Award Data

Niobium alloy (C-103) reaction control system (RCS) chambers have been used on numerous NASA programs. However at elevated temperatures, the strength of C-103 decreases significantly. Higher strength niobium alloys have been developed, but these alloys lack the formability of C-103. Recently, Additive Manufacture (AM) of niobium and C-103 has been demonstrated using powder bed electron beam me ...

The landing surface damage and liberation of debris particles caused by rocket plume impingement flow during spacecraft propulsive landing on unprepared surfaces of Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies poses a high risk for robotic and human exploration activities. Simply determining whether the plume induced loads exceed the bedrock bearing capacity threshold is not sufficient. An integrated m ...

Spacecraft propulsive landings on unprepared regolith present in extra-terrestrial environments pose a high risk for space exploration missions. Plume/regolith interaction results in (1) the liberation of dust and debris particles that may collide with the landing vehicle and (2) craters whose shape itself can influence vehicle dynamics. To investigate such gas-granular interactions for large-scal ...

The objective of this proposal is the development and demonstration of a cost-effective high-fidelity aeroacoustic design tool for future commercial supersonic nozzle designs and installations. Although eddy-resolving CFD methods for computing high-speed jet noise are available, such methods are computationally expensive and are currently deemed impractical for use in a design optimization loop. ...

The overall objective of this SBIR project is the development of a novel concept for low emissions: a lean fully premixed (LFP) combustor for high overall pressure ratio small core engines. In order to achieve this major objective, a three-unit fully premixed injector has been conceptualized and proposed. Phase I scope includes design and demonstration of this injector, which will be composed of t ...

The goal of the project is to develop a mathematically rigorous, multi-fidelity surrogate modeling (MFSM) methodology to consolidate experimental and computational aerodynamic data into integrated databases with quantifiable uncertainty. The salient aspects of the proposed solution are: (1) a hierarchical MFSM formulation to encapsulate local response surface modeling, model adaptation/fusion, int ...

The goal of the project is to develop an intelligent framework to construct adaptive parametric reduced order model (PROM) database for aeroservoelastic (ASE) analysis and aerostructural control. Leveraging on significant advancements by the proposing team in prior research, this Phase I effort will initiate a new frontier of ‘engineering intelligence’ to further ASE ROM development, including ...

The development of new hypersonic capabilities is important for the United States. In the near-term, application of hypersonic research and technologies is likely to be on enhanced defense systems, but this could eventually expand to include improved access to space capabilities that would directly benefit NASA. Hypersonic vehicle nose tips and leading edges require high thermal shock resistance c ...

The concept describes a booster for a launch vehicle that is simpler to make, transport and launch than current launch vehicles. It is composed of two major components. The first being a booster structure and the second being a liquid rocket engine that uses a thermodynamic cycle that is a combination of two common cycles.Furthermore, the engine is actually fairly simple when compared to modern li ...

Thin-film polymers are used in many spacecraft applications including multi-layer insulation and sunshields for thermal control, lightweight structural members in solar array blankets, inflatable/deployable structures, solar sail material for propulsion, as well as flexible solar array backplanes. Materials on exterior spacecraft surfaces are subjected to a very harsh environment composed of phot ...