NASA derived technology already in use in the automotive industry include: (1) developments in electronics design, computer systems, and quality control methods for line testing of cars and trucks; (2) a combustion analysis computer program for automotive engine research and development; (3) an infrared scanner and television display for analyzing tire design and performance, and for studying the effects of heat on the service life of V-belts, shock mounts, brakes, and rubber bearings; (4) exhaust gas analyzers for trouble shooting and emissions certification; (5) a device for reducing noise from trucks; and (6) a low cost test vehicle for measuring highway skid resistance. Services offered by NASA to facilitate access to its technology are described

Olson, W. T.

English

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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19780009998 2020-03-22T06:21:31+00:00Z
NASA TECHNICAL	 NASA TM-73870MEMORANDUM
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MAKING AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY WORK FOR
THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY - INTRODUCTION
by Walter '.. Olson
Lewis .research Center
Clcvelar.d, Ohio 44135
TECHNICAL PAPER to be presented at the
1978 Congress and Exposition of the
Socie!y of Automotive Engineers
Detroit. Michigan., February 27 - March 3, 1978
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i%IAKING AEROSPACE "TECHNOLOGY WORK FOR II IE AUTOMOTIVE
INDUSTRY - INTRODUCTION
by Walter 'r, Olson
Director, Technology Utilization and Public Affairs
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lewis ReSUarch Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135)
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ABSTRACT
The palicr intruduces a sessiun that reviews
some NASA -derived technology that may he useful
in the automoti ve induntrv. Several examples in
the paper illustrate aerospace Lcclinulugy already
at work in that Lndutitrv. Services offered by
NASA to facilitate accuss to Its technulogy are
de.ticribed.
i
Olson
I
,^ SEAR CaLogory 8
n1E SESSION ' AFING ,% !.RoSPACF. I t:c:IIN( LlK l' 't.'()RK
for the Automotive Industr y " is motivated by an
imporL.lnt objective tit the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration - to ensurt' maximum
value from naLional aerospace acti y iLi et; .
At i Ls prvst'nL level of $4 bill ion per year,
the aerospace program is less than a penn y out
of the Federal bud+;el. dollar, but it is .i tiub-
st,n;t ial part of the S 2E1 bi 11 ion that tht'
Federal GovernnlenL invests annuall y in research
:Ind tec• hnologv.	 Feder;il t'xpenditore~ for rv-
scarch .Ind technolog y are more than halt of the
national total.	 Chas, iL is important that the
NaLiOil use the results of all Lit y se expenditures
as effectively as possible.
mt , premise underlving the session is Lhat
advances made in ()tit , technical field call
 to other field. Anyone .:Lm OxiiediaLely
Chink of his own examples. For instance, space
exploration w;IS made possible b y the development
of rocket propulsion, Lhe computer, .Ind minia-
turi e'd electronics. To continue the example,
modern rocket propulsion evolved from rockets
developed for nliliLary purposes, and iL trace's
its antecedents to Chinese p yrotechnics. BuL
along the way development of rocket propulsion
has both advanced and helped creaL y turhopunlp
technology, modern nu'Lallurgv, digital control
s ystems, new unde l'SLallditl}; in fluid IIIeChalliCS
and thermodynamics, and more.
Batted on this premise, subjycts believed Lo
have rclt'vance and putential us y fulness to Cite
automotive indusLr y h.iv y h.'.'n selteted from con-
Lemporar y NASA pr'.t.',rams Md pro jecL, for this
sessi oil .
:'ASA's total progrmii is annua11v ni Thorired
b1' .icL of Congress, with inittlts trom NASA; other
iigenc i cs of governlnenL, fvderal, slate, .ind
local; industr y ; scientitic and engincerinti; aca-
demies and socieLie;;; alld t dWt' organiz;iLions
and individuals.	 I •:xectl t i on tit LI Ie program is
largely conducted through nine major field cen-
ter:, t'ach with iLs own technical oricnL.ILion,
or mission; tot' rxamp1v, sp.tce launcht!. it
Kennedy Space Cvnte: , scienL i I it sdLt- 1 I i Lvs mid
Lrackink, networks aL Goddard Spacc Fli:;hL Cern-
Ler, propulsion and power Leclnlolo;; y at
Rt,carch Contcr, LO nwntion a few.
NASA's program has f-e y t'r.il ma jor ctmlpotiviits .
()lit' is space explorciLion, In which II yF: knowled^;y
is being acquired from Lhe laborator y tit space
i tst I t .	 This new ,,mow lvd?'•e i s ihouL lht physics
of Lhe earth - sun onvironnlenL, about. Lhe moon and
pl,nlets, ,(nd about Lh, st.(rs and gal.lxios Lhcm-
TIK AZ  ^' ^^1. 
