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At least 19 records

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NASA NTRS2019

Electrical and Thermal Characterization of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Parts with Embedded Wires for High Current-Carrying Applications

Fabrication of parts exhibiting multi-functionality has recently been complemented by hybrid polymer extrusion additive manufacturing in combination with wire embedding technology. While much mechanical characterization has been performed on parts produced with fused deposition modeling, limited characterization has been performed when combined electrical and thermal loads are applied to 3D printed multi-material parts. As such, this work describes the design, fabrication, and testing of 3D printed thermoplastic coupons containing embedded copper wires that carried current. An automated fabrication process was used employing a hybrid additive manufacturing machine that dispensed polycarbonate thermoplastic and embedded bare copper wires. Testing included AC and DC hipot testing as well as thermal testing on as-fabricated and heat treated coupons to determine the effect of porosity in the substrate. The heat-treated parts contained reduced amounts of porosity, as corroborated through scanning electron microscopy, which led to 50 % increased breakdown strength and 30 to 40 % increased heat dissipation capabilities. The results of this research are describing a set of design protocol that can be used as a guideline for 3D printed embedded electronics to predict the electrical and thermal behavior.

Hipot testing↗

NASA NTRS2015

3D Printing Multi-Functionality: Embedded RF Antennas and Components

Significant research and press has recently focused on the fabrication freedom of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to create both conceptual models and final end-use products. This flexibility allows design modifications to be immediately reflected in 3D printed structures, creating new paradigms within the manufacturing process. 3D printed products will inevitably be fabricated locally, with unit-level customization, optimized to unique mission requirements. However, for the technology to be universally adopted, the processes must be enhanced to incorporate additional technologies; such as electronics, actuation, and electromagnetics. Recently, a novel 3D printing platform, Multi3D manufacturing, was funded by the presidential initiative for revitalizing manufacturing in the USA using 3D printing (America Makes - also known as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute). The Multi3D system specifically targets 3D printed electronics in arbitrary form; and building upon the potential of this system, this paper describes RF antennas and components fabricated through the integration of material extrusion 3D printing with embedded wire, mesh, and RF elements.

antennas↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Toward Fully 3D-Printed Two Degree of Freedom Acoustic Liners

An acoustic liner optimization tool is developed for designing two degree of freedom (2DOF) liners with high absorption over a wide range of frequencies and sound pressure levels (SPLs). Two additively manufactured 2DOF liners (one constant and one variable chamber depth) are designed and printed with an embedded perforate layer as the septum. A normal incidence impedance tube study is performed to directly compare impedance and absorption spectra to a more traditionally manufactured 2DOF liner with embedded mesh caps in phenolic honeycomb. Comparisons of test data to predictions are shown as well as SPL sensitivities for each acoustic liner. Broadband absorption is achieved with the 3D printed 2DOF liner containing constant chamber depths, although due to current limitations in printed embedded perforate hole size, not as broad as the traditional mesh cap liner. However, results also show that the 3D printed variable chamber depth sample is more comparable to the mesh cap liner absorption, demonstrating the viability of printed embedded perforates in novel concepts.

acoustic liner 2DOF two degree of freedom 3D print↗

NASA NTRS2022

Fabrication and Testing of a Novel Ceramic-Based Additively Manufactured Humidity Sensor

A material capable of detecting minute changes in ambient humidity via a change in its electrical properties is critical to enabling the success of vapor-sensitive components on Earth and abroad. Manufacturing of these hydrophilic materials currently follows an extensive process of heat treating focused on removing the solvent and organic vehicle. This research aims to reduce the complexity of manufacturing these novel sensors by eliminating the high-temperature (>850 °C) processing stages. A method based on printing a polymer embedded with hydrophilic nanoparticles is accomplished through selected additively manufactured methods. This research branches into the elimination of physical spare parts with the ability to print highly sensitive in-situ sensors, reducing the environmental footprint in space-critical environments like the International Space Station (ISS).

sensor↗

NASA NTRS2009

Embedded passives emulator FY2003 interim report

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program has been evaluating state-of-the-art Embedded Passive Technology for the printed circuit board (PCB) industry for the past several years and has conducted its own testing on embedded passive coupons (resistors and capacitors). This document is a progress report of the work performed through fiscal year 2008 by NASA and the Navy to convert an existing PWB (printed wiring board) design to a design that incorporates embedded passive components. The work is being performed through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the NEPP Program (NASA) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Emerging Critical Interconnect Technology (ECIT) Program. NSWC Crane’s ECIT Program has funding to convert two PCB designs from the military and aerospace industry to a PCB design with embedded passives. ECIT will provide a design team that will take a well characterized design and convert it to an embedded design. They will also provide electrical modeling and layout expertise as well as build the PWB in their facility in Indiana. NEPP, through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will assemble any passives deemed not suitable for embedding and the active components and electrically test the new design to the existing (non-embedded) design

Gerke, David↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Redesign of Carbon Dioxide Removal System for Multifunctional Sorbent Bed Testing

Carbon dioxide removal is a key function of Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) on the International Space System (ISS). Currently, this system uses pellet beds however they have known issues such as flow channeling and uneven heating. The Multifunction Sorbent (MultiSorb) project is developing 3D-printed zeolite beds with embedded heaters to address these issues. This poster lays out the steps in modifying the Carbon Dioxide Removal and Compression System (CRCS) to test the MultiSorb beds.

