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Award ID | Description | Recipient | Total Value | Awarding Agency | Funding Agency | Set Aside | NAICS | PSC | Award Date | Start Date | End Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADVANCED COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR THERMAL AND ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF ROCKET GROUND TEST FACILITIES | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $749,997 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541715Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | AJ14GENERAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY R&D SERVICES; GENERAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; R&D ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES | Jul 28, 2021 | Jul 28, 2021 | Jul 27, 2023 | ||
| ALGORITHMIC IMPROVEMENTS FOR CRYOGENIC FLUID.MANAGEMENT APPLICATIONS | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $250,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541715Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Aug 20, 2020 | Aug 20, 2020 | May 19, 2022 | ||
| ADVANCED COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR THERMAL AND ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF ROCKET GROUND TEST FACILITIES | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $124,999 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541715Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Aug 12, 2020 | Aug 31, 2020 | Mar 1, 2021 | ||
| SBIR PHASE I, LIQUID INJECTION MODELING FOR HIGH ENTHALPY AIR BREATHING PROPULSION | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $149,992 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | — | 541715Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | AC11NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SERVICES; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - MILITARY; BASIC RESEARCH | Jan 29, 2019 | Jan 29, 2019 | Oct 29, 2019 | ||
| IGF::OT::IGF RIGOROUS GROUND TESTING MITIGATES SPACE PROPULSION SYSTEM RISK BY ENABLING ADVANCED COMPONENT AND SYSTEM LEVEL ROCKET PROPULSION DEVELOPMENT AND BY DEMONSTRATING THAT DESIGNS RELIABLY MEET THE SPECIFIED REQUIREMENTS OVER THE OPERATIONAL ENVELOPE BEFORE THE FIRST FLIGHT. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED GROUND TEST TECHNOLOGY COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS THAT ARE CAPABLE OF ENHANCING ENVIRONMENT SIMULATION, MINIMIZING PROGRAM TEST TIME, COST AND RISK AND MEETING ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY REGULATIONS IS FOCUSED ON NEAR-TERM PRODUCTS THAT AUGMENT EXISTING STATE-OF-THE-ART PROPULSION SYSTEM TEST FACILITIES. THUS IMPROVED CAPABILITIES TO MODEL AND PREDICT COMPONENT BEHAVIOR IN HARSH GROUND TEST ENVIRONMENTS ARE NEEDED FOR ENHANCED FACILITY DESIGN. IN PARTICULAR, COMPONENTS SUCH AS PUMPS, TURBINES, VALVES AND CHOKES MAY EXPERIENCE VIBRATION AND DAMAGE DUE TO CAVITATION IN THE FLOWING LIQUID, AND ANY REDUCTION IN THE SEVERITY OF THE OPERATING CONDITIONS WOULD PROVIDE EXPANDED TEST AND PERFORMANCE BENEFITS. THE PROPOSED INNOVATION IS TO DEVELOP AN UNSTEADY CAVITATION MODEL BASED ON A TABULAR EQUATION