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At least 1,729 records · Page 96

A synopsis of the weather problems facing today's general aviation pilots

Concentration on weather to data has primarily been at the point of observation. There have been efforts to obtain and disseminate en route weather through pilot reports (PIREPS), but the efforts have been meager. What is needed is the cooperative efforts on the application of technology to the acquisition and dissemination of the en route weather data for those pilots in the air as well as those who are flight planning on the ground. A comprehensive three-dimensional computer storage system is proposed that receives weather information from all aircraft on IFR flight plans and stores this information by altitude and geographic coordinates. Also, a report on the Federal Aviation Administration's Research Engineering and Development Aviation Weather Program from the aspect of past, present and future is given.

Pope, J. C.↗

Lessons learned - Americans in space

Milestones in the learning process during development of spaceflight capability for different NASA missions are traced from the initial launch of the Mercury escape rocket to the advent of the Shuttle. A detached heat shield on the first manned Mercury orbital flight led to a decision for reentry with retrorockets attached, a situation which demonstrated a need for on-line communications with the spacecraft construction engineers. The Gemini program served to develop EVA techniques and docking procedures essential for the Apollo missions. Apollo 8 circled the moon after only one manned test flight of the equipment due to the success of the first flight. Lunar landing simulation training exposed the astronauts to situations beyond the human ability to respond. The training was justified when computer overload required the pilot to retake manual control of some spacecraft functions during the successful first lunar landing. All lessons previously learned were used to safely return the damaged Apollo 13 to earth. The Skylab missions provided an opportunity to maintain rotating teams of flight controllers on a 24-hr/day basis for periods of months. Finally, the six-year hiatus of U.S. manned space activities between the end of the Skylab missions and the first Shuttle flight provided time for incorporating previous lessons into new procedures, training strategies, and data resources.

Kranz, E.↗

A review of the silicon material task

The Silicon Material Task of the Flat-Plate Solar Array Project was assigned the objective of developing the technology for low-cost processes for producing polysilicon suitable for terrestrial solar-cell applications. The Task program comprised sections for process developments for semiconductor-grade and solar-cell-grade products. To provide information for deciding upon process designs, extensive investigations of the effects of impurities on material properties and the performance of cells were conducted. The silane process of the Union Carbide Corporation was carried through several stages of technical and engineering development; a pilot plant was the culmination of this effort. The work to establish silane fluidized-bed technology for a low-cost process is continuing. The advantages of the use of dichlorosilane is a siemens-type were shown by Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation. The development of other processes is described.

Lutwack, R.↗

Air pollution control system research: An iterative approach to developing affordable systems

This paper describes a Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) funded project led jointly by the Marine Corps Multi-Commodity Maintenance Centers, and the Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory (AEERL) of the USEPA. The research focuses on paint booth exhaust minimization using recirculation, and on volatile organic compound (VOC) oxidation by the modules of a hybrid air pollution control system. The research team is applying bench, pilot and full scale systems to accomplish the goals of reduced cost and improved effectiveness of air treatment systems for paint booth exhaust.

Watt, Lewis C.↗

Effects of Promethazine on Performance During Simulated Shuttle Landings

Promethazine (PMZ) is the antimotion sickness drug of choice in the U.S. Space Shuttle program; however, virtually nothing is known about the bioavailability and performance effects of this drug in the microgravity environment. PMZ has detrimental side effects on human performance on Earth that could affect Shuttle operations. In a recent ground-based study we examined: 1) the effects of promethazine (PMZ) on Shuttle landing performance using the portable inflight landing operations trainer (PILOT), and 2) saliva and urine samples to determine the pharmacokinetics of PMZ. The PILOT performance data is presented here.

Harm, D. L.↗

Symbology Development for General Aviation Synthetic Vision Primary Flight Displays for the Approach and Missed-Approach Modes of Flight

Spatial disorientation induced by inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) continues to be a leading cause of fatal accidents in general aviation. The Synthetic Vision Systems General Aviation (SVS-GA) research element, an integral part of NASA s Aviation Safety and Security Program (AvSSP), is investigating a revolutionary display technology designed to mitigate low visibility events such as controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and low-visibility loss of control (LVLoC). The integrated SVS Primary Flight Display (SVS-PFD) utilizes computer generated 3-dimensional imagery of the surrounding terrain augmented with flight path guidance symbology. This unique combination will provide GA pilots with an accurate representation of their environment and projection of their flight path, regardless of time of day or out-the-window (OTW) visibility. The initial Symbology Development for Head-Down Displays (SD-HDD) simulation experiment examined 16 display configurations on a centrally located high-resolution PFD installed in NASA s General Aviation Work Station (GAWS) flight simulator. The results of the experiment indicate that situation awareness (SA) can be enhanced without having a negative impact on flight technical error (FTE), by providing a general aviation pilot with an integrated SVS display to use when OTW visibility is obscured.

