Thermo-fluid Investigations on Wing Color of Mars Drone Performance

Principal Investigator: Dr. Samah Ben Ayed
Affiliation/Dept.: New Mexico State University, Department of Engineering Technology and Surveying Engineering
NASA Collaborator: David Berger, Ph.D., NASA Armstrong Flight  Research Center
Description: Over the past few decades, various government and private programs have been developed for space
exploration. Among the high interest exploration targets is the planet Mars. To design a drone suitable for Mars exploration, it is important to understand the Martian atmosphere and other properties for flight. Compared to Earth, the atmosphere of Mars is much thinner, and the temperature is also colder. Design methods enhance the performance and efficiency of drones which will extend their endurance and improve their utility in complex environments. Reduction of drag and potential power generation can be considered some of the main factors during the design process to conserve energy for the mission. A preliminary study done by the PI and her collaborators has investigated the thermal effects of wing color for Mars drones in different seasons. It is found that there is a considerable temperature difference if two extreme colors are considered at the top and the bottom of the wing. This temperature difference has to be adequately found through a comprehensive CFD procedure and the total drag would be rigorously computed. The found temperature difference could be of significant usefulness for thermal power generation using thermoelectric capabilities. The maximum temperature differences between the top and bottom surfaces will be found for different seasons. The drag reduction and the power generation via thermoelectric generators both contribute to enhancing the endurance of drones. Future drone designs will benefit from the increased endurance through optimizing the wing color configuration.

Gel Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Electrochemical

Principal Investigator: Reza Foudazi, Ph.D.
Affiliation/Dept.: New Mexico State University, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
NASA Collaborator: William West, Ph.D., NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Description: NASA has developed two technologies, solid oxide electrolysis and Sabatier process, to convert Mars CO2 into oxygen and fuel, respectively. However, disadvantages of the current state of the art for CO2 reduction are high temperature and power usage. Therefore, the goal of current proposal is to produce membranes for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to oxygen at operational temperatures less than 100 °C. We will prepare gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) membranes with high ionic conductivity and mechanical strength for application in direct generation of O2 from the reduction of CO2 in electrochemical cells at low temperatures. The emerging challenge is how to design heterogeneous GPEs with different sizes and shapes of continuous nanochannels to maximize the decoupling of ionic conductivity and mechanical strength. We propose that this challenge can be addressed through the polymerization of mesophase templates of monomer, ionic liquid, and amphiphilic block copolymers. In the previous project, we produced GPEs through polymerization of mesophases containing ILs and provided a fundamental knowledge between morphological characteristics of such GPEs and their ionic conductivity and mechanical properties. In this follow-up proposal, we will extend the project to design a process to fabricate GPE
membranes, evaluate the performance of GPEs using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry, and develop an ion exchange membrane electrolysis unit to test the performance of the produced GPE membranes for oxygen production at low temperature (<100 °C).

Development of Accurate and Efficient Large-Eddy Simulation Capability for Shockwave
Boundary Layer Interaction Research

Principal Investigator: Andreas Gross, Ph.D.
Affiliation/Dept.: New Mexico State University, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
NASA Collaborator: John W. Slater, Ph.D., NASA John H. Glenn Research Center
Description: High-speed air-breathing propulsion is a key enabler for future high Mach number flight. Straight and swept shockwave turbulent boundary layer interactions are common to inlet flows and can lead to boundary layer separation, total pressure losses, and unsteadiness. Total pressure losses reduce the overall propulsive efficiency while unsteadiness has negative consequences for both structure and combustion. An improved understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms would allow for new designs or control mechanisms that avoid or counter these
detrimental effects. Large-eddy simulations of a straight and a swept interaction at a supersonic Mach number will be carried out to demonstrate that the simulation and post-processing software for future successful inlet flow research are in place. Wall models that cut down on the computational expense of the simulations will be implemented and evaluated. Flow data obtained from simulations for an unswept interaction will be validated with experimental data from the literature. Data for both unswept and swept interactions will also be analyzed with
modern post-processing tools for developing an understanding of the dynamics and interaction of the coherent flow structures which are chiefly responsible for the flow unsteadiness. By comparing the two cases, the poorly understood effect of sweep on the flow physics will be revealed. The results will be presented at a relevant conference and published in a journal. The project will support one graduate student over the duration of one year.

Bio-inspired Shape-morphing Soft Robotic Mechanisms for Adaptive Locomotion in Space Exploration

Principal Investigator: Dr. Mahdi Haghshenas-Jaryani
Affiliation/Dept.: New Mexico State University, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
NASA Collaborator: Ali Agha, Ph.D., NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Description: The proposed project aims to investigate morphology of soft-bodied mechanisms for generating adaptive locomotion that facilitates the design of bio-inspired soft-robots for planetary surface exploration. Negotiate unknown and unstructured environments in space exploration is a challenge, which requires versatile robots that can generate complex motions while adapting to the environment. Soft-robotics, as emerging field inspired by versatile capabilities in soft animals like octopuses and caterpillars, has provided promising solutions to address this challenge. Inherited compliance and large deformation features of soft-bodied robots will be exploited to generate different modes of locomotion including crawling and rolling. The objectives of this project are: 1) study the kinematics and dynamics of bio-inspired shape-morphing mechanisms for adaptive and versatile locomotion of soft-robots; 2) determine the underlying principles of design for soft-robots with adaptive morphology to achieve higher speed while being energy efficient; and 3) validate these principles by prototyping and testing a group of soft mechanisms for adaptive mobility on different terrains. The project’s outcomes are the theoretical basis for kinematics and dynamics of shape-morphing mechanisms that can be used in the future work for developing adaptive and robust control algorithms, principles for the design of these mechanisms, physical testbeds, and published preliminary results for submitting follow up proposals. This project will be carried out in three phases; phase-I (1-4 month): study the kinematics and dynamics of bio-inspired shape-morphing mechanisms, phase-II (5-8 month): implementation of these theoretical studies in a simulation environment for testing and validation; and phase-III (9-12 month) prototype a group of shape-morphing soft-bodied locomotors to demonstrate their capabilities in adaption to the environment.