1,
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2
t	 I	 ,
Nselves with observations across the spectrum tin-
obscured by atmosphere.
A second major component comprises the new
services from earth satellites: vastly improved
communications, weather data, aid to navigation,
and earth observations useful Lo agriculture,
forestry, mining, water management, transporta-
tion, urban development, pollution control,
geodesy, and mapping.
A third major component in the NASA program
is developmenL of aeronautical technology through
research and experimental engines to demonstrate
the technology.
Also, behind the obvious space speculations
and advances for aircraft is a fourth major com-
ponvrtL, the large body of research and technology
both to support current activities and to make
future options -ossibly.
Finall y , NASA has an objective of aissemi-
nating the findings and results of its work as
widely as practicable. Some of the technology
generated by or for NASA has transferred to other
than aerospace .activities easily and on its own.
But NASA also works aL overcoming inherent bar-
riers to communicating technical information be-
tween fields, especially when that information is
so profuse, so fragmented, and so isolated from
potential users by company, by industrv, by geo-
graphy, and by other factors, such as the torn in
which it appears.
While it is always difficult to pinpoint all
of the roots of a technical achievement, there
are hundreds of instances in which new ideas or
information, new inventions or devices, new
m.'thods or techniques from aerospace have flowed
into such diverse acLiviLivS as communications,
wencher Services, transporLalion, he.ilLh scr-
vicL'S, food production and processing, education,
elvcLric utilities, petroleum and gas, construc-
tion, manufacturing, and conSUmvr goods. licrc
are some -xamplvs from Lilt- automotive industry:
• E:ectrunic.,. dvsi,tn, compt,tvr systems, and
-.lualit y control experience g,iinvd by an
automobile :nonufacLurur managing the fa-
ci lily for Lh.• SaLurn I/IB systems duvvL-
opntent aL Iluntsvi l I.•, Alabama has been
used b y that manufacLurvr to develop both
new producLs and IlL'W intAbods of produc-
Lion l inv LusL in)!, for must of iLs c.irs
and trucks.
• A comhustion analysis compuLt'r pro.:rom
developed by NASA's Lewis kvS' arch CvnLCr
has been used exten:.iveIV for .automotive
.'ns'.inv rtscarcli ;ind d. ve loptnvnC s inct 1970.
Olson
3
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IN lY
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ur
^,n IliIr•Ired scam it , r and LeIvvisioil (lis -
i) I ,1V devc loped t or Lhe Marsha l 1 Center
c , oliverted into a iottinert'1.11 scanner
Intl is reguIarIv used by a tiro manufac-
turer to .111.11 vzv t i re des i;',ns and pvr-
Iorlllance, and ako Lo invvsLigatt' how bt':IL
shorLens st • rvicc l i tc for V-Ut'l Ls, shock
mounts, brakes, and rnbbvI- I)varIny,s •
a I',xilanst gas ,malyzen; tit;lt providt • auLo-
matvd testing for produeLion qualit y con-
trol, LroubIt shooting'„ rind ,La Le and ivd-
craI vmi sr, i„Its cvrtiII cat ioll have derived
I roll) II:Iz;lrtlon-,	 1',;I,	 ^III,IIVZerr, dvv, It, lit -if
I rom Saturn r-tl'lceLs
• .1 device Ior suppre,:.im, mist • propagated
Lhrotigh ducLs Is being evaluated by a
manutacturcr of truck nulllitr, as away
of memin}', future Lruc'c nt i>, 	 levels.
• A $ 10 000 L,', L VV11 ie I e d,'r, i }'.netl Lo nleas-
tlre ;iirporL runw:Iv skill resist;lice is
provid in•', rvqu i rvd m, .isnrcmvnLs for h i;;h-
w;1 y skid resist::;tcv on an equivalent basis
with eonuncriial skid tesLvr;. iuhLill}!,
S60 000 Lo }2UO 000.
And on,' i:ou Id go on I i L i nl; dvvc 1 opmt , n Ls
And spin-olds ill production 1)1'tice5be:;, d,'sign
methods, data m;lrl.laucnt s y sLems, materials tvch-
nology, reliabilit y and ,nt, , L_y, and 11O .' hway im-
provemenL;; LhaL have trainlcrrvd from aerospace
to at)tomotive uses -	 It js hoped th.It this les-
sjon till encourage further LeCIInOlo };y Lransfcr.
111,' };elleral still IecLs of this svr+t; ion ilIC hide
a structural an:Ilv:;i;: computer pros;ram called
\ASMA\ developed by ttiAtir, for ur:e on ::pacci:roll.
