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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
DOE OSTI2024

An integrated modeling framework with open architecture for phase field simulation of multi-component alloys

An integrated modeling framework (PanPhaseField) has been developed, which enables a direct and fast coupling between CALPHAD calculations and large-scale phase field simulations for multi-component alloys. Further, it adopts an open architecture allowing for integration of user-defined phase field models in a plug-and-play manner by taking full advantage of the user-friendly graphical interface of Pandat software. The developed modeling platform becomes an enabling tool that can be used to simulate the evolution of spatially varying microstructures of industrial complex alloys for various engineering applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2003

Mobile Agents: A Distributed Voice-Commanded Sensory and Robotic System for Surface EVA Assistance

A model-based, distributed architecture integrates diverse components in a system designed for lunar and planetary surface operations: spacesuit biosensors, cameras, GPS, and a robotic assistant. The system transmits data and assists communication between the extra-vehicular activity (EVA) astronauts, the crew in a local habitat, and a remote mission support team. Software processes ("agents"), implemented in a system called Brahms, run on multiple, mobile platforms, including the spacesuit backpacks, all-terrain vehicles, and robot. These "mobile agents" interpret and transform available data to help people and robotic systems coordinate their actions to make operations more safe and efficient. Different types of agents relate platforms to each other ("proxy agents"), devices to software ("comm agents"), and people to the system ("personal agents"). A state-of-the-art spoken dialogue interface enables people to communicate with their personal agents, supporting a speech-driven navigation and scheduling tool, field observation record, and rover command system. An important aspect of the engineering methodology involves first simulating the entire hardware and software system in Brahms, and then configuring the agents into a runtime system. Design of mobile agent functionality has been based on ethnographic observation of scientists working in Mars analog settings in the High Canadian Arctic on Devon Island and the southeast Utah desert. The Mobile Agents system is developed iteratively in the context of use, with people doing authentic work. This paper provides a brief introduction to the architecture and emphasizes the method of empirical requirements analysis, through which observation, modeling, design, and testing are integrated in simulated EVA operations.

Clancey, William J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Using an architectural approach to integrate heterogeneous, distributed software components

Many computer programs cannot be easily integrated because their components are distributed and heterogeneous, i.e., they are implemented in diverse programming languages, use different data representation formats, or their runtime environments are incompatible. In many cases, programs are integrated by modifying their components or interposing mechanisms that handle communication and conversion tasks. For example, remote procedure call (RPC) helps integrate heterogeneous, distributed programs. When configuring such programs, however, mechanisms like RPC must be used explicitly by software developers in order to integrate collections of diverse components. Each collection may require a unique integration solution. This paper describes improvements to the concepts of software packaging and some of our experiences in constructing complex software systems from a wide variety of components in different execution environments. Software packaging is a process that automatically determines how to integrate a diverse collection of computer programs based on the types of components involved and the capabilities of available translators and adapters in an environment. Software packaging provides a context that relates such mechanisms to software integration processes and reduces the cost of configuring applications whose components are distributed or implemented in different programming languages. Our software packaging tool subsumes traditional integration tools like UNIX make by providing a rule-based approach to software integration that is independent of execution environments.

Callahan, John R.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Advantages of Brahms for Specifying and Implementing a Multiagent Human-Robotic Exploration System

We have developed a model-based, distributed architecture that integrates diverse components in a system designed for lunar and planetary surface operations: an astronaut's space suit, cameras, all-terrain vehicles, robotic assistant, crew in a local habitat, and mission support team. Software processes ('agents') implemented in the Brahms language, run on multiple, mobile platforms. These mobile agents interpret and transform available data to help people and robotic systems coordinate their actions to make operations more safe and efficient. The Brahms-based mobile agent architecture (MAA) uses a novel combination of agent types so the software agents may understand and facilitate communications between people and between system components. A state-of-the-art spoken dialogue interface is integrated with Brahms models, supporting a speech-driven field observation record and rover command system. An important aspect of the methodology involves first simulating the entire system in Brahms, then configuring the agents into a runtime system Thus, Brahms provides a language, engine, and system builder's toolkit for specifying and implementing multiagent systems.