MultiSORB↗

NASA NTRS2010

Ethernet-Enabled Power and Communication Module for Embedded Processors

The power and communications module is a printed circuit board (PCB) that has the capability of providing power to an embedded processor and converting Ethernet packets into serial data to transfer to the processor. The purpose of the new design is to address the shortcomings of previous designs, including limited bandwidth and program memory, lack of control over packet processing, and lack of support for timing synchronization. The new design of the module creates a robust serial-to-Ethernet conversion that is powered using the existing Ethernet cable. This innovation has a small form factor that allows it to power processors and transducers with minimal space requirements.

Perotti, Jose↗

NASA NTRS2017

Transparent Conductive Ink for Additive Manufacturing

NASA analyzes, tests, packages, and fabricates electrical, electronic, and electromechanical (EEE) parts. Nanotechnology is listed in NASA's Technology Roadmap as a key area to invest for further development.1 This research project focused on using nanotechnology to improve electroluminescent lighting in terms of additive manufacturing and to increase energy efficiency. Specifically, this project's goal was to produce a conductive but transparent printable ink that can be sprayed on any surface for use as one of the electrodes in electroluminescent device design. This innovative work is known as thick film dielectric electroluminescent (TDEL) technology. TDEL devices are used for "backlighting, illumination, and identification due to their tunable color output, scalability, and efficiency" (I.K. Small, T.D. Rolin, and A.D. Shields, "3D Printed Electroluminescent Light Panels," NASA Fiscal Year 2017 Center Innovation Fund Proposal, unpublished data, 2017). These devices use a 'front-to-back' printing method, where the substrate is the transparent layer, and the dielectric and phosphor are layered on top. This project is a first step in the process of creating a 3D printable 'back-to-front' electroluminescent device. Back-to-front 3D-printed devices are beneficial because they can be printed onto different substrates and embedded in different surfaces, and the substrate is not required to be transparent, all because the light is emitted from the top surface through the transparent conductor. Advances in this area will help further development of printing TDEL devices on an array of different surfaces. Figure 1 demonstrates the layering of the two electrodes that are aligned in a parallel plate capacitor structure (I.K. Small, T.D. Rolin, and A.D. Shields, "3D Printed Electroluminescent Light Panels," NASA Fiscal Year 2017 Center Innovation Fund Proposal, unpublished data, 2017). Voltage is applied across the device, and the subsequent electron excitation results in light emission at the top layer.

Patlan, X. J.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Damage Detection Sensor System for Aerospace and Multiple Applications

NASA has identified structural health monitoring and damage detection and verification as critical needs in multiple technology roadmaps. The sensor systems can be customized for detecting location, damage size, and depth, with velocity options and can be designed for particular environments for monitoring of impact or physical damage to a structure. The damage detection system has been successfully demonstrated in a harsh environment and remote integration tested over 1000 miles apart. Multiple applications includes: Spacecraft and Aircraft; Inflatable, Deployable and Expandable Structures; Space Debris Monitoring; Space Habitats; Military Shelters; Solar Arrays, Smart Garments and Wearables, Extravehicular activity (EVA) suits; Critical Hardware Enclosures; Embedded Composite Structures; and Flexible Hybrid Printed Electronics and Systems. For better implementation and infusion into more flexible architectures, important and improved designs in advancing embedded software and GUI interface, and increasing flexibility, modularity, and configurable capabilities of the system are currently being carried out.

Williams, Martha↗

NASA NTRS2003

Techniques for Characterizing Microwave Printed Antennas

The combination of a de-embedding technique and a direct on-substrate measurement technique has been devised to enable measurement of the electrical characteristics (impedances, scattering parameters, and gains) of microwave printed antennas that may be formed integrally with feed networks that include slot lines, coplanar striplines, and/or coplanar waveguides. The combination of techniques eliminates the need for custom test fixtures, including transitions between (1) coaxial or waveguide feed lines in typical test equipment and (2) the planar waveguide structures of the printed circuits under test. The combination of techniques can be expected to be especially useful for rapid, inexpensive, and accurate characterization of antennas for miniature wireless communication units that operate at frequencies from a few to tens of gigahertz.

