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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Electronic Speed Controller Thermal Management

This experiment was coupled with an acoustic test for NASA’s QUiet Electric ENgine (QUEEN). A cold plate with water was used to cool the electronic speed controller of the motor under different conditions (shown on right). Part 1: Fixed motor RPM, translating to fixed power/heat dissipation (4W per MOSFET) of electrical components, with variable cooling capacity measured by flow rate of cold plate water in gpm. Part 2: Fixed cooling power (1 gpm) with variable RPM.

thermal↗
NASA NTRS2015

Thermodynamic Analysis of the 3-Stage ADR for the Astro-H Soft X-Ray Spectrometer Instrument

The Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) instrument on Astro-H will use a 3-stage ADR to cool the microcalorimeter array to 50 mK. In the primary operating mode, two stages of the ADR cool the detectors using superfluid helium at 1.20 K as the heat sink. In the secondary mode, which is activated when the liquid helium is depleted, two of the stages continuously cool the (empty) helium tank using a 4.5 K Joule-Thomson cooler as the heat sink, and the third stage cools the detectors. In the design phase, a high-fidelity model of the ADR was developed in order to predict both the cooling capacity and heat rejection rates in both operating modes. The primary sources of heat flow are from the salt pills, hysteresis heat from the magnets and magnetic shields, and power dissipated by the heat switches. The flight instrument dewar, ADR, detectors and electronics were integrated in mid-2014 and have since undergone extensive performance testing, in part to validate the performance model. This paper will present the thermodynamic performance of the ADR, including cooling capacity, heat rejection to the heat sinks, and various measures of efficiency.

space cryogenics↗
NASA NTRS2016

Cooling Rates of Lunar Volcanic Glass Beads

It is widely accepted that the Apollo 15 green and Apollo 17 orange glass beads are of volcanic origin. The diffusion profiles of volatiles in these glass beads are believed to be due to degassing during eruption (Saal et al., 2008). The degree of degassing depends on the initial temperature and cooling rate. Therefore, the estimations of volatiles in parental magmas of lunar pyroclastic deposits depend on melt cooling rates. Furthermore, lunar glass beads may have cooled in volcanic environments on the moon. Therefore, the cooling rates may be used to assess the atmospheric condition in an early moon, when volcanic activities were common. The cooling rates of glasses can be inferred from direct heat capacity measurements on the glasses themselves (Wilding et al., 1995, 1996a,b). This method does not require knowledge of glass cooling environments and has been applied to calculate the cooling rates of natural silicate glasses formed in different terrestrial environments. We have carried out heat capacity measurements on hand-picked lunar glass beads using a Netzsch DSC 404C Pegasus differential scanning calorimeter at University of Munich. Our preliminary results suggest that the cooling rate of Apollo 17 orange glass beads may be ~12 K/min, based on the correlation between temperature of the heat capacity curve peak in the glass transition range and glass cooling rate. The results imply that the parental magmas of lunar pyroclastic deposits may have contained more water initially than the early estimations (Saal et al., 2008), which used higher cooling rates, 60-180 K/min in the modeling. Furthermore, lunar volcanic glass beads could have been cooled in a hot gaseous medium released from volcanic eruptions, not during free flight. Therefore, our results may shed light on atmospheric condition in an early moon.

Hui, Hejiu↗
NASA NTRS1995

NASA Lewis Research Center's combustor test facilities and capabilities

NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) presently accommodates a total of six combustor test facilities with unique capabilities. The facilities are used to evaluate combustor and afterburner concepts for future engine applications, and also to test the survivability and performance of innovative high temperature materials, new instrumentation, and engine components in a realistic jet engine environment. The facilities provide a variety of test section interfaces and lengths to allow for flametube, sector and component testing. The facilities can accommodate a wide range of operating conditions due to differing capabilities in the following areas: inlet air pressure, temperature, and flow; fuel flow rate, pressure, and fuel storage capacity; maximum combustion zone temperature; cooling water flow rate and pressure; types of exhaust - atmospheric or altitude; air heater supply pressure; and types of air heaters - vitiated or nonvitiated. All of the facilities have provisions for standard gas (emissions) analysis, and a few of the facilities are equipped with specialized gas analysis equipment, smoke and particle size measurement devices, and a variety of laser systems. This report will present some of the unique features of each of the high temperature/high pressure combustor test facilities at NASA LeRC.

