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This paper covers the development of computer simulation models of the Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD) process, the Super Critical Water Oxidation (SCWO) process, and two versions of a Vapor Phase Catalytic Ammonia Reduction (VPCAR) process. These process level models have combined into two Integrated Water Reclamation Systems (IWRS). Results from these integrated models, in conjunction with other data sources, have been used to develop a preliminary comparison of the two systems. Also discussed in this paper is the development of a Vapor Phase Catalytic Ammonia Reduction teststand and the development of a new urine analog for use with the teststand and computer models.

The development of virtual environment technology at NASA Ames Research Center and other research institutions has created opportunities for enhancing human performance. The application of this technology to training astronaut flight crews planning to go onboard the International Space Station has already begun at the NASA Johnson Space Center. A unique application of virtual environments to crew training is envisioned at NASA Ames Research Center which combines state of the art technology with haptic feedback to create a method for training crewmembers on critical life sciences operations which require fine motor skills. This paper describes such a concept, known as the Virtual Glovebox, as well as surveys other applications of virtual environments to astronaut crew training.

The blade crossing event of a coaxial counter-rotating rotor is a potential source of noise and impulsive blade loads. Blade crossings occur many times during each rotor revolution. In previous research by the authors, this phenomenon was analyzed by simulating two airfoils passing each other at specified speeds and vertical separation distances, using the compressible Navier-Stokes solver OVERFLOW. The simulations explored mutual aerodynamic interactions associated with thickness, circulation, and compressibility effects. Results revealed the complex nature of the aerodynamic impulses generated by upper/lower airfoil interactions. In this paper, the coaxial rotor system is simulated using two trains of airfoils, vertically offset, and traveling in opposite directions. The simulation represents multiple blade crossings in a rotor revolution by specifying horizontal distances between each airfoil in the train based on the circumferential distance between blade tips.

The Vapor Phase Catalytic Ammonia Removal (VPCAR) system is being developed to recycle water for future NASA Exploration Missions [1,2,3,4,5]. Reduced gravity testing of the VPCAR System has been initiated to identify any potential problems with microgravity operation. Two microgravity testing campaigns have been conducted on NASA's C-9B Reduced Gravity Aircraft. These tests focused on the fluid dynamics of the unit's Wiped-Film Rotating Disk (WFRD) evaporator. The experiments used a simplified system to study the process of forming a thin film on a rotating disk. The configuration simulates the application of feed in the VPCAR's WFRD evaporator. The first round of aircraft testing, which was completed in early 2006, indicated that a problem with microgravity operation of the WFRD existed. It was shown that in reduced gravity the VPCAR wiper did not produce a uniform thin film [6]. The film was thicker near the axis of rotation where centrifugal forces are small.

The General Purpose Work Station (GPWS) is a laboratory multi-use facility, as demonstrated during the Spacelab Life Sciences 1 (SLS-1) flight. The unit provided particulate containment under varying conditions, served as an effective work space for manipulating live animals, e.g., rats, served as a containment facility for fixatives, and was proposed for use to conduct in-flight maintenance during connector pin repair. The cabinet has a front door large enough to allow installation of a full-size microscope in-flight and is outfitted with a side window to allow delivery of items into the cabinet without exposure to the spacelab atmosphere. Additional support subsystems include inside cabinet mounting, surgical glove fine manipulations capability, and alternating or direct current power supply for experiment equipment, as will be demonstrated during Spacelab J.

Predicting and testing for hover performance, both in and out of ground effect, and transition performance, from jet- to wing-borne flight and back, for vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) configurations can be a difficult task. Large-scale testing of these configurations can provide for a better representation of the flow physics than small-scale testing. This paper will discuss some of the advantages in testing at large-scale and some test techniques and issues involved with testing large-scale STOVL models. The two premier test facilities for testing large- to full-scale STOVL configurations are the Outdoor Aerodynamic Research Facility (OARF) and the 80- by 120-Foot Wind Tunnel of the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC). Other items of discussion will include force and moment measurements, jet efflux decay, wall effects, tunnel flow breakdown, strut interference, and flow visualization options.