OF STATE AND A REPRESENTATION OF CAVITATION BUBBLE DYNAMICS THAT TOGETHER DESCRIBE THE GROWTH AND COLLAPSE OF NUCLEATED BUBBLES IN A LIQUID CRYOGEN. IMPORTANT NONEQUILIBRIUM MECHANICAL AND THERMAL EFFECTS WILL BE CONSIDERED BY USING A DRIFT-FLUX MODEL AND ADDING AN ADDITIONAL ENERGY EQUATION FOR THE LIQUID TEMPERATURE. VALIDATION OF THE ADVANCED CAVITATION MODELS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED FOR BOTH STEADY AND UNSTEADY FLOWS BY COMPARING SURFACE PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE DATA AND COMPUTING POWER SPECTRA FROM FREQUENCY DOMAIN ANALYSES. THE FINAL ANALYSIS TOOL WILL BE USED TO DEMONSTRATE THE SIGNIFICANT NONEQUILIBRIUM FLOW BEHAVIOR FOR BOTH THE VALIDATION CASES AND ACTUAL PRODUCTION ANALYSIS PROBLEMS OF INTEREST TO NASA. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $750,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Apr 19, 2017 | Apr 19, 2017 | Apr 19, 2019 | ||
| IGF::OT::IGF RIGOROUS GROUND TESTING MITIGATES SPACE PROPULSION SYSTEM RISK BY ENABLING ADVANCED COMPONENT AND SYSTEM LEVEL ROCKET PROPULSION DEVELOPMENT AND BY DEMONSTRATING THAT DESIGNS RELIABLY MEET THE SPECIFIED REQUIREMENTS OVER THE OPERATIONAL ENVELOPE BEFORE THE FIRST FLIGHT. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED GROUND TEST TECHNOLOGY COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS THAT ARE CAPABLE OF ENHANCING ENVIRONMENT SIMULATION, MINIMIZING PROGRAM TEST TIME, COST AND RISK AND MEETING ENVIRONMENTAL AND SAFETY REGULATIONS IS FOCUSED ON NEAR-TERM PRODUCTS THAT AUGMENT EXISTING STATE-OF-THE-ART PROPULSION SYSTEM TEST FACILITIES. THUS IMPROVED CAPABILITIES TO MODEL AND PREDICT COMPONENT BEHAVIOR IN HARSH GROUND TEST ENVIRONMENTS ARE NEEDED FOR ENHANCED FACILITY DESIGN. IN PARTICULAR, COMPONENTS SUCH AS VALVES, CHECK VALVES AND CHOKES THAT ARE SUBJECTED TO HIGH PRESSURE, HIGH FLOW RATE CRYOGENIC ENVIRONMENTS WILL EXPERIENCE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING TWO PHASE FLOW EFFECTS SUCH AS CAVITATION. ROBUST CRYOGENIC CAVITATION MODELS FOR REAL FLUIDS EQUATIONS OF STATE IN THE PRESENCE OF MIXED SUPERSONIC/SUBSONIC FLOWS ARE DEMONSTRATED TO DEAL WITH POOR SOLUTION CONVERGENCE AND NUMERICAL INSTABILITIES. THE PROPOSED INNOVATION LEVERAGES MODIFICATIONS TO THE LOCAL PRECONDITIONING FORMULATION OF THE ROE FLUX WITH A BAROTROPIC EQUATION OF STATE AND USES A REPRESENTATIVE COMPONENT FLOW PROBLEM TO DEMONSTRATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENHANCED MODIFICATIONS TO THE CRYOGENIC LIQUID TABULAR EQUATION OF STATE. INSTABILITIES ARISING FROM THE SINGLE TEMPERATURE ASSUMPTION IN THE TWO PHASE MIXTURE EQUATION OF STATE, WHICH MUST OFTEN BE EVALUATED BY EXTRAPOLATING DATA TOO FAR FROM THE SATURATION CURVE, ARE ELIMINATED WITH A NONLINEAR TEMPERATURE LIMITER THAT PRECLUDES NON-PHYSICAL BEHAVIOR, SUCH AS IMAGINARY MIXTURE SOUND SPEEDS. THE RESULT IS AN EFFICIENT, ROBUST CRYOGENIC CAVITATION MODEL SUITABLE FOR APPLICATION TO PROPULSION SYSTEMS GROUND TEST FACILITY COMPONENT DESIGN AND ANALYSIS EFFORTS. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $125,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Jun 10, 2016 | Jun 10, 2016 | Dec 9, 2016 | ||