Bianco, Jean↗
NASA NTRS1976

Parameters affecting electrostatic cooling

A high voltage electrostatic field is discussed which enhances the rate of normal convective cooling. This cooling rate is a function of starting temperature and voltage applied, and an inverse function of atmospheric pressure or the heat capacity of the surrounding media. It appears that the cooling rate is also a function of current flow; however, additional work is needed to separate other variables from the effect of current flow. The maximum increase in heat loss over the normal convective cooling was approximately 0.167 C/sec (0.3 F/sec) at 316 C (600 F) and 20,000 V. From the data taken it is assumed that the addeded rate of cooling would be increased with higher temperatures and higher voltages. It appears that a high voltage field disrupts the molecular layer of air surrounding a hot body and increases the rate of convective cooling.

Demorest, K. E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of Extractive and Optical PM Measurements from the NASA SE-5 High Pressure Flame Diagnostics Laboratory

Soot emissions measurements of multiphase non-premixed flames are sparse in the literature due to the complexities of sampling in such environments. We present an overview from on-going work at the NASA SE-5 High Pressure Flame Diagnostics laboratory focusing on soot and gaseous emissions at elevated pressures. SE-5 is a gaseous and liquid fueled high pressure flame tube facility capable of operating at pressures up to 880 psia, cooling capacity of 4,000,000 BTU/hr, liquid fuel flow rates up to 2 GPH, and an equivalence ratio range of 0.2 (fuel lean) to 4 (fuel rich). SE-5 provides optical access via four UV-grade fused silica optical windows of the primary reaction zone enabling non-intrusive optical diagnostics of the flame.

Soot↗
NASA NTRS2022

Gravitational Effects on Liquefaction Systems for Lunar and Mars Exploration

There is interest at NASA, other space agencies, and industry, in the liquefaction of fluids produced through in-situ processes on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. A multi-center team at NASA recently considered multiple different refrigeration cycles and refrigeration integration methodologies and how these might fit into early liquefaction plants for NASA's exploration initiatives. The rate of liquefaction for these initiatives is quite slow in comparison to large scale terrestrial applications. These studies concluded that, for both structural and heat spreading reasons, integrating the refrigeration tubing on the surface of the storage tank wall is an attractive path to pursue in the near term. In order to develop a technology development path and inform investors, it was desired to investigate the sensitivity of gravity of the processes involved. An analysis of the condensation processes within the tank is performed. The objective is to determine the sensitivity of liquefaction to gravitational effects. The heat transfer mechanisms include forced convection heat removal to the refrigeration system (or cryocooler), conduction through the tank wall heat exchanger, and convection and condensation on the inner tank wall. Gravity affects the liquefaction process via condensate liquid drainage, natural convection in the ullage, and the shape of the liquid-vapor interface within the tank. Analysis of these mechanisms shows that while there is some sensitivity to gravitational level in general, within the bounds of current interest (rate of liquefaction appropriate to Lunar and Martian applications, and cooling capacity of the cryocooler), this sensitivity of liquefaction to gravity is quite small. Thus, system level testing on the Earth should suffice for the performance prediction and demonstration of liquefaction operations as applicable to Lunar and Martian applications.

