Technical Assessment of Space Solar-Power Research Program

An independent analysis of current NASA studies on space solar power (SSP) by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics found many opportunities for international collaboration in an SSP program, including computer modeling, solar array technologies development, demonstrations of SSP-enabling technologies, identification and pursuit of multiple-use applications, wireless power transmission experiments and studies, joint use of certain facilities, and perhaps most important, a wide range of global policy, economic, environmental, and legal considerations. Key SSP technologies could find broad applications in human space exploration, science and robotic space exploration, national security missions, commercial space development, and terrestrial applications. New system configurations that substantially reduce SSP technical and economic risk, remarkable improvements in solar-power generation technologies, and significant advancements in structural, robotic, power management, and materials technologies have been identified. The major barrier to eventual implementation of terrestrial power delivery from space, as with all large space systems, is the lack of a national commitment to develop a viable path to low-cost, reliable space transportation.     

Decision Tree Assessment of Challenging Technologies for Mission to Europa

The intriguing possibility that conditions exist that could support the evolution of life, as we understand it, in the ice-covered oceans of Europa makes the exploration of that Jovian moon a significant priority in NASA’s solar system explorations. There is a need, therefore, to develop and demonstrate technologies and scientific methodologies that could be used to explore these extreme subice realms with the goal of establishing whether or not some form of life has evolved. A NASA search-for-life mission to Europa would involve site reconnaissance, site selection, landing, deep drilling through ice, small autonomous submersibles traversing the purported sea under the ice, and in-situ life detection. Many advanced technologies not currently available would be required. Identification and rank ordering of enabling technologies in a portfolio that can be developed for a certain specified research and development budget is crucial for mission success. This paper describes the results of utilizing a decision tree methodology and an appropriate optimization process to formalize the technology investment strategy.     

Technology transfer in digital mammography. Report of the Joint National Cancer Institute-National Aeronautics and Space Administration workshop of May 19-20, 1993

Digital mammography is one of the most promising novel technologies for further improvement of early detection of breast cancer, offering important potential advantages: 1) improved image quality; 2) digital image processing for improved lesion contrast; 3) computer-aided diagnosis for enhanced radiologic interpretation; and 4) teleradiology for facilitated radiologic consultation. The Diagnostic Imaging Research Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently funded an international, multidisciplinary, multi-institutional Digital Mammography Development Group for collaborations between NCI, the academic community, and industry to facilitate the integrated development and implementation of digital mammographic systems. Currently, however, digital mammography faces a number of fundamental technological roadblocks: 1) cost-effective digital detectors and displays for imaging systems; 2) the need for novel algorithms for image processing and computer-aided diagnosis; and 3) high performance, low cost digital networks to provide an "information superhighway" for teleradiology. To solve some of these technological problems, the Diagnostic Imaging Research Branch of NCI joined efforts with the Technology Transfer Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to pursue a federal technology transfer program in digital mammography. The authors discuss the findings and recommendations of the workshop entitled "Technology Transfer in Digital Mammography," which was organized and held jointly by the NCI and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in May, 1993. Numerous innovative technologies of varying degree of promise for digital mammography were presented at the conference. In this article, specific technologies presented at the workshop by the federal and federally-supported laboratories are described, and critiques of these technologies by the leaders of the medical imaging community are presented.     

Structural Design Considerations of an Inflatable Rigidizable Space Shuttle Experiment

The Air Force Institute of Technology is in the process of designing a space shuttle experiment designated as the Rigidized Inflatable Get-Away-Special Experiment (RIGEX) to study the effects of microgravity on the deployment of inflatable rigidizable composite structures. Once in space, the experiment is designed to inflate and rigidize three composite tubes (which could be used in a more global space structure), then perform a vibration analysis on each by exciting the structures using piezoelectric patches mounted to the walls of the tubes and collect data via accelerometers. The experiment is designed to take part in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) get-away-special program and as such must meet structural verification standards to be pay loaded as such. This paper presents the structural and vibration analysis of the RIGEX assembly and inflatable composite tubes using ABAQUS finite-element analysis (FEA) software. Results of the FEA showed good correlation when compared to eigenvalue/eigenvector experimental results obtained from ping testing the actual structures. This finite-element analysis has been used to modify the experiments design to meet NASA structural integrity requirements and verify the natural frequency of the RIGEX structural support assemblies.     