| IGF::OT::IGF IT IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED THAT DETAILED SIMULATION OF LARGE COMBUSTORS TO ASSESS COMBUSTION INSTABILITY AND WATER SPRAY SYSTEMS TO SUPPRESS ROCKET LAUNCH AND TEST STAND ACOUSTIC ENERGY REQUIRE ADVANCES IN TWO PHASE FLOW, COMBUSTION, UNSTEADY FLOW AND ACOUSTICS MODELING EFFICIENCY AND FIDELITY. WITH RECENT ADVANCES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY, TURBULENT MULTIPHYSICS MODELING AND HIGH FIDELITY ALGORITHMS, CURRENT APPLICATIONS ARE POISED FOR COORDINATED INTEGRATION INTO A COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK THAT OFFERS REALISTIC SIMULATION OF PROPULSION SYSTEM FLUID DYNAMICS. MSU HAS RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED A HYBRID 4TH ORDER SKEW SYMMETRIC FLUX IN THE LOCI/CHEM MULTIPHYSICS CFD SOLVER. THE NEW SCHEME HAS EXCEPTIONALLY LOW DISSIPATION PROPERTIES FOR VORTICAL AND ACOUSTIC SIGNAL PROPAGATION ON BOTH STRUCTURED AND UNSTRUCTURED MESHES AND OFFERS EXCELLENT POTENTIAL FOR ANALYSIS OF ACOUSTICALLY DRIVEN PROPULSION SYSTEM COMBUSTION INSTABILITIES. SIMULATION OF LARGE SCALE SYSTEMS, HOWEVER, IS FURTHER COMPLICATED BY THE NEED TO MODEL UNSTEADY TURBULENCE EFFECTS. MSU HAS ALSO RECENTLY EMPLOYED THE VERY PROMISING DYNAMIC HYBRID RANS/LES METHODOLOGY WITH THE NEW LOW DISSIPATION SCHEME TO DEMONSTRATE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED RESOLUTION OF FINE SCALE UNSTEADY TURBULENCE STRUCTURES. FOR HIGHLY STRETCHED BOUNDARY LAYER MESHES, HOWEVER, BOTH IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT TIME INTEGRATION SCHEMES ARE PROBLEMATIC FOR THIN BOUNDARY LAYERS. FORTUNATELY, DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH A NOVEL HYBRID EXPLICIT-IMPLICIT TIME INTEGRATION SCHEME THAT USES THE IMPLICIT TREATMENT FOR FLUXES CONSTRAINED BY THE EXPLICIT STABILITY LIMIT AND THE EXPLICIT SCHEME ELSEWHERE. SINCE THE EXPLICIT METHOD IS MORE THAN AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE CHEAPER THAN THE IMPLICIT SCHEME, THE POTENTIAL SPEEDUP COULD BE A FACTOR OF TEN. THUS THE PROPOSED COMPUTER SCIENCE, TURBULENT MULTIPHYSICS AND HIGH FIDELITY INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK CAN REALISTICALLY EXPECT TO ENABLE PROPULSION SYSTEM DDT&E AND PRODUCTION COST REDUCTIONS. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $125,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | May 12, 2016 | Jun 10, 2016 | Jun 10, 2017 | ||
| IGF::OT::IGF NUMERICAL ANALYSIS FOR SCRAMJET AND COLD STARTS | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $556,164 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | — | 541712 | AC12NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SERVICES; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - MILITARY; APPLIED RESEARCH | Aug 11, 2015 | Aug 11, 2015 | Oct 29, 2020 | ||
| IGF::OT::IGF SBIR I: RADIATION MODEL DEVELOPMENT FOR COMBUSTION SYSTEMS | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $150,000 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | — | 541711 | AD91 | May 7, 2014 | May 7, 2014 | Feb 10, 2015 | ||