ISRU↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Effect of Cathode Composition on the Thermal Characteristics of Lithium-Ion Cells

The specific thermal capacity and heat dissipation rate for lithium ion cells containing LiNiO2 and mixed oxide (75%LiCoO2+ 25%LiNiO2) as cathode materials are compared. The experimental measurements were made using a radiative calorimeter consisting of a copper chamber maintained at -168 C by circulating liquid nitrogen and enclosed in a vacuum bell jar. The specific thermal capacity was determined based on warm-up and cool-down transients. The heat dissipation rate was calculated from the values measured for heat radiated and stored, and the resulting values were corrected for conductive heat dissipation through the leads. The specific heat was 1.117 J/ C-g for the LiNiO2 cell and 0.946 J/ C-g for the 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 cell. Endothermic cooling at the beginning of charge was very apparent for the cell containing 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 as the cathode. Exothermic heating began at a higher state of charge for the cell with the 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 cathode compared to the LiNiO2 cathode cell. During discharge, the rate of heat dissipation increased with increase in the discharge current for both types of cells. The maximum heat dissipated at C/5 discharge was 0.065 W and 0.04 W for the LiNiO2 and 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 cells, respectively, The thermoneutral potential showed variability toward the end of discharge. The plateau region of the curves was used to calculate average thermoneutral potentials of 3.698 V and 3.837 V for the LiNiO2 cell and the 75%LiCoO2,25%LiNiO2 cell, respectively.

Vaidyanathan, Hari↗
NASA NTRS2016

Small Spacecraft Active Thermal Control: Micro-Vascular Composites Enable Small Satellite Cooling

The Small Spacecraft Integrated Power System with Active Thermal Control project endeavors to achieve active thermal control for small spacecraft in a practical and lightweight structure by circulating a coolant through embedded micro-vascular channels in deployable composite panels. Typically, small spacecraft rely on small body mounted passive radiators to discard heat. This limits cooling capacity and leads to the necessity to design for limited mission operations. These restrictions severely limit the ability of the system to dissipate large amounts of heat from radios, propulsion systems, etc. An actively pumped cooling system combined with a large deployable radiator brings two key advantages over the state of the art for small spacecraft: capacity and flexibility. The use of a large deployable radiator increases the surface area of the spacecraft and allows the radiation surface to be pointed in a direction allowing the most cooling, drastically increasing cooling capacity. With active coolant circulation, throttling of the coolant flow can enable high heat transfer rates during periods of increased heat load, or isolate the radiator during periods of low heat dissipation.

Deployable radiator↗
NASA NTRS1993

Microporous Carbon Disks For Sorption Refrigerators

Slow, carefully controlled pyrolysis found to turn polyvinylidene chloride disks into carbon disks having small pores and large surface areas. Disks exhibit high adsorptivities making them useful in krypton-sorption refrigerators. Carbons made from polyvinylidene chloride have greater adsorptive capacities. Thermal instability controlled and variability of product reduced by careful control of rates of heating, heating times, and rate of final cooling.

Munukutla, Lakshmi V.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Water Vapor Permeability of the Advanced Crew Escape Suit

Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) crewmembers are expected to return to earth wearing a suit similar to the current Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES). To ensure optimum cognitive performance, suited crewmembers must maintain their core body temperature within acceptable limits. There are currently several options for thermal maintenance in the post-landing phase. These include the current baseline, which uses an ammonia boiler, purge flow using oxygen in the suit, accessing sea water for liquid cooling garment (LCG) cooling and/or relying on the evaporative cooling capacity of the suit. These options vary significantly in mass, power, engineering and safety factors, with relying on the evaporative cooling capacity of the suit being the least difficult to implement. Data from previous studies indicates that the evaporative cooling capacity of the ACES was much higher than previously expected, but subsequent tests were performed for longer duration and higher metabolic rates to better define the water vapor permeability of the ACES. In these tests five subjects completed a series of tests performing low to moderate level exercise in order to control for a target metabolic rate while wearing the ACES in an environmentally controlled thermal chamber. Four different metabolic profiles at a constant temperature of 95 F and relative humidity of 50% were evaluated. These tests showed subjects were able to reject about twice as much heat in the permeable ACES as they were in an impermeable suit that had less thermal insulation. All of the heat rejection differential is attributed to the increased evaporation capability through the Gortex bladder of the suit.