.Ind I aallCll vehicle des j r;n:; .	 flit . pro}-,ram, and
v.irianLs of it, has had wilt • ipplic.Ilion:	 oil
rcfin,' rie.,:, nucle.Ir plants, buildings, aircr;0L,
sllip`,, r:11 I cars, trucks, tra Lors, atltomo-
hi Icr,, - t • ven roller cu:ISters.	 I'ht rest ,,t the
:,uh}eels relate to t gtie rv g oarvh antl develop-
ment.	 'l'hat ir' not :1 bins, of this se,siun ort;an-
j zt r, who comes from Lh,' Lvwi, Rusv,lrch Center,
buL r;ILhcr ref Ivcts Llic naLionA needs of rk-de-
cin . both hiy;ht.'ay vehicle fuel consumption and
:fir pollution.
A t,ord about the Lewis Rcsv;lrch Center in
Cleveland, NASA's center for propulsion clad Pow-
er rc>,c.Irch, mi;ghL be useful . .1L P :t sent it is
a 350-acre complex of - laboratories and cnviron-
mental test facilities (alt URIC chamhtu . , wind
tllnnelti) with .I "311110-person staff.	 Ilpened in
t9•4' as a 1..dloraLory of the National Advi,ory
Ln1lltltlt LLee for Aeron,nA.t::,, the CL-nLtr contributed
Lo fncl^, technolt'.;}', supt'rcbar.-, ln l;, 'Ind k2nl{iill•
olsoll
4
cooling daring World War H. From immediately
after that war, the Center conducted research
and advanced technology on.aircraft gas turbines,
jets, props, and fans. Every united States tur-
bine flying today - and they comprise about
80 percenL of the world's cotntnercial fleet -
bcars some mark of Lewis' work, Aircraft propul-
sion systems currently comprises about half of
the work of the Center.
Lewis work in space propulsion, dating from
experiments with high energy liquid propellants
in the late 1940's, helped creete the capabili-
ties for the rewarding venture into space; that
work, including Centaur, the tirst hydrogen-
lueled rocket, and electric rockets, continues,
along with work on space power systems such as
IUeI cells, bnLLVries, solar cells, and small
;as turbines.
And increasingly, the facilities, experi-
ence, and capabilities at Lewis are being brought
to bear oil 	 problems, for example,
management of projects for thy• Department of
Energy on assessment of power generation cycles
for central electric power generating stations
and cogeneration, large wind turbine-generators,
and solar cell tests and altplicat:ons.
Recently, the Lewis Research Center was
asked by the Department of 1•:nvrgy to manage pro-
jectS for alternative propulsion systems for
highway vehicles. These projects are part of a
broad Department of Energy program aimed at re-
ducing highway vehicle fuel conSUmption and
broadening the fuel options for such vehicles.
One of these projects is directed at ad-
vancing technology so that a gas turbine engine
and a Stirling engine might each become a pos-
sible alternative to thk- conventiunnl spark ig-
nition engine.	 ImplementaLion will be through a
joint effort between the United States govern-
ment and the U.S. autonuttiv • industry. Goals
include providing Lhe requisite technology base
wiLhin Lhe industry by 1983 for the gas turbine
and by 1984 for the Stirling engine to permi t a
decision by the automoLive industry Lo enter in-
to production development of an improved version
of	 tch an engine. Further, enough technology
should be in hand Lhen to allow a programmatic
decision on whether to pursue a more advanced
version of either engine; a more advanced ver-
sion would incorporate significant advances in
technology and would offer major improvements in
several system performance indices such as fuel
economy , driveability, rlternative fuels, low
emissions, cost, and marketability.
Olson
5
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The second project is for electric and hy-
brid vehicle propulsion systems.	 rite objective•
is Lo develop anti demonstrate the Overall pro-
pulsion systems technology required to provide
electric and hybrid vehicles with the perform-
ance life cycl e , and operating; cost:: required
for broad public acceptance. included within
this project is an effort to provide performance
data and imj)rovcnwnLs for exiSLing L.mimercial
components in the next two years bull to support
the industry :nul Lo be a base lrum which to n ►ea-
sure improvcmtrnts.	 Also, the pro_jecL is to de-
velop aTtd (IcmunStrate advanced components and
propulsion systems by late i9h3 and Lo provide
tuI1v developed compuncnLs mid systems based on
new propulsion concepts by late 1986. 
