Background, The need for this research was based on mounting evidence of volatiles at the lunar surface (LCROSS) and previous Apollo experiments (CCGE) that detected high local pressures and outgassing from astronaut spacesuits. Volatiles at the lunar surface not only have origins from both above and below the lunar surface, but also provide useful resources for long-term human exploration, operations, and…, Approach, LAVA system showing three camera views of the sample Figure 1: LAVA system showing three camera views of the sample (left), mass spectra of the chamber volume (center), and the chamber with gate valve on top (right). The objective of this work was to construct a laboratory space environment system capable of simulating gas diffusion through a 0.5-meter column of the lunar surface. The prototype…, Accomplishments, Vent pores in the upper surface of the material Figure 2: This photo produced by the video camera above the simulant column shows vent pores in the upper surface of the material. These features were produced by trapped atmosphere outgassing from the bulk material during the initial chamber evacuation. Ejected dust visible on the edge of the graduated cylinder (upper right) was produced by the…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Elastomer O-rings are used extensively for sealing applications in automotive and aviation system hardware components for both static and dynamic applications. Alternative jet fuels, which typically consist solely of paraffins and lack aromatic components, can cause leaks due to insufficient seal swell. In dynamic sealing applications, the relative motion between the moving components causes…, Approach, The test rig consists of a heated test block under pressure containing a reciprocating shaft housing the test elastomer O-rings, simulating real-world dynamic motion in fuel-wetted components. Instruments measure the resistance to reciprocating motion experienced by the O-rings in real time. As the elastomer wears down due to the combination of fuel effects, temperature, and dynamic motion, the…, Accomplishments, The theory of elastomer wear was shown to be correct and a dynamic fuel/lubricant seal compatibility tester has been developed and proven to work. It is able to predict failure in seals before static seal testers. Presentation: Lee, P.M. and Jeyashekar, N. Mapping the Performance of Dynamic Elastomer Seals. STLE 73rd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Minneapolis, USA, May 2018. Patent Filed: June 30…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, The DD13 (Detroit Diesel 12.8L in-line six heavy-duty diesel engine) scuffing test was developed to address an issue occurring during engine durability testing at Detroit Diesel (Daimler) which was leading to scuffing events. The test development continued over the past few years and was approved as an ASTM procedure in December 2016 (ASTM D8074, Standard Test Method for Evaluation of Diesel…, Approach, The objective was to sample oil from the second piston land and top and second ring groove. Although very close in proximity, these three regions are expected to have significantly different lubricant properties due to localized temperature differences, oil degradation rates, oil flow rates, blowby gas concentrations, and fuel dilution. Chemical analysis of these sampled oils can elucidate the…, Accomplishments, At the end of this project sufficient progress had been made such that additional client funding was provided to continue the work. Currently, the engine is running and reliably sampling oil from all locations. In addition, a presentation titled “DD13 Scuffing Test – Tribological and Chemical Analysis of Ring Pack Lubricants” was presented at the STLE 73rd Annual Meeting and Exhibition in May…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, SwRI has performed on-road and on-track fuel economy testing for commercial and government clients over the past few decades through Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1321 and J1526 tests. In recent years, the industry has shifted from performing steady-state testing to transient test cycles, as well as attempting to quantify smaller changes in vehicle fuel consumption. The driving precision…, Approach, Linear actuator brake control Figure 1: Brake control is performed by a linear actuator that reproduces the driver’s pedal position Drawing on SwRI’s experience in on-track fuel economy testing as well as dynamometer fuel economy testing and vehicle control, a new mobile data acquisition and control system was developed. Route trace software had previously been developed to allow drivers to more…, Accomplishments, Semi-autonomous trucks Figure 2: This project sought to develop a semi-autonomous driving solution to improve the driving precision for tests requiring two vehicles and two drivers. A universal system capable of being installed in many heavy-duty vehicle applications has been developed. This system is the first of its kind to control brakes in a repeatable manner for fuel consumption testing. In…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, So called “end-to-end” deep learning, as applied to ground vehicle autonomy, is an active field of research studied by many major companies. Current implementations focus on an attempt to leverage using human control of the vehicle as the primary mode of training supervision. While these attempts have been somewhat successful in very limited situations, such as highway driving on previously…, Approach, Our approach has been to focus on using previously designed CNNs as components of a larger network. This network then provides the best quality data to the parts of the system for which CNNs are not well suited, such as control systems and longer-term planning. By starting with network components already well-trained on the individual problems, the overall optimization for the network starts from…, Accomplishments, We modified and evaluated different per-pixel segmentation approaches to detect drivable areas in both on- and off-road environments. We developed a network architecture that is both accurate at classifying and segmenting the environment in challenging lighting and environmental conditions, while still operating in real time. Using this information, we then projected