| STTR PHASE III AWARD DEVELOPMENT OF ROBUST, PRODUCTION QUALITY WATER MITIGATION MODEL IN LOCI\CHEM STATEMENT OF WORK 1. BACKGROUND NASA/MSFC HAS A NEED FOR A CFD-BASED MODEL OF WATER MITIGATION FOR ROCKET VEHICLE LAUNCH PAD ENVIRONMENTS. APPLICATION OF LIQUID WATER ON THE LAUNCH PAD IS USEFUL FOR SUPPRESSION OF IGNITION OVER PRESSURE (IOP) AND LAUNCH PAD ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENTS. TRADITIONALLY, WATER IS APPLIED IN LARGE QUANTITIES TO LOCATIONS CONCENTRATED NEAR THE ROCKET ENGINE OR MOTOR NOZZLE EXIT PLANE IN ORDER TO SUPPRESS THE PRESSURE AND THERMAL LOADS ON THE ROCKET VEHICLE AND LAUNCH PAD GENERATED BY THE ENGINE OR MOTOR START TRANSIENT. WATER IS ALSO SUPPLIED IN A LESS CONCENTRATED MANNER TO THE SURFACES WHERE THE ENGINE OR MOTOR PLUMES IMPINGE ON THE LAUNCH PAD IN ORDER TO SUPPRESS THE ACOUSTIC LOAD IMPOSED UPON THE ROCKET VEHICLE. THE SELECTION OF THE WATER APPLICATION LOCATIONS AND QUANTITIES ARE HISTORICALLY GUIDED BY THE RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTING USING SUBSCALE ROCKET ENGINES AND MOTORS ALONG WITH A SUBSCALE LAUNCH PAD. THESE SUBSCALE EXPERIMENTS ARE EXPENSIVE AND TIME-CONSUMING. COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) -BASED METHODS TO AUGMENT THE DESIGN PROCESS WOULD BE A WELCOME DEVELOPMENT. NASA/MSFC HAS RECENTLY VALIDATED THE LOCI\CHEM CFD PROGRAM FOR THE PREDICTION OF SUBSCALE ROCKET MOTOR IOP ENVIRONMENTS FOR CONDITIONS WHERE WATER MITIGATION IS NOT PRESENT. THE LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE MODEL IN LOCI\CHEM HAS ALSO BEEN USED IN ATTEMPTS TO PREDICT THE EFFECTS OF WATER ADDITION IN LOCATIONS SELECTED TO MITIGATE BOTH IOP AND ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENTS. WHILE THESE MODELS HAVE RESULTED IN PHYSICALLY-REALISTIC ALTERATIONS OF THESE ENVIRONMENTS, THE SIMULATIONS HAVE NOT BEEN RUN TO COMPLETION DUE TO A SEVERE LACK OF ROBUSTNESS. THE CORE CAUSE OF THE LACK OF ROBUSTNESS APPEARS TO ORIGINATE FROM CONDITIONS DEVELOPING WHICH VIOLATE THE BASIC JUSTIFYING APPROXIMATIONS BEHIND THE LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE MODEL. IN CFD SIMULATIONS, LARGE NUMBERS OF PARTICLES ACCUMULATE IN CERTAIN REGIONS, TYPICALLY NEAR SOLID SURFACES, LEADING TO THE RATIO OF PARTICULATE PHASE TO GASEOUS PHASE MASS BECOMING LARGE ENOUGH TO VIOLATE THE DISPERSED ASSUMPTION BEHIND THE PARTICLE MODEL FORMULATION AND LEADING TO A NUMERICAL INSTABILITY IN THE SOLUTION OF THE COUPLED GAS PHASE/PARTICULATE SYSTEM OF EQUATIONS. A NEED EXISTS TO INVESTIGATE THE CAUSES OF THE LACK OF ROBUSTNESS DESCRIBED ABOVE AND FORMULATE APPROACHES WHICH LEAD TO SUCCESSFUL, ROBUST SIMULATIONS AND VALIDATION OF PREDICTIONS OF WATER MITIGATION FOR IOP AND ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENT GENERATION ON ROCKET VEHICLE LAUNCH PADS. 2. SCOPE A RECENTLY AWARDED STTR PHASE II CONTRACT NNX12CB09C, ADVANCED FLOW ANALYSIS TOOLS FOR TRANSIENT SOLID ROCKET MOTOR SIMULATIONS , WAS AIMED AT IMPROVING THE IGNITION MODELING AND GRAIN RECESSION OF SOLID ROCKET PROPELLANTS INCLUDING THE SOLID PARTICLES GENERATED AT THE COMBUSTING FUEL SURFACE AND PROPAGATED OUT OF THE ROCKET USING THE LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE MODEL. THIS EFFORT BUILDS