Bartolone, Anthony P.↗

Transfer-of-Training Research at NASA Ames Research Center

In this presentation, I will first give an overview of some of the research being performed at the Human Systems Integration Division of NASAs Ames Research Center. In the second part of the presentation, I will discuss two studies that investigate the effects of simulator motion on pilot transfer of training. In a study funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, task performance is used to investigate the effects of motion on the training of 4 challenging tasks in a transport category aircraft. In addition, the effectiveness of recently proposed objective motion cueing criteria for training simulators are evaluated. The second study, part of the NASA Aeronautics Research Program, focuses on optimizing simulator motion for maximum transfer of stall recovery training and utilizes a cybernetic approach to measure transfer of training.

Zaal, Peter M. T.↗

Characterizing surplus US plutonium for disposition

The United States (US) has identified 61.5 metric tons (MT) of plutonium that is permanently excess to use in nuclear weapons programs, including 47.2 MT of weapons-grade plutonium. Surplus inventories will be stored safely by the Department of Energy (DOE) and then transferred to facilities that will prepare the plutonium for permanent disposition. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) operates a Feed Characterization program for the Office of Fissile Materials Disposition (OFMD) of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the DOE Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM). SRNL manages a broad program of item tracking through process history, laboratory analysis, and non-destructive assay. A combination of analytical techniques allows SRNL to predict the isotopic and chemical properties that qualify materials for disposition through the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The research also defines properties that are important for other disposition paths, including disposal to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) as transuranic waste (TRUW) or to high-level waste (HLW) systems.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Characterizing Surplus US Plutonium for Disposition - 13199

The United States (US) has identified 61.5 metric tons (MT) of plutonium that is permanently excess to use in nuclear weapons programs, including 47.2 MT of weapons-grade plutonium. Surplus inventories will be stored safely by the Department of Energy (DOE) and then transferred to facilities that will prepare the plutonium for permanent disposition. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) operates a Feed Characterization program for the Office of Fissile Materials Disposition (OFMD) of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the DOE Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM). SRNL manages a broad program of item tracking through process history, laboratory analysis, and non-destructive assay. A combination of analytical techniques allows SRNL to predict the isotopic and chemical properties that qualify materials for disposition through the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). The research also defines properties that are important for other disposition paths, including disposal to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) as transuranic waste (TRUW) or to high-level waste (HLW) systems. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Small Business Voucher Program: Scaling-Up of Bio-Based C5 Building Block Production: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-16-00611

Visolis, Inc. is an early stage industrial biotechnology company developing next generation of processes for producing building blocks for bulk polymers and fuels. The company is developing low-cost routes to the chemicals of the future in support of DOE, EERE and BETO goals to grow the U.S. bioeconomy. NREL has capabilities in scale-up of fermentation processes from bench top through pilot scales and also has expertise and technologies related to production of lignocellulosic sugars from cellulosic feedstocks. NREL's Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility (IBRF) houses multiple fermentation vessels/systems ranging in size from 0.5 to 9,000 L along with ancillary capabilities in compositional analysis, separations, and purification. NREL's role will be to scale-up the Visolis process to produce an intermediate product, mevalonic acid, from both dextrose and biomass derived sugars. The goals of the project are to: 1) transfer and reproduce one of Visolis's proprietary fermentation processes at bench top and pilot scale at NREL's IBRF using dextrose as the feedstock, 2) carry out bench-scale fermentations using Visolis's organism and cellulosic sugars, and 3) produce mevalonic acid from the bench top and pilot scale runs for catalyst lifetime testing and conversion to isoprene.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

A Low Loss, Fast Ramp HTS Solenoid Prototype for Compact Spherical Tokamaks

To explore AC loss characteristics of commercial Bi-2212 conductors made in the USA, a small ohmic heating (OH) prototype coil is being developed for compact tokamaks using high performance Bi-2212 wires newly manufactured by Bruker EST. Here, the goal is to build and test Bi-2212 prototype coils for fast ramp central solenoid (CS) operation of spherical tokamaks (ST). For a ST pilot plant, one of the key challenges is the tight space available for CS in a center column where in-board legs of the toroidal field (TF) and OH coils are assembled into a cryostat with a few millimeters clearance. A high current density Rutherford cable consisting of 17 legacy Bi-2212 wires, a contribution of the US Magnet Development Program (MDP), was fabricated at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for the development of fast ramp CS magnets in the ST Advanced Reactor (STAR) designed by PPPL. Characterization of the new and legacy HTS wires is presented, along with the coil design wound directly with new wire, and a Rutherford cable-wound solenoid using the legacy wire. A comparison of AC losses is made based on expected performance for a fast ramp ST operation. The HTS cable and cabled coil fabrication issues such as the heat treatment, coil mandrel design, assembly and 2212 quench characteristics are discussed, along with a test plan for CS design validation.