Recent NASA contributions to biomedical telemetry.

Reviews technological progress that has been made by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the field of biotelemetry over the past 5 yrs. Emphasis is placed on those developments that have direct applications for human or animal use on earth. Examples of biobelt personal telemetry systems, swallowable telemetry capsules, cardiovascular multichannel implantable telemetry units, and long-range radiotelemetry of biologic data are presented. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

鞍钢2 130 mm连续退火炉控制功能简析

对鞍钢2130mm连续退火炉控制系统进行了简要介绍,包括设备组成及各段控制技术等。分析了所采用的各项先进技术的特点,说明了各段控制功能,介绍了连续退火炉投产后取得的效果。     

Cable‐Based Lunar Transportation System

The establishment of an efficient transportation system is key to any human development on Earth or in space. Different technologies for transporting humans and goods have been developed, the diversity of which indicates that individual concepts have specific strengths and weaknesses. So far, transportation on the Moon has utilized a wheel‐based vehicle, the lunar rover. Present concepts for transporting goods and people in a lunar base of the future are generally based on using wheels and traction. While such systems have many advantages for a variety of applications, the hauling of heavy goods will require the preparation of stable and trafficable roadways, a challenging and potentially expensive undertaking. This paper presents an alternative based on using one of the fundamental means to move objects, namely ropes and cables. Because of their inherent characteristics, ropes have been used to lift and haul heavy loads for long distances with high levels of reliability. This mature and constantly perfected technology, not well known in this car‐oriented society, has been investigated for its use as a true alternative to the traditional wheel‐based transportation systems. As will be shown, innovative applications of cable‐based technologies may in effect provide many opportunities to leverage the differences between the Earth and the Moon for the purpose of creating efficient engineering products.     

电磁冶金新技术的研究现状与发展趋势

简要介绍了传统电磁冶金技术的发展及电磁冶金新技术的兴起,着重对钢包电磁感应出钢技术和电磁旋流水口连铸技术的原理、优势及应用价值进行了阐述,并介绍了其他几种具有良好发展和应用前景的电磁冶金新技术。     

低轨电磁监测智能处理框架与关键技术综述

依托低轨星座构建电磁频谱监测系统成为实现全球电磁频谱管理的有效途径与当前的研究热点.传统低轨电磁监测系统架构采用“星上采集与处理”的模式,即卫星对信号进行采集并处理后,将处理的结果回传到地面.这导致系统性能受限于单星载荷.针对此问题提出采集与处理分离的低轨电磁监测系统智能处理框架,卫星作为数据的转发节点,仅负责采集信号,地面数据中心对数据进行下一步处理.同时,针对传统技术方法难以高效处理该架构下地面数据中心海量数据的问题,将深度学习与传统架构下的关键技术进行了有机融合,为实现全球时空连续电磁频谱监测提供了新的选择.梳理了基于深度学习的频谱感知、盲源分离和无源定位三大关键技术及其近几年研究进展;重点讨论了各关键技术向星座系统迁移的适用性问题与技术核心突破问题,给出了低轨电磁监测系统智能处理框架中关键技术的下一步研究建议.     

Use of Explosives on The Moon

The utilization of explosives for excavation on the lunar surface is under serious consideration as a part of the design for construction of temporary and permanent bases. An excavation research program has shown that small‐scale explosives blasting in a lunar‐soil simulant will greatly reduce the digging forces required for scoop and dragline excavators. Some crater‐blasting parameters were determined for the lunar soil simulant at one Earth gravity and at 10 Earth gravities using a centrifuge. The size of the craters produced at 10 Earth gs matched those formed at one earth g by scaling according to the weight of the explosive. These data can be applied to explosive‐excavation problems such as habitat construction, burial of nuclear power sources, and the rapid construction of shelters remote from the main base to shield against solar‐flare activity.     