UPON A PREVIOUS STTR PHASE I AND PHASE II CONTRACT, NNX09CB73C, MULTI-PHASE FLOW ANALYSIS TOOLS FOR SOLID MOTOR APPLICATIONS , WHICH DEVELOPED SOLID PARTICLE TO WALL INTERACTION MODELS USING THE LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE MODEL. IN ADDITION, THIS CONTRACT ALSO DEVELOPED CHARACTERIZATIONS OF THE MIXED-PHASE THERMODYNAMICS AND SHOCK PROPAGATION. THIS WORK EFFORT SHALL CHARACTERIZE AND DIAGNOSE THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE ULTIMATE LACK OF ROBUSTNESS OF LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE MODEL-BASED CFD SIMULATIONS OF LIQUID WATER APPLICATION TO ROCKET VEHICLE LAUNCH PADS. BASED ON THIS CHARACTERIZATION, IMPROVEMENTS, ADDITIONS AND/OR ALTERATIONS TO THE LOCI\CHEM CFD PROGRAM AND LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE MODEL SHALL BE FORMULATED AND IMPLEMENTED TO REMEDY THE LACK OF ROBUSTNESS. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $0 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541511Custom Computer Programming Services | AR44 | Sep 11, 2012 | Sep 11, 2012 | Dec 11, 2013 | ||
| IGF::OT::IGF OTHER FUNCTION - THE GOALS OF REDUCING TOTAL COST AND INCREASING RELIABILITY AND SAFETY OF ACCESS TO SPACE CONTINUE TO BE TOP PRIORITIES FOR NASA. THE MOST IMMEDIATE PROPULSION LAUNCH CHALLENGE INVOLVES INCREASING LIFT WEIGHT FROM 70 TO 130 METRIC TONS BY DEVELOPING THE HEAVY LIFT SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM (SLS). SOLID ROCKET MOTOR ANALYSIS TOOLS ARE NEEDED TO SIMULATE IGNITION AND PROPELLANT RECESSION DURING THE BURN, BUT CURRENT MODELS ARE LIMITED IN THEIR ABILITY TO CAPTURE IGNITION TRANSIENTS OR LARGE GRAIN DEFORMATIONS DURING MOTOR OPERATION. WE PROPOSE TO ADVANCE PROPELLANT SURFACE HEATING, IGNITION, AND BURNING MODELS AS WELL AS SURFACE MESH RECESSION ALGORITHMS TO ADDRESS A STRONG NEED FOR IMPROVED IGNITION PHYSICS AND GRAIN BURN BACK AND TO DELIVER A UNIQUE AND POWERFUL SOFTWARE TOOL FOR CURRENT AND NEXT GENERATION SOLID ROCKET MOTOR SIMULATIONS. THE PHASE I PRODUCTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN FIELDED BY NASA FOR IGNITION CALCULATIONS INVOLVING THE LAUNCH ABORT SYSTEM JETTISON MOTOR AND RSRMV. WHILE THESE CALCULATIONS ARE STILL IN THE PRELIMINARY STAGES, CONTINUED INNOVATION OF THIS SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGY STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT OUR RESEARCH PRODUCTS WILL PROVIDE NASA WITH THE IMPORTANT CAPABILITY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ANALYZE SOLID PROPELLANT HEAT TRANSFER, COMBUSTION, AND GRAIN BURN BACK WITHIN A SINGLE FRAMEWORK. VALIDATION OF THE INTEGRATED TOOLS TO A TRL OF 5 WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED USING AVAILABLE MOTOR DATA PROVIDED BY ATK WHILE PHASED RELEASES OF THE NEW SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES WILL ALLOW NASA IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO INCREMENTAL UPDATES AS SOON AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE. ADVANCING THIS SIMULATION CAPABILITY WILL PROVIDE A LARGE BENEFIT TO NASA BECAUSE OF ITS COMPATIBILITY WITH NASA'S MISSION AND EXPERTISE. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $749,819 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Jun 8, 2012 | Jun 11, 2012 | Sep 10, 2014 | ||