Clancey, William J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Brahms Mobile Agents: Architecture and Field Tests

We have developed a model-based, distributed architecture that integrates diverse components in a system designed for lunar and planetary surface operations: an astronaut's space suit, cameras, rover/All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), robotic assistant, other personnel in a local habitat, and a remote mission support team (with time delay). Software processes, called agents, implemented in the Brahms language, run on multiple, mobile platforms. These mobile agents interpret and transform available data to help people and robotic systems coordinate their actions to make operations more safe and efficient. The Brahms-based mobile agent architecture (MAA) uses a novel combination of agent types so the software agents may understand and facilitate communications between people and between system components. A state-of-the-art spoken dialogue interface is integrated with Brahms models, supporting a speech-driven field observation record and rover command system (e.g., return here later and bring this back to the habitat ). This combination of agents, rover, and model-based spoken dialogue interface constitutes a personal assistant. An important aspect of the methodology involves first simulating the entire system in Brahms, then configuring the agents into a run-time system.

Clancey, William J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

The Mobile Agents Integrated Field Test: Mars Desert Research Station April 2003

The Mobile Agents model-based, distributed architecture, which integrates diverse components in a system for lunar and planetary surface operations, was extensively tested in a two-week field "technology retreat" at the Mars Society s Desert Research Station (MDRS) during April 2003. More than twenty scientists and engineers from three NASA centers and two universities refined and tested the system through a series of incremental scenarios. Agent software, implemented in runtime Brahms, processed GPS, health data, and voice commands-monitoring, controlling and logging science data throughout simulated EVAs with two geologists. Predefined EVA plans, modified on the fly by voice command, enabled the Mobile Agents system to provide navigation and timing advice. Communications were maintained over five wireless nodes distributed over hills and into canyons for 5 km; data, including photographs and status was transmitted automatically to the desktop at mission control in Houston. This paper describes the system configurations, communication protocols, scenarios, and test results.

Clancey, William J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Computational modeling of nuclear thermal rockets

The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: rocket engine transient simulation (ROCETS) system; ROCETS performance simulations composed of integrated component models; ROCETS system architecture significant features; ROCETS engineering nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) modules; ROCETS system easily adapts Fortran engineering modules; ROCETS NTR reactor module; ROCETS NTR turbomachinery module; detailed reactor analysis; predicted reactor power profiles; turbine bypass impact on system; and ROCETS NTR engine simulation summary.

Peery, Steven D.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Implications of Responsive Space on the Flight Software Architecture

The Responsive Space initiative has several implications for flight software that need to be addressed not only within the run-time element, but the development infrastructure and software life-cycle process elements as well. The runtime element must at a minimum support Plug & Play, while the development and process elements need to incorporate methods to quickly generate the needed documentation, code, tests, and all of the artifacts required of flight quality software. Very rapid response times go even further, and imply little or no new software development, requiring instead, using only predeveloped and certified software modules that can be integrated and tested through automated methods. These elements have typically been addressed individually with significant benefits, but it is when they are combined that they can have the greatest impact to Responsive Space. The Flight Software Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has been developing the runtime, infrastructure and process elements needed for rapid integration with the Core Flight software System (CFS) architecture. The CFS architecture consists of three main components; the core Flight Executive (cFE), the component catalog, and the Integrated Development Environment (DE). This paper will discuss the design of the components, how they facilitate rapid integration, and lessons learned as the architecture is utilized for an upcoming spacecraft.

Wilmot, Jonathan↗
NASA NTRS1998

Flight Demonstration of X-33 Vehicle Health Management System Components on the F/A-18 Systems Research Aircraft

The X-33 reusable launch vehicle demonstrator has identified the need to implement a vehicle health monitoring system that can acquire data that monitors system health and performance. Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company, has designed and developed a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based open architecture system that implements a number of technologies that have not been previously used in a flight environment. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and Sanders teamed to demonstrate that the distributed remote health nodes, fiber optic distributed strain sensor, and fiber distributed data interface communications components of the X-33 vehicle health management (VHM) system could be successfully integrated and flown on a NASA F-18 aircraft. This paper briefly describes components of X-33 VHM architecture flown at Dryden and summarizes the integration and flight demonstration of these X-33 VHM components. Finally, it presents early results from the integration and flight efforts.

Schweikhard, Keith A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Flight Demonstration of X-33 Vehicle Health Management System Components on the F/A-18 Systems Research Aircraft

The X-33 reusable launch vehicle demonstrator has identified the need to implement a vehicle health monitoring system that can acquire data that monitors system health and performance. Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company, has designed and developed a COTS-based open architecture system that implements a number of technologies that have not been previously used in a flight environment. NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and Sanders teamed to demonstrate that the distributed remote health nodes, fiber optic distributed strain sensor, and fiber distributed data interface communications components of the X-33 vehicle health management (VHM) system could be successfully integrated and flown on a NASA F-18 aircraft. This paper briefly describes components of X-33 VHM architecture flown at Dryden and summarizes the integration and flight demonstration of these X-33 VHM components. Finally, it presents early results from the integration and flight efforts.