This work presents the development of a Rotating Rig Facility by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) in cooperation with the NASA Glenn Research Center. The facility is located at the INTA installations near Madrid, Spain. It has been designed to study the deformation, breakup and impact of large droplets induced by aerodynamic bodies. The importance of these physical phenomena is related to the effects of Supercooled Large Droplets in icing clouds on the impinging efficiency of the droplets on the body that may change should these phenomena not be taken into account. The important variables and the similarity parameters that enter in this problem are presented. The facility's components are described and some possible setups are explained. Application examples from past experiments are presented in order to indicate the capabilities of the new facility.

This paper describes research and development for reducing the aerodynamic drag of heavy vehicles by demonstrating new approaches for the numerical simulation and analysis of aerodynamic flow. In addition, greater use of newly developed computational tools holds promise for reducing the number of prototype tests, for cutting manufacturing costs, and for reducing overall time to market. Experimental verification and validation of new computational fluid dynamics methods are also an important part of this approach. Experiments on a model of an integrated tractor-trailer are underway at NASA Ames Research Center and the University of Southern California. Companion computer simulations are being performed by Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and California Institute of Technology using state-of- the-art techniques, with the intention of implementing more complex methods in the future.

The focus of the 5 year long ACSYNT Institute has been to greatly increase the capability of the aircraft synthesis computer program, ACSYNT. The key improvements have followed from the advanced geometric modeling and display technology of current workstations. The higher fidelity model enables more accurate and general aerodynamic propulsion and weight computations with less reliance on regression methods and estimations. This paper focuses on the improvements that can enhance the state of the art in general aviation aircraft synthesis.

Commercial aviation relies almost entirely on subsonic fixed wing aircraft to constantly move people and goods from one place to another across the globe. While air travel is an effective means of transportation providing an unmatched combination of speed and range, future subsonic aircraft must improve substantially to meet efficiency and environmental targets. The NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Subsonic Fixed Wing (SFW) Project addresses the comprehensive challenge of enabling revolutionary energy-efficiency improvements in subsonic transport aircraft combined with dramatic reductions in harmful emissions and perceived noise to facilitate sustained growth of the air transportation system. Advanced technologies, and the development of unconventional aircraft systems, offer the potential to achieve these improvements.

Long-duration, frequent extravehicular activity (EVA) will require automatic thermal control and improved thermo-mechanical design of portable life support system (PLSS) packs and suits. This paper addresses the control problem in EVA, previous attempts to develop automatic control, and relevant issues in human thermoregulation and is directed toward the development of a generalized computer simulation test bed for the investigation of alternative PLSS control strategies and designs.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted a full scale ice crystal icing turbofan engine test using an obsolete Allied Signal ALF502-R5 engine in the Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) at NASA Glenn Research Center. The test article used was the exact engine that experienced a loss of power event after the ingestion of ice crystals while operating at high altitude during a 1997 Honeywell flight test campaign investigating the turbofan engine ice crystal icing phenomena. The test plan included test points conducted at the known flight test campaign field event pressure altitude and at various pressure altitudes ranging from low to high throughout the engine operating envelope. The test article experienced a loss of power event at each of the altitudes tested.

The aerodynamic effects of Cold Soaked Fuel Frost have become increasingly significant as airworthiness authorities have been asked to allow it during aircraft take-off. The Federal Aviation Administration and the Finnish Transport Safety Agency signed a Research Agreement in aircraft icing research in 2015 and started a research co-operation in frost formation studies, computational fluid dynamics for ground de/anti-icing fluids, and de/anti-icing fluids aerodynamic characteristics. The main effort has been so far on the formation and aerodynamic effects of CSFF. To investigate the effects, a generic high-lift common research wind tunnel model and DLR-F15 airfoil, representing the wing of a modern jet aircraft, was built including a wing tank cooling system. Real frost was generated on the wing in a wind tunnel test section and the frost thickness was measured with an Elcometer gauge. Frost surface geometry was measured with laser scanning and photogrammetry.

