Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Chemical Plant”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Automated Theorem Proving in High-Quality Software Design

The amount and complexity of software developed during the last few years has increased tremendously. In particular, programs are being used more and more in embedded systems (from car-brakes to plant-control). Many of these applications are safety-relevant, i.e. a malfunction of hardware or software can cause severe damage or loss. Tremendous risks are typically present in the area of aviation, (nuclear) power plants or (chemical) plant control. Here, even small problems can lead to thousands of casualties and huge financial losses. Large financial risks also exist when computer systems are used in the area of telecommunication (telephone, electronic commerce) or space exploration. Computer applications in this area are not only subject to safety considerations, but also security issues are important. All these systems must be designed and developed to guarantee high quality with respect to safety and security. Even in an industrial setting which is (or at least should be) aware of the high requirements in Software Engineering, many incidents occur. For example, the Warshaw Airbus crash, was caused by an incomplete requirements specification. Uncontrolled reuse of an Ariane 4 software module was the reason for the Ariane 5 disaster. Some recent incidents in the telecommunication area, like illegal "cloning" of smart-cards of D2GSM handies, or the extraction of (secret) passwords from German T-online users show that also in this area serious flaws can happen. Due to the inherent complexity of computer systems, most authors claim that only a rigorous application of formal methods in all stages of the software life cycle can ensure high quality of the software and lead to real safe and secure systems. In this paper, we will have a look, in how far automated theorem proving can contribute to a more widespread application of formal methods and their tools, and what automated theorem provers (ATPs) must provide in order to be useful.

Schumann, Johann↗
NASA NTRS1978

High performance, high density hydrocarbon fuels

The fuels were selected from 77 original candidates on the basis of estimated merit index and cost effectiveness. The ten candidates consisted of 3 pure compounds, 4 chemical plant streams and 3 refinery streams. Critical physical and chemical properties of the candidate fuels were measured including heat of combustion, density, and viscosity as a function of temperature, freezing points, vapor pressure, boiling point, thermal stability. The best all around candidate was found to be a chemical plant olefin stream rich in dicyclopentadiene. This material has a high merit index and is available at low cost. Possible problem areas were identified as low temperature flow properties and thermal stability. An economic analysis was carried out to determine the production costs of top candidates. The chemical plant and refinery streams were all less than 44 cent/kg while the pure compounds were greater than 44 cent/kg. A literature survey was conducted on the state of the art of advanced hydrocarbon fuel technology as applied to high energy propellents. Several areas for additional research were identified.

Frankenfeld, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Low-Power Temperature-Swing Adsorption for Mars Atmosphere Acquisition

The promise of ISRU-based mission architectures for Mars surface exploration will begin to be realized during the next decade as robotic spacecraft sent to Mars carry components and whole chemical plants for producing propellants from the planet's atmosphere. These chemical plants will need to perform three primary operations: acquisition of atmospheric carbon dioxide, reactions to transform the gas into oxygen and possibly fuel, and storage of the products. This presentation focuses on development of technologies at NASA Ames Research Center for the first of these operations, carbon dioxide acquisition. The carbon dioxide acquisition component for a propellant production plant has several general, top level requirements. It has a stringent requirement for minimal power consumption; a critical need for long-term reliability over the period of time the chemical plant must operate (say, 500 days); a production rate requirement for carbon dioxide; and a state point requirement (particularly pressure) for the CO2 produced. The first two requirements help determine the best technological approach, while the latter two generally define the characteristics (e.g., size and power consumption) of the device. Mass and volume must be minimized, as usual.

Finn, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Low-Power Temperature-Swing Adsorption for Mars Atmosphere Acquisition

The promise of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)-based mission architectures for Mars surface exploration will begin to be realized during the next decade as robotic spacecraft sent to Mars carry components and whole chemical plants for producing propellants from the planet's atmosphere. These chemical plants will need to perform three primary operations: acquisition of atmospheric carbon dioxide, reactions to transform the gas into oxygen and possibly fuel, and storage of the products. This presentation focuses on development of technologies at NASA Ames Research Center for the first of these operations, carbon dioxide acquisition.