the classification results…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, The primary objective of this project was to leverage expensive equipment from the Test Tool Development Project for DENSO and the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP), while it was still at SwRI, to conduct an in-depth evaluation and comparison of the performance capabilities of several positioning systems that are under consideration for integration into a complete SwRI connected vehicle…, Approach, The SAE J2945/1 standard includes requirements on many items, including security and privacy (certificate management, usage, and roll-over), RF characteristics (channel usage, data rate, and transmit power), vehicle state (light indicators, transmission state indication, brake status, and others), vehicle dynamics (latitude, longitude, heading, speed, three-axis acceleration, and yaw rate), and…, Accomplishments, The measures of success identified for this project included: Successful integration and data collection using each of the three identified positioning systems Successful analysis of positioning systems data and comparison of relevant system characteristics including cost, accuracy, and ease of configuration/maintenance Identification of at least one lower-cost positioning system that gives…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Reaction vessel with inert coating, suspended in the oven Figure 1: Our completed set-up includes a reaction vessel with inert coating, which is shown here suspended in the oven. The goals of this project are twofold. First, we aim to develop a laboratory set-up for hydrothermal experiments on geologic samples. Second, we will utilize that set-up to characterize volatile production during thermal…, Approach, Reaction vessel diagram Figure 2: The reaction vessel has an internal volume of 75 mL. The inlet and outlet have been specially designed to allow flow through of carrier gases to collect the product gases. Our experimental set-up includes a 75mL Ni alloy vessel that is rated to 1,000 psi at 850°C with an inert coating with a built-in thermocouple to monitor the vessel temperature. Gases evolved…, Accomplishments, Our reaction vessel set-up is complete, and we are in the process of characterizing it, including temperature calibration, identification of the background compounds, determination of the degree of surface inertness, and accurate measurement of the internal volume. The system is capable of internal temperatures up to ~800°C, while maintaining an external temperature above the oven of <100°C.…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, During this project we explored methods to fully integrate surface-water flow models with groundwater flow models in semi-arid karst watersheds. This will allow for accurate assessment of the effect of groundwater management practices (i.e., large-scale pumping) on river flow and the reciprocal effect of changes in surface-water flow on groundwater. Precipitation and recharge in arid and semi-…, Approach, The project team conducted an in-depth review of software packages that profess to accommodate coupled surface-water/groundwater flow and interaction. After an initial phase of research into the documented capabilities of these packages, packages were evaluated by constructing a groundwater model and a surface-water model of the Devils River watershed. The coupled models were then calibrated to…, Accomplishments, We selected and refined protocols for creating a coupled surface-water/groundwater model. The ideal protocol or software depends on the precise needs of the project; however, the widely available groundwater modeling software MODFLOW is the most desirable package for the groundwater component. Furthermore, MODFLOW includes modules that can, in some cases, stand in for the surface-water model…
Type: IRD Synopsis
BACKGROUND, Carbon fiber composites have become extremely popular when high specific modulus and high strength are needed under severe weight restrictions. Due to their cost, their main application is in aerospace; but they are becoming also common in other industries like automotive, recreational sports, etc. Although CFRPs are very strong and stiff, their impact performance is very poor when compared to…, APPROACH, This work presents a thorough experimental campaign of both the material constituents and the composite, including loads in the different directions (longitudinal and transverse tension, shear, delamination, etc.) at low and high strain-rates (Hopkinson bar tests), and ballistic tests. The study is performed on non-woven (2D) non-crimp composite as well as a 3D woven composite with the same…, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, The main conclusions from the project are: PR520 resin is strongly strain-rate dependent but strain-rate effects for the composites are probably negligible. 3-D specimens are stronger than 2-D under shear. Theory and numerical simulations predict properly the transverse wave velocity measured in the single yarn impact tests. The ballistic limit of the 2-D and 3-D composites with same areal…
Type: IRD Synopsis
Background, Long-range detection of objects and dangers in the road is an ongoing challenge for the field of vehicle autonomy. For an automated vehicle, the distance to detect another car or an obstacle in the road directly correlates to the maximum speeds the vehicle can safely drive and react. Radar is one of the most common methods for long distance detection, but the data is noisy (from reflections,…, Approach, Our approach was to: Create Lidar algorithms for long-range object detection, using 2D road info and radar target initialization Register detected targets to pre-mapped road lanes using 2D road info and precise localization Output a final augmented radar detection that can be used for making decisions by higher level autonomy, Accomplishments, Our accomplishments thus far include: Collected ground truth data using a pair of vehicles for high precision and for arbitrary vehicles observed on collection runs Designed software to match/track detections over time with an extended kalman filter Created software to associate detections with pre-mapped road lanes and predict object motion along roads, even when losing sight of objects
Type: IRD Synopsis
