Award Data

We will apply the latest knowledge in learning control, adaptive control, and optimal control to develop a modular, state-of-the-art, adaptive, nonlinear, guidance, navigation, and control package for remote spacecraft. The system will incorporate planning and decision making modules to give the remote spacecraft on-line goal directed self-reliant behavior with a high degree of autonomy. At the hi ...

A very promising approach to a significant reduction of the mass of the gasdynamic mirror (GDM) fusion propulsion system is proposed. It makes use of field-reversal techniques whereby a rotating magnetic field is employed to induce an azimuthal current in the plasma, which in turn gives rise to the desired magnetic field at an appropriate plasma radius in the mirror region. This has the effect of ...

The objective of this proposal is to develop a highly automated software system for rapid geometry modeling and grid generation for turbomachinery applications. The proposed system features a graphical user interface for interactive control, a direct interface to commercial CAD systems, support for IGES geometry output, and a scripting capability for parametric definition of geometries and for obt ...

The objective of this proposal is to develop a highly automated software system for rapid geometry modeling and grid generation for turbomachinery applications. The proposed system features a graphical user interface for interactive control, a direct interface to commercial CAD systems, support for IGES geometry output, and a scripting capability for parametric definition of geometries and for obt ...

Launch vehicles experience extreme acoustic loads dominated by rocket exhaust plume interactions with ground structures during lift-off, which can produce damaging vibro-acoustic loads on the vehicle and payloads if not properly understood and mitigated against. Existing capabilities for modeling the turbulent plume physics during early lift-off are too dissipative to accurately resolve the propag ...

Solid rocket motor (SRM) design requires thorough understanding of the slag accumulation process in order to: predict thrust continuity, optimize propellant conversion efficiency, predict coning effects from sloshing, and assess potential orbital debris (slag) hazard. Current state-of-the-art models for SRM environment do not have the capability to simulate the accumulation and dynamics of slag in ...

GTL has developed an innovative composite repair methodology known as the Composite Repair System (CRS). In this phase I effort, CRS is being developed for the repair of damaged induced in thin-laminate composite cryotanks. In applying CRS to damaged composite structures, the required level of structural capacity is recovered to within a predetermined percentage of its original performance after ...

Thin-ply composites are being considered by NASA for space exploration applications, where the suppression of microcracks could give rise to linerless cryogenic tanks. In this proposed Phase I STTR effort, material testing coupled with health monitoring techniques will be used to quantify damage accumulation within composite materials, both standard ply thickness and of the thin-ply design. A mu ...

Despite the rapid commercialization of additive manufacturing technology such as selective laser melting, SLM, there are gaps in models for material microstructure and property prediction that slow qualification and certification. Improvements in coupling microstructure prediction models to local process conditions, validation, and control of material microstructure are required to mature the stat ...

In response to the NASA STTR solicitation topic T3.01, "Energy Harvesting, Transformation and Multifunctional Power Dissemination", Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) propose to develop a thermo-radiative cell to harvest energy from waste heat, for example, from radiators. Currently NASA's Top Technical Challenge is the need to "increase available power" ...