Schweikhard, Keith A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Next-generation wildlife tracking devices and integrated sensors for measuring species-environment interactions and advancing conservation

Global land use and climate change have magnified the importance of collecting accurate animal movement and environmental data to improve our ability to model species interactions with the environment and promote effective conservation. Advanced animal tracking devices that couple cutting-edge technologies with our expanding need for ecological information is critical. In addition to further optimizing device size to monitor small, sensitive species, new paradigms for collecting, storing, and transmitting data about animals and their environments will propel wildlife tracking devices forward. Advanced telemetry capabilities will increase our ability to pair location and sensor data from tagged wildlife with remote sensing data. The USGS Western Ecological Research Center, NASA Ames Research Center, and collaborators have been developing new wildlife tracking devices and integrated environmental sensors to address these challenges. We describe a new, miniaturized solar GPS-enabled Globalstar satellite transmitter with accelerometer capability that is 20% lighter and 25% less expensive than existing commercially available tags. We also introduce a novel peer-to-peer, solar-powered network tag that uses long-range, low-power, wireless platform technology. Concurrently, we began adapting a carbon nanotube (CNT) sensor to detect dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a trace gas relevant to marine ecology and climate studies. CNT sensors offer a small, lightweight, and low-power technology that can detect changes in resistance across carbon nanotubes coated with adsorbent selected to specifically bind with a variety of reactive trace gasses. We flew a prototype sensor in a small UAS and sampled an apparent increase in DMS concentration consistent with a well-defined marine frontal boundary. Currently we are integrating project components to create a hybridized architecture of networked peer-to-peer and satellite tags with integrated CNT and additional on-board and remote sensors to advance animal tracking and to provide information for next generation wildlife conservation.

Ian G. Brosnan↗
NASA NTRS1997

Integrated Distributed Directory Service for KSC

This paper describes an integrated distributed directory services (DDS) architecture as a fundamental component of KSC distributed computing systems. Specifically, an architecture for an integrated directory service based on DNS and X.500/LDAP has been suggested. The architecture supports using DNS in its traditional role as a name service and X.500 for other services. Specific designs were made in the integration of X.500 DDS for Public Key Certificates, Kerberos Security Services, Network-wide Login, Electronic Mail, WWW URLS, Servers, and other diverse network objects. Issues involved in incorporating the emerging Microsoft Active Directory Service MADS in KSC's X.500 were discussed.

Ghansah, Isaac↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA Advanced Explorations Systems: Concepts for Logistics to Living

The NASA Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project strives to enable a largely mission-independent cradle-to-grave-to-cradle approach to minimize logistics contributions to total mission architecture mass. The goals are to engineer logistics materials, common crew consumables, and container configurations to meet the following five basic goals: 1. Minimize intrinsic logistics mass and improve ground logistics flexibility. 2. Allow logistics components to be directly repurposed for on-orbit non-logistics functions (e.g., crew cabin outfitting) thereby indirectly reducing mass/volume. 3. Compact and process logistics that have not been directly repurposed to generate useful on-orbit components and/or compounds (e.g., radiation shielding, propellant, other usable chemical constituents). 4. Enable long-term stable storage and disposal of logistics end products that cannot be reused or repurposed (e.g., compaction for volume reduction, odor control, and maintenance of crew cabin hygienic conditions). 5. Allow vehicles in different mission phases to share logistics resources. This paper addresses the work being done to meet the second goal, the direct repurposing of logistics components to meet other on-orbit needs, through a strategy termed Logistics to Living (L2L). L2L has several areas but can be defined as repurposing or converting logistical items (bags, containers, foam, components, etc.) into useful crew items or life support augmentation on-orbit after they have provided their primary logistics function. The intent is that by repurposing items, dedicated crew items do not have to be launched and overall launch mass is decreased. For non-LEO missions, the vehicle interior volume will be relatively fixed so L2L will enable this volume to be used more effectively through reuse and rearrangement of logistical components. Past work in the area of L2L has already conceptually developed several potential technologies [Howe, Howard 2010]. Several of the L2L concepts that have shown the most potential in the past are based on NASA cargo transfer bags (CTBs) or their equivalents which are currently used to transfer cargo to and from the ISS. A high percentage of all logistics supplies are packaging mass and for a 6-month mission a crew of four might need over 100 CTBs. These CTBs are used for on-orbit transfer and storage but eventually becomes waste after use since down mass is very limited. The work being done in L2L also considering innovative interior habitat construction that integrate the CTBs into the walls of future habitats. The direct integration could provide multiple functions: launch packaging, stowage, radiation protection, water processing, life support augmentation, as well as structure. Reuse of these CTBs would reduce the amount of waste generated and also significantly reduce future up mass requirements for exploration missions. Also discussed here is the L2L water wall , an innovative reuse of an unfolded CTB as a passive water treatment system utilizing forward osmosis. The bags have been modified to have an inner membrane liner that allows them to purify wastewater. They may also provide a structural water-wall element that can be used to provide radiation protection and as a structural divider. Integration of the components into vehicle/habitat architecture and consideration of operations concepts and human factors will be discussed. In the future these bags could be designed to treat wastewater, concentrated brines, and solid wastes, and to dewater solid wastes and produce a bio-stabilized construction element. This paper will describe the follow-on work done in design, fabrication and demonstrations of various L2L concepts, including advanced CTBs for reuse/repurposing, internal outfitting studies and the CTB-based forward osmosis water wall.