Thermoplastic–Carbon Fiber Composites Could Aid Solar-Based Power Generation: Possible Support System for Solar Power Satellites

Solar power has merit as a renewable source of energy; it is the largest asset available for consumption on Earth and is limitless. There have been many ideas proposed to beam solar power to Earth; all have been dependent upon the provision of a backing frame to support solar panels, photovoltaic cells, and transmission. This paper suggests one type of rigid deployable skeletal structure and its material of manufacture to form the backing frame of solar panel systems; the structure takes the form of a skeletal double-layer tetrahedral system. The composite material is polyethersulphone thermoplastic polymer reinforced with carbon fiber (CF). This paper also discusses the hostile environment of space in relation to the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite material, with special reference to the thermal response. Finally, it suggests the alternate possibility of using a rigidized inflatable flexible skeletal structure and, as far as is possible, compares (a)?the relative cost of transferring the two structures to low Earth orbit from Earth, and (b)?the cost of solar energy relative to other forms of energy.     

Lunar Astronomical Observatories: Design Studies

The best location in the inner solar system for the grand observatories of the 21st century may be the Moon. A multidisciplinary team including university students and faculty in engineering, astronomy, physics, and geology, and engineers from industry is investigating the Moon as a site for astronomical observatories and is doing conceptual and preliminary designs for these future observatories. Studies encompass lunar facilities for radio astronomy and astronomy at optical, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Although there are significant engineering challenges in design and construction on the Moon, the rewards for astronomy can be great, such as detection and study of Earth‐like planets orbiting nearby stars, and the task for engineers promises to stimulate advances in analysis and design, materials and structures, automation and robotics, foundations, and controls. Fabricating structures in the reduced‐gravity environment of the Moon will be easier than in the zero‐gravity environment of Earth orbit, as Apollo and space‐shuttle missions have revealed. Construction of observatories on the Moon can be adapted from techniques developed on the Earth, with the advantage that the Moon's weaker gravitational pull makes it possible to build larger devices than are practical on Earth.     

Considerations for Return to the Moon and Lunar Base Site Selection Workshops

The establishment of a lunar base with a permanent human presence is on the horizon. The scientific importance of the Moon and the potential use of local resources at a lunar base provide valuable concepts to consider. Importantly, there are significant ideas, concepts, and reports from the past, the products of a wealth of “mental calorie” inputs, which should be reconsidered; herein, many of these are placed within an historical perspective, in hopes that we may learn by our past experiences. The 1994 Clementine mission, its instrumentation and returned data, provides the first global coverage of the composition, structure, and topography of the Moon. The planned 1997 Lunar Prospector will add significantly to this database. These new global data are requisite for the selection of a lunar base. It is paramount to consider thoroughly the rationale for site selection, and much of the groundwork for this rationale has already been performed. The selection process should be led by a strategic purpose or vision that considers (1) scientific objectives, both on the Moon, as well as from the Moon (e.g., astronomy); (2) resource utilization; and (3) operational considerations, both orbital and surface. Many of the relationships between these factors were explored during workshops convened at Johnson Space Center by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in April and August 1990. However, these workshops have not resulted in official, catalogued NASA publications. The merits of numerous potential sites were analyzed in terms of lunar geoscience, geophysics, space physics, astronomy, and lunar resources, as well as operational constraints. The considerations and recommendations of the NASA Site Selection Committee should provide the basis for a realistic site selection for a human presence at an outpost on the lunar surface.     

Lunar Habitat Micrometeoroid and Radiation Shielding: Options, Applications, and Assessments

Various shielding approaches to protect lunar habitats from micrometeoroid and radiation hazards present major trade-off considerations. Popular scenarios that envision covering modules with in situ regolith will necessitate means to excavate and move large amounts of material; will complicate evolutionary outpost growth; and may require long tunnels between connecting pressurized elements. Strategies that incorporate shielding materials into module structures or internal shelters add very substantial launch mass penalties. Utilization of water bladders can make efficient use of consumable/recyclable supplies, but may impose excess capacity deliveries at early development stages. This paper addresses these different shielding approaches from a top-level application perspective, highlighting pros and cons of each. Examples draw upon research and design investigations undertaken by the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture in support of separate National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contracts awarded to teams headed by Boeing and ILC-Dover for a “Minimum Functionality Habitation Systems Concept Study.” Comprehensive team study results were presented to NASA in February 2009, and have been released as public information.     