Simons, Rainee↗

NASA NTRS2019

CAMIEM: Compact Additively Manufactured Innovative Electric Motor

New manufacturing methods are needed to obtain innovative electric motor designs that have much higher power densities and/or efficiencies compared to the current state-of-the-art. Additive manufacturing offers the potential to radically change motor designs so that they have compact designs, multi-material components, innovative cooling, and optimally designed and manufactured components. New component designs enabled by additive manufacturing technologies have been designed and were fabricated to include the housing, rotors, stator cooling ring, a direct printed stator, and a wire embedded stator. The new components were integrated into the motor and tested evaluate the performance gains in comparison to the baseline electric motor configuration. Partners on the sub-project include NASA GRC, NASA LaRC, NASA AFRC, LaunchPoint Technologies, and the University of Texas El Paso.

Halbig, Michael C.↗

NASA NTRS2015

3D Printing the Complete CubeSat

The 3D Printing the Complete CubeSat project is designed to advance the state-of-the-art in 3D printing for CubeSat applications. Printing in 3D has the potential to increase reliability, reduce design iteration time and provide greater design flexibility in the areas of radiation mitigation, communications, propulsion, and wiring, among others. This project is investigating the possibility of including propulsion systems into the design of printed CubeSat components. One such concept, an embedded micro pulsed plasma thruster (mPPT), could provide auxiliary reaction control propulsion for a spacecraft as a means to desaturate momentum wheels.

Printing CubeSat subsystems↗

NASA NTRS2012

Amplitude-Stabilized Oscillator for a Capacitance-Probe Electrometer

A multichannel electrometer voltmeter that employs a mechanical resonator maintained in sustained amplitude-stabilized oscillation has been developed for the space-based measurement of an Internal Electrostatic Discharge Monitor (IESDM) sensor. The IESDM is new sensor technology targeted for integration into a Space Environmental Monitor (SEM) subsystem used for the characterization and monitoring of deep dielectric charging on spacecraft. Creating a stable oscillator from the mechanical resonator was achieved by employing magnetic induction for sensing the resonator s velocity, and forcing a current through a coil embedded in the resonator to produce a Lorentz actuation force that overcomes the resonator s dissipative losses. Control electronics employing an AGC loop provide conditions for stabilized, constant amplitude harmonic oscillation. The prototype resonator was composed of insulating FR4 printed-wireboard (PWB) material containing a flat, embedded, rectangular coil connected through flexure springs to a base PWB, and immersed in a magnetic field having two regions of opposite field direction generated by four neodymium block magnets. In addition to maintaining the mechanical movement needed for the electrometer s capacitor-probe transducer, this oscillator provides a reference signal for synchronous detection of the capacitor probe s output signal current so drift of oscillation frequency due to environmental effects is inconsequential.

Blaes, Brent R.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Embedded Resistors and Capacitors in Organic and Inorganic Substrates

Embedded resistors and capacitors were purchased from two technology; organic PWB and inorganic low temperature co-fire ceramic (LTCC). Small groups of each substrate were exposed to four environmental tests and several characterization tests to evaluate their performance and reliability. Even though all passive components maintained electrical performance throughout environmental testing, differences between the two technologies were observed. Environmental testing was taken beyond manufacturers' reported testing, but general not taken to failure. When possible, data was quantitatively compared to manufacturer's data.

printed circuit board (PCB)↗

NASA NTRS1992

An IRAS study of pre-main sequence stars in B209

We have constructed high resolution IRAS maps of the B209 star forming region in the Taurus complex. By combining survey scans with pointed observations using advanced techniques specially developed to handle IRAS data in crowded fields, we have constructed images that reveal two new premain-sequence (PMS) objects. One of these, IRAS 04114+2757G, has FIR colors close to those of typical T Tauri stars and is probably associated with a faint stellar object visible on the POSS prints. The other new PMS source, IRAS 04111+2800G, is a deeply embedded object not detected at 12 microns and not optically visible. The object is projected close to the center of an ammonia core. Our detection of compact blue and red shifted (C-12)O emission peaks around the position of IRAS 04111+2800G confirms the PMS nature and youth of this object. We have examined the reasons for the exclusion of IRAS 04111+2800G and IRAS 04114+2757G from the IRAS Point Source Catalog and estimated the incompleteness of the currently known sample of embedded PMS stars in Taurus. The implications for the determination of evolutionary time scales in low mass star formation are discussed.