Finn, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Pool Boiling Experiment Has Five Successful Flights

The Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) is designed to improve understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that constitute nucleate pool boiling. Nucleate pool boiling is a process wherein a stagnant pool of liquid is in contact with a surface that can supply heat to the liquid. If the liquid absorbs enough heat, a vapor bubble can be formed. This process occurs when a pot of water boils. On Earth, gravity tends to remove the vapor bubble from the heating surface because it is dominated by buoyant convection. In the orbiting space shuttle, however, buoyant convection has much less of an effect because the forces of gravity are very small. The Pool Boiling Experiment was initiated to provide insight into this nucleate boiling process, which has many earthbound applications in steamgeneration power plants, petroleum plants, and other chemical plants. In addition, by using the test fluid R-113, the Pool Boiling Experiment can provide some basic understanding of the boiling behavior of cryogenic fluids without the large cost of an experiment using an actual cryogen.

Chiaramonte, Fran↗
NASA NTRS1996

Pool Boiling Experiment Has Successful Flights

The Pool Boiling Experiment (PBE) is designed to improve understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that constitute nucleate pool boiling. Nucleate pool boiling is a process wherein a stagnant pool of liquid is in contact with a surface that can supply heat to the liquid. If the liquid absorbs enough heat, a vapor bubble can be formed. This process occurs when a pot of water boils. On Earth, gravity tends to remove the vapor bubble from the heating surface because it is dominated by buoyant convection. In the orbiting space shuttle, however, buoyant convection has much less of an effect because the forces of gravity are very small. The Pool Boiling Experiment was initiated to provide insight into this nucleate boiling process, which has many Earthbound applications, such as steam-generation power plants, petroleum, and other chemical plants. Also, by using the test fluid R-113, the Pool Boiling Experiment can provide some basic understanding of the boiling behavior of cryogenic fluids without the large cost of an experiment using an actual cryogen.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1999

Trade Study of Five In-Situ Propellant Production System for a Mars Sample Return Mission

One of the goals of NASA''s HEDS enterprise is to establish a long-term human presence on Mars at a fraction of the cost of employing today''s technology. The most direct method of reducing mission cost is to reduce the launch mass of the spacecraft. If the propellants for the return phase of the mission are produced on Mars, the total spacecraft mass could be reduced significantly. An interim goal is a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, which is proposed to demonstrate the feasibility of in-situ propellant production (ISPP). Five candidate ISPP systems for producing two fuels and oxygen from the Martian atmosphere are considered in this design trade-off study:(1) Zirconia cell with methanol synthesis, (2) Reverse water gas shift (RWGS) with water electrolysis and methanol synthesis, (3) Sabatier process for methane production with water electrolysis, (4) Sabatier process with water electrolysis and partial methane pyrolysis, and (5) Sabatier/RWGS combination with water electrolysis. These systems have been the subject of numerous previous analytical studies and laboratory demonstrations. In this investigation, the systems are objectively compared on the basis of thermochemical performance models using a commonly used chemical plant analysis software package. The realistic effects of incomplete chemical conversion and gas phase separator performance are included in these models. This study focuses on the chemical processing and product separation subsystems. The CO2 compression upstream of the chemical plane and the liquefaction/storage components are not included here.

Green, S. T.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Remote coupling of air lines

Bullseye coupler is projected pneumatically from one railroad car at the second car's point of connection. System depends on assumption that inaccuracies in relative position of cars do not exceed certain limits. System is usefull to oil drilling, marine rescue and salvage, nuclear work and chemical plant operations.

Fuchs, C. E.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Composite materials. Volume 3 - Engineering applications of composites. Volume 4 - Metallic matrix composites. Volume 8 - Structural design and analysis, Part 2

This volume discusses a vaety of applications of both low- and high-cost composite materials in a number of selected engineering fields. The text stresses the use of fiber-reinforced composites, along with interesting material systems used in the electrical and nuclear industries. As to technology transfer, a similarity is noted between many of the reasons responsible for the utilization of composites and those problems requiring urgent solution, such as mechanized fabrication processes and design for production. Features topics include road transportation, rail transportation, civil aircraft, space vehicles, builing industry, chemical plants, and appliances and equipment. The laminate orientation code devised by Air Force materials laboratory is included. Individual items are announced in this issue.

Noton, B. R.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Fluid-connector selection

Usefulness of dynamic programming for systems design is illustrated by study on selection of separable bolted connectors for aerospace applications. Report should be of specific interest to those considering other dynamic programming applications in fields such as construction of refineries, chemical plants, and electronics.

Prasthofer, W. P.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The role of chemical engineering in space manufacturing

A survey of factors involved in space manufacturing is presented. It is shown that it will be more economical to obtain the necessary raw materials from the moon than from earth due to earth's greater gravity and atmosphere. Discussion covers what resources can be mined and recovered from the moon and what ranges of industrial feedstock can be provided from lunar materials, noting that metallurgy will be different in space due to the lack of key elements such as H, C, Na, Cl, etc. Also covered are chemical plant design, space environmental factors such as vacuum and zero gravity, recycling requirments, reagent and equipment mass, and unit operations such as materials handling and phase separation. It is concluded that a pilot plant in space could be an economic boon to mankind.