| THE CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING, DEVELOPING, AND FIELDING MAN-RATED PROPULSION SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS NASA'S MISSION MOVES FORWARD WITH EVOLVING SOLID PROPULSION REQUIREMENTS. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SIMULATING SOLID ROCKET MOTOR ENVIRONMENTS INCLUDE LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE TRACKING, PARTICLE COMBUSTION MODELS, DYNAMIC PARTICLE DRAG AND BREAKUP MODELS, AND TWO PHASE IMPINGEMENT PHENOMENA. THESE ADVANCES ARE DEMONSTRATING SUCCESS IN NUMERICALLY SIMULATING SOLID MOTOR ENVIRONMENTS, BUT EVOLUTIONARY INNOVATIONS LEADING TO MORE REALISTIC SIMULATIONS ARE REQUIRED. IN PARTICULAR, TRANSIENT IGNITION PHENOMENA, SUCH AS GRAIN SURFACE HEATING, INITIATION OF SURFACE REACTIONS, AND TRANSITION TO STEADY BURNING, HAVE NOT YET BEEN ADDRESSED. CONSIDERATION OF THESE TRANSIENT FLOW ASPECTS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR ANALYZING IGNITION DELAY, PRESSURE BUILDUP, NONUNIFORM GRAIN RECESSION, AND OVERALL COMBUSTION BEHAVIOR. OUR RESEARCH WILL COMBINE EXISTING TWO PHASE FLOW TOOLS FOR SOLID MOTORS WITH A GRAIN HEATING AND IGNITION MODEL TO PRODUCE SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR SIMULATING TRANSIENT IGNITION PHENOMENA AND THE SUBSEQUENT FLOW DEVELOPMENT. THESE PRODUCTS WILL ULTIMATELY PROVIDE NASA WITH THE IMPORTANT CAPABILITY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ANALYZE SOLID PROPELLANT IGNITION AND COMBUSTION, HEAT TRANSFER, AND GRAIN BURNBACK WITHIN A UNIFIED FRAMEWORK. WE WILL DEMONSTRATE FEASIBILITY USING A TWO PHASE SOLID PROPELLANT IGNITION MODEL FOR A SIMPLE GRAIN SHAPE IN THE TRL RANGE OF 3-4. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $100,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Feb 18, 2011 | Feb 18, 2011 | Feb 18, 2012 | ||
| SBIR PHASE III LOCI-CHEM ENHANCEMENTS FOR SOLID ROCKET MOTOR SIMULATIONS | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $75,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR91 | Aug 11, 2009 | Aug 11, 2009 | Feb 16, 2011 | ||
| THE CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING, DEVELOPING, AND FIELDING MAN-RATED PROPULSION SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS NASA'S VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION PROGRAM MOVES BEYOND THE SPACE SHUTTLE AND RSRM. THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF DIFFERENT PROPULSION ELEMENTS REQUIRED ARE SIGNIFICANT, AND PREDICTING INTERNAL SOLID MOTOR BEHAVIOR AND CHARACTERISTICS AND ASSESSING EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS (E.G., PLUME IMPINGEMENT ON VEHICLE STRUCTURES AND LAUNCH ACOUSTIC LOADING) IS A PRIORITY. OUR PROPOSED INNOVATION WILL ENHANCE EXISTING ENGINEERING SOFTWARE BY COMBINING NEW PHYSICAL MODELING CAPABILITIES WITH APPROPRIATE BOUNDARY CONDITIONS TO CREATE A NOVEL TOOLSET FOR COMPLEX MULTI-PHASE SOLID ROCKET ANALYSES. THE INNOVATION WILL BE BASED ON THE LOCI/CHEM MULTI-PHYSICS ANALYSIS PACKAGE AND WILL UTILIZE NEW LOCI FEATURES, NEW