Prusti, T.↗

NASA NTRS2021

Modular Composite Damage Detection System (MCDDS)

The 2020 CIF funded Modular Composite Damage Detection System (MCDDS) aims to advance the technology of damage detection in composites in the areas of thin, flexible damage detection panel construction, encapsulation techniques in composite matrixes, innovative integration and interfacing techniques with flexible embedded sensory panels, repair methods of composite materials, and improved packaging of the MCDDS. Custom thin, flexible polyimide printed circuit boards (PCBs) were designed and procured for fabrication of test specimens. A custom interface PCB was designed and fabricated to monitor the newly developed damage detection test specimens. Test specimens were fabricated using the novel flexible circuitry that were either fully or partially encapsulated. The fully encapsulated specimens were used to demonstrate embedded damage detection concepts and the partially encapsulated specimens were used to demonstrate surface-mounted (laminate) damage detection concepts. The new composite damage detection test specimens were tested and evaluated to determine if the novel damage detection sensory panels could withstand low-cycle threshold fatigue loading per a modified version of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D 7264 for up to 50 cycles without void formation. The data for multiple sensory panels indicates that the newly fabricated sensory panels are robust and do indeed withstand three-point bend flexural loading for more than 50 cycles. Additionally, testing was performed to determine if damage could be detected in damage detection test specimens subjected to failure using a 3-point bend test per a modified version of ASTM D 7264. Again, multiple sensory panels (both fully and partially encapsulated) showed the ability to detect damage to specimens subjected to failure per a modified version of ASTM D 7264. Additionally, a novel concept for tracking and monitoring of cracking (and potentially delamination) in composites was designed and developed that utilizes painted-on conductors.

Christopher Forney↗

NASA NTRS2014

Enabling Technologies for Entrepreneurial Opportunities in 3D printing of SmallSats

A consortium of innovative experts in additive manufacturing (AM) comprising Northrup Grumman Technical Services, University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), Configurable Space Microsystems Innovations & Applications Center (COSMIAC), NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), and Youngstown State University, have made significant breakthroughs in the goal of creating the first complete 3D printed small satellite. Since AM machines are relatively inexpensive, this should lead to many entrepreneurial opportunities for the small satellite community. Our technology advancements are focused on the challenges of embedding key components within the structure of the article. We have demonstrated, using advanced fused deposition modeling techniques, complex geometric shapes which optimize the spacecraft design. The UTEP Keck Center has developed a method that interrupts the printing process to insert components into specific cavities, resulting in a spacecraft that has minimal internal space allocated for what traditionally were functional purposes. This allows us to increase experiment and instrument capability by provided added volume in a confined small satellite space. Leveraging initial progress made on a NASA contract, the team investigated the potential of new materials that exploit the AM process, producing candidate compositions that exceed the capabilities of traditional materials. These "new materials" being produced and tested include some that have improved radiation shielding, increased permeability, enhanced thermal properties, better conductive properties, and increased structural performance. The team also investigated materials that were previously not possible to be made. Our testing included standard mechanical tests such as vibration, tensile, thermal cycling, and impact resistance as well as radiation and electromagnetic tests. The initial results of these products and their performance will be presented and compared with standard properties. The new materials with the highest probability to disrupt the future of small satellite systems by driving down costs will be highlighted, in conjunction with the electronic embedding process.

Communications↗

NASA NTRS2007

Microstrip Antenna Arrays on Multilayer LCP Substrates

A research and development effort now underway is directed toward satisfying requirements for a new type of relatively inexpensive, lightweight, microwave antenna array and associated circuitry packaged in a thin, flexible sheet that can readily be mounted on a curved or flat rigid or semi-rigid surface. A representative package of this type consists of microwave antenna circuitry embedded in and/or on a multilayer liquid- crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. The circuitry typically includes an array of printed metal microstrip patch antenna elements and their feedlines on one or more of the LCP layer(s). The circuitry can also include such components as electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches for connecting and disconnecting antenna elements and feedlines. In addition, the circuitry can include switchable phase shifters described below. LCPs were chosen over other flexible substrate materials because they have properties that are especially attractive for high-performance microwave applications. These properties include low permittivity, low loss tangent, low water-absorption coefficient, and low cost. By means of heat treatments, their coefficients of thermal expansion can be tailored to make them more amenable to integration into packages that include other materials. The nature of the flexibility of LCPs is such that large LCP sheets containing antenna arrays can be rolled up, then later easily unrolled and deployed. Figure 1 depicts a prototype three- LCP-layer package containing two four-element, dual-polarization microstrip-patch arrays: one for a frequency of 14 GHz, the other for a frequency of 35 GHz. The 35-GHz patches are embedded on top surface of the middle [15-mil (approx.0.13-mm)-thick] LCP layer; the 14- GHz patches are placed on the top surface of the upper [9-mil (approx. 0.23-mm)-thick] LCP layer. The particular choice of LCP layer thicknesses was made on the basis of extensive analysis of the effects of the thicknesses on cross-polarization levels, bandwidth, and efficiency at each frequency.

Thompson, Dane↗