Bue, Grant↗
NASA NTRS1977

Thermodynamic property determination in low gravity

Techniques for determining heat capacities and other properties of molten metals were investigated and critically evaluated. Precisely determining heat capacities calorimetrically in space poses several problems. The weight of a drop calorimeter block along with the necessity of obtaining a large number of data points tend to make traditional approaches appear infeasible. However, for many substances exhibiting sufficiently high thermal conductivities and with known emissivities, it appears possible to investigate their properties by observing the rate of cooling of a levitated sphere which is initially at a uniform temperature above the melting point. A special advantage of the levitation method is that considerable supercooling is expected, making the study of the heat capacities of molten metals both above and below their melting points possible.

Margrave, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Physiologic and thermal responses of male and female patients with multiple sclerosis to head and neck cooling

Personal cooling systems are used to alleviate symptoms of multiple sclerosis and to prevent increased core temperature during daily activities. The objective of this study was to determine the thermal and physiologic responses of patients with multiple sclerosis to short-term maximal head and neck cooling. A Life Support Systems, Inc. Mark VII portable cooling system and a liquid cooling helmet were used to cool the head and neck regions of 24 female and 26 male patients with multiple sclerosis in this study. The subjects, seated in an upright position at normal room temperature (approximately 22 degrees C), were cooled for 30 min by the liquid cooling garment, which was operated at its maximum cooling capacity. Oral, right, and left ear temperatures and cooling system parameters were logged manually every 5 min. Forearm, calf, chest, and rectal temperatures, heart rate, and respiration rate were recorded continuously on a U.F.I., Inc. Biolog ambulatory monitor. This protocol was performed during the winter and summer to investigate the seasonal differences in the way patients with multiple sclerosis respond to head and neck cooling. No significant differences were found between the male and female subject group's mean rectal or oral temperature responses during any phase of the experiment. The mean oral temperature decreased significantly (P < 0.05) for both groups approximately 0.3 degrees C after 30 min of cooling and continued to decrease further (approximately 0.1-0.2 degrees C) for a period of approximately 15 min after removal of the cooling helmet. The mean rectal temperatures decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in both male and female subjects in the winter studies (approximately 0.2-0.3 degrees C) and for the male subjects during the summer test (approximately 0.2 degrees C). However, the rectal temperature of the female subjects did not change significantly during any phase of the summer test. These data indicate that head and neck cooling may, in general, be used to reduce the oral and body temperatures of both male and female patients with multiple sclerosis by the approximate amount needed for symptomatic relief as shown by other researchers. However, thermal response of patients with multiple sclerosis may be affected by gender and seasonal factors, which should be considered in the use of liquid cooling therapy.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗
NASA NTRS2014

Controllable Multi-Functional Heat Exchanger for Space Applications

Team Spacering will design SpaceRing, a cooling and waste heat recycling system that addresses NASA’s interest for a cooling and power-generating unit in its prototype deep space habitat[1]. The merits of this system are as follows: - Controllable cooling is critical in maintaining a habitable environment and in the functionality of life support systems, powering electronics and other devices in a spacecraft. - Power is expensive to produce in a space environment. Converting wasted thermal energy into electricity will save energy and money for the space station. Space habitation is a highly complex endeavor. Consequently, the SpaceRing must adhere to additional constraints, which include: - Lack of natural fluid or gas convection due to micro-gravity environment - Limited range for heat source and cold sink temperature - Subject to high fluctuations of incoming thermal energy - Minimal weight due to the high cost of transporting items into space After consulting with NASA and experts in thermal studies, several design objectives were identified and are listed below in order of importance: - High cooling capacity - Reliable safety control and alert system - Maximization of energy generation from wasted heat - Optimization of cooling capability and power generation - Long operational life and minimization of maintenance In space, conventional cooling systems utilize passive heat pipe systems for small-scale heat rejection and pumped pipes with heat exchangers for large-scale heat rejection. Thermal power generation in space is mainly achieved by using thermoelectric material that produces electric energy from temperature differentials. We propose a design that combines cooling and thermoelectric power generation. Using a hot pipe connected to a heat source, a cold pipe connected to a radiator, a heat exchanger in contact with both pipes, and a pump in each pipe to move the fluid, we make an active cooling system. The thermoelectric material is inserted in the heat exchanger between the hot and cold pipes to extract energy from the maximum temperature difference coming from the two pipes. It also provides controllable cooling capacity through the use of the thermoelectric material as cooling modules. We have tested our system under target heat source and sink conditions and measured the temperatures and flow rates. Our preliminary results are promising, demonstrating the output of 25 Watts of power on average. We are in the process of running control tests to compare the heat transfer performance without the thermoelectric generators, which is vital in determining whether or not the generators introduce an unacceptable amount of thermal resistance. While some control tests have been run already, the results have been noisy. We have modified our testing environment and data acquisition methods to allow for simple comparison between the control test results and thermoelectric performance results. Lastly, we have modified the heat exchanger design slightly to include acrylic baffles. This will allow the heat to flow through the heat exchanger more efficiently. We have presented our preliminary results to NASA and will deliver the final product by the end of May 2014.