Specific choice of conLenL for the Session
Loday was guided by correspondencL- and consuIta-
tiun with technical represontaLives of the auto-
motive industry.	 In parLicular, :j working group
assembled by EiluneLt E. Ilixon, Ilerculvs, Incor-
porated, discussed and r.iLcd for puSSiblk• inter-
L • 5t Lo automotive engineers 1"J diIIcrenL Lech ni-
ca 1 topicS Su g;g;esLecl by NASA as possible prc-;en-
taLionS. 1"he group included Harold N. Bogart,
Director, ?Manufacturing Engineering and Techni-
cal SysLems Office, Ford ?Motor (;u., Robert G.
DeGrazia, Mimager, Rubber and 1'lasLiLS Dept.,
Crysler CurporrAion, .Jerry .1. Ilarvev, tiuperin-
LendenL, fndustrial Engineering, Chevrolet
Pressed MuLals Division, General MoLors Curpora-
Liun, and Aaron D. Rosenstein, Supervisor, Ad-
Vanre MijLurials, Rubber :old Plastics DeprjrLmCnL,
ClrysIcr Corpor ation. 	 Wt . are graLL • liil to them
for Lleir helplul adrict•.
I"le SeK5i011 papers include one on the use
of NASA technology, espt•cinll y NASfRAN and frac-
Lure mccl.m ics, by engineers o1 Eaton Corpora-
tion to improve fatigue lift- for truck axles,
and a presentation on the current and future
content of the NASfRAN Computer program by the.
NASA manager of Lhe NASrRA`: ^.ySLems office.
"Technology for Gas furhineS", "InstrumentaLion
for Propulsion Systems Development", and "Bear-
ing, Gearing, and Lubrication Technologv", all
from Lhc Lewis CenLkr, comprise the rV I L of the
session.
ThL • Department of Energy studies mana:;ecl by
NASA on gas turbine, SLirlinL;, and electric pro-
pulsion technulog;ies for highwa y VChiLles arc
Loo new for thorough reporting vcL. lint the gas
Lurbine paper in this session iS :in overview
Lliat depicLs Lle technology from aerospace that
()Isom
6
can astiist the development of the automotive gas
turoine vngine.
It is, of course, impossibIc to predict cx-
acLiv what item of Lechnology an engineer will
lived at any instant. So rather than aLLempt to
vonvev transft-rrable L( •chnology all "packaged
up th+• scs:;ic,n is intended to ( • onvev an im-
prv:;sion of the kind:; of Lt-( • hnieal information
availablt • from NASA programs.	 Potential users
are Invited to acquire it.
fo facilitate access Lo its Lechnology,
NASA ++pvr.+L y s :I locllnology l'Lilizalion program.
flier; are it number of services offered in
Lh ts program.
NASA 'I't ch Briefs Is it quarterly pub] scat ion
available Irt-v Lo any C.S. citizen or organiza-
L ion .	 Its one-page descriptions of new tec • h-
noIogv cover potenLial products, fabrication
processes, lab aril shop Lechniques, t-le(•tronic
circuits, computer programs, and LLchnic.Il daL,+,
and .Ire c.ttvgorized and indexed to make a useful
currvnL-awareness docunu•nL.
r+-chnical support packages that mor y f(Illy
(inscribe .I Tech Brief subjvcL wh ys necessary
are .Ivailabl y can r,•qucsL.
NASA sponsors six Industrial applications
Ccn L y rs (Table I). "rIlCSt- Centers have access Lo
some -' million documents in manv major data
banks, and offer clivnLs such svcializ yd st-r-
vicns as IiteraL(Ire searches, custom- d(•signed
current-awareness abstracts, vvaluaLion and ap-
plications of Iiteratur y search rc:,u lts, and
consultation with NASA field centers.
An extensive library of computer programs
is available through Lhv Computer Softwear and
Information Center (C(tSMIC), Suite 112, harrow
Hall, l'n ivcrs i Ly o t Geor y i a, Athens, GA 3OhUZ .
C(1S^I[C staft will help customers identity their
computer softwear needs, follows up to d(<Lermine
successes and problems, and provides updates and
corrvctions.	 Charges art- ntrninal.
A rvchnolo;;y 1'ti 1 izaL ion Officer at each
NASA field center will assist you directly
('fable II) wht•n necessary.
NASA inventions that ha y .• been patnnled art.
available for licensing in tht united States,
both exclusively and non-exclusivviv.	 Hie P;+-
tent Counsel at the NASA field center Lh.It spon-
sored the invention can .idvise and assisL on pa-
tent ,t.Ittis .Ind licensin4.
rhouSands of spinoffs of NASA research U)
virtually ever y area on the vconomy aLtt-st Lo
Ow successful workabi 1 i tv of this ti-v+ nr-old
protiram.
	 Tr*- , iL.
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Making aerospace technology work for the automotive industry, introduction

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