Zhai, Yuhu [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (P↗

Development of Technologies and Capabilities for Coal Energy Resources

This is the final report for the Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR) Advanced Gasification Systems Development (AGSD) project that was initiated on October 1, 2004. The project’s primary objective is to demonstrate technologies that improve the availability and efficiency of gasification-based power plants and to reduce plant capital and operational costs. The objective will be accomplished by (1) development and testing of cooled refractory liners, (2) feed system development and demonstration, (3) pilot plant definition and planning, (4) transport gasifier feed analysis, (5) coal-biomass mixture feed analysis, and (6) coal-biomass mixture pilot scale tests. Task 1, development and testing of cooled refractory liners, was conducted at CANMET Energy Technology Centre in Ottawa, Canada. The test objectives were to screen high conductivity CMC materials with alternate manufacturing methods and a variety of surface treatments for cooled metal tubes in a slagging gasifier environment. During the CMC testing, it was found that a constantly cooled CMC will survive in good conditions and that high porosity CMC resulted in high material erosion and corrosion. During cooled tube testing, it was found that hard metal spray coat and bare Haynes 188 performed the best. Task 2, feed system development and demonstration, was conducted at at the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota (UND). For tasks 2.1-2.6, the test objective was to demonstrate 400-tons/day coal feed system operation (to 1,000 psia gasifier pressures) in ultra-dense phase flow without plugging and to achieve multi-element injector flow-split non-uniformities below 2 %RSD. Testing was successfully completed with no feed system plugging of the feed system. The majority of the other Task 2 activities were associated with the Dry Solids Pump design (Task 2.8 and 2.11), development (Task 2.10), fabrication (Task 2.12), amd testing (Task 2.13-2.15). A variety of tests were performed that verified the capability of the Dry Solids Pump to consolidate various pulverized feedstocks to a state capable of sealing and sustaining downstream outlet pressures during mechanical operation of the pump as well as during periods when the pump was turned off. However, the final operating goals were not achieved. Task 3, pilot plant definition and planning, was to define requirements for an advanced commercial gasifier with a cooled liner and to establish a preferred commercial gasifier system configuration to serve as the reference point for an advanced gasifier pilot plant concept definition. A pilot plant concept was successfully defined that is scalable and traceable to the commercial gasifier configuration. The schedule and cost for design, installation, and long-duration test operation of a pilot plant were estimated at 33 months and $\$$25.6M. Taks 4, transport gasifier feed analysis, was to determine the effects of larger sized transport gasifier low rank coals within the AR dry solids pump. It was found for the two low-rank +100 mesh size transport gasifier coals that the cohesion of these larger materials was significantly less than the coals ground to minus 200 mesh. Also, the gas permeability of the MSL transport coal was found to be significantly higher than the permeability of the PRB transport coal. Task 5, coal-biomass mixture feed analysis, was to determine the effects of coal biomass blends within the AR ultra-dense phase feed system and dry solids pump, and to determine the cost of electricity increase of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) operating on coal/biomass blends with the AR dry solids pump and ultra-dense phase feed system. In summary, it was found that 75/25 wt% coal/corn stover blends produce reasonable economic results for IGCC operation with minimal dry solids pump modifications – especially if the coal is a low rank coal and the corn stover biomass is pelletized. The increase in electricity cost was found to be 1.1 cents/kWh. Task 6, coal-biomass mixture pilot scale tests, was to determine which coal/biomass blends could be tested in the current dry solids pump without major modifications. As reported in detail in the reports by Sprouse (2010) and Sprouse and Darby (2013), the coal/biomass blend having the least impact on pump configuration and operation is the 90/10 wt% Illinois #6 to corn stover ratio blend. The AGSD program was initiated on October 1, 2004. The interim final report was submitted on October 21, 2010 and covered Task 1, Task 2.1-2.9, and Task 3, performed during budget period 1. This final report covers Task 2.10-2.16, 4, 5, and 6, performed during budget period 2. The interim final report is attached as part of the appendix to this report.