Waldron, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Light, Compact Pumper for Harbor Fires

Report describes development of new transportable water-pumping unit for fire-fighting. Compact, self-contained unit provides fire protection at coastal and inland ports and is lighter than standard firetruck pumper of same capacity. Used to fight fires in harbors, cities, forests, refineries, chemical plants, and offshore drilling platforms. Other possible applications include cleaning up oilspills, pumping out ships, and flood control pumping.

Burns, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1929

Welding of Stainless Materials

It would appear that welds in some stainless steels, heat-treated in some practicable way, will probably be found to have all the resistance to corrosion that is required for aircraft. Certainly these structures are not subjected to the severe conditions that are found in chemical plants.

WELDING↗
NASA NTRS1995

Helmet-Mounted Display Of Clouds Of Harmful Gases

Proposed helmet-mounted opto-electronic instrument provides real-time stereoscopic views of clouds of otherwise invisible toxic, explosive, and/or corrosive gas. Display semitransparent: images of clouds superimposed on scene ordinarily visible to wearer. Images give indications on sizes and concentrations of gas clouds and their locations in relation to other objects in scene. Instruments serve as safety devices for astronauts, emergency response crews, fire fighters, people cleaning up chemical spills, or anyone working near invisible hazardous gases. Similar instruments used as sensors in automated emergency response systems that activate safety equipment and emergency procedures. Both helmet-mounted and automated-sensor versions used at industrial sites, chemical plants, or anywhere dangerous and invisible or difficult-to-see gases present. In addition to helmet-mounted and automated-sensor versions, there could be hand-held version. In some industrial applications, desirable to mount instruments and use them similarly to parking-lot surveillance cameras.

Diner, Daniel B.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Immobile Robots: AI in the New Millennium

A new generation of sensor rich, massively distributed, autonomous systems are being developed that have the potential for profound social, environmental, and economic change. These include networked building energy systems, autonomous space probes, chemical plant control systems, satellite constellations for remote ecosystem monitoring, power grids, biosphere-like life support systems, and reconfigurable traffic systems, to highlight but a few. To achieve high performance, these immobile robots (or immobots) will need to develop sophisticated regulatory and immune systems that accurately and robustly control their complex internal functions. To accomplish this, immobots will exploit a vast nervous system of sensors to model themselves and their environment on a grand scale. They will use these models to dramatically reconfigure themselves in order to survive decades of autonomous operations. Achieving these large scale modeling and configuration tasks will require a tight coupling between the higher level coordination function provided by symbolic reasoning, and the lower level autonomic processes of adaptive estimation and control. To be economically viable they will need to be programmable purely through high level compositional models. Self modeling and self configuration, coordinating autonomic functions through symbolic reasoning, and compositional, model-based programming are the three key elements of a model-based autonomous systems architecture that is taking us into the New Millennium.

Williams, Brian C.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Making the EZ Choice

Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. (AMA), of Hampton, Virginia, created the EZopt software application through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from NASA's Langley Research Center. The new software is a user-friendly tool kit that provides quick and logical solutions to complex optimal control problems. In its most basic form, EZopt converts process data into math equations and then proceeds to utilize those equations to solve problems within control systems. EZopt successfully proved its advantage when applied to short-term mission planning and onboard flight computer implementation. The technology has also solved multiple real-life engineering problems faced in numerous commercial operations. For instance, mechanical engineers use EZopt to solve control problems with robots, while chemical plants implement the application to overcome situations with batch reactors and temperature control. In the emerging field of commercial aerospace, EZopt is able to optimize trajectories for launch vehicles and perform potential space station- keeping tasks. Furthermore, the software also helps control electromagnetic devices in the automotive industry.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1997

Wing Flutter Control

Through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts from Langley Research Center, Orbital Research Inc. developed the Orbital Research Intelligent Control Algorithm (ORICA), the first practical hardware-independent adaptive predictive control structure, specifically suited for optimal control of complex, time-varying systems. ORICA technology has been applied to the problem of controlling aircraft wing flutter. Coupled with NASA expertise, the technology has the possibility of making jet travel safer, more cost effective by extending distance range, and lowering overall aircraft operating costs. Future application areas for ORICA include control of robots, power trains, systems with arrays of sensors, or regulating chemical plants or electrical power plant control.

Source record↗