MULTI-PHASE FLOW MODELS, THEORETICAL AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS, AND MODIFIED REAL GAS EQUATIONS OF STATE TO CREATE A UNIQUE SOFTWARE TOOL FOR PARTICLE BREAKUP, SURFACE HEAT TRANSFER WITH PARTICLE DEPOSITION, LAUNCH ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERIZATION, AND NOZZLE EROSION FOR NEXT GENERATION SOLID MOTORS. OUR RESEARCH PRODUCTS WILL PROVIDE NASA WITH THE IMPORTANT CAPABILITY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ANALYZE SOLID PROPELLANT COMBUSTION, HEAT TRANSFER, LAUNCH ACOUSTICS, AND NOZZLE EROSION WITHIN A SINGLE UNIFIED NUMERICAL FRAMEWORK. WE WILL VALIDATE THE APPROACH USING APPROPRIATE TWO PHASE FLOW PROBLEMS TO ACHIEVE A TRL RANGE OF 3-4. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $600,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Jun 15, 2009 | Jun 15, 2009 | Jun 14, 2011 | ||
| TWO PHASE FLOW TOOLS FOR SOLID MOTORS WITH DYNAMIC BURNING SURFACE RECESSION THE CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING, DEVELOPING, AND FIELDING ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS NASA'S VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION PROGRAM MOVES FORWARD WITH NEW SOLID PROPULSION ELEMENTS ({I.E., ARES I AND V). OUR EXISTING COMPUTATIONAL TOOL FOR SOLID MOTOR ANALYSIS (BURNSURF) GENERATES MODEST SURFACE RECESSION, BUT THE MESH DEFORMATION TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED OFTEN FAIL AS THE SURFACE REGRESSION INCREASES, PARTICULARLY NEAR CORNERS. FOR COMPLEX GRAIN DESIGNS WITH HIGHLY COMPLICATED SURFACE TOPOLOGIES (E.G., STAR SHAPES), SIMPLE MESH DEFORMATION IS NO LONGER DESIRABLE. OUR PROPOSED INNOVATION WILL UTILIZE SURFACE MESH MODIFICATION AND VOLUME MESH GENERATION TO LOCALLY REBUILD THE BURNING SURFACE MESH AND THE ADJACENT VOLUME MESH. THE INNOVATION WILL ADDRESS INTEGRATED SURFACE AND VOLUME MESH REGENERATION AND RECONNECTION TECHNIQUES FOR MODIFYING MESH TOPOLOGIES ALONG WITH TWO PHASE BURNING SURFACE MODELS TO CREATE A UNIQUE 3D SOFTWARE TOOL FOR NEXT GENERATION SOLID MOTOR INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERIZATION. OUR RESEARCH PRODUCTS WILL PROVIDE NASA WITH THE IMPORTANT CAPABILITY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ANALYZE SOLID PROPELLANT COMBUSTION, HEAT TRANSFER, AND GRAIN BURNBACK WITHIN A SINGLE FRAMEWORK. WE WILL DEMONSTRATE FEASIBILITY OF THE APPROACH USING A TWO PHASE GRAIN BURNING MODEL COUPLED WITH SURFACE RECESSION FOR A SIMPLE SHAPE IN THE TRL RANGE OF 3-4. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $100,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Jan 15, 2009 | Jan 22, 2009 | Jan 21, 2010 | ||
| THE CHALLENGES OF DESIGNING, DEVELOPING, AND FIELDING MAN-RATED PROPULSION SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS NASA'S VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION PROGRAM MOVES BEYOND THE SPACE SHUTTLE AND RSRM. THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF DIFFERENT PROPULSION ELEMENTS REQUIRED ARE SIGNIFICANT AND PREDICTING INTERNAL SOLID MOTOR BEHAVIOR AND CHARACTERISTICS AND ASSESSING EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS DUE TO PLUME IMPINGEMENT