Darby, Alan K.↗

V/STOL aircraft simulation - Requirements and capabilities at Ames Research Center

Ground-based flight simulation contributes greatly to the development of new aircraft and flight management systems and will be especially important in improving the performance, safety, and environmental characteristics of future civil and military V/STOL aircraft. This paper describes existing simulation facilities at Ames Research Center and discusses their capabilities and limitations for V/STOL aircraft investigations. Simulation requirements for NASA research and support of DOD programs are also discussed, including technology development for advanced rotorcraft and civil and military V/STOL aircraft. Current efforts and future plans are described for the upgrading of Ames simulation facilities to meet those requirements. Recent advances in equipment technology and operational methodology are shown to provide significantly improved simulation fidelity through better motion and visual cues and faster system response to pilot inputs.

Wilcox, D. E.↗

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster Decelerator Subsystem Rocket Sled Test Program

A rocket sled test was performed as part of the development test program of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Decelerator Subsystem. The test objectives were to evaluate the nose cap/pilot chute deployment behavior and performance. The tests were performed by accelerating the sled and test article to the desired deployment conditions and then ejecting the SRB nose cap by firing three 30,000-lb thrusters. The nose cap then deployed the pilot chute (11.5-ft diam) which, in turn, initiated drogue chute pack deployment. Text conditions simulated the design deployment environment of dynamic pressure of 200 and 270 psf (corresponding sled velocities of 445 and 530 ft/s) and were conducted in configurations representative of SRB (solid rocket booster) angles of attack of 80 and 140 deg, respectively. A test description and summary of results are presented.

Kross, D. A.↗

Implementation and verification of a comprehensive helicopter coupled rotor - Fuselage analysis

The analytical basis and the application of a Rotor/Airframe Comprehensive Aeroelastic Program (RACAP) are described in detail. The rationale behind each analytical choice is outlined and the modular procedure is described. The program is verified by application to the AH-1G helicopter. The applicability of various airload prediction models is examined, and both the steady and vibratory responses of the blade are compared with flight test data. Reasonable correlation is found between measured and calculated blade response, with excellent correlation for vibration amplitudes at various locations on the fuselage such as engine, pilot seat, and gunner. Within the analytical model, comparisons are drawn between an isolated blade analysis and a coupled rotor/fuselage model. The deficiency of the former in the context of the AH-1G is highlighted.

Wood, E. R.↗

Group-level issues in the design and training of cockpit crews

Cockpit crews always operate in an organizational context, and the transactions between the crew and representatives of that context (e.g., organizational managers, air traffic controllers) are consequential for any crew's performance. For a complete understanding of crew performance a look beyond the traditional focus on individual pilots is provided to see how team- and organization-level factors can enhance (or impede) the ability of even well-trained individuals to work together effectively. This way of thinking about cockpit crews (that is, viewing them as teams that operate in organizations) offers some potentially useful avenues for thinking about next steps in the development of CRM training programs. Those possibilities are explored, emphasizing how they can enrich (not replace) individually-focussed CRM training.

Hackman, J. Richard↗

Flight control systems development and flight test experience with the HiMAT research vehicles

Two highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT) remotely piloted vehicles were flown a total of 26 flights. These subscale vehicles were of advanced aerodynamic configuration with advanced technology concepts such as composite and metallic structures, digital integrated propulsion control, and ground (primary) and airborne (backup) relaxed static stability, digital fly-by-wire control systems. Extensive systems development, checkout, and flight qualification were required to conduct the flight test program. The design maneuver goal was to achieve a sustained 8-g turn at Mach 0.9 at an altitude of 25,000 feet. This goal was achieved, along with the acquisition of high-quality flight data at subsonic and supersonic Mach numbers. Control systems were modified in a variety of ways using the flight-determined aerodynamic characteristics. The HiMAT program was successfully completed with approximately 11 hours of total flight time.

Kempel, Robert W.↗

Heat Flux and Wall Temperature Estimates for the NASA Langley HIFiRE Direct Connect Rig

An objective of the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) Program Flight 2 is to provide validation data for high enthalpy scramjet prediction tools through a single flight test and accompanying ground tests of the HIFiRE Direct Connect Rig (HDCR) tested in the NASA LaRC Arc Heated Scramjet Test Facility (AHSTF). The HDCR is a full-scale, copper heat sink structure designed to simulate the isolator entrance conditions and isolator, pilot, and combustor section of the HIFiRE flight test experiment flowpath and is fully instrumented to assess combustion performance over a range of operating conditions simulating flight from Mach 5.5 to 8.5 and for various fueling schemes. As part of the instrumentation package, temperature and heat flux sensors were provided along the flowpath surface and also imbedded in the structure. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the surface heat flux and wall temperature of the Zirconia coated copper wall can be obtained with a water-cooled heat flux gage and a sub-surface temperature measurement. An algorithm was developed which used these two measurements to reconstruct the surface conditions along the flowpath. Determinations of the surface conditions of the Zirconia coating were conducted for a variety of conditions.

Cuda, Vincent, Jr.↗