maps produced from ERTS imagery can be prepared more effectively than previously possible, mainly because of the synoptic, multispectral, and repetitive character of ERTS data. ERTS has also provided extensive information on possible geologic hazards. Many new fractures have been identified in several regions of the Pacific Coast seismic belt that have histories of recent earthquakes. This has obvious implications for engineering projects such as dams, aqueducts, and transportation routes. In the mid-continent area, ERTS data have been used to predict zones of rooffall danger in a working coal mine from newly discovered lineations (probably fractures) used as indicators of hazards.

Short, N. M.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Mining for Data

AbTech Corporation used an F-18 HARV (High Alpha Research Vehicle) simulation developed by NASA to create an interactive computer-based prototype of the MQ (Model Quest) SV (System Validator) tool. Dryden Flight Research Center provided support to develop, test, and rapidly reprogram the validation function. AbTech's ModelQuest Enterprises highly automated and outperforms other modeling techniques to quickly discover meaningful relationships, patterns, and trends in databases. Applications include technical and business professionals in finance, marketing, business, banking, retail, healthcare, and aerospace.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2009

A Survey of Terrestrial Approaches to the Challenge of Lunar Dust Containment

Numerous technical challenges exist to successfully extend lunar surface exploration beyond the tantalizing first steps of Apollo. Among these is the challenge of lunar dust intrusion into the cabin environment. Addressing this challenge includes the design of barriers to intrusion as well as techniques for removing the dust from the cabin atmosphere. Opportunities exist for adapting approaches employed in dusty industrial operations and pristine manufacturing environments to cabin environmental quality maintenance applications. A survey of process technologies employed by the semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food processing, and mining industries offers insight into basic approaches that may be suitable for adaptation to lunar surface exploration applications.

Aguilera, Tatiana↗
NASA NTRS1979

Storage, transmission and distribution of hydrogen

Current practices and future requirements for the storage, transmission and distribution of hydrogen are reviewed in order to identify inadequacies to be corrected before hydrogen can achieve its full potential as a substitute for fossil fuels. Consideration is given to the storage of hydrogen in underground solution-mined salt caverns, portable high-pressure containers and dewars, pressure vessels and aquifers and as metal hydrides, hydrogen transmission in evacuated double-walled insulated containers and by pipeline, and distribution by truck and internal distribution networks. Areas for the improvement of these techniques are indicated, and these technological deficiencies, including materials development, low-cost storage and transmission methods, low-cost, long-life metal hydrides and novel methods for hydrogen storage, are presented as challenges for research and development.

Kelley, J. H.↗