Shull, Sarah A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

A low-cost transportable ground station for capture and processing of direct broadcast EOS satellite data

The Earth Observing System (EOS), part of a cohesive national effort to study global change, will deploy a constellation of remote sensing spacecraft over a 15 year period. Science data from the EOS spacecraft will be processed and made available to a large community of earth scientists via NASA institutional facilities. A number of these spacecraft are also providing an additional interface to broadcast data directly to users. Direct broadcast of real-time science data from overhead spacecraft has valuable applications including validation of field measurements, planning science campaigns, and science and engineering education. The success and usefulness of EOS direct broadcast depends largely on the end-user cost of receiving the data. To extend this capability to the largest possible user base, the cost of receiving ground stations must be as low as possible. To achieve this goal, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is developing a prototype low-cost transportable ground station for EOS direct broadcast data based on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) components and pipelined, multiprocessing architectures. The targeted reproduction cost of this system is less than $200K. This paper describes a prototype ground station and its constituent components.

Davis, Don↗
NASA NTRS2009

Simplified Ion Thruster Xenon Feed System for NASA Science Missions

The successful implementation of ion thruster technology on the Deep Space 1 technology demonstration mission paved the way for its first use on the Dawn science mission, which launched in September 2007. Both Deep Space 1 and Dawn used a "bang-bang" xenon feed system which has proven to be highly successful. This type of feed system, however, is complex with many parts and requires a significant amount of engineering work for architecture changes. A simplified feed system, with fewer parts and less engineering work for architecture changes, is desirable to reduce the feed system cost to future missions. An attractive new path for ion thruster feed systems is based on new components developed by industry in support of commercial applications of electric propulsion systems. For example, since the launch of Deep Space 1 tens of mechanical xenon pressure regulators have successfully flown on commercial spacecraft using electric propulsion. In addition, active proportional flow controllers have flown on the Hall-thruster-equipped Tacsat-2, are flying on the ion thruster GOCE mission, and will fly next year on the Advanced EHF spacecraft. This present paper briefly reviews the Dawn xenon feed system and those implemented on other xenon electric propulsion flight missions. A simplified feed system architecture is presented that is based on assembling flight-qualified components in a manner that will reduce non-recurring engineering associated with propulsion system architecture changes, and is compared to the NASA Dawn standard. The simplified feed system includes, compared to Dawn, passive high-pressure regulation, a reduced part count, reduced complexity due to cross-strapping, and reduced non-recurring engineering work required for feed system changes. A demonstration feed system was assembled using flight-like components and used to operate a laboratory NSTAR-class ion engine. Feed system components integrated into a single-string architecture successfully operated the engine over the entire NSTAR throttle range over a series of tests. Flow rates were very stable with variations of at most 0.2%, and transition times between throttle levels were typically 90 seconds or less with a maximum of 200 seconds, both significant improvements over the Dawn bang-bang feed system.

Snyder, John Steven↗
NASA NTRS2009

ARTEMIS: Ares Real Time Environments for Modeling, Integration, and Simulation

This slide presentation reviews the use of ARTEMIS in the development and testing of the ARES launch vehicles. Ares Real Time Environment for Modeling, Simulation and Integration (ARTEMIS) is the real time simulation supporting Ares I hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) testing. ARTEMIS accurately models all Ares/Orion/Ground subsystems which interact with Ares avionics components from pre-launch through orbit insertion The ARTEMIS System integration Lab, and the STIF architecture is reviewed. The functional components of ARTEMIS are outlined. An overview of the models and a block diagram is presented.

Hughes, Ryan↗