Development of an Efficient Planetary Exploration Algorithm for Future Multi-Rover Systems

Principal Investigator: Dr. Kooktae Lee
Affiliation/Dept.: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering
NASA Collaborator: Ali-akbar Agha-mohammadi, Ph.D., NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Description:Although robotic technologies have enabled remarkable scientific achievements that are not otherwise achievable, developing a planetary exploration robot is time-consuming, costly, and human resource-demanding. This is because even a tiny defect in a planetary robot may cause irrevocable consequences to its mission. In an effort to reduce the risk of failure for a high-cost robot, JPL has worked on the development of small-size, multi-robot systems, providing future NASA missions with cooperative mobility, communication, and sensing to operate in ways that are not possible with a single rover. Dispatching a team of multiple robots has the potential to be a promising tool in a planet exploration mission with a goal to maximize information acquisition. This scenario sounds like a promising plan in future planetary explorations as it can lead to many benefits including a smaller and lighter model for each robot, manufacturing cost and time reduction, and efficient environment explorations with less prone to mission failure than a single robot case. One of the major thrusts in a multi-robot exploration scheme is to maximize efficiency by avoiding overlap between exploration areas. This requires an intelligent algorithm on how a team
of multiple robots will lead to the best performing results in planetary exploration. In this project, the PI will focus on the development of an efficient planetary exploration plan. The New Mexico NASA EPSCoR RID will serve as a stepping stone to develop such a plan, which will be an overarching goal in the near future.

3D Impact Self-Sensing Composites (3D-ISSC)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Donghyeon Ryu, Ph.D., P.E.
Affiliation/Dept.: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering
NASA Collaborator: Adam Irion, Jacobs Technology, Inc., NASA White Sands Test Facility
Description: Aerospace structures are exposed to extreme loading conditions in air and space. In air, there exist
raindrops, hailstones, and birds that can potentially impact aerospace structures. In space, micrometeoroid
and orbital debris (MMOD) can impact-damage aerospace structures due to high impact energy resulting
from high velocity (~10 km/s) of MMOD. Research objective of this proposal is to devise 3-dimensional (3D) self-sensing structural composites for detecting damage resulting from extreme loadings (e.g., impact and blast). The 3D impact self-sensing composites (ISSC) are designed by embedding fracto-mechanoluminescent (FML) crystals, which emit light upon being fractured, in honeycomb-cored sandwich composites. Each FML crystal is instrumented
with an optical fiber to guide light emission from the FML to data acquisition (DAQ) system. To achieve the research goal, PI plans one-year project to conduct three research tasks. First, FML crystal-based sensor network will be designed and embedded into honeycomb-cored composites. Second, impact selfsensing capability of the 3D ISSC will be validated using Kolsky bar. Last, analytical model of the 3D ISSC subjected to extreme loadings will be developed through close collaboration with Mr. Mark Leifeste at NASA White Sand Test Facility (WSTF). If this proposal is funded, the RID project will help improve research infrastructures, science, and technical capability of PI, NASA WSTF, and New Mexico jurisdiction. If the proposed research is successful, PI envisions to build competitive scientific and technical strengths to help address technical problems that NASA has encountered in Aeronautics
Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) as well as Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).

Evaluation of UltraBattery Technology for Potential Aerospace Applications

Principal Investigator: Hengzhao Yang, Ph.D.
Affiliation/Dept.: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering
NASA Collaborator: Erik J. Brandon, Ph.D., Power and Sensors Section, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Description: The goal of this project is to conduct a comprehensive, independent, and objective evaluation of the performance, reliability, and safety of the UltraBattery technology for potential aerospace applications. The UltraBattery technology is a hybrid energy storage technology incorporating the high power density supercapacitor and the high energy density lead-acid battery technologies into a single cell. As an emerging technology, UltraBattery aims to meet both the energy and power requirements of certain applications.

This project has three objectives. (1) Examine the charge, power, and energy characteristics of the UltraBattery technology. Various charging and discharging profiles in different modes (e.g., constant current charge, constant voltage charge, constant/pulsed power discharge, and variable resistance discharge) will be designed to test the charge and energy delivery capabilities of the UltraBattery technology. (2) Quantify the performance of the UltraBattery technology in terms of high-power pulse handling capability (with respect to supercapacitors) and long-term energy delivery capability (with respect to Li-ion and lead-acid batteries). (3) Evaluate the reliability and safety of the UltraBattery technology.

This project aims to provide a side-by-side evaluation of the UltraBattery technology to facilitate the design and implementation of next generation energy storage systems for potential aerospace applications. This project specifically addresses the following priority area identified by the 2020 NASA Technology Taxonomy: TX03.2.1 for electrochemical batteries with a focus on advanced secondary chemistries beyond lithium-ion.