Lee Xiong↗
NASA NTRS1985

Measurement of energy distribution in flowing hydrogen microwave plasmas

An electrothermal propulsion concept utilizing a microwave plasma system as the mechanism to convert electromagnetic energy into kinetic energy of a flowing gas is investigated. A calorimetry system enclosing a microwave plasma system has been developed to accurately measure the energy inputs and outputs of the microwave plasma system. The rate of energy transferred to the gas can be determined to within + or - 1.8 W from an energy balance around the microwave plasma system. The percentage of the power absorbed by the microwave plasma system transferred to the hydrogen gas as it flows through the system is found to increase with the increasing flow rate, to decrease with the increasing pressure, and to be independent of the absorbed power. An upper bound for the hydrogen gas temperature is estimated from the energy content, heat capacity, and flow rate of the gas stream. A lower bound for an overall heat-transfer coefficient is then calculated, characterizing the energy loss from the hydrogen gas stream to the air cooling of the plasma discharge tube wall. The heat-transfer coefficient is found to increase with the increasing flow rate and pressure and to be independent of the absorbed power. This result indicates that a convective-type mechanism is responsible for the energy transfer.

Chapman, R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

75 Ah and 10 boilerplate nickel-hydrogen battery designs and test results

The results of initial characterization testing of 75 Ah actively cooled bipolar battery designs and 10 boilerplate nickel-hydrogen battery designs are presented. The results demonstrate the extended cycle life capability of the Ah batteries and the high capacity utilizations at various discharge rates of the nickel-hydrogen batteries.

Daman, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Electrical and Thermal Characteristics of Lithium-Ion Cells

The 18,650 type lithium ion cells are characterized by a cell resistance of 130 mOmega, capacity of 1.27 Ah at 25 C, and a mid-discharge voltage of 3.6 V. The capacity loss in the 72-hour stand test was 3.39%. The heat dissipation properties were determined by a radiative calorimeter. During charge, initial endothermic cooling and subsequent exothermic cooling beyond 55% state- of-charge were observed. At C/2 rate of discharge (which is considered medium rate), the heat dissipated was 17 mW/cu cm. The heat dissipation profile during discharge is also unique in the presence of a minimum that is different from that observed for Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, and Ni-H2 cells.

Rao. Gopalskrishna M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Electrical and Thermal Characteristics of Lithium-Ion Cells

The 18650 type lithium ion cells are characterized by a cell resistance of 130 m Omega, capacity of 1.27 Ah at 25C, and a mid-discharge voltage of 3.6 V. The capacity loss in the 72-hour stand test was 3.39 percent. The heat dissipation properties were determined by a radiative calorimeter. During charge, initial endothermic cooling and subsequent exothermic cooling beyond 55 percent state-of-charge were observed. At C/2 rate of discharge (which is considered medium rate), the heat dissipated was 17 mW/cc. The heat dissipation profile during discharge is also unique in the presence of a minimum that is different from that observed for Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, and Ni-H2 cells.

Vaidyanathan, Hari↗