ON VEHICLE STRUCTURES IS A TOP PRIORITY. SOLID MOTORS DO NOT REQUIRE PRE-START THERMAL CONDITIONING BUT CAN BE THROTTLED BY GRAIN SHAPE AND PINTLE DESIGN AND THUS THE ANALYSIS TOOLS MUST BE FLEXIBLE AND PREPARED TO MEET THE APPROPRIATE SIMULATION READINESS LEVEL. OUR PROPOSED INNOVATION WILL ENHANCE EXISTING ENGINEERING SOFTWARE BY COMBINING NEW FLOW SOLUTION METHODOLOGIES WITH APPROPRIATE BOUNDARY CONDITIONS TO CREATE A NOVEL TOOLSET FOR COMPLEX MULTI-PHASE SOLID ROCKET ANALYSES. THE INNOVATION WILL BE BASED ON THE LOCI/CHEM MULTI-PHYSICS ANALYSIS PACKAGE AND WILL UTILIZE NEW LOCI FEATURES NEW MULTI-PHASE FLOW MODELS AND THEORETICAL AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS TO CREATE A UNIQUE SOFTWARE TOOL FOR SOLID PROPELLANT BURNING, PARTICLE BREAKUP, SURFACE EROSION AND ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERIZATION FOR NEXT GENERATION SOLID MOTORS. OUR RESEARCH PRODUCTS WILL PROVIDE NASA WITH THE IMPORTANT CAPABILITY TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ANALYZE SOLID PROPELLANT COMBUSTION, HEAT TRANSFER AND NOZZLE EROSION WITHIN A SINGLE NUMERICAL FRAMEWORK. | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $100,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541712 | AR11SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH | Jan 18, 2008 | Jan 18, 2008 | Jan 16, 2009 | ||
| 4200159093 PRACTICAL MULTI DISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS TOOLS FOR COMBUSTION DEVICES | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $600,000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | 541710 | AR91 | May 31, 2006 | May 31, 2006 | Sep 30, 2008 | ||
| 4200111305 MULTI-DISCIPLINARY IMPROVEMENTS TO A SOLID ROCKET MOTOR CODE | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $221,477 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | — | 541710 | AR91 | Jul 21, 2005 | Jul 21, 2005 | Oct 20, 2006 | ||
| PRACTICAL MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS TOOLS FOR COMBUSTION DEVICES | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $99,999 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | — | — | 541710 | AR91 | Jan 18, 2005 | Jan 21, 2005 | Jan 23, 2006 | ||
| 199908!2100!0935!SG60 !USA SPACE AND STRATEGIC DEF CDR !DASG6099C0021 !A!*!* !19990504!20010321!969308311!969308311!969308311!N!* !TETRA RESREACH, INC !2610 SPICEWOOD TRL NE !HUNTSVILLE !AL!35811!37000!089!01!HUNTSVILLE !MADISON !ALABAMA !0001!+000000250000!N!N!000000000000!AC23!RDTE/MISSILE AND SPACE SYSTEMS-ADV TECH DEV !A2 !MISSILE AND SPACE SYSTEMS !1CAA!BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYS !8731!3!*!*!*!B!B!*!A !N!J!2!002!K!* !Z!Y!Z!* !* !N!B!*!A!*!B!A!A!*!* !*!Y!C!B!N!*!*!*!*!*! | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $0 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | — | — | 541710 | AC23NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SERVICES; ATOMIC ENERGY DEFENSE ACTIVITIES; EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT | May 4, 1999 | May 4, 1999 | — | ||
| — | TETRA RESEARCH CORPORATION | $0 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | — | — | — | AD16 | Apr 30, 1997 | Apr 30, 1997 | — |