The desire to provide integrated surface pressures for aerodynamic loads measurements has been a driving force behind the development of pressure-sensitive paint (PSP). To demonstrate the suitability of PSP for this purpose, it is not sufficient to simply show that PSP is accurate as compared to pressure taps. PSP errors due to misregistration or temperature sensitivity may be high near model edges, where pressure taps are rarely installed. Thus, PSP results will appear good compared to the taps, but will yield inaccurate results when integrated. A more stringent technique is to compare integrated PSP data over the entire model surface with balance and/or CFD results. This paper describes a simple integration method for PSP data and presents comparisons of balance and PSP results for three experiments. PSP is shown quite accurate for normal force measurements, but less effective at determining axial force and moments.

Research in microgravity (low-gravity) combustion promises innovations and improvements in fire prevention and response for human-crew spacecraft. Findings indicate that material flammability and fire spread in microgravity are significantly affected by atmospheric flow rate, oxygen concentration, and diluent composition. This information can lead to modifications and correlations to standard material-assessment tests for prediction of fire resistance in space. Research on smoke-particle changes in microgravity promises future improvements and increased sensitivity of smoke detectors in spacecraft. Research on fire suppression by extinguishing agents and venting can yield new information on effective control of the rare, but serious fire events in spacecraft.

Understanding the aerodynamic impact of swept-wing ice accretions is a crucial component of the design of modern aircraft. Computer-simulation tools are commonly used to approximate ice shapes, so the necessary level of detail or fidelity of those simulated ice shapes must be understood relative to high-fidelity representations of the ice. Previous tests were performed in the NASA Icing Research Tunnel to acquire high-fidelity ice shapes. From this database, full-span artificial ice shapes were designed and manufactured for both an 8.9%-scale and 13.3%-scale semispan wing model of the CRM65 which has been established as the full-scale baseline for this swept-wing project. These models were tested in the Walter H. Beech wind tunnel at Wichita State University and at the ONERA F1 facility, respectively. The data collected in the Wichita St.

This paper summarizes the recent development of an adaptive aeroelastic wing shaping control technology called variable camber continuous trailing edge flap (VCCTEF). As wing flexibility increases, aeroelastic interactions with aerodynamic forces and moments become an increasingly important consideration in aircraft design and aerodynamic performance. Furthermore, aeroelastic interactions with flight dynamics can result in issues with vehicle stability and control. The initial VCCTEF concept was developed in 2010 by NASA under a NASA Innovation Fund study entitled “Elastically Shaped Future Air Vehicle Concept,” which showed that highly flexible wing aerodynamic surfaces can be elastically shaped in-flight by active control of wing twist and bending deflection in order to optimize the spanwise lift distribution for drag reduction. A collaboration between NASA and Boeing Research & Technology was subsequently funded by NASA from 2012 to 2014 to further develop the VCCTEF concept.

The 1/8-scale Generic Conventional Model was studied experimentally in two wind tunnels at NASA Ames Research Center. The investigation was conducted at a Mach number of 0.15 over a Reynolds number range from 1 to 6 million. The experimental measurements included total and component forces and moments, surface pressures, and 3-D particle image velocimetry. Two configurations (trailer base flaps and skirts) were compared to a baseline representative of a modern tractor aero package. Details of each configuration provide insight into the complex flow field and the resulting drag reduction was found to be sensitive to Reynolds number.

At 70 miles per hour, overcoming aerodynamic drag represents about 65% of the total energy expenditure for a typical heavy truck vehicle. The goal of this US Department of Energy supported consortium is to establish a clear understanding of the drag producing flow phenomena. This is being accomplished through joint experiments and computations, leading to the intelligent design of drag reducing devices. This paper will describe our objective and approach, provide an overview of our efforts and accomplishments related to drag reduction devices, and offer a brief discussion of our future direction.

The Rotating Disk Analytical System (R-DAS) is an in-situ, bio-analytical technology, which utilizes a micro-fluidic disk with similar form factor as an audio compact disc to enhance and augment microgravity-based cellular and molecular biology research. The current micro-fluidic assay performs live cell/dead cell analysis using fluorescent microscopy. Image acquisition and analysis are performed for each of the selected microscope slide windows. All images are stored for later download and possible further post analysis. The flight version of the R-DAS will occupy a double mid-deck shuttle locker or one quarter of an ISS rack. The control system for the R-DAS consists of a set of interactive software components. These components interact with one another to control disk rotation, vertical and horizontal stage motion, sample incubation, image acquisition and analysis, and human interface.