Equivalent Continuum Model for Deployable Flat Lattice Structures

Deployable structures can be stored in a compact, folded configuration and are easily deployed into load‐bearing, open forms. Hence, they are suitable for applications where speed and ease of erection and reusability are desired. The structures investigated here are prefabricated space frames made of so called scissor‐like elements, sets of two straight bars connected to each other by a pivot. These structures are stress‐free and self‐standing in both their folded and deployed configurations, thus overcoming major disadvantages of previous designs. This study deals with deployable structures that are flat and subjected to normal loads in their deployed configuration. Although the behavior for that loading case is linear, the availability of an equivalent continuum model for stiffness prediction is desirable because it can significantly reduce the computational effort during preliminary design. The derivation of such a model is not straightforward because of the unorthodox geometry and the rotations allowed by the hinged and pivotal connections. This problem is addressed by first applying the direct stiffness method within a symbolic manipulation framework to transform the lattice structure to an equivalent single‐layer grid, and then using existing expressions to obtain the desired equivalent plate. The model exhibits good accuracy and convergence characteristics for uniform loads.     

Earthbound Civil Engineering Experience for Space Applications

Since the dawn of civilization, the civil engineering profession has served mankind. Civil engineers have provided humanity with safe, reliable, and economical facilities and a livable environment. This paper seeks to outline the potential applications of various Earth‐based civil engineering fields for the engineering, construction, and operation of facilities in space stations in Earth orbit, bases on the Moon and Mars, and the exploration of other extraterrestrial bodies. On Earth, civil engineers have played a key role in design, construction, and operation of ground‐support facilities since the beginning of the space program. The vast and diverse Earth‐based knowledge and experience earned by civil engineers could be applied to create a suitable infrastructure in space to satisfy human needs. Therefore, civil engineers can play a significant role in the future expansion of human endeavors into space. The time has come for civil engineers throughout the world to come together; take the challenge posed by time, human needs, and ambition; and extend their joint expertise toward large‐scale projects in space for the benefit of all.     

国内外电磁搅拌技术的发展与展望

总结了电磁搅拌技术的发展、作用及其在国内外的应用,分析了组合式电磁搅拌、多模式电磁搅拌、电磁制动技术及连铸的软接触技术的特点,提出了关于优化鞍钢主要连铸生产线的几点建议.     

Engineering Issues for Early Lunar‐Based Telescopes

A telescope on the Moon is needed for astronomy and can be constructed in this decade or early in the next century. Design for this telescope will be fundamentally different from the design of free‐flying telescopes. Its design will be more like the new Keck telescope being completed on a mountaintop in Hawaii than the Hubble Space Telescope, in low Earth orbit. Success of the lunar‐based telescope will depend on an appropriately engineered structure, a suitable interface (foundation) in the lunar soil, and a carefully thought out construction process. Participation of engineers in identifying and resolving issues for this extraterrestrial engineering and construction project is a natural extension of the traditional engineering role, and will prepare the engineering and construction communities for the subsequent greater challenges associated with basing on the Moon. These communities need to document now the types of data and information that NASA should obtain in the next early lunar missions so that construction on the Moon will be facilitated.     

超低二氧化碳排放炼钢项目的进展与未来

钢铁工业的CO_2排放量占人类总CO_2排放量的6%,在全球碳排放控制日益严格的大环境下,高碳排放的钢铁工业的生存面临着前所未有的危机,而目前世界最先进的减排方法已达到瓶颈,世界各国都大力开发能够显著降低CO_2排放量的突破性新工艺。阐述了欧洲的超二氧化碳炼钢项目的最新进展和未来研究,其中炉顶煤气循环工艺(TGR-BF)、新的熔融还原工艺(HIsarna)、新型直接还原工艺(ULCORED)和碱性电解还原铁工艺(ULCOWIN,ULCOLYSIS)被认为最有前景,结合碳捕集存储技术,最高可降低80%的CO_2排放量,投资成本和运营成本都比传统高炉工艺的要低。