Sintered Cathodes for All-Solid-State Structural Lithium-Ion Batteries

All-solid-state structural lithium ion batteries serve as both structural load-bearing components and as electrical energy storage devices to achieve system level weight savings in aerospace and other transportation applications. This multifunctional design goal is critical for the realization of next generation hybrid or all-electric propulsion systems. Additionally, transitioning to solid state technology improves upon battery safety from previous volatile architectures. This research established baseline solid state processing conditions and performance benchmarks for intercalation-type layered oxide materials for multifunctional application. Under consideration were lithium cobalt oxide and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide. Pertinent characteristics such as electrical conductivity, strength, chemical stability, and microstructure were characterized for future application in all-solid-state structural battery cathodes. The study includes characterization by XRD, ICP, SEM, ring-on-ring mechanical testing, and electrical impedance spectroscopy to elucidate optimal processing parameters, material characteristics, and multifunctional performance benchmarks. These findings provide initial conditions for implementing existing cathode materials in load bearing applications

A Method to Estimate the Probability That Any Individual Lightning Stroke Contacted the Surface Within Any Radius of Any Point

A technique has been developed to calculate the probability that any nearby lightning stroke is within any radius of any point of interest. In practice, this provides the probability that a nearby lightning stroke was within a key distance of a facility, rather than the error ellipses centered on the stroke. This process takes the current bivariate Gaussian distribution of probability density provided by the current lightning location error ellipse for the most likely location of a lightning stroke and integrates it to get the probability that the stroke is inside any specified radius. This new facility-centric technique will be much more useful to the space launch customers and may supersede the lightning error ellipse approach discussed in [5], [6]

Weather research requirements to improve space launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and NASA Kennedy Space Center

Weather has a large affect on operations at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) and NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Weather is the leading source of scrubs and delays to space launch from CCAFS/KSC. Weather has an even larger impact on ground processing as space launch vehicles and payloads are prepared in the months before space launch. Many of those operations are very sensitive to weather. In addition, the weather in Florida is notoriously difficult to predict, especially during the summer when rapid deep convection can occur in minutes. Finally, the weather can be extremely subtle in this area during summer, e.g. exceedingly weak low-level boundaries usually determine where thunderstorms form. The Air Force 45th Weather Squadron (45WS) provides comprehensive weather support to CCAFS/KSC. The 45WS uses one of the most dense and unique suite of weather sensors in operational meteorology to provide that weather support. The 45 WS has an active program of facilitating research and transitioning that research into operations. These efforts include working with universities, government agencies, and contractors. Of special note is NASA’s Applied Meteorology Unit, a NASA funded organization that performs technology transition to improve weather support to America’s space program. There are many areas of research that would help 45WS improve their weather support: lightning cessation, lightning onset, lightning detection/warnings/reports, convective winds, elevated peak winds in winter, and many others. The 45WS especially wants research to improve applications of two tools: local numerical models and dual polarization radar. This paper will also discuss opportunities for improved space weather support

Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) Quarterly Report

No abstract availabl

A Probabilistic, Facility-Centric Approach to Lightning Strike Location

A new probabilistic facility-centric approach to lightning strike location has been developed. This process uses the bivariate Gaussian distribution of probability density provided by the current lightning location error ellipse for the most likely location of a lightning stroke and integrates it to determine the probability that the stroke is inside any specified radius of any location, even if that location is not centered on or even with the location error ellipse. This technique is adapted from a method of calculating the probability of debris collision~ith spacecraft. Such a technique is important in spaceport processing activities because it allows engineers to quantify the risk of induced current damage to critical electronics due to nearby lightning strokes. This technique was tested extensively and is now in use by space launch organizations at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Future applications could include forensic meteorology

Less Traditional – More Conceptual: Enhancing Student Learning in First-Year Biology

Over the last two decades, a number of influential reports have called for fundamental changes to undergraduate science education. Most importantly, these reports advocate a shift from traditional lecture-based teaching formats to ones that use student-focused pedagogies to encourage deep student learning about key conceptual ideas in science. Based on these reports, and the underlying research, the University of Calgary completed an extensive redesign of its first-year biology courses in 2011, resulting in two courses: Energy Flow in Biological Systems and DNA, Inheritance and Evolution. These courses focus student learning on two foundational concepts and use student-centered pedagogies to encourage the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Pre/post data collected from one year of the previous introductory courses and two years of the redesigned courses were used to determine the impact of the transition to a conceptual-based curriculum and the incorporation of active learning strategies including clickers and in-class group assignments on student learning gains measured via normalized change using questions from Biological Concept Inventory, Respiration and Photosynthesis Diagnostic Question Clusters and the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection. Student motivations and approaches for learning (e.g. deep versus surface approaches) using the published Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) survey and the Experiences of Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ). Data show significantly higher learning gains during the two consecutive years of implementation of the redesigned courses than those achieved in the previous format. Additionally, students reported that lecture activities allowed them being more engaged with course content. We are currently analyzing student written responses, which will provide further insight into the impact of course redesign on content knowledge and critical reasoning skills on student success

Evaluating student learning in large introductory biology courses: predictors of student success and lessons for course redesign

In 2009, the University of Calgary began an extensive redesign of its first-year biology courses based on survey feedback from both students and faculty, as well as the extensive literature showing the effectiveness of student-centered pedagogies in enhancing student learning, engagement and retention in large classes. The two newly designed courses, Energy Flow in Biological Systems and DNA, Inheritance and Evolution are concept-based courses that emphasize the integration of key concepts from biomolecules to the biosphere within a student-centered learning environment; these courses begin in Fall 2011. In order to understand the factors influencing student success in first-year biology, we have initiated a three-year mixed-methods investigation of students’ a priori knowledge, motivations, and approaches to learning. In our current first-year courses, we collected data related to changes in both student motivation and learning over the entire first year for 750 students. The strongest predictors of student success, based on grades earned in the lecture component of the course, were multiple-choice pre-test scores (

Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) Quarterly Report Third Quarter FY 13

The AMU team worked on seven tasks for their customers: (1) Ms. Crawford completed the objective lightning forecast tool for east -central Florida airports and delivered the tool and the final report to the customers. (2) Ms. Shafer continued work for Vandenberg Air Force Base on an automated tool to relate pressure gradients to peak winds. (3) Dr. Huddleston updated and delivered the tool that shows statistics on the timing of the first lightning strike of the day in the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) area. (4) Dr. Bauman continued work on a severe weather forecast tool focused on the Eastern Range (ER). (5) Ms. Crawford acquired the software and radar data needed to create a dual-Doppler analysis over the east-central Florida and KSC/CCAFS areas. (6) Mr. Decker continued developing a wind pairs database for the Launch Services Program to use when evaluating upper-level winds for launch vehicles. (7) Dr. Watson continued work to assimilate observational data into the high-resolution model configurations she created for Wallops Flight Facility and the ER

Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) Quarterly Report Fourth Quarter FY-13

Ms. Shafer completed the task to determine relationships between pressure gradients and peak winds at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), and began developing a climatology for the VAFB wind towers; Dr. Huddleston completed the task to develop a tool to help forecast the time of the first lightning strike of the day in the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) area; Dr. Bauman completed work on a severe weather forecast tool focused on the Eastern Range (ER), and also developed upper-winds analysis tools for VAFB and Wallops Fl ight Facility (WFF); Ms. Crawford processed and displayed radar data in the software she will use to create a dual-Doppler analysis over the east-central Florida and KSC/CCAFS areas; Mr. Decker completed developing a wind pairs database for the Launch Services Program to use when evaluating upper-level winds for launch vehicles; Dr. Watson continued work to assimilate observational data into the high-resolution model configurations she created for WFF and the ER

Applied Meteorology Unit Quarterly Report, Second Quarter FY-13

The AMU team worked on six tasks for their customers: (1) Ms. Crawford continued work on the objective lightning forecast task for airports in east-central Florida, and began work on developing a dual-Doppler analysis with local Doppler radars, (2) Ms. Shafer continued work for Vandenberg Air Force Base on an automated tool to relate pressure gradients to peak winds, (3) Dr. Huddleston continued work to develop a lightning timing forecast tool for the Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station area, (4) Dr. Bauman continued work on a severe weather forecast tool focused on east-central Florida, (5) Mr. Decker began developing a wind pairs database for the Launch Services Program to use when evaluating upper-level winds for launch vehicles, and (6) Dr. Watson began work to assimilate observational data into the high-resolution model configurations, she created for Wallops Flight Facility and the Eastern Range